Olympiads are still hard

I did actually get to play a game at this years Olympiad (keeping the streak alive!), although I did not initially intend to. As mentioned yesterday, it was against San Marino, which I've probably played more than any other team. While I suspect they were surprised by my appearance on board 4, I was more impressed by the appearance of their Board 1 player. He had only played 1 game previously, and I did not expect him to play. As a consequence I spent a while preparing for the wrong opponent, although team captain GM Dejan Bojkov was on the ball with the right prep for the right opponent. It turns out the San Marino turned up with male model Fabio on the top board. He had the long hair, the cool shades, and a cigarette dangling carelessly from his fingers. However he took a somewhat serious approach to the game, and as a consequence Stuart Fancy had to work hard for his win.
Helmut Marko scored his 4th win in a row on board 2, while Craig Skehan went down to what looked like a strong sacrificial attack, although it turns out that his opponent just had the attack, and did not require any sacrifices.
My game was unsurprisingly drawn, and in an unsurprising manner. I had a strong position in the middle game, and at one stage it looked like I was simply winning. However appearances can be deceiving, and there was no clear path to victory, At least I was able to recognise this in time, and realised I needed to work for a draw. After 4 and half hours of play my opponent agreed to a draw, meaning PNG won 2.5-1.5.


Press,Shaun - Cecchetti,Roberto [B22]
2012 Olympiad Istanbul, 03.09.2012

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. c3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 d5 6. e5 Bg4 7. Bb5 Qb6 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. Nbd2 e6 10. O-O Ne7 11. Nb3 Nf5 12. Be3 a5 13. Rc1 Nxe3 14. fxe3 Bh6 15. Qd2 O-O 16. Nc5 Ra7 17. h3 Bxf3 18. Rxf3 Qb4 19. Qf2 Qb8 20. Rf1 Qd8 21. Qc2 Qb8 22. Nd3 Qb6 23. Nf2 Bg7 24. Ng4 Rb8 25. b3 a4 26. bxa4 Rc8 27. Qf2 Qc7 28. Qh4 Qd8 29. Qf2 Qe7 30. Qc2 Qb4 31. Rb1 Qxa4 32. Qxa4 Rxa4 33. Rb7 Rf8 34. Rf2 h5 35. Nh2 Bh6 36. Nf1 Ra3 37. Rb3 Rxb3 38. axb3 Rb8 39. Rb2 Rb4 40. Kf2 Bf8 41. Rc2 Rxb3 42. Rxc6 Rb2+ 43. Kf3 Bh6 44. Rc3 Bf8 45. Rc8 Kg7 46. Rc7 Ra2 47. Rb7 Rc2 48. Ng3 Ba3 49. Ne2 g5 50. Ng3 Kg6 51. Rb8 g4+ 52. hxg4 hxg4+ 53. Kxg4 Rxg2 54. Kf3 Rh2 55. Rg8+ Kh7 56. Rc8 Kg6 57. Rg8+ 1/2-1/2