---
title: Asian Amateur Online Chess Championships  2021 Part 2
description: Underrated juniors!
image: https://image.lichess1.org/display?fmt=webp&h=550&op=thumbnail&path=nzrichie:ublog:a0BhMRmF:HEMXqhmG.jpg&w=880&sig=845081d9ce6d55d9700688e38e4c346e92cfa750
---

Due to the pandemic the Asian Amateur Championships are being held online this year on another primarily tournament based chess server.

The Women's event was held over the weekend - this past Friday through Monday.

The Open event is being played 16-18 November so last night was Day 1.

The format is a 9 round Swiss, 3 rounds a day, 15 minutes plus 5 second increment per game.

171 players in the Open event.

As it was an official FIDE event, we had to play alone, with microphones on, 2 cameras, desktop shared on Zoom and task manager open. All in the cause of anti-cheating.

The field was broken down into breakout rooms, each with an Arbiter. Shaun Press was our Arbiter and did a great job.

I was playing mainly for experience on the arbiting side, but from the players perspective.

I was seeded 23rd.

My goal for the event was to learn a bit more about official online events from a players perspective, but in terms of chess, I hoped to finish higher than I was seeded! A Top 10 finish would be a the icing on the cake.

Round 1 played a 13 year old junior from Singapore.
Round 2 played an 11 year old junior from Singapore.
Round 3 played a 13 year old junior from Singapore.

Juniors can be notoriously underrated, especially during the pandemic. Rated events are few and far between and they improve at a rate of knots.

I won in Round 1 with no drama.

https://tornelo.com/chess/orgs/asian-chess-federation/events/asian-amateur-chess-championship-open/games/38e28515-60bf-4f6f-b3f6-6a3e8c4a8e22

I lost in Round 2. Whilst my opponent had a low rapid rating, his classical rating was 400 points higher, we played an offbeat line in the Alekhine and he knew the theory pretty well. A tough game, got outplayed.

https://tornelo.com/chess/orgs/asian-chess-federation/events/asian-amateur-chess-championship-open/games/e6bf47ad-363a-47bf-b87e-47ed491d3c8d

I won in Round 3. Had a few scary moments, but worked through them and got into a 2 Rooks and 7 vs 2 Rooks and 6 endgame which I won quite nicely I thought.

https://tornelo.com/chess/orgs/asian-chess-federation/events/asian-amateur-chess-championship-open/games/1c13e271-0501-4104-83b0-4235c12f2dd1

As Meatloaf said, 2 out of 3 ain't bad!

3 more rounds today and 3 tomorrow.

I'll do a blog post each day after the games, then will do a wrap up post.