Durham Uni vs. Darlington 25/1/14

This was a friendly match we played last night, 6 players a side. Well, Darlington could only bring 4 up to Durham this particular time, which is understandable - it's not a trivial journey! So our top two players played each other on Board 1, and our bottom two players played each other on Board 6, and the rest of us played in order in between. I was on Board 2 facing Gary Dixon, rated 165 ECF (~1970 FIDE, 2000 USCF). The first round, I was White, and the time control was 40 minutes a side.

Obviously, I really enjoyed this game, a lot of adrenaline starts flowing when you get to play moves like 23.Nxe6 and 24.Nxf5. Chalk up a point for Gelashvili-style opening lines.

It's an interesting psychological effect - after winning that first game, I did kind of feel slightly subdued going into the return game. I think it's because you have to start again, and it's very unlikely this game will go as successfully as the last, and so you almost don't try as hard, unless you're careful. I've felt like this before after winning a satisfying game, and I think being aware of it helped me focus in the return game. Anyway, I was Black, and the time controls were slightly shortened to 35 minutes a side (We only had the room until a certain time).

A good game and I don't think I ever let the draw slip from my grasp here, despite some pressure from my opponent.

Overall, the match was pretty even, we lost the first round 3.5-2.5 but came back in the second, possibly winning 4-2 (not sure). A close match whatever the result though. Thanks for reading!