Here we deal with a game I played on my 20th birthday - a second year in a row when I've played on this day. This time we played Downend A, who are solidly placed in mid-table despite appearing weaker than their B-team, mired in a relegation scrap. I was able to get a solid team out, and gave myself a small present by following grade order for the first time all season: white on board 6. The grades - 194-196, 197-185, 185-170, 168-148, 160-163, 156-148 - gave us the edge but not enough for me to feel secure. My 148-graded opponent was James Hennefeld - in preparation I'd noticed he employed a well-known move-order trap, and worked around it better than expected. Some powerful opening play gave me a crushing position, but I came alarmingly close to throwing it away. However, it seems that black was feeling just too charitable:
Once we collected a quick win* on board 1 I started to feel optimistic, but we didn't seal our win until late on. It was 4.5-1.5 (WLWWDW) and might have been more if not for a ringing phone being ignored. The deal could have been sealed somewhat earlier, but I couldn't get over the finishing line!
My opening preparation has been in the doldrums for a while, but recently the effort has been justified - another argument for sharp openings! Some of the benefit is definitely psychological, but I was able to turn black's approach on its head and actually move-order him. Still, the main blow in the opening, the sequence from 10-15, I discovered over the board. I still think a decisive attack on black's King is the more natural conclusion to the game, but it seems that all I could have realistically hoped for was an ending even more convincing than the one I eventually stumbled into on move 25.
The next few moves (as well as the strange outbreak of mutual blindness 43. a4?? Kc7??) spoil the game: managing transitions is something I've highlighted often in the past as a problem for me, and here my moves suddenly lost the forceful purpose they'd had earlier. I didn't see 26... Nc6 until after moving, never saw that 27. Re4 and 28. Nxh7 would keep a pawn plus, and never considered 28... Rd8 either. It's incredibly fortunate that black's Knight can be trapped by 29. c3, but I'm certainly not objecting! After that, the pawn ending was played accurately - apart from one move - once I was allowed to reach it, and a useful win was in the bank.
Momentum is a good thing - if you can keep it. Six days later we travelled to Clifton A, historically the strongest team in the league but set to lose the title this time round. But they'd still be a tough proposition and everything counts as I chase a grade jump...
* Yes, I finally have a blogging disciple! More to come, I hope, but we'll see. It's hard work at times, but very helpful - especially in getting you to think objectively about yourself as a player. And it's worth it when you occasionally play a game worth publishing...
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