Opening: Vienna Game - Max Lange Defence

Nathan's Summary:

"It was a Vienna Game with me starting off with an early pawn advantage and then my opponent defended against my passed pawn. I reached an endgame up a pawn and managed to convert the rook and bishop endgame to a win."

Key Moment:

White blunders 52. Rxh7... a seemingly free pawn. Nathan finds the brilliant response ...Bd2!! which wins material and will eventually allow black's passed pawn to promote. 

Opening: Sicilian Defence - Four Knights Variation

Nathan's Summary:

"I had a disadvantage in the middlegame where I had a rook for my opponent's two pieces. I was down a pawn in a rook endgame where I had to sacrifice a rook, although I finally managed to draw as a rook vs pawn endgame."

Key Moment:

Nathan's second opponent also captures a seemingly free pawn with 53...Rxg3+ . Nathan's response 54...Kh6! is the only move to secure a draw being down a rook. Black's king is too far away to support their rook in capturing white's passed pawn or to threaten checkmate, meaning the game is slowly heading towards a draw by insufficient material.

Opening: Trompowsky Attack

Nathan's Summary:

"It was an even game until my opponent missed a tactic leading to pawn advantage in a rook endgame."

Key Moment:

White offers a rook trade with 27. Re5... hoping to gain a tempo on black's queen with the f-pawn after exchanging rooks. Nathan accepts, realising that after 28. fxe5... he can win at least one pawn with 28...Qxe5!! If white exchanges queens with 29. dxe5 Rxd3, they will be a pawn down with black's active rook soon scooping up white's severely weakened pawns on a3, e3, and e5.

Opening: Sicilian Defence - Open, Accelerated Dragon, Modern Variation

Nathan's Summary:

"Even though I had a time advantage due to my opponent arriving late, he was an accurate rapid player and he managed to draw an even game by trading off pieces."

Key Moment:

Black evidences their commitment to a swift draw with 14...Ba6 and 19...Bxe3 simply inviting and pursuing captures of equal material to push the game towards a theoretically drawn endgame.

Opening: Ruy López - Berlin, Rio Gambit Accepted

Nathan's Summary:

"A very even game until my opponent took my [pawn] sacrifice giving me a chance to stop promotion."

Key Moment:

White tries to force their queenside passed pawns through the blockade with an audacious knight sacrifice, 38. d5+ cxd5 39. Nxb5?? axb5 not realising that Nathan can play 40... d4+ to entice the white king away from defending e3 from which white's bishop can prevent black's a-pawn promotion on a8. Alternatively, if white plays the best move 41. Kf2 then both players can promote their passed pawns, leaving Nathan simply up a bishop and in a winning position.

Opening: Caro-Kann Defence - Exchange Variation

Nathan's Summary:

"It was a very tense opposite side castling game with my opponent gaining the initiative in the middlegame."

Key Moment:

After both players try to mount pressure on either side of the board, black finally blasts through Nathan's kingside defences with 22...Nh3+!! Black has overwhelming pressure on white's kingside, meanwhile Nathan's pieces are wayside - neither posing a threat to black nor aiding in white's defence. White stubbornly tries to hold on, but after 27. Qe2 attempting to relieve pressure with a queen trade, Nathan inadvertently stumbles into a mate-in-eight. Black sacrifices a rook and a queen for checkmate.

Opening: London System

Nathan's Summary:

"It was looking like a very even battle until my opponent allowed me to capitalise on their blunder."

Key Moment:

White tries to kick black's very active knight from the e4 square with 12. f3?? which falls into a forced mate-in-six involving a queen and knight sacrifice!

12...Qh4+ 13. Ke2 Qf2+ 14. Kd3 Nec5+!! 15. Kd4 Qxd2+!! 16. Qxd2 or Bd3 Nb3+!! 17. axb3 c5#

Nathan doesn't quite find this in the game (and with a double piece sacrifice who can blame him?) but does manoeuvre his pieces in such a way that wins his opponent's queen. White resigns here.

Opening: Giuoco Pianissimo - Italian Four Knights Variation

Nathan's Summary:

"It was fairly even until the endgame but my advantage gradually began to grow after making a strong knight outpost on c4 in the middlegame."

Key Moment:

After 20. Nc4 creating a knight outpost with tempo on black's queen, black can't make quick progress due to being tied down by the backwards pawns on a5 and e5.

Nathan decides to offer a queen trade with 30. Qf5, to which black obliges and loses their most effective piece on the board. White continues to trade his inactive knight for black's last remaining active piece with 32...Nxe4 33. dxe4. From this point forward, Black is essentially in zugzwang in that they have no useful moves whatsoever.

White is free to bring the king up the board to help out while the knight on c4 holds down the fort.

Opening: Vienna Game - Max Lange Defence

Nathan's Summary:

"It was a wild endgame where I was down a pawn but thankfully I managed to draw after a four-hour long marathon game."

Key Moment:

Nathan sets a trap for his opponent with 14...Bh4+. After blocking with the f-pawn, white overlooks his trapped bishop which leads to 16...g5! However, 17. Rf1? white plays a counter-trap that, if misplayed, could lead to Nathan being checkmated on f7. But 17. Rf1 doesn't work if Nathan castles, as it removes the king from the danger square and brings the rook over to add protection while white's bishop remains trapped. Alas, Nathan sees a ghost and opts for 17...Be2 instead, handing white the initiative and equalising the game.

25...f5?! allows white to win a pawn with a knight fork meaning Nathan will now be fighting an uphill battle to secure a positive result. After 43...Kc7 the game is all but lost but Nathan doesn't surrender that easily, he makes his opponent work for their meal. After failing to capitalise on several of white's sub-optimal moves, Nathan finally ensures a draw after white plays 77. Rh8?  blundering his passed a-pawn. The game is now a theoretical draw.