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32. hxg4+ hxg4
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Well: White's h-pawn has been 'undoubled', for what that might be worth... That means that there are fewer obstacles in frnt of Black's K-side pawns. |
 
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33. Rd1
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I can't find any improvement for either side in the last 5 moves. Black's K-side has made some progress, but seems to be stymied for now. White now conjures up a threat of her own to mobilise her Q-side. Once those pawns break loose. it will be all up for Black. |
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33... Ke6
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Hence this retreat, to keep the rook out of d6. |
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34. a4
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(?!) I believe that Jo had already worked out a plan to mobilise the Q-side in which this pawn was to advance to a5, backed up by the bishop on the e1-a5 diagonal. I'll come back to that. But I really dislike this move as making it harder to unleash the pawns. Preferable is 34.a3, with the b4 advance in mind. One possible line is 34.a3 Nc6 (say) 35.Rd5ch Be5 36.h4! f3ch 37.Kf1 Bf4 38.h5 g3 39.Bxg3 Bxg3 40.h6 and, ironically, White's K-side pawn wins the day! |
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34... Nc6
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Black has certainly the upper hand on the dark squares. But it's hard to see how even this will prevail in the long run, given White has the means to contest Black's dark-square ascendancy: her bishop. |
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35. Be1
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(?!) Here is Jo's plan: to shove forward the Q-side pawns with the bishop's backing. The c-pawn will be undermined, and the rook will take it out. Well thought out, but, and this was sheer bad luck, it turns out to be a mistaken plan. By committing herself to the Q-side, White allows Black some slack on the other wing. There were good alternatives in 35.Rd5; 35.Bg1 (I like this move); or even in waiting 35.Kf1. However, This is not the losing move - in fact, I reckon White still had the winning of the game after this move, but this was one of those rare situations in which following a plan proves ones undoing. |
1 comment
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35... Nd4 36. Bd2
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(?) With this move probably White's winning chances start to fade away. The GK engine prefers 36.Rd2 here, though with ...Bg5 and ...f3ch in the air, it is easy to pass this move by. After 36.Rd2 Bg5 37.Kf1 Ke5 38.Bf2 f3 39.Bxd4ch cxd4 40.Rd3 Ke4 41.Rd1 Bf4 42.Kg1 Bg5 43.b4 Bh4 44.Kf1 and Black's K-side attack is running out of steam whilst White's pawns are ready to roll. A whole different plan, which seems less to teeter on the edge of the abyss, was 36.c3! with the idea 36...Nxb3 37.Rb1 Na5 38.Rxb6ch Ke7 39.Rb5 Nxc4 40.Rxc5. |
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36... Kf5
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The GK engine still gives White an edge, but already this is looking doubtful. Though still nominally a piece down, Black still has that menacing K-side, and the more active pieces and pawns. White's game is looking harder to get rolling than even a couple of moves ago... |
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37. a5
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According to plan. More complicated was 37.b4, but it might have been worth a look. |
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37... bxa5 38. Bxa5 Nxc2
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The complicating factor is the threatened fork at e3, which persists after White's next. All the same, GK now considered the game evenly balanced. This would have been a disappointment to Jo, but, immersed as she was in her scheme to break the chains about her Q-side pawns, no doubt thought she still had the better of it and soon she would be home free. |
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39. Rd5+ Ke4 40. Rxc5
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(?) Twin passers on the Q-side! The culmination of White's plan... and the move that put even the draw out of reach. It just one of those horrible situations in which you suddenly realise that the creaking of the thin ice that you thought was coming from under the other guy's feet were actually being caused by your own bootsteps. Who said it? 'Chess is a cruel game...' Better chances of a draw were offered in these lines: [a] 40.Rd7 f3ch 41.Kf1 Bd4 42.Bd2 Kd3 43.Bg5 Na1 44.Rf7 Nxb3 45.h3 Be3 46.Rd7ch Bd4 47.Rf7 with a repetition; or [b] 40.Bd2 f3ch 43.Kf1 Be5 44.Rxc5 Bxh2 45.Rg5 g3 46.Rg4ch Kd3 47.Bf4 g2ch (...Ne3ch=) 48.Kf2 g1=Qch 49.Rxg1 Bxg1ch 50.Kxg1 =. |
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40... f3+ 41. Kf1
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(?) But 41.Kh1 still lost after 41...f2 42.Kg2 Bh4 43.Re5ch! - The best White can do to slow things down was to give up the rook for nothing - 43...Kxe5. Mind you, White could still have resisted for a while, even brought about a close finish: 44.Bb6 Ne1ch 45.Kf1 Nf3 46.Bxf2! Nxh2ch! 47.Kg2 Bxf2 48.Kxf2 Kf4 49.b4 {or 49.c5 Nf3 50.c6 Nd2! 51.c7 Ne4ch 52.Kg2 Nd6 53.b4 Nc8 etc} 49...Nf3 50.b5 g3ch 51.Kg2 Nh4ch 52.Kg1 Nf5 53.c5 Ne7 54.c6 Ne8 etc. Interesting also would have been 41.Kg3 Bh4ch! 42.Kxh4 f2 43.Bc7 f1=Q 44.Re5ch Kd3, but White's pawns are too scattered and weak for her to set up any kind of fortress. |
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41... Ne3+ 42. Kg1 Bh4
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(0-1) At this point Jo tossed in the sponge: there's no cure for ...f2ch. There's a good deal to be got out of this game. For one thing, it shows how hard it can be to overcome a determined defence. In this game, for all his material deficit, Black had a good deal to play with, so White's task to win the game was no light matter. It was her truly evil luck to hit on a plan of attack that seemed to promise a clear path to her goal - her Celestial City - only to discover it was the road into the Slough of Despond. Ask Christian: some days you just can't win. |
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