Last night, I played my first competitive games of the new season. As my game in the Horsham Club Championship was delayed, I played a couple of games in the Horsham Club Rapidplay instead. My opponent was Ben Toth and we played two games, one with each colour. The time control was new: 20 minutes each, with a 10 second increment.
The first game was an interesting contest: my bold thrust on the kingside looked risky, but I managed to emerge with several advantages: an extra pawn, a bishop against a knight, and one of my opponent’s pieces poorly placed. I succeeded in converting my advantage with some accurate play.
The second game was less interesting; my opponent blundered a piece early on and was unable to offer much resistance.
I give the games below with some notes.