This fifth round tournament game continued the upwards trajectory of my quality of play...through the first 2/3 of it, I would say. The opening phase was reasonable, if not ambitious, and I successfully worked towards building an increasingly solid strategic game versus my opponent's isolated queen pawn (IQP) position. Some possible tweaks along the way are useful to see for White, but by move 18 I had acquired a small but stable advantage. My opponent then played actively and well in response, but missed a "small tactic" on move 23 that could have given me a more significant positional advantage if I had gone directly for an endgame transition, likely ending up with R+N on both sides.
Instead, I ended up with a trickier Q+N endgame that was evaluated by the engine as completely equal. I then passed up what I correctly evaluated as an easy drawing line on move 32, in favor of a riskier line that would at best also draw. Psychologically, this type of unjustifiably risky behavior is a common phenomenon, after a player previously evaluates they have superiority; the mind does not want to admit that the advantage has dissipated. The technical mis-evaluation of this situation is also an excellent teaching point, as Black's active queen and knight combination became much more of a potential threat once the queen penetrates to the second rank. Even then, though, my own active Q+N combination could have saved the day, had I calculated correctly. Remembering your own active resources in a queen ending means that you shouldn't have to fear going into them, just be careful of handing your opponent too much activity.
Instead, I ended up with a trickier Q+N endgame that was evaluated by the engine as completely equal. I then passed up what I correctly evaluated as an easy drawing line on move 32, in favor of a riskier line that would at best also draw. Psychologically, this type of unjustifiably risky behavior is a common phenomenon, after a player previously evaluates they have superiority; the mind does not want to admit that the advantage has dissipated. The technical mis-evaluation of this situation is also an excellent teaching point, as Black's active queen and knight combination became much more of a potential threat once the queen penetrates to the second rank. Even then, though, my own active Q+N combination could have saved the day, had I calculated correctly. Remembering your own active resources in a queen ending means that you shouldn't have to fear going into them, just be careful of handing your opponent too much activity.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments and ideas on chess training and this site are welcomed.
Please note that moderation is turned on as an anti-spam measure; your comment will be published as soon as possible, if it is not spam.