| My first game took about 30 minutes. I won in 13 moves and used 2 minutes on my clock, and most of that time was after my opponent's 12th move when he left my opening preparation. Now I have a nice relaxing Friday evening at home to rest up for tomorrow. My second game I played Black against the Moller Attack, got a pawn up early on, and gradually increased the pressure while restricting counterplay until my opponent blundered in a hopeless position. My third game was one of those painful long games where I felt I had the initiative with a lot of pressure throughout most of the game, then it deteriorated into a drawn position, until I blundered amidst fatigue. My final day was tough. I drew against the French Rubinstein (yawn) and lost the Black side of the Spanish Berlin due to miscalculation and a stupid blunder. Not to take anything away from my opponents, but I think the main lesson I learned from this tournament is not to play if I'm not feeling 100%. Something minor from last month's flu kicked back in, but I played anyway because I couldn't see going two months without a tournament! Still, I think there will be some valuable lessons hidden in analysis of these games, despite the blunders. |
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