Game 7

Opening – Sicilian defense (french variation)
1. After 7. .. 0-0 I missed the attack d5. At that point, I wanted to allow a king-side castle to avoid queen pinning, now that Re8 is available.
2 better options would have been e5 and Bd3 with protection on the pawns no the c and e files.
2. Instead of 11. Qb3 a better defense would have been Nd4. After 11. Qb3 dxe4 with a tempo on the knight on f3 and the bishop on e2.

Middle game
1. 13. 0-0 was an optimistic move. I hoped there will be no queen exchange since I felt I’m less developed. Eventually, this created a double pawn toward the endgame, which was critical.
2. Obviously, blundering the knight on 21. Ne4 didn’t help.

Points to take
1. Look for attacks in defensive situations
2. Dont be optimistic on evaluation

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Game 5 – Going deeper

From now on, instead of using the chess.com engine, I will work with stockfish, komodo, and deep fritz inside ChessBase. This will be more accurate and allow better analysis.

Opening
1. Whenever white plays 4.Nc3 after 3.Bc4 it allows 4.. Nxb4 and after usually 5. Nxe4 d5 and a fork, so good for me. The correct flow from white should be 6.Bd3 dxe4 7. Bxe4 and position is equal computer wise. However, I like it since it improves the black’s center and gains tempo, and it’s what my coach says :). Here white made a mistake.
2. 7. .. Ke8 is a problem according to all engines. I think that it keeps the king in the center and allows future pinning by Qe2.
3. 9. ..e4 and 10 .. dxe4 were a big mistake, where I missed 11. Nxe4.

Middle game
1. 17. ..Qf6 and 18. ..Qd8 were both blunders. Nc7 just waiting to happen.
2. On 30. Bb2 I missed tactics of 30. .. Qd2. If 31. Qxd2 Rxd2 and threat on mate in Rd1 with bishop hanging on b2 and black is winning.
I can relate this mistake to time pressure. I had 1:20 vs 5:24 for my opponent and I made the move in 7.5 seconds.
3. On 32. .. Qh6 white missed 33. Re7

Endgame
Eventually, I was under time pressure and my opponent wasn’t so I did many more mistakes and lost on time, even though I would have lost anyway.

Points to take
1. Remember Kf8 at the opening to avoid pinning,
2. Better calculations to maintain an advantage
3. Tactics and calculations need much more improvement, especially on time pressure.

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Game 2

Game

Opening
1. I am not that familiar with this opening, so I do not have a clear image of how should a final result of this opening looks in a way that I will be comfortable with. I was just winging it and it seemed to be ok at first.
2. I have missed the tactics of 7 Bxf7+. Having unprotected piece requires being extra careful.
3. 8..g6 is a problem since it totally messes the structure of pawns protecting the king, and since white still have light square bishop, this is a very big weakness.

General
Once black king was out of his safe place, I should have put him back to safety fast (Kd7), this was the only way to keep playing.

Points to take
1. Create my ideal position in common openings, not necessarily the accurate move order, but the final system I want to get.
2. Maintain king in safe place
3. Pay more attention to check sacrifices when I have hanging pieces on the board.

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