Nova Daily - 20 January 2025
Hi!
There's an idea that I formed while writing this blog. I'll think about it more and make it the theme of this week's recap story. But I got to this idea because of a new thing I tried for my daily training. I did a Puzzle Rush Survival prior to playing. I only have one Puzzle Rush per day, but I don't see that as a limitation. On the contrary: with my resources being more scarce, it increases the value of that one shot per day. I now have to make the most of what I have.
I decided to set my aim to making the first 50 puzzles with no mistakes. I failed: I only got the first 45 correct, and I ultimately scored 55.
I want to continue doing these Survivals as part of my training routine and pre-game preparation. It's good practice and it's hard work. And for calculation practice I will use other, more suitable means.
Today's game was a hard game. I didn't know the opening as well as I had hoped, and I got in quite some trouble because of it. I overplayed my hand and lost a pawn, and then I had to invest a second pawn to keep my position alive. I managed to complicate the game to such an extent that my opponent lost a lot of time, and he even lost the game on time in the end. An undeserved win against a higher-rated opponent, but I can take away one positive thing. I refuse to give up, I keep on fighting, and it can lead to positive results in the end. I'm a dirty flagger today, but with a 10-second increment my opponent only has himself to blame for the final result.
My thoughts during the game:
These light-square challenges against the English are some of the lines in the repertoire that I find hardest to learn because of the early tension. There is ultimately no way around it, so I have to face up to that fear.
Here is a nice game that stems from the same opening in which white shows how it's done: https://www.chess.com/games/view/13878475.
There's also an online game worth mentioning that involves the youngest GM in history up to this point, Abhimanyu Mishra. https://www.chess.com/games/view/16941205
Alright, sources. Bring it on!
My opponent played a great game start to finish, although he did miss the queen trap. I was on the ropes from the moment I left my repertoire, and I was very lucky to have escaped with anything more than a loss. Normally I'd be much harsher on myself, but I didn't play that badly either. Yes, I played a fair amount of suboptimal moves according to the engine, but several of the inaccurate moves can be justified by their practical value of making it harder for my opponents. Part of the reason why I haven't lost a rapid game in a long time is that I manage to create practical problems for my opponents even when I'm worse. I refuse to resign and keep looking for ways to keep the game going. Just the fact that my opponent flagged in this game with increment is an indicator.
What can I take away from this game?
1. I didn't play the opening too badly, but the line with 9.Nxc4 is very much worth the study here. The move I played instead, 9.Re1, was too slow and allowed black to overtake the initiative rather quickly.
2. As indicated above, it's worth studying these light-square strategies from black to a larger extent than I've been doing up to this point.
3. This 25.Rc5 idea is very interesting, fending proactively from the 5th rank. It might also improve the chances of b4-b5 coming with greater effect as the closing move c6-c5 is off the table.
4. There is one harsh point of criticism to my play, which is related to the above takeaway point. I rushed with 25.b5?, and there was no need for it.
5. There is a human factor to the game, and the objectively best move isn't always the one that grants the greatest chances to obtain the desired result.
