The first round of the next tournament I played featured a poor strategic choice on my part. I hadn't properly prepared the opening (a Caro-Kann Two Knights) so was afraid to enter into my own repertoire line. Instead, I chose to play the main line - having no real experience in it - and handed my opponent a big lead in development, positional plus and an early attack. My deficient understanding in the line was bad, but really the strategic opening decision was even worse, choosing something that logically my opponent would have more experience in, rather than "risking" entering into my own repertoire sideline, which it was much less likely my opponent would know, even if my memory was also faulty.
Showing the value of not giving up early, analysis identified where I objectively got back in the game (and could have even achieved counterplay, with some active choices). However, my opponent did not give up her attack either, and eventually broke through. A well-deserved win on her part.
