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This was the second match against an opponent in round 1 of the “Lower-rated Aussies 2021 Christmas Challenge” tournament. A few days ago, I managed to clinch a win against this strong player with the Grand Prix attack. In this game they played white and used the Ponziani Opening, something that I am not familiar with. What eventuated was an exciting dynamic and unbalanced game!

I think that both my opponent and I were in unfamiliar territory in the midgame. Although we didn’t play with perfect accuracy, we both played relatively well. We both made some errors, but these weren’t devastating, and neither of us were able to take the lead. At the time of recording, I’ve won 4 games in this round, lost 1, and drawn 1, and have two matches to go. I’m feeling hopeful that I could win round 1 of my group of 5 contestants, and move onto round 2. I hope you enjoyed this video, and thanks for watching!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/daily/374055743

[Event "Lower-rated Aussies 2021 Christmas Challenge - Round 1"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.12.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "pokemoth"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C44"]
[WhiteElo "1144"]
[BlackElo "1002"]
[TimeControl "1/259200"]
[EndDate "2021.12.23"]
[Termination "Game drawn by agreement"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Be2 Be7 6. O-O e4 7. Ne1 Nf6 8. b3 Qd6 9. Ba3 Qe5 10. Qc2 Bd6 11. Bxd6 cxd6 12. f3 d5 13. fxe4 dxe4 14. Na3 Nd4 15. cxd4 Qxd4+ 16. Kh1 Qxa1 17. Nf3 Qxf1+ 18. Bxf1 exf3 19. gxf3 O-O 20. Nc4 b6 21. Nd6 Bd7 22. Bc4 Be6 23. d4 Bxc4 24. Qxc4 Ne8 25. Nf5 Rd8 26. Qa6 Ra8 27. Qb7 Nf6 28. Qc7 Nd5 29. Qg3 g6 30. Nh6+ Kg7 1/2-1/2