Round three of the North Carolina Open
Round three will go down as one of the true heartbreakers of my chess career. I played a solid master and got an excellent game once against with the black pieces. I took the initiative with a pawn thrust on the kingside that lead to an exchange of queens. I offered a draw on move 25 in part because I was starting feel some fatigue set in and didn't see any breaks in the locked up position. A few moves later I saw the opportunity to sack an exchange, and in the process gained a pawn and connected passed pawns as compensation.
Unfortunately I played some very sloppy chess and blundered the lead pawn of the passers. I still was in good shape though and my opponent was under two minutes when he laid a subtle trap which I took the bait on. It was a big disappointment to finish the day with one point.
I originally planned on withdrawing so that I could concentrate on working with my students, but I really need to work my way through this one so I'll at least play the first round tomorrow.