Grandmaster vs. Amateur

The next stop on the never-ending roadshow was Copthorne in Sussex for the Weald Congress - my last warmup before heading off to the Major Open later this week. Whilst I've done plenty of rapid events lately, I only had one slowplay game to my credit since 1st May, so once again my form was something of a mystery. But I felt it was important to get some practice in, and it's a tournament I've long wanted to play. Whilst it certainly didn't turn out as I'd have hoped, the games give me plenty to think about before the trip to Llandudno. Hopefully I can blog them all in time!

I certainly wasn't allowed to ease myself in gently - for the first time ever I faced a Grandmaster in a slowplay game, the 250-graded Nick Pert. One of the strongest players I know summed him up as someone who won't take any risks at all (though he put it more colourfully than that) which didn't seem like much fun given that I also had the black bits. In the end it turned out to be a textbook GM smash, as he achieved a slight advantage in a position he knew better and which demands accuracy from Black at the best of times. Such a combination is usually overwhelming, and this was no exception:

Can it really be that 4. e3 simply gives White a slight advantage? I hope not, but it's a close-run thing, and I wouldn't say that Black is comfortable anywhere. You certainly don't want to defend this when you also have 75 grading points to worry about, since Black has no prospects of his own and must keep finding good moves. Having become used to an easy existence getting better positions with both colours, I found it especially difficult to defend from so early on. Whilst I think Black can go into this line with confidence if he knows what he's doing, a cosmetic 14th move and a superficial analysis on move 17 were all it took.

This is just the sort of game the stronger player wants: he gets an advantage from the opening, he has past experience to guide him (Pert mentioned an earlier game that deviated on move 14, presumably from a non-database event), neutralises any counterplay, puts his pieces on natural squares and waits for his opponent to crack under the pressure. Winning without any risks at all, just as advertised!

Searing stuff, but an occupational hazard when you play in opens. Round 2 gave me the white pieces and a grading advantage, and was where I hoped to open my account for the season.