A Tale Of Three Draw Offers

THERE were three draw offers in my round-three game today from the Highlands Open in Trebic, Czech Rep.

Black has just played 21...Bc8-e6, pressed his clock and offered a draw in Spanton (1923) - Lubos Svizensky (1937)

Black had been under the cosh for much of the game, and his king still looks a little unsafe, but the draw offer surprised me as Black's pawn-structure is clearly better.
I really should have accepted the draw, but after a long think I played …
22.Qc3?!
… and the game continued ...
22...Rd8
We both thought White had been threatening to win with 23.d5, but even a purely defensive move such as 22...b6 was fine as 23.d5? loses a pawn to 23...Rd8, the point being that the d pawn is pinned because of Black's back-rank mating threat.
23.Ra5??
White is just about holding on after 23.Bc2, as 23...Bxa2?? loses to 24.Qa3+
23...Rxd4??
Black wins after 23...g6 as White's bishop is trapped.
24.Qxd4
Also drawing is 24.Ra8+ Rd8 25.Qb4+ Ke8 (but not 25...Qe7?? 26.Rxd8#) 26.Rxd8+ Qd8 27.Bc2
24...Qxa5 25.b4 Qc7 26.Bb1 Qd7

Black has just played 26...Qc7-d7, pressed his clock and offered a draw

I decided to play on, hoping to somehow generate an edge thanks to the possibility of creating an outside passed pawn.
27.Qxd7 Bxd7 28.f4 Ke7 29.Kf2 Kd6 30.Ke3 c5 31.a3
Fearing that Black, not White, was starting to stand better, I offered (correctly) a draw, and was relieved when LS accepted almost immediately.
In fact the position does seem to be dead-equal, as Black's king has no way of penetrating White's queenside.

T Total Tim?

ROUNDS two and three at Bradford U171 saw me beat a 151 in 98 moves in a game I should have won much quicker but was lucky to recover after blundering my queen, and then I lost to a 159 after turning down a draw at a time when my opponent had the superior position but I had the greater arrogance.
I have drowned my sorrows this evening, but it is clear future success will need a sustained period of alcoholic abstinence.

Bugbears Again

LOST feebly to a 148 today in the 'Paignton' afternoon U180 after turning down a draw offer in a marginally inferior rook-and-pawn ending.

Bugbears Continue

FACED juniors in my two games today at the Berks & Bucks Challengers, beating one (1584 Fide/128 ECF) and losing to the other (1762 Fide/158 ECF).
That gave me an elo loss for the day of 12.8, and 28.2 for the tournament, reducing my live rating to 1946.8.
Once again my twin bugbears - playing too quickly; overestimating my position - played big parts.

Old Bugbears

PLAYING at the 54th Berks & Bucks Congress, where I have been placed in the Challengers, which is both Fide rated and ECF graded.
In round one I lost to a junior (1684 Fide/162 ECF) after turning down two draw offers, and in round two beat a player with neither a rating nor a grade.
The common theme of both of today's games, from my perspective, is that of playing too quickly and hugely overestimating my position for most of the time.
I keep telling myself to correct these bugbears, especially the former, which, in theory, should be easily corrected, but they persist.
The round-one debacle has cost me 16 rating points, knocking my "live" rating down to 1959.