Time is relative

I haven't been very active in the chess world lately.  Nevertheless, I tried to visit Chess.com daily to follow lessons, do some puzzles and analyze my old games.  Recently, I did registered in a tournament organized on lularobs Twitch channel at the rate of 1 classical game (90|30) per week.  At the end of the day, there is nothing to be gained except fun, new knowledge and skills.  This tournament will be a great way to practice in slow games where there is no rush and where I can take all the time necessary to study and calculate positions in depth.  This should contrast with the kind of game I played in the previous post.

The game that I am about to present corresponds to my first game of this tournament.  A few days before I played it, I had taken a few minutes to look at the kind of openings my opponent liked to play, so as not to be surprised from the start.  Ironically, I don't really remember what my observations were except that he seemed to enjoy playing the London System.

Self analysis

Before the game started, I prepared myself a bottle of water and made some space for a game that was likely to last for hours.  I had even decided to do some quick puzzles to warm up and activate my tactical vision.  For this game, pieces color was determined randomly and therefore I could not predict in advance if I was going to play with white or black.  After contacting my opponent and submitting the challenge, life decided that I was going to play with the black pieces.

For this game, my opponent decided to play 1. d4 to which I replied with 1... d5, thinking that I was probably going to play a Slav defense.

The most ironic thing in this story is that after my opponent played 2. Bf4, I realized I wasn't looking at this game the right way and I should consider my observations from earlier about his preference for the London System.  Suddenly, without warning, I had a doubt and my head went completely blank.  If it had been a whiteboard on which are written my ideas, my plans and opening lines, in a fraction of a second everything was erased.  I can still imagine the scene where my brain would actually be made up of different departments trying to communicate with each other:

• Control: It seems we are going to play against the London System.  Memory, what have we played against this opening in the past?  Do you have any suggestions?
• Memory: Euh, control, it seems we are experiencing a failure in our system.  We cannot give you any answer for the moment.
• Control: Hum, that's some bad news.  Intuition, what can you tell us about this position?  What do you have to suggest?
• Intuition: What?!? What is this? I'll get back to you control.
• Control: Health, I need to know the system's status.
• Health: Control, everything is fine.  The heart rate, breathing, reflexes, anxiety and excitement are all within acceptable bounds.
• Control: That is ridiculous.  We have spend 1 minute on the 3rd move and we still don't know what to play.  Is any department able to give the beginning of an idea?
• Evaluation: Control, we could get back to the basics: don't move the same piece twice, play the knights before the bishops, don't move the queen early, try to castle within 10 moves, etc.
• Control: That's perfect, lets do that.  Don't say anything to health or they will panic.  Tactical vision, do you have any comment about the next move?
• Tactical vision: Control, we are only on the 3rd move.  Give us some time to warm up.
• Control: Go team! If we take our time, I am sure we can do it.

After this move, my opponent offered me a draw.  I seriously considered his proposal.  I had ~20 minutes left on my clock versus ~60 minutes.  The material is equal.  We're getting into rook endgame with 2 rooks each.  In my mind, I seem to hear the voice of grandmasters or chess presenters saying that this is a theoretical draw.  Yet my pawn on c3 is so close to promote.  My opponent must now dedicate a full rook to look for this pawn.  On the other hand, I'm in the same situation where I have to dedicate one of my rook to the defense of my b4 pawn.  If I accept the proposal, the game ends here.  Is this position really a theoretical draw?  I am not sure.  Blast! I just spent at least 1 minute of my time to evaluate the proposal and I still haven't chosen.

On one hand, it's possible that this game cannot be won if played by grandmasters.  I am not one.  Should I decided based on what I've heard or what I know?  If the game is really a draw, then my opponent will probably be able to force me to repeat moves or simplify the board so that I can see by myself that there are no more possibilities.  Currently, there is uncertainty.  On the other hand, not accepting the offer could mean playing a bad move and losing the game.  Since my time is running low, it's not certain that my opponent will accept the draw later even if I ask him.  At the same time, does it really matter if I lose the game?  If one of the objectives is to practice, then here I have the opportunity to practice an endgame.  It would be ridiculous to give up now.  It was when I was asking myself all these questions that I remembered having completed the Chess Personality quiz.  One of the questions asks if in a certain position with little time on the clock, if as a player, I would be inclined to offer a draw or push for the win.  To this question, I have always chosen to push for the win, telling myself that this is the only way to learn.  This is how I came to the conclusion that I had to refuse the proposal and continue the game until its outcome.  Blast! Another 1 minute spent on the clock to convince myself to push for the win.

Have I always been so hesitant in my life when confronted with choices?  When did it happen last time and what was the reason? Oh no! NO! There is no way I am going to spend more time for existential questions.  Focus...focus...focus... what's the plan now, what move should I play?

Analysis with Stockfish 14.1 - Depth 18

It is time now to consult the silicon mentor and see what it thinks about my plans and ideas.

Strangely, Stockfish agrees pretty much with most of my picks.  I would have expected more mistakes considering that I didn't feel comfortable in the opening and middle game.

Tactic(s) / improved position(s)

Lesson(s) to remember

This is more of an observation than a lesson, but during the game, I had to concentrate several times to study moves and its alternatives.  I spent a few seconds here, a few seconds there to study and evaluate positions.  After thinking for 1 or 2 minutes, I was ready to make up my mind and play my move only to realize after looking at the clock that 5-6 minutes actually passed by.  So, I believe I have experienced relativity and may conclude that time flows slower in my mind than in the real world.  As a chess player, this is bad news.

After analysing this game, I believe that becoming familiar with the different openings is going to become more and more important.  At some point, I will also have to gain some confidence and speed in my decision-making process.  During the game, I still spent a lot of time for simple positions that did not require as much.

Une traduction française de ce billet se trouve ici.