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39... Rd8
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I do not want to exchange rooks just yet - not unless there is a 'sweetener' in the deal. What the sweetener might be - who knows? Time, position, material - one keeps an open mind. After 39...Re8?, 40.Rxe8 Kxe8 41.Ke4 Ne7 42.f5! with a plus for White. |
 
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40. Ke2 Bc5 41. Re5
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Quite a fight for the initiative is going on. Had White played 41.Rd3, then 41...Bd6 42.Rh3 Kg7! looks OK for Black. |
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41... Kg6 42. Re6+ Kg7 43. Re5
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Or else 43,Rf6 Nd4ch 44.Kf2 Be7 45.Rh6 Nf5 46.Rc6 Bc4ch 47.Kf1 (or Ke1; Bb4ch) Bd6. To break the rook out of c6 would have required White to sac a pawn: c4-c5. |
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43... Nd4+ 44. Kf1 Nc6 45. Re4
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Probably better than 45.Re6 Ne7. But maybe 45.Rd5!? would have been worth a look: 45...Rxd5 (worth it to break off a pawn from the Q-side 'island') 46.cxd5 Ne7 47.Ke2, and Black would have to think twice about 47...Nxd5 48.Rf3 and suddenly White's two passers are mobile again. |
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45... Rd2
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With a vague threat of ...Rb2 and ...Nd4 to attack the b-pawn. |
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46. Re2
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Sensible, Defends against the threat and also frees the king from the back rank. |
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46... Rd1+
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Still wants to keep his rook on. Black values his flexibility to continue probes and threats that force White to respond. |
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47. Re1 Rd4
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Don't sell easily parried short ranged threats below their value, just because they are short ranged and easily parried. They are often a means to an end. The threat now is ...Rxf4ch. Black definitely has the initiative for the moment, but can he keep it? |
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48. Rf3 Kf7
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By covering squares on the e-file, this frees the minor pieces to move. |
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49. Ke2 Bb4
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!? - A wrong turning. This leads nowhere. |
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50. Rd1 Bc5
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Fortunately, I was able to rewind, here. White dare not exchange rooks right now owing to the knight fork (Rxd4?? Nxd4ch) |
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51. Re1 Rd6
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Threatens ...Nd4ch. For the moment, progress for both sides has stalled. It was beginning to look as though I would have to try my chances after all with the exchange of rooks. |
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52. Rd3 Nd4+
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Heading back to f5 whilst the 'heading back' is good.
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1 comment
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53. Kd1 Nf5
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Forces the rook exchange, and just at the right moment, too. If now 54.Rxd6 Bxd6 attacks f- and h-pawns both: 54.Rh1 Bxf5 and White can not play 55.Rf1 on account of 55...Ne3ch. |
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54. Kc2
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! Now if Black exchanges, the White king is handily placed near the centre. |
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54... Nxh4
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But there was nothing to stop this. After the win of the pawn Black at last has a passed pawn of his own to play with. Possibly White might, somewhere during the sequel, have considered a plan to give up his two pawns on the K-side for Black's h-pawn. Then with the pawns equal on the Q-side defied Black to make good his material advantage. I spent a lot of time studying such endings that might have arisen, with the conclusion that, with care, White might well have held. |
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55. Re2
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Instead, 55.Re5 Rxd3 56.Kxd3 Bd6 57.Re4 Nf5. |
1 comment
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55... Nf5 56. Rxd6 Bxd6 57. Kd3
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Rightly centralising the King. The f-pawn is safe... |
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57... Ng3
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! - In my view the alternative, 57...Ng7 is less pressurising, though it has its points: 58.Ke4 Ne6 59.g6ch Kf6! 60.Rg2 h4 61.Rg4! h3! 62.g7 Nxg7 63.Rh4 Ne6 64.Rxh3 Nxg4. Could Black have won from here, with B and N vs R and pawns level and symmetrical? I thought the chances problematical, and elected to try something a bit more forcing. |
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58. Rg2 h4
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Now comes some intricate manoeuvring as Black forces his way into White's territory. |
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(2340)