Lessons From Bad Bertrich: Keep Calm And Carry On

IN round one my opponent, Cordula Hinrichs (1683), was under the cosh almost the entire game.

But in this position I failed to play the winning 29.g5, preferring 29.Qf4? under the misconception I had to do something about Black's threat to capture on e4

After my mistake, it was Black to make her 29th move

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Black has two ways to prevent 30.g5: a) 29...h6, and b) 29...Qe7.

The former gives complete equality, according to Stockfish17 and Dragon1, while the latter leaves White with at best a slight edge.

However my opponent had a rush of blood to the head, seeing an apparent chance, after many moves of grovelling, to make an attacking move, namely 29...Bh6??

The game finished: 30.Nxf6+ Kh8 31.g5 Bxg5?! 32.Qxg5 Qe7 33.Qh6 1-0

LESSON: don't let excitement at the possibility of making an aggressive move lead you to omit the basic checks necessary to avoid blunders.