The cold that I grumbled about when posting about the first round hadn't been too bad thus far, but I think it contributed to what was ultimately a non-event. Although the opening went well my batteries were flat, and some careless play meant that I was probably lucky he accepted a draw soon after:
I don't mention the cold as an excuse for how the game went; I don't land in the race-to-mate lines of the Steinitz Variation very often, and didn't understand the finesses as well as Bansal did. For some reason, I just underestimated ...f6, and after that I think that White has to be careful. The cold is only relevant because it made me unwilling to play; all three results remain possible in the end position, and recent form may have persuaded me to try to work with it. Or maybe not - we'll never know.
An early exit was certainly welcome, although it didn't really help: both of my games on the last day were also on the short side. The morning game was even briefer than this, although it wasn't for lack of trying!
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