A bad game
I played this game three or four weeks ago now, and should have blogged it sooner. But I was so disgusted with my play that I've been putting it off.
Why did this loss annoy me more than any of the others that I've posted? I think because the bad moves came through sheer laziness, leaving a strong feeling that I'd let myself down. Sometimes you miscalculate, or misevaluate a position, or choose a bad plan; but at least you are calculating, evaluating, and planning. This game, though, was lost simply by not investigating the position at all.
Explicitly, after 11. ... c6 my thought process went something like this:
"Obviously he wants to play ... d5. I don't really believe in that; start those pawns rolling and I'll just crush him on the kingside. Excellent".
And that's about it. I considered my opponent's intended move to a depth of fully zero ply. As soon as it hit the board, of course, I saw that I was losing material. Really, when you see what your opponent is going to do, you should give it a little attention.
I probably ought now to be writing that, well, at least it's a lesson learned and I surely won't be making that mistake again. Alas, I doubt that's true. Bad habits formed over many years aren't so easily given up.
Why did this loss annoy me more than any of the others that I've posted? I think because the bad moves came through sheer laziness, leaving a strong feeling that I'd let myself down. Sometimes you miscalculate, or misevaluate a position, or choose a bad plan; but at least you are calculating, evaluating, and planning. This game, though, was lost simply by not investigating the position at all.
Explicitly, after 11. ... c6 my thought process went something like this:
"Obviously he wants to play ... d5. I don't really believe in that; start those pawns rolling and I'll just crush him on the kingside. Excellent".
And that's about it. I considered my opponent's intended move to a depth of fully zero ply. As soon as it hit the board, of course, I saw that I was losing material. Really, when you see what your opponent is going to do, you should give it a little attention.
I probably ought now to be writing that, well, at least it's a lesson learned and I surely won't be making that mistake again. Alas, I doubt that's true. Bad habits formed over many years aren't so easily given up.
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