
My league games from 2022/2023
This blog was on hold for a while, as I had a lot of work with my students, the garden, the house - so something had to give way.
Well, at least I can post all my league games in one go, as the team championship has ended meanwhile.
Our team came second in the second division, and I became the second best scorer of the whole league (7,5 points out of 9), playing on the second board. Now the idea is to change all those "seconds" to "first": we want to win our division next year, I will be playing on the first board, and I will aim to be the best scorer of the league. (The latter feels pretty impossible, but there is no harm in trying, I guess.)
Here are the games. I have already posted the first one, but I will upload it again, to have them all in one place.
Round 1
An important win against a Croatian FM. Overall, a good game.
- Opening play & preparation:
Rubbish, as usual. I knew he plays this with White, but did not chose a setup during preparation, just made it up at the board.
- Middlegame play:
A mixed bag, some good decisions with mistakes here and there. 11. ... a6? is an eyesore.
- Endgame play:
All right. True, the endgame was not really challenging.
- Evaluation:
All right, I was mostly in the ballpark.
- Calculation:
It was fine, with some small mistakes.
Round 2
A win against a 2000+ player. A decent game.
- Opening play & preparation:
I could play my preparation, and remembered the lines.
- Middlegame play:
I don't have much experience with the Catalan, and it shows.
- Endgame play:
- Evaluation:
I overestimated my advantage after 20. d5, but otherwise it was quite all right.
- Calculation:
A bit sloppy, not enough candidate moves, mostly playing my first ideas.
Round 3
A win against a 2100+ player, who used to be over 2200. A good game, with some mistakes.
- Opening play & preparation:
My preparation worked like a charm, I got an advantage effortlessly with Black.
- Middlegame play:
Impatient play here and there (17. ... g5?), but nothing horrible.
- Endgame play:
- Evaluation:
- Calculation:
Poor calculation between move 24-27.
Round 4
A win against a 2000+ player. One of my worst games from this season. Ugly coffeehouse chess, counting on the opponent's mistakes.
- Opening play & preparation:
I did not remember opening theory, it was all too fresh from Marin's book.
- Middlegame play:
I am not familiar with the Leningrad, and it shows. A lot of moves with the queenside knight, a coffeehouse style attack on the kingside.
- Endgame play: N/A
- Evaluation:
I did not fool myself, I was completely aware that I was worse after the opening.
- Calculation:
Round 5
A win against a 1900+ player. Probably my best game this year.
- Opening play & preparation:
I remembered my stuff, although it wasn't a demanding line.
- Middlegame play:
Good decisions, quite typical Catalan play.
- Endgame play: N/A
- Evaluation:
- Calculation:
Missing a few fine points, but overall good.
Round 6
A loss against an FM, one of my childhood coaches, the highest rated player in our division. My second worst game of the season, and not because I lost, but because the way I lost. I had something like a spring fatigue, I was afraid of my opponent, and did not sleep well the night before. I have to figure out how to avoid such slumps in the future. Maybe a holiday in January?
- Opening play & preparation:
I got what I prepared for, but...
- Middlegame play:
...I was completely unfamiliar with the middlegame, and it clearly shows. That is the high price to pay for the surprise effect. 15. ... Na6? is so unprincipled, it still hurts.
- Endgame play:
Completely missed my chances, like 26. ... b5! or 42. ... Kf6!
- Evaluation:
I accepted too early that I was lost, when it wasn't the case.
- Calculation:
I saw and calculated very little during the game, mostly just played by instinct.
Round 7
A draw against a 2000+ player. My worst game this season, hands down. It is incredible I could mess up such an easy win.
- Opening play & preparation:
Flawless, I remembered theory exactly.
- Middlegame play:
Rather sloppy, not looking for candidate moves.
- Endgame play:
A complete disaster, impatient simplifications, then panicking.
- Evaluation:
At least that was fine.
- Calculation:
Very little, I just played my first ideas.
Round 8
A win against a 1900+ player. A decent game, with a few mistakes. Poor guy, finished the season with 0 out of 6 games.
- Opening play & preparation:
- Middlegame play:
- Endgame play:
Overall fine, except 23. ... Rb8? and 30. ... b6?
- Evaluation:
- Calculation:
Not too bad overall.
Round 9
A win against a talented 2000+ youngster, who trains seriously with a GM coach. A good game.
- Opening play & preparation:
- Middlegame play:
12. dxc5?! is not the best, but the rest is fine.
- Endgame play:
- Evaluation:
- Calculation: