Enjoyable Friday Night Chess @ Thomson CC Chess Club

What Makes Tonight Another Memorable One?

• Sighting of old and new friends
• Interesting game experiences, again with both new and familiar opponents alike
• Post-session supper
• Discussion of the just concluded National Schools Individual Tournament (Rapid, for students) and the upcoming QCD Teams Chess League (Standard, for adults)

External link to the rapid and blitz games played:
http://view.chessbase.com/cbreader/2019/3/23/Game113097031.html

Positions I got it wrong

(I) Opening Phase in the Catalan

After 6...dxc4, I played 7.Qc2 based on it "feeling right". A safer way to play this is 7.a4 to discourage Black playing ...b5 to hold the c4 pawn. After which, Qc2-Qxc4 can be done under a more favourable situation.

(II) Middle Game Transition in the exchange Slav

After 14.Na4, I chose to neutralise the light square Bishop with 14...Bg6. It is not so good for White to spend time inviting White to just exchange off the Bishop. Rather, Black can consider alternatives such as 14...Nd7 to fight White's Knight on a4, or initiating 14...Bxf3 (although Black would have played an earlier ...Bxf3 instead of ...Bh5).

(III) Opening: The Semi Slav

After 10.0-0, I went on "auto-pilot" with 10...0-0. In a blitz game and in general, surely castling asap must be good? Wrong! White's pawn centre is too dominating after 11.e4! Instead of 10...0-0, the engine suggests Black to play 10...Nbd7 and respond to 11.e4 with an immediate 11...c5 to work on White's centre pawns immediately. Black must play actively in the spirit of this opening! 

(IV) Opening Phase in the Caro-Kann: Advance Variation 

After 8.Nb3, if Black wants to insist on achieving the ...c6-c5 pawn break, he must prepare for it with something like 8...Qc7 instead of playing 8...c5?! which I did in the game. Alternatively, Black can also consider making full use of the options arising from the waiting move ...a6 and consider 8...Bh7/g6 to make way for ...Nf5 to continue with development while exerting additional pressure over the d4 pawn, or take a more aggressive approach with 8...g5 (threatening to achieve ...g4 to kick the Knight on f3 supporting the pawn on d4.

Trivia of the Night

• No consensus on when / whether to resign, but mostly in agreement on the etiquette of draw offers. Most of my friends and I agree to disagree on when / whether to resign. While more of my friends subscribe to "Respect your opponent by resigning in a dead lost position", and even though I do that in my own games, I can accept the alternate point of view, "You do not win a game through resignation." More importantly, I do respect a players right and preference to play on in any position.
  
  But where the offer of a draw is concerned, most of us agree that "If your position is better, why would you allow your opponent to escape with a draw? If your position is worse, why would your opponent allow you to escape with a draw? And if the position is equal, there is no harm in playing the position out!" So essentially, there is no point, and no need to offer a draw! (The exception I can think of is when a player only needs a draw in the final round of the tournament.)
  
  Personally, even though there is nothing against the laws of chess when a player in a worse position initiates a draw offer (so long as he/she does not harass the opponent with ridiculous draw offers), with the exception of team tournaments, I do make it a point to only offer a draw when I am better off. Like one of this evening's game, I had a pawn on the h-file against a lone King. The opponent knows the endgame and hinds his King in the corner. There's nothing I can do to make progress, so I offer a draw. Speaking of which, I recall my encounter with a young local CM in my debut standard chess tournament. I was down a pawn in a Bishop of opposite colour endgame. Rather than pestering my opponent for a draw, I just allowed him to keep pressing and attacking until he gave up on his own and offered me a draw. To date, we still respect each other very much when we meet in tournaments.

• Why do some players psyche themselves to lose when they play against their own friends / players they know in person, before the game even starts? Even though I'm a firm believer of "matchup" in chess (i.e. Based on what you know about your opponent, steer the game away from his/her comfort zone. As far as possible, bring the game towards your own turf instead. But having said that, at such beginner/club level like myself, the time is better spent on playing / studying instead of studying the opponent.), I feel that this is more of one's own problem to solve.
  
  If I'm playing against a friend, I will tell myself that in the worst case scenario, any wins/losses of rating points would be in good hands ^o^
  If I'm playing against a stronger opponent, I will treat it as an opportunity for a free lesson. (You need to pay to play training games against titled players, so why not get a free training game in the tournament you're playing in?)
  Above all, I like my attitude in treating all my opponents the same, in that I try to play my best every game. In this way, there's no regrets after the game, and no excuses whenever I lose!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing (Eugene)

a.k.a. newbie_learner

Siglap South CC Chess Quartet

P.S. Do note that due to renovations, the last session at Thomson CC Chess Club will be on next Friday, 29 Mar 2019. From April 2019 onwards, all sessions will be held at Classroom 4 in Bishan East CC (The same CC where the Singapore Chess Federation) is located.