The rot started as early as move seven in the following position from a Scotch.
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| White has just played 7.Qe2!? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
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The engines suggest 7...a5, which advances on the part of the board where White is probably going to castle, and 7...0-0, which introduces the possibility of quickly bringing a rook to the half-open e file.
Grandmasters have also played 7...d6, which restrains the e pawn as well as opening a diagonal for Black's light-square bishop.
I played 7...Qe7?!, apparently putting pressure on e4.
But the pressure is largely illusory as, after 8.Bg5, Black should avoid 8...h6?, since White has 9.d5!
I had originally planned to continue 9...Qxe4??, but that loses the queen after 10.Nxf6+ etc.
Instead I played 9...Qe5, but after 10.Nxf6+ gxf6 the engines reckon Black is already lost.
The time control was 90 minutes, with a 30-second increment.
From my scoresheet I can see that, after 10 moves, my opponent had 65 minutes left, while I had 85 minutes.
In other words, despite being out of theory in a sharp position, I had used just 7.5 minutes.
LESSON: all the time in the world will not save a completely lost position.
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