Patience.

I am eagerly looking forward to my first OTB tournament this coming April. With longer time controls (90mins +30s), I am aware that I have to restrain myself from playing the first good looking move that i see and calcuate some variations first. My aim is not to finish last and hopefully finish in the top half of the field, maybe even top 10 (who knows?) 

Anyhow, I just played a game in which patience and grinding were key to victory. I wasn't even up in material until nearly move 30 (just a pawn) but I knew that my position is winning if I just played perfectly without any blunders. 

It's good to mentally prepare for a long hard fight before starting a game of chess. Don't expect your opponent to blunder in inthe opening/middlegame (if they do, great! ) but keep pressing on, constantly playing good moves. And never be complacent! Esp when winning. Keep playing the best moves until resignation.

Enjoy the following game