drunknknite
He was winning,
but he didn't see it
and I escaped - as usual.

-Levon Aronian

Easily Tempted

By drunknknite
This is the last game I played before I headed home in disgust. I play the opening with absolutely no ambition, allowing myself to fall very far behind. Then when I realize I am behind I succeed in fighting back only to be tempted into a very poor piece sacrifice. In the position where I sacrifice a piece I probably could have just waited around for a little bit and outplayed my opponent. He was lower rated and he had played rather poorly from the time he gained an advantage. But as I have done so often I force matters immediately and it backfires when I miss a mate and resign out of shame.



If you are wondering what prompted my sudden collapse at the end. I missed the mate after Rxd4. I thought I would be able to play c5 and c6 regaining the piece, but that is obviously flawed since the queen covers h2 and I get mated by Rd1.

This was really not all that surprising to me. After losing the first three games I was in no mood for chess. I was expecting to have a bye cause I was in last place (Sarkia had a half point). So I wasn't even really ready to play. Then I avoid the Marshall for some stupid reason and I just get myself into trouble trying to confuse him rather than playing good moves. At the end I really just wanted to see what would happen, but the sac is bad, I should have seen that. I really couldn't take a draw though, I would have been just as disappointed, so I tried to mix it up. Win or lose.
 

5 comments so far.

  1. chessboozer January 23, 2008 at 9:15 PM
    My guess is fatigue is the culprit, long drives and chess dont mix.I drove to a tournament in Las Vegas once and even though I got there the evening before, my mind was pretty off my game for the tournament, I ended with 1 point out of 5. Had I flown I would have been more relaxed and perhaps played better. Most likely when you play your next games and you are back to your normal routine you will return to your recent performance level of approx 2200
  2. drunknknite January 23, 2008 at 10:53 PM
    I hope I can return to my normal self, thanks for the encouragement. The drive may have been a serious detriment. I need to build up my mental stamina for these tournaments though because this section definitely requires that you be alert.
  3. Anonymous January 25, 2008 at 4:18 AM
    Everyone goes through crap and low periods. It just can't be helped; it's part of being human (and, yes, the driving may have something to do with it).

    Right after I praise your analyses and skill, the next posts are about how you go 0-4.

    Maybe I should start talking about how much you suck, then you'll have some better news next time?
  4. Polly January 25, 2008 at 9:46 AM
    Welcome to my world! Sometimes the mental fatigue just overwhelms us and crushes our spirit. If we can deal with the physical part (ie shorten travel time, getting enough rest, eating right, etc.) then that gives us extra strength to deal with the emotional and mental fatigue.

    Physical and mental stamina tie into each other. People may think we're just sitting on our asses when we're playing chess, but the tension and deep concentrate does impact what's going on physiologically. How many times have you noticed your heart rate go up in the middle of a tense position or wild time scrmable? I have found myself beathing hard at the end of a game that came down to seconds left for both sides. You have four games like that and you may feel as though you ran a marathon.
  5. drunknknite January 25, 2008 at 11:09 AM
    LEP - I was definitely due for a rough patch, I did manage to win my game last night but my game still showed some weakness, I was not my normal self, I was hesitant as if I doubted my own conclusions. I don't play another rated game for 2 weeks though, so by then hopefully I'll be back to my par.

    polly - true, although I never get in time trouble I still get a little rush when the game is on the line, usually more when I realize that I'm losing then when I'm winning. In this tournament the first game went well, but by the last game I just wanted to go home.

Something to say?