Never ever Listen to Your Opponent

Never ever Listen to Your Opponent 

Never ever assumed that your opponent is weaker than you. This is really bad decision you can ever make  in chess. In the 6th Palau National Chess Championship 2012 my Standard Rating was 1540 and I was playing against the non-rating player I assumed that my opponent was not that good since I know for the fact that it was his first time to join in a tournament, my opponent was White and I was Black. After we exchanged hands and started the opening moves, he opened the 1. e4 the King pawn opening. I took it for granted since I know that is very common but the most logical opening for White.

A few weeks before the tournament I was studying the Sicilian Dragon I'd chosen this system to counter punch the 1. e4 opening. When I opened 1... - c5 my opponent started talking to me he said 'hmm... I am not sure with that opening... I have always had a hard time to counter that'. In a chess tournament it's not allowed to talk to your opponent Chess is a mind game not the mouth. So, I just nodded and gained more confidence after hearing that. Then he moved out the Queen right away 2. Qf3 targeting my weak f7 square that boosts more my confidence since I know that moving out your Queen in the early game is out of the Chess Principle. So, I continued my Sicilian Dragon with less analysis and carelessness I didn't not really analyzed or anticipated the out of the book opening of my opponent. And in the middle game I noticed that he was pushing me in the corner while gaining more space on the board. Then I felt that my opponent fooled me by making me believe that he was new in chess. 

I'd almost lost then in the endgame my opponent was left with King and two Pawns and Bishop and I was left with King and one Bishop. Surely, I cannot mate my non-rated opponent anymore and it's a good thing that I'd also studied a little bit endgame, and he made a big mistake that allowed me to draw the game. This was a big lesson to me for listening to my opponent.