Played as the lowest seed in the top quad at the Boylston Chess Club today. In the 3 games I had 2 blacks and 1 white vs master competition and it was brutal, but in a Nietzsche makes me stronger kind of way. My first game I made a strategic error by allowing the queens to come off in a Queen/Rook vs Queen/Rook pawn game where my opponents king was more exposed. When the queens came off I started to realize just how important my opponent masters tiny (to me at the time) edge was in the rook and pawn endgame... which he impressively turned into a win. Reflecting on the game I am shocked I didnt realize how important it was for the queens to stay on at the time, and now it is obvious... a good endgame lesson at the cost of a point. My second game I got a draw vs that master who wore me down at the Bradley tournament... that was quite satisfying. I had a small edge in the opening, and I kept a small edge until it was 2 pawns/knight vs 2 pawns/knight. Against non-masters I usually take that small edge and turn it into a winning plan, but this guy stopped everything I tried to do, and he kept threatening to seize the initiative. I am sure a strong master would have converted my tiny edge into something bigger, but a draw against a master who beat me before is in the right direction. My last game my opponent had me out-booked in a sharp gambit line. I am not denying his good play, as he efficiently destroyed me for my inaccurate move. So today I lost 10 rating points for going .5/2.5, I didnt make any tactical errors and I take away several key lessons - including learning that gambit line cold!
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 01:03:42 +0000
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