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27... f5
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At this point, black has a solid advantage. With careful play, black should have no problem pushing one of the pawns to queen.
This isn't because of any mistakes on white's part, but instead due to piece placement and pawn structure during the course of the game. I've tried to comment on a few specifics, but it's hard to quantify what good or bad placement is without knowing why the move is made. |
 
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28. Kb3 Kf6 29. Kb4 g5 30. Rd1 h5 31. Ka5 g4 32. hxg4 hxg4 33. Rb1 Nc5
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My plan seems to be proceeding well. |
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34. Kb5 f4 35. Rh1 Kg5 36. Rh7 f3 37. gxf3 gxf3
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I've finally obtained a passed pawn, which I imagine will be traded for white's rook. That should give me a winning advantage, though the game is far from over.
In retrospect, I should have moved my e-pawn, but during the game, I felt it was a useful sacrifice to keep white's rook occupied for a move or two while I advanced the f-pawn. |
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38. Rg7+ Kf4 39. Rxe7 Kg3 40. Rg7+ Kf2 41. Kc4 Ke3
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I finally spotted a flaw in my plan. White can keep my king pinned behind my pawn, preventing it from queening. Time to bring in my knight! |
1 comment
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42. Re7+ Ne4
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?? - Blunder
This wasn't the best way to do that. |
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43. Kd5
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! - Good move.
I don't know what I imagined, but this wasn't it! White makes excellent use of the momentary pin to destroy any chance of an easy black win. |
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43... f2
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I push the pawn to force an exchange before I lose due to underestimating white's rook again. |
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44. Rxe4+ Kf3 45. Re7 f1=Q 46. Rf7+ Ke2 47. Rxf1 Kxf1 48. Kxd6 Ke2
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White can't capture my pawns, since moving to the 7th rank would allow my a-pawn to queen. |
1 comment
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49. c4
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I would have played Kc5, using the c-pawn to prevent black from playing Kd3, but I don't know if it really makes a difference.
At some point, I needed to push my a-pawn to exchange for white's c-pawn. If white managed to advance it and exchange with my b-pawn while keeping her king in front of my a-pawn, it's a definite draw. |
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49... Kd3 50. Kc5 a5 51. Kb5 a4 52. Kxa4 Kxc4
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Black has opposition.
The opposition battle really starts here. We could have tried to analyze it earlier and played slightly differently to change placement after capture, but this is what I want and now I just need to maintain pressure to keep white away from b1.
The "rule" to remember is that opposition changes anytime another piece is moved or one king moves diagonally and the other orthogonally. Once one side has opposition, they should be able to maintain it with careful play. |
1 comment
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53. Ka3 b5 54. Kb2 Kb4
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Black has opposition. |
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55. Ka2 Kc3 56. Ka3 b4+ 57. Ka2 b3+
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?? - Blunder.
I believe I had this setup in a conditional sequence, having calculated thing incorrectly.
Here's an example of correct play. Black maintains opposition and controls white's moves to ensure control of b1 and a successful queening:
57. Ka2 Kc2
58. Ka1 Kb3
59. Kb1 Ka3
60. Ka1 b3
61. Kb1 b2
62. Kc2 Ka2 |
1 comment
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58. Kb1 Kb4
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?? - Blunder.
johnforteen6 pointed out that I should have played 58...b2, forcing white to a2. I don't have any excuse for missing this. It was part of a conditional sequence I'd setup the night before and I assume that I overlooked it during analysis by skipping the sequence. |
2 comments
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59. Kb2 Ka4 60. Kb1
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It's possible, with careful play, for white to obtain opposition and draw on a central file. In this game, black maintains opposition, but fails to control the critical squares (due to calculation errors). |
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60... Kb5
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1/2 - 1/2
After recalculating and planning to change opposition, I realized I couldn't force my king to a3 and offered a draw.
When reviewing, I was struck by the fact that white never made any serious mistakes. There are a few places I would have played differently to obtain a different position after an exchange, but other than the lost pawn at the beginning, the game result was decided on positional play and my blunders. The best advice I can offer is to centralize pieces when possible and double check any moves before submitting them. :)
Questions and comments appreciated, especially if you find mistakes. :) |
1 comment
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(1970)