Conversion is Key

This week’s article will feature games from the weekly Wednesday MCA Arena, which were played by Noah. In these games, Noah was paired against two higher-rated players, Wally and Sunkrith and he put up great fights.  At points, Noah was  completely winning, but lost both games in time-scrambles. One challenge of playing good players is that when they have bad positions they keep fighting and posing problems.  The next step in improving is learning how to convert these winning positions. 

Tips Against Higher-Rated Players

It's easy to feel intimidated when facing a strong opponent, but maintaining composure is essential. Remember, the rating is just a number. Each game is a new opportunity, and anyone can make mistakes. It’s useful to keep in mind that when you play someone rated a lot higher than you, you don’t really have anything to lose - they’re expected to beat you, so the pressure is on them not on you.

After playing against a higher-rated player, spend time analyzing the game. Identify any mistakes you made and try to understand what you could have done differently. This is one of the best ways to improve. Use these games as a learning opportunity. Higher-rated players can show you advanced strategies, tactics, and concepts that you might not encounter when playing against people at your own level. Remember, the aim is to improve and learn from every game. Don't be disheartened by defeats; instead, take them as opportunities to understand your weaknesses and work on them.

Trying to Convert Against a Much Higher-Rated Player

The first game was against Wally in a Scotch Gambit where Noah was able to easily equalize with the black pieces and even went on to a winning endgame. He was able to hang with his much higher-rated player for most of the game and even outplayed him until it was time for the conversion. One blunder derailed things. Check out the game to see how things ended up:

Some key takeaways from the game:

1. Choose where you spend your time wisely. Some moves simply aren’t as important as others. Especially in blitz it’s important to save your time. This is one thing higher-rated players usually do better
2. Even when you feel like you are completely winning you still need a plan, especially against higher-rated players. If you don’t have one you start making mistakes and slowly letting your opponent back into the game.
3. In a winning position, more often than not, even when you blunder you still have very good chances to win or draw so don’t panic.
4. Never give up! This game ended in a checkmate which is how all decisive games should end. Wally made a comeback by not resigning, and Noah made him work hard for the win.

Test Your Knowledge 

Try to solve these positions and then check out the answers in the annotated game.

How does Black stay in the game here (hint: sometimes aggression is the best defense)?

What should Black’s plan be in this position to win?

A Tactical Skirmish in the Open Sicilian

Again, in this game the players reached an equal position out of the opening, but here we saw a much more up-and-down game where the players were exchanging tactical blows until Noah made the last mistake. This is also very common when playing higher-rated players and we will explore ways to combat this. Check out the game here: 

Some key takeaways from the game:

1. Think hard before you make a capture to bring your opponent’s pawns towards the center. You can quickly be overwhelmed.
2. Having more central space isn’t useful unless you can push your pawns. In other words, don’t let your opponent set up a blockade.
3. Don’t assume that your opponent will auto-recapture, and don’t auto-recapture yourself. Consider all of your options: there might be something better than recapturing.
4. Sometimes when the opponent has very weak pawns that can’t be defended, it’s better to wait to capture them until you have the right piece rather than grabbing them immediately.

Test Your Knowledge 

Try to solve these positions and then check out the answers in the annotated game.

How should Black recapture? Or should he ignore it and do something else?

Which way should Black recapture? Should he prioritize king safety or capturing towards the center?