An Interview with IM John Daniel Bryant
Co-Winner of the 2023 American Open with host Dylan Quercia aka Coach Q
Yesterday, I spoke with one of the three co-winners of the American Open, International Master John Daniel Bryant. He scored a very strong and undefeated, 7 out of 9. This is his second year in a row winning the event! If you don’t know John, he is a Southern California (SHAMELESS PLUG FOR THE SCCF) legend. He has played in events for decades and is one of the nicest titled players you will ever meet. Enjoy this conversation, talking about chess and what it is like to win a prestigious event like the American Open. If you enjoy this, you can watch the full video by subscribing for as little as $5 a month! Support this substack and subscribe today!
This interview has been edited for clarity in order to make the interviewer and subject look good. Note for the uninitiated that there is talk about computer assessment of the games. Key terms to know - Plus - White is Winning, Minus - Black is winning which is then corresponded with a number 1-100. Anything over 1 is an advantage and anything over 3 is a winning position for the corresponding side.
Dylan Quercia
So you won the American Open. And, did you expect to score seven points before going into this event?
IM John Daniel Bryant
So I have this funny way of looking at these Southern California open tournaments, where I think of it like golf. So for me six and a half would have been par. So seven was like a birdie.
Dylan Quercia
Oh, that's really interesting. So okay, six and a half is par. So that's like what you should expect to score.
IM John Daniel Bryant
Better.
Dylan Quercia
A little bit better, right? Okay. So seven is kind of an exceptional result. When was the last time you've scored so high in an event like this?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Well, I was first last year.
Dylan Quercia
Okay, so there is a little bit of an expectation that you'll do well at this event?
IM John Daniel Bryant
I won a few times. Yeah.
Dylan Quercia
So, how many times have you won the American Open?
IM John Daniel Bryant
I think, I've tied for first three times now and then I was clear first once I believe. So, four total.
Dylan Quercia
Awesome. Four in total! Does it get any better every time you win or what does it feel like?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah. I mean it always feels good.
Dylan Quercia
Nice. So let's talk a little bit about any ups and downs of the event. Were there any moments in the event where you were worried at all?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah there were two games where I guess I encountered difficulties or some bad emotions.
The first game was in round two against WIM Omya Vidyarthi…
I had an idea about her playing style. I won against her last year and I was the same color. I was Black again. And, in the opening I made a mistake at some point. And I was, plus four plus five…
And then the game is very chaotic. She allowed me to get a lot of counterplay. And I was even winning as we approached time control. But I messed up and then it was a draw.
Dylan Quercia
What a roller coaster!
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah, So I wasn't you know, all things considered, I wasn't that unhappy after the game. And then and the other game was against GM Arman Mikaelyan…
Dylan Quercia
He also tied for first, correct?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah, that was round five. That game he played a Spanish and played a slightly dubious move around, move eight or nine. Like an early Na5… And, at some point, I had a choice between two moves, which seemed completely winning to me…
I should have chosen the one that was much more obvious where I calculated that I would end up with a queen and a pawn for a rook and a bishop, but I felt like he had some chance. So I thought I had an even better continuation. And it turns out I just underestimated the resources he had and he ended up saving the game. In fact, I was on the back foot… It ended with me having a king and pawn against a rook, but his king was on the other side of the board!
Dylan Quercia
He has to sacrifice his rook for the pawn?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah, that's what that was in the final position.
Dylan Quercia
How does it feel when the computer is just coldly telling you, you know, you're just a silly human and you missed the opportunity.
IM John Daniel Bryant
That doesn't bother me. I mean, it's just impossible to see everything, especially given time constraints. You can, all you can hope for is to see more than you did before. So what's upsetting is when you miss something that you should have seen...
You know. Why did I do it? Why are my neurons misfiring?
Dylan Quercia
What do you do when you encounter that emotion?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Okay, well there's not much to say, all you can do is like you, you go to the next game, right?
Yeah, it's just a new game, just pretend it didn't happen…
Okay, if we take a mathematical, statistical view of it, we should think it will return to the mean or the law of averages. So I had a bad game. Maybe, I'll have a good game now where I play exceptionally accurately!
Dylan Quercia
And then toward the end of the tournament. When did you know that you had a good shot?
IM John Daniel Bryant
At winning? So after i had I had drawn against Mikaelyan…
Dylan Quercia
And, you mentioned something about IM on facebook? Can you share what you posted?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Oh yeah. Yeah, I just shared the position. I asked whoever is interested to find the coup de grâce…
Dylan Quercia
You also mentioned something about missing a chance previously in last year's tournament?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah, I was pretty happy with that game I played against him this time. So like after I drew that game against Mikaelyan, right? I was like, okay, I had to remind myself. You got to calculate to eliminate counterplay when you're winning. So in that position I posted, I calculated the winning sequence. So far, nobody has responded with the correct answer. Only one person tried…
Dylan Quercia
Okay, I also want to talk a little bit about your background. Can you can you tell us where you're from? And, maybe just a little bit about what got you into chess.
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah, so my dad taught me how to play when I was four years old. And, He's not he's not a very strong player, right? Later on, he took an interest in the game and got around like 1200. But maybe, but his understanding is probably around 1800 after. He studied the game, but he would still blunder, right?
So then I first played in a rated tournament when I was eight or nine. Nowadays kids are masters by that age! So, I didn't become a master until I was 14, almost 15. I was pretty good at the time. I was like, I was number three for my age in the U.S.
And, I was just born at the perfect time because it was the golden age of scholastic chess in Bakersfield, [California]. There is this guy David Huff who was a co-owner of the hospital? My dad actually worked there. And, he was sponsoring these tournaments where he would get like up to 500 or more players. All of the people from the AAA, which is now ACA, would all come down for some of the tournaments. And so I would have to play against them. They were like the ringers!
Dylan Quercia
Do you know who is coaching them at the time?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Armen Ambartsoumian
Dylan Quercia
Armen was coaching that whole time. Wow. That's pretty amazing!
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yes, he was very active.
Dylan Quercia
Do you, do you attribute some of your success to having to play against some of those strong players? At least strong scholastic players?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Oh, absolutely. Every time you play a stronger player. It's an opportunity to improve, Just by osmosis or by just pushing yourself to do something you didn't before.
Yeah, so I want to mention Enrico who is my stepfather.
Dylan Quercia
GM Enrico Sevillano?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah, so my Dad is not a very strong player. My parents got divorced. And then my mom remarried to Enrico, and I was about 1800 or 1900 [rated].
Dylan Quercia
That seems like some incredibly good chess luck! Like kind of bad family luck, but good chess luck?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah, he was an IM and then he would finish the GM title later.
Dylan Quercia
Incredible. And so did you get to train a lot with him?
IM John Daniel Bryant
We might have played like one training game ever or something. We never did formal lessons. But, it was useful. But we had a display board right in the kitchen, So I just put positions on there like openings…
We discussed it. So just having someone like that around was very beneficial to me.
Dylan Quercia
Right?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah, I mean he was very encouraging. That's the thing, he was with me at the tournament just now, right? I feel like I did better when he's with me because he'll give me words of encouragement. Like after I blew that game against Mikaelyan, or before the game, he's like, oh ‘yeah, you’ll win easily.’ I almost did. [Then after], he's like, ‘oh, that's okay. You'll recover.’
Dylan Quercia
That’s great. One more thing I want to ask you about before we finish, do you have any plans to go for the Grandmaster title?
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah. I already have three Gm norms. I've had them for a while…
Dylan Quercia
Wow.
IM John Daniel Bryant
Yeah. So I get invitations all the time and I'm like, Why? I mean they're very expensive, right?
So you just need the rating then. My peak is 2470 but I'm a far cry from that right now... I think that if I just keep playing…
Dylan Quercia
Thanks for joining me and I wish you good luck in the future. Any last words you want to leave the audience with?
IM John Daniel Bryant
I hope to see you at some tournaments in California!
Thank you to John for his time and congratulations on the 2023 American Open win!