Board 1:
10… Ka5 would have been the more active move. Instead, I played Kce7 to have a defensive stance. The rest of the game was defending in similar fashion.

Board 2:
Black can try to win a pawn with 9… Ne4:, but after e.g. 10 Be7:, Nc3: 11 Qh5, g6; 12 Qc5 that will go wrong. Draw on Black’s proposal. After 21 Bd3, Nc5; 22 Bc2, Tab8 Black can be even slightly better.

Board 3:
Saturday april 5th I played with black an aljechin defense. In the opening my opponent
played an inaccurate move. I could have won bishop against rook and although I looked at it, I missed it when the chance occurred. But instead I played the next best thing and I won a pawn. What I didn’t see immediately was, that I could win another pawn (I saw it only after I won the first pawn) but naturally I took the second pawn as well. My opponent sacrificed a third pawn and accessed my pawnstructure with rook and knight.
He even created a dangerous looking freepawn. By doing so, he won 1 pawn back, but I managed to win the freepawn with my king and a few moves later he resigned.

Board 4:
I played with the white pieces, and the game started out in a calm, balanced way. There was an early queen trade, which led to a maneuvering phase where I held firm control over the center. At that point, I was preparing for a central breakthrough with my e3-pawn — aiming to push it all the way to e6. That plan looked promising during the game, but in hindsight, it turned out to be premature. Black chose an aggressive pawn push on the queenside, advancing the a-pawn all the way to a3. I should have responded with a3 or a4 myself to neutralize the threat, but instead, I remained focused on breaking open the center. That gave Black the opportunity to put pressure on some weaknesses in my position, especially with his fianchettoed bishop on g7. I also should’ve brought my rook from a1 to the center before pushing the e-pawn. That would’ve supported the breakthrough more effectively. During the game, I felt like I was at least equal throughout — even when Black started to become more active. But the engine showed a different story afterward: Black had a clear advantage at one point, even a winning one. Fortunately, my opponent didn’t find the most precise continuation, and I managed to trade his strong central knight for a somewhat passive bishop. That gave me the chance to win a pawn and reach a rook endgame that was objectively equal, maybe with some slight chances for me. Unfortunately, I blundered a pawn in that phase, and the game eventually ended in a draw.
Looking back, I’m not entirely satisfied with the game. I made three notable misjudgments: pushing the e3-pawn too early, underestimating the impact of Black’s a-pawn push, and giving away a pawn in the endgame. And maybe the biggest lesson: my feeling that I was never worse didn’t match the reality on the board. That’s something I want to be more aware of in future games.

Board 5:
I played my favorite opening and got a little better but could not find a way to make progress. So decided to repeat moves.

Board 6:
10. Nc2 (10. Nxc6 Bxc6 11. Qd3 was better as d6 becomes very weak).
12. f4 (12. Bb6 followed by Nc7 would have won the game immediately).
13. cxd5 (13. exd5 Nb8 14. Fxe5 was better to open up the position).
18. Rc1 allows counterplay. Nc4 was better.
19. Bd3 (19. Rxc8 Rxc8 20. Bg4 Rc7 21. G3 would have put a lot more pressure on black.)
32. Rc1 is slightly careless. Qa7 was better to try to infiltrate the back rank without allowing a trade of knights. )
35. exf5 Re7: the losing move. (35… Rd8 36. Rc7 b5 37. axb5 axb5 would have equalised the game.)
It was nice to win my first game for the team, especially with such a satisfying checkmate after a long and tense game.

Board 8:
I started with the London System, looking for a quiet game. Ton quickly played c5, which in my opinion is the best way to counter my ideas, since it doesn’t allow me to play slowly. After 8 moves, Ton had a better position, but after his e6 I found a fork that put me in a good position with one extra pawn and some pressure. Afterwards, I managed to slowly build up a small advantage, until my opponent made a mistake taking the d4 pawn when it was still indirectly protected by the rook, which caused him to resign.

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