This analysis of a 6-game classical tournament I played in recently serves to keep me accountable (I’ll play better if somebody is potentially looking at my games later!) and to display what classical games at the club-level look like for prospective improvers.
Round 2 also went pretty well. I got a superior position out of the opening, and won some material. Despite this, my much lower rated opponent defended very well before collapsing under time pressure. 2/2
Going into Round 3, someone told me that my opponent plays the Sicilian. I prepared some sharp lines in the Najdorf, only for my opponent to play into a very pleasant Sveshnikov. (Lasker-Pelikan variation) I was able to accrue and advantage of ~+1, but agreed to a draw, despite my opponent having less than 5 minutes on the clock, in a worse position. (The time control for the first four rounds was g60d5, so he had no way to gain more time.) This is a decision that haunts me a little bit.
2.5/3
Round 4 https://lichess.org/study/RZKlx9NW/Qn35kO7c#0 My opponent played the most boring English imaginable, but got caught up in some tactics in the center of the board. This was a pretty easy win to round out the day.
3.5/4
Round 5 https://lichess.org/study/RZKlx9NW/Qn35kO7c#0 Round 5 was an absolute rollercoaster. I played much too fast in the opening, and my position quickly soured (it was +2 and i had made multiple king moves by move 14!). I somehow managed to hang on, and my opponent allowed a draw in time pressure. Then, I made a critical blunder in an opposite colored bishop endgame, allowing a win! He didn’t see it, however, and went on to draw the game.
4/5
Round 6 https://lichess.org/study/RZKlx9NW/Qn35kO7c#0 Round 6 will also go on to haunt me. I was pretty much done with chess at the time, and very tired, so I was blitzing out moves. I blundered an exchange, and was dead lost out of the opening. I managed to hold on until we reached an equal endgame, where we drew pretty quickly. In retrospect, I probably could have pushed on with decent chances due to my opponent’s soft b pawn, which frustrates me. It’s pretty clear I need to work on my mental fortitude during these tournaments.
4.5/5
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