Green shoots

 Yesterday, the Bristol University 1st-team managed to defy all logic and field its strongest possible line-up, in spite of looming coursework/exam deadlines all round (even for your first-year author!) This was perhaps a little harsh on our opponents Thornbury, who needed to win if they were to have any chance of avoiding relegation. That said, we needed points too in order that second place in the league could be consolidated - both sides were determined, and they too brought most of their best players, even the ungraded FM who I confidently proclaimed only ever plays in Thornbury's home matches. 213-*204, 187-169, 180-177, 185-172, 168-173, 162-153 suggested a tight battle.

 Despite being on the bottom board, with white, I didn't have an easy pairing; I played the 153-graded Andrew Borkowski, a noted draw-monger. After his first move I wondered if this reputation was merited, but it soon proved true and his consistent simplification was aided by me missing a few promising lines. In the end a simple loss of concentration turned the game on its head and I was lucky to grovel a draw, a pawn down in an endgame:

 Not without some nervy moments, we eventually sailed home to a 4-2 win (LWWWDD) that leaves us needing only a draw against the division's basement club next week in order to secure the runners-up spot. Our opponents here, unfortunately for them, will be in Division 2 next year - at full strength they certainly do not belong there, but availability has been even worse for them than us.

 I feel that I am still on the road to recovering my best play, and whilst it was a flawed showing, there are still positive signs - I didn't play like a madman this time, and with good, measured opening play successfully established a stable grip on the position that left my opponent visibly uncomfortable. After simply blundering away a pawn, my rearguard action in the ending was very accurate, and was rewarded. But I am still missing basic things in calculation - I rejected the very strong 11. e5 on strategic grounds, rather than examining closely: it simply never occured to me that c5 is en prise after ...dxe5. Also, I did not consider the idea of 18. Qf2 and 19. a3!, resolving the Queenside pawn structure in my favour, nor even the last chance to play for advantage by 24. Qxa7 and 25. c3!. In short, I was being lazy, not analysing closely enough, and yet was still a little uncomfortable on the clock. Still, that is no excuse for 27. Ke2?, the silliest oversight of the lot.

 In sum, a mixed bag, but a definite improvement on my previous game. I have been looking at my form over previous seasons in Excel recently, and I always tend to hit my nadir around this time of year - hopefully I am on the upswing now, even if I only have one more game before I go into hibernation for the exam season in late May. That game is away to Horfield B on Tuesday, the final league game of the season.