A Sunny Day to Walk Around the Chessboard

     Since i started playing in a competitive format I have only won a single game.  I have learned from everything so far and I continue my studies.  Tonight was a win in the learning column but a loss in the tournament.  This was a fight throughout, and fun to boot.  I felt the intensity in this match and it actually drew some spectators. 

     Before the match I knew I wanted to play aggressive.  I have been too timid in my short career and tonight I was going to change this.  I wanted to focus more on critical squares, which is something I think I am missing.  I was not perfect in that goal but I felt I was seeing the board better.  Another focus is calculation.  I have had trouble planning moves and seeing the opponent's potential.  For the most part I felt good about how I did in this game.  I saw some of the critical moves and I did okay in my plans. 

     7.h3 and 8.Bc4 were not great moves early, but I was able to fight myself back into the game.  I also know the rule about trading pieces.  When you have a material advantage you should trade pieces off the board to simplify the game.  I was down a bishop and pawn yet I felt trading was called for in the positions that were present.  48.Rxf6 and 55.Kb2 probably were the two moves that prevented earning a draw in this game.

     At move 43 I started to feel like I should offer a draw.  I kept pushing that feeling out of my mind because I wanted to play this out to: A. See if I could either win or draw on my own and B. See if he could prove his mating ability.  In the end I lost this game, but I have learned a lot during the match and in reviews since.