A good friend of mine from college pinged me the other day looking to play a little chess. He was interested in getting into chess more seriously, joining the USCF, playing tournaments, and even starting a scholastic program for the kids at the school where he teaches.
After chatting a little about the weather and Donald Trump, I finished my first of several Jevers and set up a chess board to do battle. I had assumed my friend would likely make some inaccuracy in the opening and allow me to win a pawn and then play casually without too much effort. I was wrong. I completely missed the move Qh3 and then again missed that after Bxd4 I could play Bxd4 because there was no mate threat, as the Bishop still covered the h8 square. What followed was a long and tortuous evening in which I suffered- down material- hoping for some tactical reprieve which thankfully arrived on move 23 when all of a sudden things didn’t look so bad for Black anymore.
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