Taking your second chances

IM Anton Smirnov is getting some notice around the world after is stellar performance at the 2016 Chess Olympiad. He was featured in The Guardian chess column and a number of other chess writers are taking notice of what he achieved.
He played a number of brilliant games during the tournament, including the following one against Brazil. I was able to watch some of the end of the game from around move 35, but at the time wasn't sure if he had played a brilliancy or just a brilliant draw. Captaincy duties called me away before the end, and it was only afterwards that I learned that he had one, but that his opponent had missed the drawing resource at the end (37 ... Kh7 was the final mistake). But earlier than that, Smirnov himself had missed a stronger continuation when he played the Botvinnik-esque 29.Nh5+ instead of the more brutal 29.Rxb4. Of course chess is about taking your chances, and having missed one, he made sure he didn't miss the next one.


Smirnov,Anton (2482) - Barbosa,Evandro Amorim (2509) [D80]
42nd Olympiad 2016 Baku AZE (6.4), 08.09.2016

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Bg7 5. Bxf6 Bxf6 6. cxd5 c5 7. dxc5 Nd7 8. e3 O-O 9. Bc4 Nxc5 10. Nge2 Qb6 11. Qd2 Bf5 12. O-O Rac8 13. Rac1 Rfd8 14. b3 a6 15. Nd4 Ne4 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. Rfd1 Kg7 18. Ne2 Qd6 19. f3 Bf5 20. e4 Bd7 21. Qe3 b5 22. Bd3 Bb2 23. Rb1 Ba3 24. b4 a5 25. e5 Qc7 26. d6 exd6 27. exd6 Qb8 28. Nf4 Bxb4 29. Nh5+ gxh5 30. Qg5+ Kh8 31. Qf6+ Kg8 32. Bxh7+ Kxh7 33. Rd5 Qb6+ 34. Kf1 Rc5 35. Qxf7+ Kh8 36. Qxh5+ Kg7 37. Qg5+ Kh7 38. Rxb4 axb4 39. Rxc5 Be8 40. Qh4+ Kg7 41. Qd4+ 1-0