I got outplayed in the Master Simul! Two Impressive Games

For those who aren't aware, I've been hosting a "Master Simul" here on chess.com, playing over 100 games at a time against any challenger who wants to play, in support of my online chess community - Chesspathways.com.

Thus far, I haven't done too shabby! I have a score of 99.5/125 in completed games, for a score of just under 80%.  But of course, things haven't been all sunshine and rainbows.  I wrote another blog post HERE about some of my most embarrassing losses and blunders that resulted from juggling dozens of games at a time!

But not every loss can be blamed on a blunder. Sometimes I just got outplayed!

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Let's start with my game against @Zeitnot, a fellow blogger here on chess.com!  The game began with an Alekhine defense - black chose a very rare line, and I thought white stood better and that black became totally cramped.  A timely piece sacrifice liberated the black pieces, though, and I wasn't able to handle the complications.  Even computers were very impressed with black's play - and we all know they're hard to please!

Here's the game without further ado:

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Secondly, here was my game against @PawnstormPossie.  Faced with the prospect of a boring, symmetrical exchange slav, I took it upon myself to imbalance the position a little bit, but it didn't work out so well. After some miscalculations I ended up down a pawn.  The rest of the game saw me setting trap after trap for my opponent, giving him every opportunity to go wrong - but he navigated the tactical gauntlet perfectly and emerged with the victory. 

Some lessons from this game:

• When you have a bad position, look for any resource you have to turn the tables, or at least give your opponent the chance to go wrong! I may have butchered the opening, but I was really happy I found 22...Kh7! And the subsequent ideas to eliminate my backwards b-pawn. 
• When you have the advantage, don't take anything for granted! Keep taking your opponent's ideas seriously, each and every turn.  I gave my opponent every possible opportunity to blunder this game away, and he just wouldn't do it. Props to him!

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Thank you all for reading! It's not too late to challenge me in the simul yourself - just send me a Daily chess challenge here on chess.com! And don't forget to sign up today, completely free, at Chesspathways.com to never miss out on future events, contests, challenges, or content - you'll also receive our free "Move by Move Guide to Chess Thinking!".

(p.s. The ChessPathways Blitz Streak Challenge recently concluded, and within the next week or so I'll be announcing the winners, handing out the prizes, and showcasing some of their games!)