No upset but not upset

Game 1 of the first round in the 2019 World Cup is done and dusted. At least in my pairing the result went according to rating, with Liren Ding beating me in 34 moves.
Based on his most recent games I had prepared lines in the Ruy Lopez, but it turned out he had been looking at my not so recent games, and had prepared some lines against the Closed Sicilian. I did not mind this as I figured I could play enough sensible moves to reach some kind of middlegame, but once I got there I started to play less sensible moves.
In his post match comments Ding thought that 21.Nb2 was better than 21.Re1, although GM Ian Rogers thought 14.Rb1 was unnecessary, and 18.b3 was where my troubles really started. For me both 17...Be6 and 19...Nd4 caused me a lot of trouble. I also did not expect 22...Ne3, but decided I had little choice but to take the offered pawn, knowing the open lines were bad for me.
Nonetheless I found it quite an enjoyable experience. I was incredibly nervous leading up to the game, but once the game started, it was about playing moves, even if they weren't the best ones.
Now I have to go back and do this again tomorrow, with the Black pieces. While this does not make it any easier, having played one World Cup game, I know what to expect for my second.


Press, Shaun - Ding, Liren [B26]
FIDE World Cup 2019, 2019.09.10