Agree completely, we need some tournaments to liven this place up.
Here are my games from last night, in the order they were played. Overall I thought things went ok, but there were definitely some glaring errors. All of these games were played at the time controls of G/30'+5" delay per move. I often get into time trouble in these games so I definitely miss some things. Not making excuses, just saying. I haven't looked at the games too in depth yet, but I'll post a few thoughts.
Game 1 - TexAg06 vs. 1768 - http://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game...r.php?id=67225
I had never seen this opening before starting with 4...cxd4 and mentally I was getting ready for a mainline Tarrasch. According to Chessbase 11, the best move is 5.Qa4+, which scores better than the move I played. At the time I was already out of book and thought this looked reasonable. The first place I really deviated from theory was with 10.0-0-0. The most common move there is 10.Rc1, but during the game I liked the idea of the quick castle.
21...b5 was black's glaring error. The game was pretty even before that, although black's knight on h6 will be tough to get into the game. Still tough for white to force anything though, given the lack of imbalances. Anyway, I'll take the blunder
Game 2 - 2305 vs. TexAg06 - http://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game...r.php?id=67226
Panov-Botvinnik variation of the Caro. White's 10.Be3 isn't the best move. In this line, the bishop belongs on d2 to leave the e-file open for the queen and rooks. Not the most accurate way to play. I think I started to go wrong with 15...Bb7 instead of 15...Be4. I thought I could make something happen on the kingside, but really I should have traded off the light-squared bishop to a) weaken the hanging pawns, and b) reduce white's attacking potential. I don't know what I was thinking. The last portion of the game saw me trying to stir some things up in time trouble with tactical complications, but to no avail. White played really well.
Game 3 - TexAg06 vs. 1580 -
http://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game...r.php?id=67228
I have to admit, I played this game pretty sloppily, certainly not one of my better efforts. I don't know why I played 12.Be3. I've played this variation before and know 12.Ba3 is the main line.
24.Rxd7 wasn't necessary but I thought the light squared bishop would be powerful and unopposed. I was already up the exchange, so giving it back for a pawn isn't a big deal. Controlling the c8 square was nice.
33.Rxb6 is pretty sloppy and awful, getting to an opposite colored bishop endgame. Luckily black played it poorly, but I don't know what I was thinking there. I was low on time, but I know better than that. No excuses for playing that way. Oh well, a win is a win.
Game 4 - 1802 vs. TexAg06 -
http://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game...r.php?id=67229
I was pretty content with how I played the opening and middlegame up to move 24. There I should have played 24...Nxa3. It's a simple tactic and I don't know why I overlooked it. Time was running low but still, no excuse. You play positions like this one specifically for tactics like that, so to miss it is pretty awful.
39...Rxh4 was also better in post-game analysis. I saw it during the game, but was worried about my knight getting trapped on the kingside. The move I played wins as well and is much simpler. With no time on the clock, it was an easy decision.
All in all it was a good night. 3/4 is never bad, but it was just great to play OTB again. Can't wait to play in a standard time control tourney next weekend.
Two Plus Two
Linear Mode
