Another L
The Jays and I were both handed a tough loss last night (ha). Some of my bad play might have been related to listening to the ballgame through headphones as I played - but it does just come down to some poorly considered moves. After e4 e5 I usually want to play a Scotch, since it's one of the few openings that I know (very little) about, but in this case, Eli played 3...d5, which I wasn't quite sure how to handle, although I recognized something *kinda* like the Qxd8 theme from the variation where Black plays 3...d6 (see game). This game is probably a perfect example of how not to use feeble opening knowledge, actually. So, though I managed not to make any big blunders until late in the game, I did surrender a few pawns along the way, and my opponent did a good job of continuing to whittle away at my weakening position. Unfortunately, unlike Jose Bautista, my play doesn't seem to improve with frustration! 
Here's the game, with my notes from last night:
I think that aside from the eternal novice lesson of trying to be more careful about safety and piece mobility in this game, there is another important takeaway from the last blunder. This is the second time in this tournament that my opponent has approached time trouble, and I have moved hastily in an attempt to exploit the situation, when I know full well that this is the wrong approach. I could've tried to complicate while still making sure that my moves were safe. A losing result, but a good game for me to learn from.
