Paralaysis by Analysis
I got flagged (for only the 2nd time ever in 1200+ games!) in my round 2 game of the Leigh Hunt Memorial. I could easily blame it on the fact that were using an analog clock and I thought I still had 3 minutes left, while thinking my opponent only had 1 or 2. But this is a bit of a lazy excuse.
Before we get to the #1 reason for losing this game, let me share with you a quote from the intro of the classic book: "Secrets of Practical Chess" by GM John Nunn. 
"This book is aimed at players who are primarily interested in improving their results. If you are prepared to lose nine game in order to score one brilliant victory, then it (the book-CC) is probably not for you." This is the first two sentences of the book. It doesn't seem profound, and you may still think it's not profound. Sometimes you just need a "knock in the head" (i.e. Simba needed one in "The Lion King") to get you playing practical chess again. Let's get to the game, and why I needed the "knock in the head", as well some other important moments in the game.
Round 2
I spent 20 minutes to play the move 12. Qe2 because I was calculating the consequence of 12...Nxe4. The refutation is simple, if you are willing to look at simple moves. During this game I was too focused on trying to create something "brilliant" instead of just playing good, practical moves. Can you find the refutation of 12...Nxe4?
