The first two rounds of the U.S. Open Chess Championship have not gone as I expected. For a big open tournament with hundreds of players I expected initially to alternate between opponents who were too easy and too tough. Then the later rounds would be closer.
After winning a hard fought first round against a class C player, I expected to play someone tougher. I wanted to play someone tougher, but my pairing showed that I was playing a Class D player. My friend Al teased me about that by saying, "Maybe you have a chance."
At the US Open they are running some national scholastic tournaments concurrently with the main event. Some kids are playing in both tournaments. The person who showed up at my table looked like he is nine or ten, and he was carrying a trophy almost as tall as he was that said "Elementary Championship First Place."
The problem with playing kids in a tournament is that you don't know what kind of opponent you are really facing. The low rating might not mean anything because kids often improve very rapidly. He could be taking lessons from a Grandmaster. He could be the next Bobby Fischer. Utah produced a number of child prodigies who used to beat me regularly. I have lost to enough children to know that you can't take them for granted.
So I was curious as to why I was playing this kid after winning my first round. I figured that the kid must scored an upset in the first round, so I checked the wall chart and I was right. He beat a 1984 player in the first round. Someone I know. Someone rated barely below me. At this point I was thinking "Holy crap. I've got a tiger by the tail." He really could be the next Bobby Fischer.
The bottom line is that he played very well but not well enough. I won. For a young kid he showed intense concentration, which is how most prodigies play.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
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