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21. exf6
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As black is hitting e5 three times to whites two, white must take to maintain material. |
 
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21... gxf6
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Not 21...Nxf, as the pressure on e5 must be maintained. |
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22. b4
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White lashes out on the queenside, hoping for 22...cxb 23. cxb which will open up c3 for his knight and also clear some room for his Bd2 to operate on, as well as opening up a clear avenue on blacks exposed king. |
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22... c4
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Closing off the c3 square for white to develop on, and creating a nice pawn wedge on the white squares. |
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23. a4
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! Good move. white intends to bring his Ra1 into play down the a file. Black must shift his forces to the queenside to defend, and white hopes to pick up the h pawn in the process. |
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23... Kb7
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Clearing the 8th rank for rook mobility. |
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24. axb5
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! Another good move. White achieves his goal of owning the a file by forcing black to open it up for him by re-taking to maintain equality. |
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24... axb5
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Practically forced. Black is still solid, but now must contend with the new found mobility of whites Ra1. |
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25. Na3
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! That's three strong moves in row for white - he is getting back into the game. White threatens to take out the black pawn on b5. If black protects it by 25...Kb6, then white can simply re-develop the knight to c2. If black chooses the more aggressive 25...Ra8 pinning the knight, he still just re-develops to c2 to protect his Ra1. |
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25... Kb6
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I choose to simply protect the b pawn. |
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26. Ke2
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! Interesting. White leaves his knight on the edge, and opens up the 1st rank for his rooks to operate on. I was figuring on Nc2 at the time, but failed to see how this was a much more passive move. |
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26... e5
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As my opponent has made several strong moves in a row, I opt to press the issue in the area that I feel I have the advantage, which is with my pawn advantage. I'm hitting e5 three times to his two, so I know he will have to re-take. I'm still planning to center my rooks for an attack down the middle now that the threat of action down the a file is at least temporarily stalled. |
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27. fxe5
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Practically forced. |
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27... fxe5
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Correct, as I do not want to lose my nice post on g4. Attack on d4 is my next goal. |
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28. Be3+
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! Nice move! White throws a mean check that also supports the d4 square. Black must eliminate this bishop, and in the process lose the nice knight posting on g4. White has signalled his intention to eliminate pieces (as he has three to my two) and hopes to use whatever piece he has remaining to pick off my central pawns. |
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28... Nxe3
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I hate to keep saying "Practically forced" but I feel that this last move was. It does have the added benefit for black of being a knight-for-bishop exchange. This is going to a very exciting endgame! |
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29. Kxe3
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White naturally equalizes, while bringing his king to the support of d4. |
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29... d4+
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! Here black puts white to the test. Both sides are hitting d4 three times, so white will come out even should exchanges occur. The problem with that is, however, that whites king will be left extremely vulnerable in the middle of the board, as black will surely start attacking with his rooks. |
1 comment
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30. Kd2
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White sees the dangers just mentioned, and wisely retreats. |
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30... dxc3+
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Black opens up the d file with a double check. Note that white cannot re-take. If he does, the very nasty 31...Rd3 wins whites Nf3. |
2 comments
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(1734)