A few things were left in my memory about this one-week trip in Morristown, New Jersey:
- One should always book hotel as early as possible despite going for the tournament or not.
- A rocky start does not necessarily lead to a bad finish.
With rooms in Hyatt Morristown having being sold out, we stayed in Extended American Stay, taking Uber each day back and forth. We found Uber quite helpful.
Meals
At Extended American Stay, breakfast is included in the hotel fee. However, only coffee and some muffins are provided each morning. I bought hams, milk, eggs, bread and fruits to make standard breakfast. Together with the cooking kits provided by the hotel, each breakfast turned out to be as hearty as it is expected to be.
The tournament site is located in a busy area. Decent Asian restaurants are easily found. I ordered lunches and diners each day and packed them back to hotel. They are mostly fried noodles either with beef or shrimps or chicken. If you prefer more varieties, there is a Whole-foods nearby which provides prepared food, local and fresh; claimed to have no artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners or preservatives. We both liked the smashed potatoes and beef there.
Lodging
The hotel that we were staying is decent, in terms of cleanliness and value. It was noisy at noon and late night. Qiuyu usually takes a power nap between two rounds if time allows. The noise makes this routine quite difficult. The last day of the tournament, when I found out that there was room available at the official hotel, without any hesitation, I checked out and checked in with Hyatt Morristown. It was one of the best decision that I have ever made. Qiuyu had a good half an hour’s power nap right before the last round. Worth every single dollar and every bit of the trouble.
Tournament
The tournament itself is as bumpy as you can imagine. There are only 2 days apart from CYCC that we just finished in Sault St Marie. The only thing worse than having a bad tournament is having to play another tournament immediately after. As a matter of fact, the uninspiring performance might affect subsequent results. I only hoped for this tournament that he could still keep his confidence and enjoy the tournament as much as possible.
The first 2 rounds passed quickly and ended in Qiuyu’s favor. He then lost the third round to David Zhurbinsky who is rated 1617 at the time. The unpleasant turn is not about the result, it is about how he lost the game. It seemed like he lost in a bad way, got attacked aggressively and suffered severely throughout the game. It is easy to blame losses on one-off factors, for example, I blundered. But we know a loss is usually a result of a variety of factors. From that perspective, it is a good experience.
He was very upset that evening. I proposed to withdraw from the tournament, spending the rest of the time touring around and having some fun. I wanted to deliver a message that as long as he still wants to make efforts, getting FM title is just a matter of time, it does not have to be now. Thus he does not have to put all those pressure on his shoulders for this tournament. I wanted this message to be delivered in a clear way: my faith is there; he will become whatever he wants to become, no doubt about it.
Qiuyu said no to the idea of withdrawing. So we continue to take uber back to the tournament site the next morning. He hit back with 3 wins and 2 draws. Before the last round, he was leading the section. His opponent for the last round is Tim Deng (1766) as Qiuyu had had played all top seeds. He won the last round which secured him the first place. While waiting, we had speculated all possibilities for the final standing. Alan, unfortunately, lost the last round, in a confusing way: he thought it was his opponent’s turn to move, which meant a dead end for him, so he resigned, but in fact, it was his turn and he could have won the game! I felt sad for Alan. Stress could act in different forms, how young adults react to it has a big impact on the result.
After the tournament, I texted to Mr Peng: good news needs to be shared with the person who shoud get the most credit.
Becoming a FM before secondary school starts was his goal. I am happy for him that his dream came true. Proud that he can rise from unexpected turn, did not lose himself and hit back quietly but powerfully.
