Tri-State Championship @ Bryant Park XXIX (Incomplete)

Recap

Today I - attempted - to play in the "Tri-State Championship @ Bryant Park XXIX" - one of a series of tournaments held outdoors at Bryant Park in New York City.

It did not go well - we didn't get to finish the first round due to...rain. You read that right: a chess tournament was aborted due to weather conditions.

The organizers heroically tried to keep the tournament going as long as possible - even handing out free rain parkas to participants - but ultimately the downpour was too much and we had to call it.
In any case, here are the moves from my one game - aborted just as we reached a critical position (of course).

Analysis

As in most of these tournaments, I was paired with an opponent rated 300-400 points higher than me. However, I was able to maintain equality out of the opening. This is giving me some confidence that chances will present themselves if I continue my plan of playing solid, "non-quirky" moves in the opening, and continue to a careful middlegame.

In this game, my opponent played the Sicilian and so I played my preparation - the Delayed Alapin. However, he - moving quickly (I was down 50 minutes to 36 by move 15 or so) deviated from any of my known lines very early - so I had to improvise a bit, playing some sub-optimal moves (i.e. 4. Bb5+)

However, he didn't have any obvious lines of attack and just before the game ended - and the downpour was escalating - black blundered his knight. Unfortunately, I missed the tactic and made a lesser move. But it's still heartening that the opportunity was there.

Take-aways

1. Keep playing solid in the opening. Don't bother with "quirky" moves
2. In this U1800 / U1600 section, your opponents will eventually make a poor move or even bluder - just be patient.
3. Don't worry about being down on time. If your opponent is still moving fast after move 5, they are likely moving poorly.
4. If you see a combination - hunker down and calculate! If you have > 30 minutes on the clock, you have the time (and the time pressure will be non-existent if your investment results in a crushing position.
5. Always be on the lookout to trap over-extended knights and bishops.