George Trundle Masters Round 7

I must admit I was a bit nervous today. After a great start I stumbled a bit, first drawing a great position against Luke Li and then getting crushed with white in 22 moves by Steven. Suddenly I only had a half point margin and collapses are not that uncommon in my career. Added to that I was black against a very creative player. I saw many of Ben's games last night while preparing and was impressed by his attacking style. 

The tension left the game early though as Ben played too creatively with 11.Bb5. Although white is technically material ahead, black is in fact just about winning. The rooks do not influence the game and blacks minor pieces just wander over to the king-side at their leisure and mate. 

Meanwhile Steven drew quickly and Paul Garbett got incredibly lucky against Bruce Watson when the latter squandered a winning position. At one point he could have just won a piece cold but this was only one of many winning opportunities. So Steven and Paul are a point behind with two to go.

Next game is against the solid Singaporean veteran IM Peng Kong Chan who is so far undefeated. Gotta keep it together for another two games.

Hasta la pasta amigoes :-)