Nova Daily - 22 April 2025

Hi!

Today I came to an important realisation as I was playing over some of my recent OTB games in my head. It does seem that my opening play has improved dramatically: in most of these OTB games I emerged from the opening with excellent positions that were borderline winning. Nevertheless, I haven't been winning near half of them. So what is now causing me to spoil my games?

One of the things that I think is holding me back the most is tactical awareness in the moment. I've lost several half and whole points because of this: in the face of my opponent displaying some activity, somehow I'm suffering from one moment of tactical oversight and allow a tactic that ruins the entire game.

With my chesscom rapid rating now having reached a significant level, these games no longer win themselves from a great position either. I actually have to work for it, and that's good. Whereas my opening play is still far from ideal or complete, I do like to think that I understand my openings a bit better than I did when I started this journey about half a year ago.

So, where to go from here?

I obviously still need to work on my openings as I go, and most of the games for this blog are proof of that. However, with my knowledge of these systems becoming more cemented, it's time to shift my focus to the things that are actively holding me down: tactical awareness in the moment, dealing with counterplay, and converting advantages. I already have an idea of the material I'll consult at that moment, and I'll write about it at the end of the month, when I'll have played 100 rapid games this year.

Today's game:

I have places to be today, so for now I'll present the game without my thoughts or annotations. I'll finish this analysis when I get home.