When the Ruy ruled the roost

 My preparation for the game I had earlier this week (see the previous post) was perhaps slightly unusual. To feel confident about using the Ruy Lopez for the first time since the back end of 2011, I didn't look at any important lines, but instead revisited the numerous games I had with the opening, mostly in my first full season. I don't often touch on it but I'm sure a positive mindset is very important, and since I almost always got the desired result until just before I gave it up, replaying a succession of victories seemed a good idea. It worked, anyway!

 A select few, indeed, still look quite good to me today. So as a small sample I decided to publish my three favourites. Whilst they are all rather one-sided, there is hopefully something for all tastes - a tactically-orientated miniature, a opening massacre and a serene endgame.

 First up, we travel back to November 2010, and one of my earliest games for Wallington, on board 5 for their second team against Dorking II. I played Robert Sedgwick (102) and broke my duck in only 21 moves after some tactical possibilities came my way:

 Now a rapidplay tournament in the Docklands from February 2011. I won shakily with 5/6, and started with an 18-move rout of Aditya Verma, then graded 97, after he erred at the start. It's generally a quiet opening, but anything can be gruesome in the right circumstances:

 And finally, something a little less violent. By June 2011 I was defending the Wallington Handicap Championship I'd won the year before (without success, in the end) and started against Ali Anvarinaeini, now a 147 but then estimated at 115. He's a bit of a hacker, involved in many upset results - for good or ill! Here, I calmly defused matters early on and punished his liberties without much fuss, though it must be admitted he was a little off-colour:

  I had existing annotations for all 3 games, but almost nothing survived - it seems that annotating all of my games (not just the wins!) and publishing them has helped me there, but as ever it's a question for the reader. It is apparent that I was a lot weaker when I played these games (some moves feel very un-natural now) but apart from the occasional disaster, I did seem to get good results. Heady days indeed...

 I head back to Bristol tomorrow - on balance a good thing, since I've been doing very little for too long. If this seems like a bit of a vanity post, then rest assured that the next one, from the 4NCL Rapidplay Championships in a fortnight, is likely to address the situation!