Underdogs at the 2026 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Championship | Day 2

After making the best of an easy pairing in the 1st round, our team was guaranteed a far tougher opponent in our next match - and with the round having started at 6 pm local time, all anyone could think about after the games finished was getting rest before playing again in the morning. For me, however, the two days ended up blending into one, as I got the unique US healthcare experience at a nearby emergency room after my roommate had some medical issues. We got there in the middle of the night on empty roads, ended up having to wait hours into the night for a doctor to be available, and at some point the round 2 pairings became available. So, while drifting off to sleep around 3-4 in the morning in the waiting area with other patients, I started preparing to play with Black against the IM that would be looking to trounce me in a few hours.

We got back to the hotel a couple hours before the round, when it was too late to get any real sleep and all I had going into the round was a ton of andrenaline from being awake most of the night and some incredibly lucky opening preparation.

Round 2 | Hart House A vs Harvard

We were near 100-point underdogs in this match on every board, as Harvard sported a strong GM & IM on the top boards and two FMs on the lower boards. There was no real team strategy except getting out of the opening with playable positions and remaining solid - this worked out well on the top board, where my teammate did a great job shutting down the game and holding for a draw (the endgame did have some key moments that could have spoiled our result and is absolutely worth checking out). The bottom 2 boards traded blows and were up in the air for a while, so my game would be crucial to the match outcome.

This was probably the best game I've ever played so far with Black, beginning to end. My opening preparation played a major part, as I was really lucky that my opponent decided to venture into the exact variation I analyzed a few hours earlier, and being juiced on a sleepless night's andrenaline played its own part. This win also ended up tying the match for us at 2-2; the 3rd board devolved into complete chaos before settling in a draw, while an advantageous position with Black from the opening turned against us into a loss. I've analyzed the 3rd board game below - it was fascinating to watch while playing my own game and the finish was wild.

We were the only lower-rated team to escape our match with a tie, and so sat on 1.5/2 with Harvard, behind the leading group of 7 teams on 2/2. Our result also meant we'd play another strong team - had we lost, we would certainly drop back and play a far weaker opponent.

Round 3 | Hart House A vs University of Maryland

Our opponents for the evening round on the same day (as typical for a North American event - 2 games/day) would be a team representing the University of Maryland - in the history of the event, they have actually won it 10 (!) times, tied for the lead. This time, they were sporting a lineup of IMs and we were once again heavily outrated on every board. In the meantime, I was coming off my morning burst of energy and gradually shutting down with little will to play a complicated game.

The top board played out somewhat similarly - after a pretty awful opening, my teammate fought back and achieved a favourable endgame.

After a shaky start early on, this match turned into a 3.5-0.5 blowout - along with 2 wins on the top boards, we had another dominating performance on board 4 & a solid draw on board 3 (all of the games are worth checking out, linked above). I benefited greatly from the other boards going in our favour as time was winding down for my opponent, which forced him to play for a win in a game that we would usually have agreed to a draw.

Our dominating match win against a far higher-rated teams meant spirits were high, with us now on 2.5/3 and in 4th place, behind just 3 leading teams. I was exhausted, but nobody could sleep until we knew who we'd be up against the next morning - with the leading pack contracting, we were nearly guaranteed to play against one of the top 'scholarship' teams represented by multiple GMs - which turned out to be Saint Louis University. For the time being, however, I could relish the fact that I was on 3/3 and not think about playing with Black against a GM.