Mulhouse 2010 - GM event |
| Written by Administrator | ||||
| Tuesday, 13 July 2010 | ||||
 by Natalia Pogonina for her Chess.com Tuesday column Playing in strong events is essential for a persons improvement in chess. Also, one should have distinct goals and try to attain them. Thus, when I recently received an invitation to visit France and play in a GM-norm round robin, I heartily agreed. First of all, the average rating of my opponents was expected to be 2501 (just like my own). Secondly, why not try to earn a GM norm? Thirdly, I havent played against men for quite a long time (since 2007). The fourth reason is that I love playing in round robins. Probably due to a small number of players, they always have a special atmosphere, very cozy and nice. The tournament took place from June, 30 to July, 7 in Mullhouse, France. The field included 3 GMs, 6 IMs (all men) and me. Of course, the pairings had been announced in advance, so I had a chance to prepare for the games before actually going there. I had in mind certain openings and back-up variations which could be useful in one or another tournament situation. The first four rounds turned out to be the toughest: I had to face players 1, 3, 4, 6 (by rating, I myself was #5). The beginning of the event was a cold shower: only 0.5 points out of 4! Especially nightmarish was the loss to IM Yannick Gozzoli in round 4 where I failed to convert a technically won position. It is extremely hard to recover after such nuisances, but I tried to pull myself together and concentrate on the remaining games. No more chance to earn the norm (it was 6 points out of 9), so what? A master should have what people call a champions character, i.e. the will to fight until the end.
The outcome of the game was affected by my wrong decision at a critical moment. I felt that this point in the game was vital (and it is very important not to miss it!), but still made the wrong decision due to misevaluating the occurring position. Later on I had a chance to come back, but was too disappointed with my mistake and didnt take advantage of it. Never let your feelings overflow during the game! 
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