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21... Re5
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One could easily say : black is lucky to have this move now, and it is true I had not foreseen it. But then, this illustrates a common feature of open positions : if your pieces are soundly placed, such moves will readily be available. What do I mean by pieces soundly placed? Let's check here : the two knights protect each other, the queen protects the weak d6 pawn, the bishop is protected by the pawn, the rook is protected by the (weak but living) d6 pawn, the other rook, queen and king all offer mutual protection. Pieces are soundly placed when they control a lot of ground, and they protect each other. |
 
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22. Qf4
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Is Qd2 better? White would probably win the weak d6 pawn (also justifying the bishop at h3) but this is a price black is ready to play for the exchange of queens. So, I agree with white's choice. |
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22... Rae8
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Getting the last piece out. Principle # 126 of the book of wisdom of chess : place rooks on open files. And speaking of soundness, the two rooks protect each other too. |
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23. Rxd6
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A blunder. This type of error occurs when an enemy piece is sort of hidden, like black's queen at f8, just standing there quietly, trying not to get noticed. And white did not notice. A trick is to try and spot early these hidden pieces and always keep in them in the back of your mind. |
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23... Qxd6
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Here a funny move would be for white to play the rook to d1, apparently winning a knight. But black has an equally funny reply... Think about it. |
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24. Qh6 Rh5
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And white resigned.
Two lessons to be gathered here : Muster up your pieces before attacking, and always check if your pieces protect each other: or if you must have an unprotected piece, check at every move if something bad could happen to it (like a mother checking for her 4-year old son near a pool). |
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