The biggest blunder ever!

Yeah that's right. I'm an idiot. This last Saturday was the 14th Annual Pir Maleki tournament which I was so incredibly excited for since about December. I was going to be carpooling with some buddies up to the tourney and I was going to meet them about 6:45am Saturday morning. I set my alarm for 4:50 but I didn't pay close enough attention and set it for 4:50pm. My fiancee woke me up around 7:00am and I was completely depressed I had missed the tournament.

It really hit me hard that I had missed it. I felt that the last few months were just a waste and Saturday was just a horrible day for me overall. I did, however, finish Circle 3 and start Circle 4. I'm very pleased with my Circle 3 results and incredibly impressed with my Circle 4 results thus far. It's hard now that I'm doing Circle 4 because of the volume of problems per day. It's rough when you work a full time job and also have to spend quality time with your significant other. I'm not complaining about either of those things because I need money, and I love spending time with my lady. It's just a little rough to spend so much time on chess tactics training at the moment. I know it's going to be worth it in the end as I will be much more tactically inclined.

Anywho, I don't really have much else to write about other than I've won several more No-Limit tournaments on Saturday. I figured since I wasn't playing chess, I might as well play some poker and clear my mind from my stupid mistake. Here's a pic of my Circle 3 results. Enjoi!

Incredible come back.

Tonight was a pretty amazing come back for me in the world of chess. I have actually been focusing a little more on my tactics lately and have been getting really nice results thus far with Circle 3. It feels good to know that I have support from the guys who say I'm doing it old school with CT-ART(referring to a comment made by Blue Devil Knight). I feel I wouldn't be doing the Seven Circles any justice if I was doing it using a different program with simpler problems. But that's a topic for another post...

So tonight was the usual Coronado Chess Club meeting. Same ol' people, different day ;]. I felt confident tonight and maybe that's why I played so well. My first round opponent was a low 1300 player whom I had a draw with in the first round of my most recent tournament, the UNM Octagon. The game was well played and I used the concept of "Real Chess"(yes, I've been reading the Novice Nook and yes I'm a newb to it) and managed to hold the score the point. My second round opponent is an 1800 USCF player whom I've never been able to even get past the opening with. Again, I sat and played logically and came out of the opening a pawn up and I carried the initiative the entire game. It has been the best game I've played to date and I wish I would have taken notation. One observer said I played like a class A player. Made my night...

All in all, it was a very great night of chess for me! I've decided to put poker on the back burner for awhile and focus on my chess. I have a pretty big tournament next saturday which I'm very excited for. I should also be done with Circle 3 before then so I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

I'm doing a little better.

So I'm a few days into Circle 3 and I have small progress. I finished Level 10 problems with 94% accuracy and Level 20 problems with 80% accuracy which is a pretty considerable amount better than my first circle. Other than that, I'm not really paying much attention to chess. I really need to get back into it like I used to be, but it's hard when I have poker on my mind.

Speaking of which, I won a freeroll tournament on Carbon Poker this last weekend. A freeroll is a no-limit tournament that you play for... well... FREE! The prize is a small amount of money to play on the site with. There was 668 players registered for the tourney; 2 hours and 43 minutes later, I was declared the winner for a hefty first place prize of $15! w00t! that's more money than I ever won playing in a chess tournament! haha. My goal is to turn $0 into $10,000. We shall see how that goes.

Circle 2 finished!

So it's that time again; I've finished the second circle in this lovely tactical foray! I must say, I'm not incredibly impressed with my overall results. Actually, I did a little worse this time around than in the first Circle. I blame this on my own lack of motivation. When you have lack of motivation, doing tactical exercises becomes like a chore. I'm going to try to make Circle 3 much more worth my while. Anywho, here's the results from Circle 2:

Whoa, I need to get my head straight!

As of late, I've been putting most my energy into poker. It doesn't help that I was sick this last weekend and the better part of last week, not to mention Monday and Tuesday of this week as well. My Circle 2 is coming along HORRIBLY now. I don't know what's gotten into me. The problems seem MUCH harder now than in Circle 1. I'm finishing the levels with less percentage accuracy than before. I guess I can blame this on the fact that I've been playing/studying too much poker and not enough chess.

Now is a critical point in my life where I need to evaluate more in depth what I really want to achieve in life. I have made a couple friends who make very decent livings from playing professional poker (~$100,000/year) and they inspire me to do the same. I watch them play online and they seem invincible at the tables. I want to be like them, make money like them.... At the same time, I don't want to get too caught up in the hype and miss out on everything else life is throwing at me.

Lets do a quick analysis of my current position:

• I'm 21 years old - still a baby in this world.
• I work a 35 hour/week job at $12.50/hr, which is enough for now.
• I'm expecting my first child late July or early August.
• My fiancee is even more of a baby; 18 years old.
• I have no vehicle or a place that I can really call "my own".

Now that we've got that outta the way, it's time to ask myself a few key questions:

1) Is it ok for me to be gambling at this point in my life? - At this point, I'm not really sure. I'm young and I still want to have fun while I can. I know that once this child is born I will be very limited to what I can and can't do. I want to go to Vegas with a couple grand and blow it all, I want to go to the Caribbean for a week and live life to the fullest. There's so much I want to do with my life right now but I feel so limited. I don't want to say that I feel trapped because that just sounds bad, but sometimes that's how I feel. It's almost getting to the point where I feel guilty just hanging out with friends on a Friday or Saturday night.

2) What are my expectations from chess and poker? - Like most chess players, especially newbs like myself, I wish to attain the title of Master or maybe even Grandmaster. I know this is highly unlikely but why give up? It's like resigning, you can't win if you resign. Are there any real benefits from becoming a Master chess player? We all know there's jack shit for money in Chess, which is where I turn over to poker. Now like most poker players, I want to risk a little and gain a lot. I have now seen many players do this on a daily basis on sites like Full Tilt Poker, Bodog, Sportsbook, UltimateBet, and PartyPoker. It's a real thrill playing poker because you know that your money is on the line. If you're Bill Gates then obviously you don't have this problem.

What it all boils down to is money. I want to make a more than decent living in life and I don't see myself doing that with my current job(which I don't plan on quitting) and my future wife's elementary school teaching career. I want to risk a little and gain a lot but it takes work. Looking at my current situation, it's obvious to see that it's nearly impossible for me to focus on both Poker AND Chess and be successful at both. That's just the way my brain works; it only allows me to obsess about one topic at time, thus meaning I should probably back off of one of them. I'm leaning more towards backing off of chess for awhile since it hasn't shown much progress and poker is atleast giving me extra money here and there. I want opinions people. Tell me I'm an idiot, I need to hear it! I need criticism as much as possible!

Sorry for my random ramblings.

Wednesday(late) night chess club..

Well I know it's a little late in the week to be blogging about my games from this Wednesday's chess club but I figured I might as well post it now rather than later this weekend when I'm booked with family activities and poker tournaments. My first round opponent was a 1623 USCF player whom I made fight for his win. We went down to a very close K +P v. K endgame which he was the winning side. He congratulated me on taking him that far down and that I play much better than an 1134 USCF player.

My second round opponent was not as generous. He found out my rating and persuaded to take me into a blitz game. I smiled as he played all his moves much too quickly and before he know it, I was up a whole piece. About 10 moves later I made a move, announced checkmate, and he was livid. He was so mad that he had let a measly 1100 player tag him. He cursed a little bit then stormed out. I laughed. Good times haha.

So I had decided just a couple nights ago that I might go to the FKB U.S. Championship Qualifier tournament in Tulsa next weekend. It would have cost me roughly $400 for the whole trip. I would've used my poker winnings to pay for the whole thing, but I decided it probably wasn't in my best interest to take part in a tournament like that just yet. The competition is way over my head at the moment and I don't want to go in there and play a tournament with results of 0-6. That might be a major self esteem killer. I'll just wait for the Pir Maleki; i'll be more prepared for that anyway.

Oh, I almost forgot. I have a new poker blog up as well. You can find it HERE if you're interested in that kinda stuff. That's all for now.

Updated Tournament Lists

I've decided to post up an updated list of tourney's that I'll be taking part in:

March 31(unrated)
UNM vs. Eldorado High School Alumni
Hosted by UNM Chess Club
2 Rounds, G/30
Third floor in the S.U.B.

April 26
14th Annual Pir Maleki Memorial
United World College, Montezuma, NM
Tournament Flier Entry Form
$1350 in Prizes and Trophies
1st Place Prize In All Sections Guaranteed
All entries must be postmarked by Monday, April 21st
Late entries by phone or email
No on-site registration

May 3 - 4, 2008
Bobby Fischer Memorial
4 round Swiss system tournament.
Time Control: G/2

Site: Manitou Springs City Hall, 606 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs.
Sections: Open, Reserve (U1600)
Entry fee: $35 if rec'd by 5/1, $40 at site. $9 discount for juniors, seniors, unrated.
Prizes: Cash prizes per entries.
Registration: 8:30 - 9:30, Rounds: 10, 3 ; 9, 2.
Entries: Richard Buchanan 844 B Prospect Place, Manitou Springs CO 80829
Phone: (719) 685-1984
E-mail: buckpeace@pcisys.net
The 1st Prize is now guaranteed at $400, and as donations continue to come in, these funds will be added to the 1st place prize fund, and it is only February 22!!
CSCA required, OSA.
Non-rated Community tournament also held Saturday.
Colorado Tour Event

May 31
Quads by Knight
Hosted by the Foothills Chess Club
3 Rounds - Round Robin - G/90
$55 to the winner of each Quad
Foothills Fellowship Church
Southwest Corner of Tramway and Candelaria
Albuquerque, NM
Advance Entries - $20 - must be received by 5/30
On Site Entries - $25 - Registration 7:30 am to 8:00 am
Flyer with Entry Form

June 5th-8th
International Chess Festival featuring National Open
Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, NM
THE BIG ONE! w00t!

June 28/29
Albuquerque Open
Days Inn
2120 Menaul NE, Ph# 505-884-0250
5 SS, G/90
4 Sections
Open - EF $30 in advance, $40 on-site
U1800 - EF $25 in advance, $35 on-site
U1400 - EF $25 in advance, $35 on-site
U1000 - EF $20 in advance, $30 on-site
Prize Fund: $1000 b/70
Registration: Saturday 8-8:30am
Round Times: Sat. 9-1-5, Sun. 9-1
Advanced Entries must be received by 6/27
Additional $10 for on-site entries
After full price entry, additional family member entries for $15
Maximum of 1 half point bye may be requested before Round 1
Make checks payable to: NMCO
P.O. Box 4215, Albuquerque, NM 87196