This is my third update for this LoneWolf season. You can find my first two posts about my games here and here.
Round 6
Preparation
I had hardly any time to prepare for this game, so I only looked quickly through the openings my opponent played most often and decided to play 1.d4 since I'm much more familiar to it.
The Game
Takeaways
I'm very happy with my play in this game, since I often over-press when I think that my opponent played incorrectly. However, in this game I knew my opponent should put all their pieces on the queen side and I played calmly and waited for the right time to break through in the centre.
Round 7
Unfortunately, something came up for my opponent on the day of the game and they had to forfeit.
Round 8
Preparation
I prepared quite a bit for this round with black since my opponent usually played some delayed Alapin line but often waited for d4. However, in the game they played the normal Alapin which meant that all my preparation wasn't relevant.
The Game
Takeaways
This was a typical loss for me: I want too much out of the opening, miss a good move by my opponent and end up with very uncoordinated pieces.
Obviously, I should avoid getting in such situations, but I think that I should try to get counter play at the cost of some material when I end up in situations like. Trying to hold on to very uncoordinated pieces usually leads to suffering and material loss in the end, so changing the nature of the game can give good practical chances.
Round 9
Preparation
I messed up the schedule for this game so I needed to finish it as quickly as possible. I decided to prepare a lot before the game (which was helped by the fact that my opponent always played in the same way) and try to catch my opponent out.
I got a lot of preparation on the (digital) board but my opponent reacted well and in the end I made a slight inaccuracy since I thought I had seen the move in a sideline I had looked at.
The Game
Takeaways
My biggest mistake was that I was in a bit of a rush when I played this game. I made a couple of inaccurate moves and mistakes where I knew the position was somewhat critical, but I hardly took any time to think.