In this last-round tournament game, my problems (as Black, in a main line Slav) can be initially traced to forgetting my own preparation. On move 7 I start believing (incorrectly) that my opponent has played a significant deviation from theory (and therefore could be "punished" for it). So on move 8 I make a dubious choice. The line isn't necessarily losing - in the notes you can see that GM Bent Larsen even played it (although he lost that game...) - but it gives my opponent a free positional plus, in a rather imbalanced position (White king in the center, but with a defensive pawn mass and half-open g-file to compensate). Unfortunately
ratings fear and loathing also seemed to play a part in my decision-making process, to no good end.
Despite the favorable position, my opponent shortly gives back the advantage with the loosening 13. f4?! and I aggressively follow up, achieving a tactically winning position by move 19. At this point a calculation error on my part leads to a "safe" choice, which instead of consolidating the winning advantage takes me into a rook and minor piece endgame, only giving me a pawn for my troubles. My opponent plays well after this and my own game deteriorates rapidly, in part no doubt due to the psychological letdown, but also due to my failure to recognize the importance of rook activity (the key to success in rook endgames).
Looking back on this tournament, it was generally a disappointment, despite it being the first one where I defeated a Master (and even if only due to a tactical oversight, in
Annotated Game #199). My performance continued to plateau in the middle of the Class B rating range and the quality of my play was generally not satisfactory, being too variable. Essentially I was both unable to properly convert advantages (as in this game) and made too many poor decisions that overlooked the strength of my opponents' replies.
I'll continue the fundamental practice of looking deeper into my own games for lessons, but I also plan to resume providing Commentary games at the Master level, based on matches of particular interest and relevance. The
ongoing 2019 Tata Steel tournament has provided some excellent recent examples, plus I have a number of other ones I've been saving for personal analysis over the past year or two.
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Na6 6.e4 Bg4 7.Be3 e6 8.Bxc4 Bb4?! 8...Nb4 9.Qd3 Bxf3 10.gxf3 Qa5 10...Nc7 11.Rg1 Nh5 12.Ke2 g6 13.d5 Bd6 14.dxc6 bxc6 15.Qd4 0-0 16.Rgd1 Bxh2 17.Qxd8 Rfxd8 18.Rxd8+ Rxd8 19.Bxa7 Be5 20.a5 Nf4+ 21.Kf1 Rd2 22.Nd1 Na8 23.Be3 Rd7 24.a6 Kf8 25.Nc3 11.Rg1 g6 11...0-0 12.Ke2 12.Kf1!? 0-0 13.Ne2 12...0-0 13.f4?! 13.Na2!? 13...Qh5+ 14.Kd2 14.Kf1 Rad8 15.e5 14...Nc5 14...Qxh2?! 15.e5 Nd5 16.Rh1 Qg2 17.Qe2 14...Rad8 15.dxc5 15.Qe2? Ncxe4+ 16.Kc2 Qxe2+ 17.Bxe2 Nd6-+ 15...Rad8 16.Bd4 Bxc5 17.Ne2? 17.Bxf6 Rxd3+ 18.Bxd3 Bxf2 19.Rgf1 Qxh2 20.Ne2= 17...Bxd4-+ 18.Nxd4 c5 19.Rg5 Rxd4? 19...Qxh2 20.Rxc5 Qxf4+ 21.Qe3 21.Kc2 Qxf2+-+ 21.Ke1 Nxe4-+ 21...Nxe4+ 22.Ke2 Qxe3+ 23.Kxe3 Nxc5-+ 19...Qh4 20.Rxc5 Qxf4+ 20.Qxd4 cxd4 21.Rxh5 Nxh5 22.f5 e5 22...Kg7 23.Bd5 Nf4 23...Rd8!? 24.fxg6 hxg6 25.Rc1 Rd7 23...Rc8 23...gxf5 24.Rg1+ Kh8 25.exf5 Nf6 24.Rc1 24.fxg6 hxg6 25.Rc1 Nxd5 26.exd5 Rd8 27.Rc7 Rxd5 28.b4 28.Rxb7?! Ra5 24...Nxd5 24...gxf5!? 25.exd5 Rd8 26.f6 Kf8? 26...h5 27.Rc7 Rxd5 28.Rc8+ Kh7 29.Rc7 Rd6 30.Rxf7+ Kh6 27.Rc7+- Ke8 28.Re7+ 28.Rxb7? Rd7 29.Rb8+ Rd8 30.Rxd8+ Kxd8 31.Kd3± 28...Kf8 29.Rxb7 a6 30.d6! Ke8 31.Re7+ Kf8 32.Ra7 32.d7+- 32...Ke8 33.Rxa6?! Kd7? 33...Rb8 34.Kc2 Kd7 34.b4+- Ke6 35.b5 Rxd6? 35...Rb8 36.Kd3+- 36.b6 Kxf6 37.a5 e4 38.Ra7 Rd5 39.b7 Rb5 40.Ra6+ Kg5 40...Kg7 41.Rb6 Rxa5 42.b8Q e3+ 43.fxe3 Ra2+ 44.Kd3 Ra3+ 45.Kxd4 Ra4+ 46.Kd3 Ra3+ 47.Ke2 Ra2+ 48.Kf3 Ra5 49.Qd8 Rf5+ 50.Kg3 Kh6 51.Kg4 Kg7 52.Rb8 h5+ 53.Kg3 h4+ 54.Kg4 Rh5 55.Qd4+ Re5 56.Qxe5+ f6 57.Qe7+ Kh6 58.Rh8# 41.Rb6 e3+ 42.fxe3 dxe3+ 43.Kxe3 43.Kxe3 Re5+ 44.Kd4+- 1–0
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Class D | - | ChessAdmin | - | 1–0 | D16 | |
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