I learned not to be scared

Pan American Youth Chess 2008: Day 1: Round 1
By Simone Liao

Today I had to wake up really early because the round started at 9 am. That was 5 am in California Time! When I looked at the pairing sheet with my sleepy eyes, I said to myself, “oh no, not again!”

I was on the board 1 against the top seed, a WFM rated 2100 FIDE! I had the same “luck” in the first round of World Youth 2007 last Novemeber.

My opponent was a girl wiht long hairs and brown eyes, from Columbia. This time I learned not to be scared.

We both played solidly. I was very patient advancing my position until my opponent blundered. I won this game in 3 hours.

You can follow Simone’s update on http://www.simonechess.blogspot.com/.