Stafford Gambit

Black's gambits are dangerous because black starts the game a tempo down. The Stafford Gambit arises from the Petroff Defense. This is the second time I have played it in rated competition. White makes 6 King moves in this game, moving to the B-file and back to his starting position.

My last 8 games contain 7 draws against higher rated opponents.
Lessons learned: (1) A recurring theme in my last games is being tired and thus offering a draw from a leading/winning position. Physical stamina needs work.
(2) My latest study regimen is paying dividends: faster play & quicker tactical recognition.

Confused Computer Analysis

A short turn-based game. It is interesting that Black made the computer recommended moves in a complicated position and came up short.

Lesson learned: Chess Engines need deep analysis before humans should take their recommendations as truth.

Budapest Gambit 3

The 4th round of the South Carolina Championship will not be posted. It was an early draw and an even game until the draw position. My opponent opened with the King's Indian Attack and I defended as black.
This game is from our club. It was played against the same opponent as "Budapest Gambit 2" and I did not fare much better.

Lessons learned: (1) Now I see why the book move #6 is better. It prevents the Queenside complications.
(2)Though my tactics have improved, they were inferior to a player of this class. Be careful when pinning a piece that can win somewhere else, it may result in a discovery for your opponent.

A Surprise French Defense

Round 3 of the South Carolina Championship. Playing against the Veresov Attack, after 1.d4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 Black is often surprised to find himself playing the Black side of a French Defense. This is the case in my game against a highly rated NC player.

Lesson learned: I need to study the French Defense variations that may occur in the Veresov Attack. In "A Ferocious Opening Repertoire", Cyrus Lakdawala said "In 2010, so far I have played nine Veresovs over the board and six of them turned into French ... Nf6 lines!"

Vienna King's Gambit

Round 2 of the South Carolina Championship. I am satisfied with my performance, playing good moves and keeping an edge on the clock.

Lesson Learned: The center pawn(s) need to be protected.

Veresov Attack

It was time to see if my new study schedule would show improvement, so I entered the South Carolina State Championship tournament. This is the first round ... a good draw against a higher rated, more experienced player.

Lesson learned: Tactical considerations need to be part of move analysis. See move #11 above, where I missed two choices when I did not see the offensive pin I could have utilized nor the defensive pin I moved into. Based on this and past games, pins may be my biggest tactical weakness.

Center Game

The club quick tournament did not produce any games worth review. Instead, here is an online game where my opponent developed quickly and was even going into the middlegame. Unfortunately for him, he made a series of errors which quickly culminated in checkmate.

Lesson learned: One little tactic will sometimes break the game wide open.

Fritz 12 Sparring 2

I did not have a game last Thursday at the club. An occasional visitor had driven ~50 miles and arrived after the pairings. I gave him my spot, so that his trip was not for naught. Instead of a rated game, I'll share another computer game (the analysis is Fritz'):

Lesson learned: advice, which I am trying to follow, from 'Chess for Zebras' by Jonathan Rowson
"If you want to get better at chess you need to place much less emphasis on 'study' whereby you increase your knowledge of positions, and place more emphasis on 'training,' whereby you try to solve problems, play practice games, or perhaps try to beat a strong computer program from an advantageous position."