Montana Open 2014, Round 4

After achieving decent results from a few somewhat drab games on the first day of the tournament, with a win against a less experienced player and two draws against two experienced, conservative players, I was ready for a fight. My next opponent was sure to offer one. Guy is a tactical player who openly disdains closed positions, fianchettoed bishops, and the like. I had lost to him in January with the black pieces in a game where I blundered a piece in the opening, but managed to fight back to an almost even endgame, finally falling on account of a passed, barely supported d-pawn.

This time I was ready to play a better opening, as I had recently picked up the Chigorin for black against 1.d4, which suits my style much better than the normal responses. He played d4, I played the Chigorin, and everything proceeded swimmingly for about twenty moves. I was a pawn up for nothing, had a better pawn structure, and had eliminated his bishop pair. I was sure I was just winning... the only question left was how to do it. I have to credit Guy with playing very accurately in the second half of the game (actually, we were both pretty accurate, but he was better). He found the right plan, seized the initiative, and eventually forced the decisive blunder.