My Learning Moments - King in the Center

Hi Chess Friends,

I'm thinking of writing a series of posts about games I've played that have been the most educational to me, or have provided the best examples for my students. As great as it is to study high level games, I think that the emotional imprint that your own games make leads to much more effective learning. For each post I will cover a different aspect of chess that I've learned through my own play, starting with the concern of leaving your king in the center too long.

As a kid, it was games like this one that demonstrated to me to not be too ambitious in the opening, and to focus on getting the king safe before working on other plans.

Since then, I've become much more careful, and it takes a strong opponent to demonstrate my opening mistakes. In the following blitz game GM and current Tata Steel competitor, Loek Van Wely, demonstrated that I hadn't yet learned the Queen's Gambit Accepted well enough. See if you can find his winning combination.