It maybe wasn't the best idea to give myself a points target over the next couple of games to reach a 50% score, maybe just focus on the process of playing good chess, but no matter how I tried to convince myself otherwise it was always going to be a measure of success for me. I sat at the board more confident after the performance in the previous round and it was just a question of imposing myself in the contest. I thought I'd chosen the 'ground' well, something to get him off balance yet suitably complicated to be able to get a result. Tiredness was an increasing factor in the competition now, for me certainly. There had been a couple of withdrawals already due to fatigue and talking to others I was glad I'd taken a couple of byes as they were feeling it worse than me. I've done you guys a favour too, you would have had 2 more episodes of this mince to wade through! Of course it seemed the youngsters there had their usual inexhaustible supply of energy, a distant memory for me!
https://lichess.org/study/rfhXdGS2/9kcKsCdC#1
Being drawn as Black again didn't really phase me, I think I can win as both Black and White (oohh get him!) and I do subscribe to the theory that being Black gives you more information about how the position develops (I think that's from Basman). Despite the relatively early simplification that I'd planned I thought it was quite a complex game and was able to gain a space advantage, outplaying my opponent from there. Once one of his pawns dropped the remaining pieces became even more active which led to another pawn and then a further simplification into a won ending, The overall trajectory of the game, the control and the process of transforming and converting my advantage into something tangible.
So, dear readers, our erstwhile Hero (or should that just be our erse of a Hero? One for the Scots readers!) has achieved 1 out of the 1.5 required, what will the last round bring?? The End, finally, I hear you all cry!
