Longest break from chess in 30 years | CHESS AT THE BAG OF CATS

I had not played a tournament game in three months when the Swedish Team Championship started last weekend, which meant coming back from my longest break from chess since 1993. My team, Växjö SK, played in the second league last year, and we won it, and thus we are back in the top group, “Elitserien”. In the first round we played against Wasa SK, and I managed to win with White against Nikita Meshkovs. After the game there were quite a few who expressed the opinion that the game looked very smooth on my part. Well, it was not. Judge for yourselves:

   [Event "Elitserien"]  [Site "Norrköping"]  [Date "2023.10.14"]  [Round "1"]  [White "Hillarp Persson, Tiger"]  [Black "Meshkovs, Nikita"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "E35"]  [WhiteElo "2497"]  [BlackElo "2540"]  [EventCountry "SWE"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 {Not having played for such a long time,  I decided to play a safe and rather unambitious line. Let's see how long I  managed to stay true to that intention...} d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O  {This surprised me, and i vaguely remembered that it is has proven to be  better than once thought. Fifteen years ago this move was almost never played.}  (7... Nc6 8. e3 g5 9. Bg3 h5 {is very fashionable, and not at all bad.}) 8. e3  Re8 $5 {Now I was truly out of my preparation, and I only remembered that Nf3  was supposed to be the best move. But, what about long castling. I could argue  that the bishop is not too well placed on b4. Can I not?} 9. O-O-O $6 {While I  calculated various lines, my mind started to wander, and I lost track of what  I had looked at, and what I had not looked at. I remember thinking; "I must  check what happens after Bxc3, followed by a5 and Na6", but I did not.} (9. Nf3  c5 10. dxc5 Nbd7 11. Bd3 (11. Nd4) 11... Qa5 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. O-O Bxc3 14.  Qxc3 Qxc3 15. bxc3 Be6 16. Nd4 {is marginally better for White.}) 9... c6 $6 ({  Indeed} 9... Bxc3 $1 10. Qxc3 a5 $36 {is one of many ways that Black can get a  very good game. After ...c6, my position makes much more sense, partly since  h6 weakens Black's kingside, and partly because it is not so clear that the  bishop is great on b4. If the bishop was on e7, it would be a normal Carlsbad.}  ) 10. Bd3 Nbd7 (10... Bxc3 11. Qxc3 a5 {is still very find for Black.}) (10...  b5 $5 11. Nf3 Be7 12. Ne5 Ng4 13. Bxe7 $6 (13. Bh7+ Kf8 14. Bg3 Nxe5 15. Bxe5  Nd7 16. f4 Nb6 17. Rdf1 b4 18. Ne2 Nc4 19. Rf3 Bh4 $1 $15 {[%cal Rf3g3,Gh4g3]})  13... Qxe7 14. Nxg4 Bxg4 15. Rde1 a5 {is much better for Black that I  understood during the game.}) 11. Nge2 {Now I was very happy. In the olden  days, such a position was supposed to be find for White, even if Black's  bishop was on e7, but here the engine took me out of my delusion, pointing out  that Black is still slightly better after 11...Be7 (giving me a whole tempo  compared to the position I used to aim for, with White).} Qa5 $6 {The queen is  not well placed here.} (11... Be7 12. Kb1 b5 {, followed by Nd7-b6-c4, gives  Black a solid initiative.}) (11... a5 $5) 12. Kb1 b5 13. h3 $2 {Too slow. I am  slightly ashamed of not playing the obvious:} (13. g4 $1 Nxg4 14. Rhg1 Ngf6 15.  e4 $1 (15. Rg2 Bf8 16. Rdg1 {, and did not see an obvious reason why I should  be better off. The engine believes White to be winning... Nf4, followed by Bg6,  or Ng3-f5, are both hard to defend against. In the mean time, Black is far  from having a real attack. A terrible misjudgement from my side. I blame those  three months. Schhh! I heard what you thought.}) 15... dxe4 (15... Bxc3 16. e5  $1) 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. Bxe4 {and suddenly it becomes obvious that Black's  position is falling apart:} Qc7 18. f3 $5 {and with Ne2-g3-f5 coming next,  Black is completely lost.} (18. Ng3 Qf4 19. Bxc6 {also wins for White.})) 13...  Be7 14. Nc1 {My plan is to take control of the dark squares on the queenside.  Everything else is secondary.} Bb7 15. Bf5 Qd8 16. Nd3 a5 17. Rc1 $6 {I had no  idea how to evaluate this position during the game. "Black is better", Black  is winning", or "White is better" all sounded equally plausible. The engine  leans towards a slight advantage for Black. This is just the kind of position  I like to play! Living through uncertainty.} (17. g4 $1 g6 18. Bxf6 (18. Bxg6  fxg6 19. Nf4 Nf8 20. Nxg6 Nxg6 21. Qxg6+ Kh8 {and White will eventually suffer  the wrath of Black extra minor piece.}) 18... Bxf6 19. Bxd7 Qxd7 20. Nc5 Qe7  21. Ne2 $132) 17... a4 18. Bxd7 Nxd7 (18... Qxd7 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. a3 Be7 21.  Na2 {[%cal Gd3c5,Ga2b4,Gd3e5] and Black's prospects are rather bleak, as I get  to show my idea at its best.}) 19. Bxe7 Rxe7 (19... Qxe7 $1 20. a3 Rec8 (20...  Nb6 21. Na2 Nc4 22. Nab4 $16) 21. Na2 Rc7 22. Qd2 c5 23. Rhd1 c4 24. Ndb4 Nb8  25. Nc3 {This seems like a nightmarish position for Black, but it is not easy  to win it without giving Black activity.}) 20. Ne2 Nb6 {The engine believes  White to be much, much better now.} 21. Qc3 Nc4 22. g4 {Even here I was not  sure if i was better, as I feared that f7-f5 would make a mess of things.  Still, if Black is unable to create a mess, and I manage to occupy the dark  squares, then my chances should be preferred.} Bc8 23. Qb4 $6 {I was down to  about a minute here, and did not play the best moves.} (23. Nef4 $1 f5 24. Rcg1  Re4 25. Nc5 $14) 23... Rea7 ({I was right to fear} 23... f5 $1 {, and this was  the time and place for it. After} 24. Rcg1 fxg4 25. hxg4 Rf7 26. Nef4 Qf6 27.  Ka1 g5 28. Nh5 Qe6 {, I must find} 29. a3 Qe4 30. Qc3 Bxg4 31. Ne5 {with a  balanced mess.}) 24. Nef4 Qf6 25. Ka1 Qh4 26. Rcg1 Bd7 27. Qe1 Be8 28. Nc5 b4  29. Rg3 Rb8 30. Nfd3 b3 31. a3 {Now my king is truly safe, but evey time I  open up the position, I will have to watch my first rank.} Ra5 32. Rhg1 Qe7 33.  h4 g6 34. h5 g5 35. Qc3 Ra7 36. Re1 Qd6 37. e4 f6 38. e5 Qf8 39. f4 {I was  down to my last seconds, and did not find the strongest move. Now Black almost  gets back in the game.} (39. Rf3 $1 Rf7 40. e6 Ra7 41. Ne5 $18) 39... fxe5 40.  dxe5 gxf4 $2 (40... Rb5 $1 {would have forced me to play with great precision:}  41. Qd4 Raa5 42. fxg5 Rxc5 43. e6 hxg5 44. e7 Qg7 45. Qf2 $3 Nxb2 46. Qf8+ $1  Kh7 (46... Qxf8 47. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 48. Rf3+ Bf7 49. Nxc5 Rxc5 50. Kxb2 $18) 47.  Nxc5 Rxc5 48. Rf3 Rc2 49. h6 Qg6 50. Ref1 Nc4 51. Rf7+ Bxf7 52. Rxf7+ Qxf7 53.  Qxf7+ Kxh6 54. Qf6+ Kh7 55. Qf5+ Kh6 56. e8=Q Ra2+ 57. Kb1 Nxa3+ 58. Kc1 b2+  59. Kd1 b1=Q+ 60. Qxb1 Nxb1 61. Qxc6+ {and White is winning. Easy-peasy (not).}  ) 41. Rf3 Rb5 42. Rxf4 Qe7 43. Rxc4 (43. Qd4 {is even better.} Raa5 44. Ref1  Rxc5 45. Rf8+ Qxf8 46. Rxf8+ Kxf8 47. Nxc5 $18) 43... dxc4 44. Qxc4+ Qf7 45. e6  Qf3 46. e7+ Qf7 47. Qe4 Qf6 48. Qe3 $1 Qg5 49. Qe6+ Kg7 50. Qd6 Qd5 51. Qd8 (  51. Ne6+ Kh7 52. Qd8 $18) 51... Qf7 52. Ne6+ (52. Qd4+ Kg8 53. Ne4 Rxe7 54.  Nf6+ {wins.}) 52... Kh7 53. Ndf4 $4 {Now Black gets a chance to save the game,  but he was in time trouble, and did not dare to take the pawn.} Rd5 $4 (53...  Qxe7 54. Qxe7+ (54. Qd3+ Kg8 55. Ng6 Qf6 {defends.}) (54. Nf8+ Qxf8 55. Rxe8  Qxf4 56. Rh8+ Kg7 57. Qg8+ Kf6 58. Qd8+ Kg7 $11) 54... Rxe7 55. Ng5+ hxg5 56.  Rxe7+ Bf7 57. Rxf7+ Kg8 58. Rf6 gxf4 59. Rxf4 Rd5 60. Rf1 Rd2 61. Rg1 Kg7 62.  g5 Rh2 63. h6+ Kg6 64. Kb1 c5 65. Kc1 Rc2+ $11) 54. Nxd5 cxd5 55. Nc7 Qf2 56.  Rb1 Bf7 57. e8=Q Bxe8 58. Nxe8 Qc2 59. Nf6+ Kg7 60. Nd7 Qf2 61. Qe7+ Qf7 62.  Qe5+ Kh7 63. Nf6+ Kh8 64. Nxd5+ {and Black resigned. A happy ending to my  three month reluctant hiatus from chess.} 1-0

My team managed to draw the match, and also in the second round we drew against Stockholms SS, a team that was stronger than us on paper. In the third round we played against last years winners, and we got properly creamed, with 6-2. Still a good start to the season for us.