tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post8242417570748031141..comments2024-01-29T14:44:29.902-05:00Comments on Castling Queen Side: You Know You're Having a Bad Knight......Pollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-75017199418641808872007-11-04T22:33:00.000-05:002007-11-04T22:33:00.000-05:00Even though I lost, I'm not mad about declining th...Even though I lost, I'm not mad about declining the draw offer. It's far more challenging and interesting to play those types of positions out to the end. If I had accepted the draw offer there would have been the constant "What ifs." This way I got some time pressure practice in a game that wasn't so critical. Maybe down the road I'll have a similar situation with money on the line, and I'll pull out the win.Pollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-8973503514389132022007-11-04T01:26:00.000-04:002007-11-04T01:26:00.000-04:00I think you are being too hard on yourself for goi...I think you are being too hard on yourself for going 'pawn hunting'. It was an annoying pawn and its natural to take it in time pressure when you are playing by instinct. The real problem was overlooking the loose knight. Frustrating, but thats time pressure. And declining the draw was the absolute right decision IMHO.Naisortephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15558307655221738077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-66105391736140017282007-11-02T17:40:00.000-04:002007-11-02T17:40:00.000-04:00SP: I can relate to the having to resign because o...SP: I can relate to the having to resign because of travel issues. Had that happen to me a number of years ago. Not quite as dramatic as your situation. I just didn't want to be on the mid night train back to NYC.<BR/><BR/>GW: It's not like I never take draws. In the past before time delay I was notorious for making insufficient losing chance claims to avoid flagging in "won" positions.<BR/><BR/>Tempo: The only thing the draw would have accomplished was give me the same opponent I ended out playing in round 4 or playing one of the "usual suspects" that I tend to play almost every week.Pollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-70935342487194528772007-11-02T08:31:00.000-04:002007-11-02T08:31:00.000-04:00Accepting a draw when a rook ahead gets you rid of...Accepting a draw when a rook ahead gets you rid of a bad knight but not of a bad night.Temposchluckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07977208394417444785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-42526649840472416492007-11-02T06:20:00.000-04:002007-11-02T06:20:00.000-04:00I think my pride is such that I don't want to beg ...<I>I think my pride is such that I don't want to beg for the draw after dismissing it outright a few moves earlier.</I>Yep, been there.<BR/><BR/><I>He said bravo for going for the gusto. If you had taken the draw up a rook you'd hate yourself even more. He's probably right. That's the chicken shit way out to grab a few rating points from an 1800. I'd rather play it out and take my chances.</I><BR/>Indeed, Bravo!<BR/><BR/>Draw offers can be tricky. One I think I am glad I accepted is <A HREF="http://glennwilson.com/chess/2007/08/hcc-saturday-august-4-2007.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> against Larry Englebretson but we will now never know what would have happened if we had played on.Glenn Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06098720545929557126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-56736814713345563502007-11-02T05:09:00.000-04:002007-11-02T05:09:00.000-04:00I played a tournament game last year where I blund...I played a tournament game last year where I blundered two pawns but decided to dig in and at least give him a fight. During the course of the game he offered me a draw three times; the first time I was still down a pawn, the second time we were equal in material and the third time I had the initiative. <BR/><BR/>I declined all of them. We played the full four hours and the game had to be adjourned. The next day I was travelling from Sweden to New Zealand and strangely enough my opponent didn't offer a draw this time. So I had to resign the game. :(<BR/><BR/>I still think it feels better to lose a game but remaining a fighter OTB. <BR/><BR/>So bravo Polly! Keep up that fighting spirit and refuse the dead boring short draws!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com