Holiday Scotch

Happy to share a surprisingly good game I played in the DHLC Slow League last night. Surprising because I've been playing terribly in Live and OTB for a week or two, began by playing much too fast, and had the distraction of a Christmas movie AND the Leafs game running in the background. 

We had a Scotch - Lolli variation after 5.Qxd4 and I gained a lead in development and space towards the end of the opening. I think that maybe magicjed wasn't familiar with the Scotch, since he had such a long think after d4. Here's the game:

After 13.Rxe4, I was sure that I was at a disadvantage, but with more room to maneuver and an extra piece out, I managed to really squeeze my opponent into bad shape. Though it was really satisfying, I should not have been rushing in the early part of the game - eventually I did slow down a little bit and find some better moves. It should have cost me, but I think black made life a bit easier for me by putting his pieces into tight spots. I also note that the variation 8.e5 would never have entered my mind - maybe it's beginner logic to fear dislodging a center pawn. Different situations undoubtedly call for different reasoning there - maybe this is a good area to do some research. 

Well, to keep myself from getting too big for my britches, I'll also post this stinker from last week to remind myself of the danger of rushing.

Thanks for the games, and Merry Christmas everybody!