Breaking Even

After some long battles, I have come home from the Cleveland Open.  In round 1, I played Jay Mitchell, a very kind guy from Georgia. He and I talked for the remainder of the tournament, and I learned a lot from him.  I played black, and squeezed a draw out of a lost position.  I was quite happy, as he was rated 1728, and I was 1581. My second round game ended in defeat as I lost to Raymond Dunsworth, a 1744. I was disappointed to lose a game with the Scotch Gambit, but I had it coming to me for blundering a completely drawn position away.  Of course, he had declined my draw offer, so I just decided to go for the win, since I had the bishop against his knight.  It did not turn out as planned. I took my anger out on Ivan Albrecht, a 1698, and slowly but surely cramped him down to put another point next to my name on the score board. I drove home, and got home around 11, caught some sleep, and headed back in the morning for round 4.  After 1. e4 c5, I spent about 5 minutes on move two. Did I want the Grand Prix or the Rossolimo? I ended up going for the Grand Prix, I beat Michael Thain, a 1672, with a massive kingside attack.  The final round would decide if I would win $500. I got into a winning position, and just had to play carefully for the win.  Of course, that did not happen. I blundered away a piece and tasted bitter defeat against Alexander Yaskolko, a 1720.  So, I ended 2.5/5, breaking even.  My new rating is 1631, a 50 point increase.