A critical round at the 10th TCA Mega Open and a fascinating game at the 13th Bangkok Open

After winning the National Championships at the end of 2012, I had to take a break from chess as the January - April period is the traditional "peak period" for all auditors. As previously reported here, I was quite happy with the opportunity to push some wood in the TCA Mega Open and was fortunate to emerge as the winner after several hard fought rounds. Ironically, I rate my game against IM Enrique Paciencia as my best in the tournament and it also turned out to be my only loss from the tournament.

Thankfully for me, I was able to win a nerve wrecking final round where I was on the ropes for much of the game and only won when my opponent pressed too hard and unnecessarily ended in time trouble. It only goes to show that in chess, one has to be vigilant until the score sheets are signed and you cannot afford to let your guard down at any point of time.

 The 13th Bangkok Open is currently underway and with an outstandingly strong field of over 20 GMs and representatives from both Singapore and Malaysia, there is plenty of exciting chess to report. After looking through some live games, here's one which is bound to entertain, although it certainly didn't appear to be particularly exciting at the initial stage!

Junior and I will undoubtedly feature more games from this important event. Watch this space!