Vindicated after 19 years

I don't play - or think about - chess a lot anymore, and opening preparation is something from such a distant past that I can hardly remember how to do it anymore. 

Imagine my amusement when, last week, I played an important team game and all of a sudden there appeared on the board my preparatory homework from the mid-nineties in a sideline of the Chigorin Defence. 

Of course, I didn't recall much of what I had examined at the time, but it was enough to surprise my opponent. 

And so, my gambit was vindicated in a serious game after 19 years. It felt quite good to beat someone with an idea I had invented on the fly when I was still in college - and it felt even better when my team won and is now in pole position with one match to go.

Sometimes it's better to rely on your old knowledge than to try and prepare anything new. All is well that's well forgotten.