My Biggest "Swindle" EVER in a National Championship
Believe it or not, the following game was a classical chess match! The time controls were 90 | 30, meaning we each had an hour a half at the start of the game, plus an additional 30 seconds added on to our clocks after each turn.
I was paired up with the black pieces against Bataa Lkhagvasuren in the last round of the 2023 Korea National Championship. Being on a 3.5/6, I needed a big result in this one to finish at the top of the standings.
This game was a ridiculous emotional roller coaster. Around move 48, if someone were to have told me I was going to win this match I would have burst out laughing:
This game had a bit of everything. My opponent missed a tactic to win a pawn, followed by him missing a tactic giving me the upper hand. Then I cracked under the pressure created from his resilience, leading to a totally lost position. Luckily, there was no clear-cut road to victory which frustrated him. This in turn led to a drawn position; a fact he couldn't accept, knowing he had gifted away his advantage. He refused a repetition, and ended up blundering the game away in spectacular fashion. This full point earned me a 5th place finish in the Korea National Championship: Chess-Result Tournament Details
Takeaways from this one:
There are endless resources in chess. Don't make life easy for your opponent even if your position is worse. Stay objective about the current position (just because you were "winning" before, doesn't mean you're "winning" now). There are no sweeter victories than "swindle" victories. As always, NEVER resign 😅