May Standard : Round 1

Not a particularly good game from me.

Probably not quite in the mood, and distracted by un-folding events at the public Remembrance Service ( luckily more scary than tragic ) so faced with an highly-prepared opponent ( as I subsequently discovered in chat ), who was also 300+ points higher, the result was predictable.

It turns out that 10...a5 is a slight mistake, but recoverable with 13...Bf8 ( which I actively considered). [Note: apparently a5 opens the a-file for Black, but allows strong White play versus b7. Well, yes, that's what happened !]

However, I  didn't calculate my alternative 13...d5 enough, missing that 17.Bxc3 wins the e-pawn, so I am not level after Rxa5 as I expected.

(Does this mean that I only calculated 8-ply deep ? I think it does :)

The rest is fairly irrelevant. The intention was to bring both rooks to bear via the a-file, but it didn't work. An oversight on move 20 ( how did I miss Bxh6 ! ) sealed an already sad loss, and 25...e5?? was unforgivable !

I will say, that despite the loss, I think I reached the middle-game safely from an opening unfamiliar to me, so effort on planning and calculation is better than a focus on this opening.

Hopefully T45 will see me more focused, and playing more appropriately-rated opponents.