If you are sick, you should not play chess. Your brain simply does not work. You think it works because you can feel that you think, but that is not really the case. Anyway, I knew this from an earlier tournament, but as the events unfolded, with teams that would suffer at least significantly, I got up from my deathbed and played chess.

In the Berlin league, I thought I had achieved a fortress, and so did my opponent, shortly before the theoretical position shown below, as his rook was still on the h7-square, I parachuted out with a forced stalemate.

However, much to my surprise, Nalimov said 1-0. Since 82. Bd6 Rc8 83.Rg5 (waiting...) Re8 84. Kc7 (entering) Rh8 85. Rg4 Rh7+ 86. Kc6 Rh8 87. Rb4 (threat of Rb8) Rh3 88. Rb8+ (forcing the loss of the own pawn) Kxa7 89. Re8 Rh5 90. Bf4 Rf5 91. Be3+ Ka6 92. Ra8# 1-0, which is simply beautiful.

One day later I was playing the corporate league in Berlin against younger Lagunow (2341), a French defence, which I managed to misplay several times, even so, at the final moment depicted below, there is still salvation to be had.

I played 29... Rxd3 30. Qxd3 Bb5 31. Qe3 Bxf1 32. Kxf1 b5 which, as I suspected, just lead to a lost queens' endgame, even if FM Lagunow had to do some work.

29... Qb6 on the other hand, turn the tables completely, 30. Kh2 Be6 and suddenly the white queen has no good place to go. 31. Qh5 Rxd3 and Black has won the bishop. I did see Qb6 but not that Be6 caused so much mayhem.

One more thing. A German chess joke. Die weisse Dame sagt: Liebling, ich bin heute fremdgegangen. Der weisse König: Ich habe es gesehen, du hast es gut gemacht. (White queen says; I went "astray", analogous to sleeping with another guy, White king says; you did it in a great way.)