To Draw Or Not To Draw?

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My opponent thought he had a killer king-side attack going evidenced by his motions to another player throughout the opening. Yet, when the middle game was reached he had to buckle up when I captured a pawn out of the blue. While I thought this was a cute tactical idea, it turns out after further analysis, it was not so good for Black. Well, I was now up a pawn and my opponent was focused and no more neck slicing motions to this friend.

Then when we are about to trade queens and go into a rook and pawn ending he offers me a draw. I am pretty sure it is a draw but I don't like draws. So I play on. I not only give back my pawn but then I go on to lose the king and pawn ending.

Lesson learned: Don't trade down into a losing king and pawn ending. Accept a draw when you are pretty sure it is a draw and you don't have a clear win.

 

 

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My name is David Blackwelder. I started playing tournament chess at the age of 22. I have worked my way from the 1200s to a peak rating of 1844 (December 2021). Those are my United States Chess Federation (USCF) ratings. My short-term goal is to reach a rating of 2000 which will earn me the Expert title. My long-term goal is to get the National Master (NM) title at a rating of 2200. As an adult they say it is near impossible, well I don't believe that. Therefore I am creating blogs and videos to help other adult players improve their chess. Thanks for following me!