Inspiration as preparation

Most players prepare for games by memorizing variations. I prefer to go over games in my selected opening, and try to observe tactical patterns and strategy. In this article I give an example of how such study can pay off.

For my game against GM Schwartzman, I knew a Classical French could be the battleground if I chose 1.e4 (I'm mostly a 1.d4 player). I happened to have recently seen a stunning Kasparov win in a line I don't usually play. It made such an impression that I decided to try to emulate it. Here is the inspiration game.