Gaining space is restricting someone else
I won tonight at the Mainline chess club against a player rated almost 200 points higher. We were the last to finish, but this time the crowd around me didn't make me nervous—my position was clearly winning.
The game wasn't easy. Closed the entire game. I kept looking at the pawns and was thinking how I could break through. It turns out that the c-pawn was the key. What I need to keep in mind is that I can create a past pawn by forcing the opponent to take with the pawn blockading it.
I was able to play on both sides of the board because I wasn't restricted. This gave me a double sided attack. My opponent's queen bounces back and forth... unsure where to go. I had the luxury of slowly developing my pieces to better squares.
Restriction also completely eliminated his rook in the end—the decisive maneuver.
Let me know if you see anything I could have changed.