Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Master Struggle
My other real game from Saturday was against the club Life Master. Surprisingly this tournament got rated immediately and will be included in the April rating supplement, but my February Wednesday tournament has not been rated and will not be included.
The first 5 1/2 moves were the same, but he opted for another major line. In the beginning I had a bit of advantage, but he managed to take the lead after I misplayed a combination. During the rook & pawn ending, down a pawn, I manage to crawl back. At the very end, I accepted the draw rather (too) quickly. I didn't want to win purely on time, but I didn't sit and analyse the position properly. There are likely psychological reasons (excuses) for the draw. When you are down and fighting for a draw, you are constantly thiinking about how to draw, not win. A win doesn't even seem possible. I kick myself a little, but not too hard. I am happy about how I played the rook & pawn ending. Of course the difference between a win and a draw against this opponent was 22 points. I finished the mini-tournament (3 round G/60) in clear 2nd of 16 players.
The first 5 1/2 moves were the same, but he opted for another major line. In the beginning I had a bit of advantage, but he managed to take the lead after I misplayed a combination. During the rook & pawn ending, down a pawn, I manage to crawl back. At the very end, I accepted the draw rather (too) quickly. I didn't want to win purely on time, but I didn't sit and analyse the position properly. There are likely psychological reasons (excuses) for the draw. When you are down and fighting for a draw, you are constantly thiinking about how to draw, not win. A win doesn't even seem possible. I kick myself a little, but not too hard. I am happy about how I played the rook & pawn ending. Of course the difference between a win and a draw against this opponent was 22 points. I finished the mini-tournament (3 round G/60) in clear 2nd of 16 players.
# posted by Zek @ 7:35 AM 
