Missed Opportunity

I had just changed my Petroff Defense to add a Gambit. With an opponent that I was not expected to beat, this seemed the ideal time to try it out.

Lesson learned: Never make an automatic recapture. Treat a capture like any other move and look for all checks, captures and threats.

My Best Win

The From Gambit is highly tactical and I was reluctant to use it against a highly rated player. Thus the Balogh counter-gambit with colors reversed. This is the first time I used it in regular competition.

My Worst Loss

To make matters worse, a win in this game would have gotten my rating over 1500 ... which I have been trying to do for the previous 3 years.

Lesson learned: Two things must be looked at after your opponent's move. (1) What does the move threaten? & (2) What has changed? If I had looked for what was changed, I should have seen that the pawn was no longer pinned.

My Best Comeback

This is my best comeback from an early mistake.