An old story

For the third round, I had the white pieces against Martin Clancy (170/1958) - so this was the first time I was unambiguously aiming for a win. I didn't know him, and the database didn't offer any insights profound enough for me to remember them a few weeks later, but I did remember that he'd cropped up more than once when I first blogged missed Championship tactics. Pre-game preparation was frustrating, since he's played most variations of the Sicilian and I was too conscientious not to prepare for all of them. But, inevitably, he managed to slip through the cracks!

What followed was an annoying game. After escaping from a poor opening, I gave a good technical demonstration, and managed to transform a slightly better endgame into a position where I was on the cusp of victory. But this was on move 39, and as so often I just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net:

At least, for the first time in too long, I was playing good moves for much of this game. True, the opening was hardly a success (my gift is preparation and recycling it, not general knowledge!) but 13... Bd7?! and 15... Nc4?! let me out of jail, and from then I took control. I suspect that Black can hold with accurate defence - most obviously, we were both blind to the value of ...Bb5 - but it's not a particularly enjoyable experience. Castling into my kingside play made things easier, and eventually f5 actually worked as a prelude to the general breakthrough. It was only then that I came up with 39. Rxg7+??, which was over-elaboration that cost me a win. Not one of my finest moments, but it follows the template I identified last summer: I know a few things about grinding, but I can't convert for toffee. I didn't lose, I suppose...  In some ways, it's comforting to think that you played the majority of a good game: it's only a few moves' worth of ability in need of repairs. But that proved to be the story of the event - I could play good moves, but never really managed to string a whole game together.

Round 4 gave me black, and another chance to indulge in some over-preparation.