Bullet Chess #5: Lucking Out, or a Strategic Victory?

There are instances when I feel that I'm the worst chess player in the world because no matter what I do, I keep making mistakes and losing games because of them. That's what they call a "slump". When you're in the slump, you don't feel good about yourself or about the thing you love to do. It becomes a burden weighing heavy in your heart. Even though you actually like doing that thing, when you're in a slump, nothing seems fun anymore. When you are reminded of that thing, it becomes a nuisance to you. I have been in a slump as regards chess before but I know that you are also able to get out of said slump, if not sooner then later. Right now, I don't feel like I'm in a chess slump. I don't feel like I'm in a roll either. I'm just at the midpoint, which is better because you get to cruise without feeling any highs or lows, you're just there, moving forward.

Anyway, I had a game recently that I wouldn't say is the best I've had neither is it the worst but it was just fine. I was playing White as you can see from the above illustration and as you may have guessed, whether from title or the photo, I won the game. It was a victory by resignation because when you are in a hopeless position, you would feel like giving up and I've done that many times before especially when there is practically no way out, unless of course, I'm way ahead on time and my opponent's almost going to flag, so it doesn't matter whether I flag him in a losing position, I'm not above doing such a thing. It's just online chess anyway. Of course, such things also happen in over the board chess, and I've also been on the receiving end of such an incident before. It was disheartening but it was also an important learning experience. Either case, I won the game.



I didn't feel anything special about the opening or the middle game, all I know is that I did what I felt was necessary or right at the time. At a certain point, of course, I felt that I was at a slight advantage so I pressed. My opponent also made some good moves but I didn't buckle under pressure. One thing I regret from this game though is the fact that I allowed his pawns to roll down the center of the board and that definitely put some pressure on me but I didn't crack despite the obvious threats. In fact, my opponent was the one who made a lot of concessions and blundered a piece in the end as you can see from the above illustration.

One thing that you can take from the game, I guess, is to have good timing. My opponent should have definitely kept the tension in the center instead of pushing his pawns as if saying, "Go ahead. We'll see who comes out of this alive." When in the end, we see that it was to his downfall. I guess he wanted to simplify the position and saw that his pawns in the center would be a great asset in the endgame and I agree with him except he didn't play it all that well so I was able to get away with the win. I was pretty glad about my move Bh5 until I saw the computer's evaluation giving Black the advantage, so I take it back and agree that I should have taken his bishop first before moving my own. It all worked out in the end. But I shouldn't have let him consolidate his kingside pawns by exchanging bishops. That would have been a disaster for me had my opponent not made any blunders.

So I definitely lucked out with this game. But I'm not at all disappointed about the result either. If you pick apart the game, it will definitely show the flaws of one's moves but that's the difference between engines and humans, especially in tight time constraints. Computers can calculate large amounts of data and they don't experience the emotional and psychological pressure. But humans can find some of the most creative means to play the game. Nevertheless, I would have to admit that computers are right most of the time.