#363 STC Championship - Round 6

My 6th round STC World Championship game was an uphill battle but it ended in a draw.

Playing the Black side of an Exchange French, I unwisely grabbed a pawn at move 12...

McKnights-Moldovan
after 12.Bg5

... and missed a White tactic at turn 15 that left me a piece down for roughly 80-85% compensation. Things got much worse at move 18 when I chose a far-too-slow plan.

However, my 1843-rated opponent, who had used just 6:53 through 19 near-perfect moves, missed a win at move 20 by going after more material (are you catching my drift?!)...

McKnights-Moldovan
after 20.Nb6??

...and errored again at move 22 to allow a repetition. In the final position, I was better but too nervous to continue.

McKnights-Moldovan
before 28...Qg4+
1/2-1/2

Here are the replays & PGN of all my games from the event.

As it turns out, only the section winners and the ICC runner-up will advance to the finals; not 16.