Lats night, I finally played my delayed first round game in the Club Championship against Marian Trofin. After some poor strategic decisions, I fell into a bad position, but fortunately I was able to wriggle out eventually, and the game ended in a draw.
I was White. My opponent chose an inferior-looking defence to the Queen’s Gambit, but I did not find the best way to play against it. Following some poor strategic decisions, in particular heading a Carlsbad pawn structure when my pieces were not well placed to support it, led to me having a very bad position. My opponent continued to press, but was unable to find the most incisive move at several points. I too failed to find the best move on several occasions. When I started to run very short of time, my opponent unwisely started moving more quickly himself, despite having rather more time on the clock; this no doubt contributed to him missing some chances. In the end, my opponent ran out of ideas and offered a draw, which I was happy to accept.
I give the game below with some notes.