How I lost to a national master

In round 1 of a recent OTB tournament, I was paired against the top-rated player in the tournament: a 2100 national master who has faced Yasser Seirawan twice in tournament play (and almost beat him once). I didn't know how to handle the opening, but had a playable position until a mistake on move 24. After that, I lost quickly. The time control was 105 minutes with a five-second delay. When I resigned, I had more than an hour on my clock, so time pressure was not a factor. I maintained my perfect record of losing every game I have played against anyone rated 2000 USCF or higher.

Wow that’s sick and great notation! I hope I can play a titled player one day : )

Move 19 I was looking at c4