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15. Be2
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Breaks the pin, but more importantly, prevents an exchange that would have scrambled White's K-side. Now there is no question of Bxc6 to break up Black's Q-side. |
 
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15... Bd6
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This seemed very natural, but maybe ...Qe8, with ...Qh5 in mind, merited consideration. |
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16. Nc5
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This looks good, and brings a rather aloof knight back into the action. Once again, 16.c3, to reinforce the centre, might have been considered. |
2 comments
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16... Nxd4
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!? At the time, I thought this a fine move to bring Black back to an approximate equality, or only a very slight minus. The Gameknot Engine calls this a mistake: 16… Nxd4 17. Nxb7 Nxe2+ 18. Rxe2 Qe8 19. Qxd5+ Kh8 20. Bd4 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Nf6 22. Qb5 Qxb5 23. axb5 Rae8 24. Rxe8 Nxe8 with a nigh-on winning end game for White. But Black might have done better (after 17.Nxb7) with 17...Nxf3ch! and whether White takes with pawn or bishop, 18...Bxh2ch! keeps Black in the game. To maintain an edge, maybe White would have to retreat 19.Kf1. This is all very well: during the game I barely glanced at the 17.Nxb7 line. However, I could have looked at alternatives such as 16...Bxc5 or 16...Qe8. |
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17. Bxd4 Nxc5
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! from here on comes a wild melee of exchanges that wipes out most of the active pieces on both sides, and leaves White with the slenderest of margins. |
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18. Bxg7
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! Well played. I would have been very pleased had White played 18.Bxc5 instead. Black would have at least an equal game - maybe even an edge. |
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18... Bxf3
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! Best, I think. 18...Kxg7 19.Qd4ch Qf6 20.Qxg4ch doesn't look so bad for Black, but the pawn margin would have persisted with not much that Black could show for it. |
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19. Bxf8 Bxe2
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Forced, as taking the f8-bishop would have left Black the exchange down and a lost game. |
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20. Qxd5+
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A tempo-gaining capture that for the two minor pieces, White obtains a rook and TWO pawns. Instead, 20.Rxe2 Kxf8 =. |
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20... Kxf8 21. Qf5+
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! Excellent move, avoiding a nasty threat. After 21.Rxe2?? Bxh2ch would have been winning for Black. |
1 comment
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21... Kg7
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Black plans to offer the exchange of queens. |
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22. Rxe2 Qf6
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Marking the end of the middle game phase, and beginning the 'early end game' phase. Almost 70 moves remain to this game, and it might even have been longer, but keep reading. There will be further points of interest along the way... |
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23. Qxf6+
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There was no compelling reason for White to go along with this exchange (e.g. 24.Qg4ch was playable), but no particular reason not to, either. |
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23... Kxf6
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Now, with White to play, the game enters a whole new phase. Time to pause and reflect. White has rook and two pawns for bishop and knight. According to the standard scale of values, White is a pawn ahead, but practice indicates that (R+2) and (B+N) are close to equal. For the moment White has no real weaknesses, though c2 is likely to become one. It can't really be said Black has any, neither. White has a 3-1 majority on the K-side, the pawns are level, and the f-pawn is 'passed' - Black can stop its promotion only with pieces or the king. This sounds good for White, but there is a down side: White will have to look to the K-side only to make progress, unless he can induce a vulnerable weakness on the other wing. Black's advantage is in the flexibility - handiness - of his pieces. Bishop, knight and rook work pretty well together. I assess the game here as roughly level. Maybe White has a whisker of an edge, but no more. On the other hand, both sides have plenty to play for, for now. |
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24. b3
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Tidies up the Q-side a bit so that the a1-rook can move. |
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24... Rd8
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Centralising. This placement is fairly arbitrary, but opens the possibility of seizing the file outright by ...Be5. Also possible were ...Rf8 or ...Rg8, as equally active posts. |
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25. g3
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To make any progress at all, White has to do something with his major trumps: his majority and the passed pawn. This move prepares the advance of the f-pawn. |
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25... Ne6
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The advance of the g-pawn does come at the cost of leaving weaknesses that Black might try and exploit. This knight move eyes ...Nd4 with attacks on c2 and f3. They aren't much, but White isn't giving much away. |
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26. Rd1
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Partly to place a half-pin on the bishop, preventing ...Bc5, but also to prevent ...Nd4. Black's options are fairly limited at the moment. |
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26... b6
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Taking time out also to tidy up the Q-side. A useful 'waiting' move to see how White will proceed. Note that now the bishop has sanctuaries on d6, c5 and b4, which could prove useful. |
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(2340)