Steve has commented against his original post but I thought I it deserved a post of its own and Richard has sent me a game so I’ve added that too.
Update 1 – Round 1 we got hammered 5.5-0.5 by the German team of GMs, Jon Nelson getting our sole half though Andy should have drawn with his 2658 opponent and I with my 2496. Both got ground down in endings though. Round 2 we beat a decent Kosovan team 4-2. I managed to dish out a good hammering to my opponent, rated 1822 but only 16 yrs old so ratings can be deceptive. Then Albania started to get interesting as a whole bunch of players, myself included, went down with food poisoning so I get rested for rd 3.
Update 2 – so, yes, the hotel does a large buffet for brekkie, lunch and dinner but on Monday night players started falling ill after dinner. The hotel insist it is ‘a local virus’ the players beg to differ. There were several defaults and late team changes but, luckily, we managed a full match against a team of Swedish GM/IM/FM. We gave it a good go but went down 2-4. Andy’s GM opponent left a mate in 2 on from a good position….. nice to know GMs can do it too !
Update 3 – various players continue to fall ill and, interesting Albania part 2 – Andy got attacked by a bunch of wild dogs whilst walking home from a beach bar last night ! Only a few mild scratches though. Anyway, round 4 we beat a Belgian team 4-2. I struggled off my death bed to beat another 16 yr old and Andy won again. On 3/4 losing only to a 2658 he could have a GM norm punt if the form continues. I started to feel worse again during the day so will rest myself again in rd 5 when we take on a team from Hungary.