Back on track

 Round 3, on Saturday afternoon, pitted me against Mustapha Othman, a 165 with Elo 1862. Frustrated at a woeful recent run of results (I had needed a total swindle just to get 1/5 in the previous games, all with black) it seemed to me that the recent attempts at more subtle play just weren't working. As such, a chance to delve into the wild waters of the Sicilian Najdorf was a welcome opportunity for fireworks - my opponent too revels in complications, and apparently his problem is resisting the urge!

 His attempt to get into an offbeat line backfired when I diverged from theory, and soon I had a totally winning position. Again technique was what I needed, but the task was not too great and despite not doing so convincingly, I brought home the full point:

 I complained in my last post that I sometimes seem to get bored and make mistakes in dry positions. There was no risk of that happening here! Black intentionally set out to get a sharp line (but, in his words, "you started it!") but I was geared up for a fight this time, and after my opponent declined the offered b-pawn on move 10, I assumed control. Several opportunities to shorten resistance were missed, but in the relief of victory, I didn't care much for that.

 I concluded in the aftermath of this game that my best try was to keep the game as sharp as possible; my form seems rather patchy at the moment so this is maybe not the time for trying out new things. With white again, I could dictate the pace of the Sunday morning game, and fireworks resulted once more.