This years Newcastle Open was a 6 round event. I don’t mind 6 round events but generally find that it is hard to split away from those players that are of a similar rating to you and it is harder to finish the tournament with a result that reflects your performance. This was the case in this tournament as I scored 3 out of 6 but felt I did really well in the tournament with 5 of my games against higher rated players.
In my round 3 game I came up against a much stronger opponent. I enjoyed the game and although I went away with the loss it was great to have the chance to analyse the Schliemann Defence variation of the Ruy Lopez as I had not come across this opening before (and you know how often I play the Ruy Lopez). It will definitely be an opening line I research further to make sure I am a little better prepared in the future!
In this game I thought there were a few attacking chances and therefore played very aggressively in the opening, only to find the attack was not sound. After I went down in material my opponent was able to hold on to the advantage and secure the win.