Premature c5 break in the Caro-Kann

So I lost my final Round 5 game of the 2013 Azroy Kandan Spring Open to Sid Anjilvel. We played the Advanced Variation of the Caro-Kann. I had a comfortable position out of the opening, after an early exchange of the light square bishops on move 4. But I think I was complacent in my approach, which resulted in a blundered pawn (and a lost center) on move 10.

Despite the early blunder (which I should have totally avoided), I think I took the wrong attitude towards the game. I was looking to equalize quickly, by regaining the lost pawn. And this only helped my opponent who tried to simplify the position by exchanging pieces. And even though I was able to regain the pawn, I was lost positionally toward the end game.

Instead, after losing the pawn, I should have played to my strength, which is to draw out the game in a closed position, and leave more pieces on the board. I think that would have given me more opportunities. By trying to regain the pawn, I merely accelerated the encounter into a winning end game for White.

London System Game Commentary

So I’ve finally prepared my commentary for my recent game against Peter Sibbald. You can view it here:

http://azroykandan.com/PeterSibbald.html#game5

I will now need to prepare against my next and final opponent for this year’s 2013 Azroy Kandan Spring Open, starting with my list of games against Sid Anjilvel. Our previous encounters have been filled with blunders, on both sides. My current KCC tournament record with him is 4-1, with my most recent game being a loss. It’s time for payback!

Playing the London System

A surprising win today against Peter Sibbald. After learning to play against the London System in an effort to beat Dave Gordon, I decided to give the London System a punt as White. And strangely, I was able to get a small advantage after Black took the poisoned b2 pawn with the Queen. Still, it wasn’t a decisive win, and there were many possible lines after Black had to sacrifice a knight for 2 pawns (to avoid losing the queen completely). I will annotate the game later, and add it to my collection of games against Peter Sibbald.

Playing against the London System

Despite my preparation, I didn’t manage to get a huge advantage against the London System. But it was a reasonable game. The first 7 moves were as I had prepared, but White surprised me with a Queen exchange on move 8.

With the Queens off the board, it was more of a positional game, but I had plenty of counterplay as Black. In the end, White made an error on move 27, losing a pawn, and subsequently losing the game. It was still a good game, and I learned a lot using the “Anti London System” response.