A GRIND in the czech benoni

it's more difficult than it seems to use a space advantage! Many opponents of mine can testify. This was played in a 10min rapid game where my brain was going ballistic, and I felt like I couldn't lose!

Important thing to notice - I never annotated any variation which I didn't look at too deeply. And notice how I never make deep calculations - Just a few moves in and analyze the resulting position. 

Granted, I'm no 2100+ chess player (yet ), but I feel like White misplayed their space advantage based on me just glancing through the game moves. The biggest reason I say this is because the side with the space advantage typically wants to keep pieces on the board when the other side might become cramped. Positionally, I don't like White playing 16. Nxe5?! because it exchanges Knights and opens the f-file for Rook exchanges. Then just a move or two later, White voluntarily exchanges pieces on e7. That is a lot of trades and these only seem to help the Black pieces remain uncramped I think. 

Note that White's locked pawn center really never moved - the space advantage doesn't mean much if they don't use it; space isn't as permanent as material - the side pressing space must use it as a dynamic factor, be it initiative or gaining more space. From my glance at the game, I think the White pieces let you off the hook here and that is why you felt like you "couldn't lose!" Positionally-speaking, I believe you couldn't really lose either

Yep, you’re absolutely correct. Although one thing I always forget is that in this opening trades are good, but I have some sort of aversion towards trades - I prefer to keep as many pieces on the board as absolutely necessary.

The aversion is probably because the stronger player typically wants to keep pieces on the chess board and maintain tension against an opponent more likely to slip somewhere. Of course, you must fight against the aversion if the situations calls for exchanges that favor you - such as suffering from a space disadvantage

Lol

the attitude I had, I can’t lose, is just probably because before the game I was super focused, and I know the extent of my calculation and assessment abilities so I felt like I could beat this guy, I just had to play good.

interesting

Difference is the all caps. What that means, I have no idea. They are either putting a lot of emphasis into that grind or maybe they are yelling it xD

With all caps, I’m saying I was tryharding. In fact, I took a long time for each move after all the rooks were gone. Each move had to have a purpose, or else I would get crushed.