This game moved into an interesting end game that, while white had the advantage, I think was difficult for white to find a win. We ended up with a draw by repetition.
Josh see my analysis with help from Houdini. Curious what your thoughts are on the game (aside from what the heck was black up to into that middlegame I was lucky to come out of that).
This game moved into an interesting end game that, while white had the advantage, I think was difficult for white to find a win. We ended up with a draw by repetition.
Josh see my analysis with help from Houdini. Curious what your thoughts are on the game (aside from what the heck was black up to into that middlegame
I was lucky to come out of that).
[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2012.12.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "joshuay"]
[Black "mattchessus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E91"]
[WhiteElo "1669"]
[BlackElo "1719"]
[PlyCount "142"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[TimeControl "1"]
1. d4 g6 2. c4 (2. Nf3 Bg7 (2... f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 d6 7.
Bb2 c6 8. Nbd2 Qc7 9. Qe1 a5 10. e4 fxe4 11. Nxe4 a4 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 13. Qd2 Qa5
14. Qxa5 Rxa5 15. b4 Rf5 16. Rae1 Bg7 17. Nd2 R5f7 18. Nc4 b5 19. Ne3 g5 20. c3
h6 21. Re2 d5 22. Bc1 Nd7 23. Ng4 h5 24. Ne5 Nxe5 25. dxe5 g4 26. Bg5 Be6 27.
Rfe1 Kh7 28. Be3 Bf5 29. e6 Rf6 30. Bd4 Rg6 31. a3 h4 32. Re3 Bh6 33. R3e2 h3
34. Bf1 Be4 35. Rxe4 dxe4 36. Rxe4 Bg7 37. Bd3 Kh8 38. f4 Rd8 39. Kf2 Rd6 40.
f5 Rg5 41. Rf4 Bxd4+ 42. cxd4 Kg7 43. Be2 Kf6 44. Bxg4 Rd8 45. Ke3 Rdg8 46. Bf3
Rxf5 47. Bxc6 Rxf4 48. Kxf4 Kxe6 49. Bxb5 Kd5 50. Bxa4 Ra8 51. Bd7 Rxa3 52.
Bxh3 Ra2 53. Bg4 Rxh2 54. Ke3 Rb2 55. Bf3+ Ke6 56. Be4 Rxb4 57. Bf3 Kf5 58. g4+
Kf6 59. Be2 Kg5 60. Ke4 Rb6 61. Ke3 Rf6 62. Ke4 Rc6 63. Ke3 Rc1 64. Kf3 Rc3+
65. Ke4 Ra3 66. Bf3 Ra4 67. Be2 Ra1 68. Ke3 Kh4 69. Kf4 Ra2 70. Bf3 Ra6 71. g5
Ra5 72. g6 Rg5 73. Be4 Kh5 74. Bf5 Rg1 75. Ke5 Re1+ 76. Be4 Kh6 77. Kf5 Kg7 78.
Ke5 Ra1 79. Ke6 Kf8 80. Ke5 Re1 81. Kf5 Ke8 82. Bd5 Rf1+ 83. Ke5 Rg1 84. Be4
Re1 85. Kf5 Kd8 86. Bd5 Rg1 87. Be4 Kd7 88. Ke5 Re1 89. Kd5 Ra1 90. Ke5 Ke8 91.
Ke6 Kf8 92. Ke5 Ra4 93. Bf5 Ra5+ 94. Ke6 Rb5 95. Be4 Rb2 96. Ke5 Re2 97. Kf5
e6+ 98. Ke5 Ke7 99. d5 exd5 100. Kxd5 Kf6 101. Kd4 Ra2 102. Bd3 Ra4+ 103. Kd5
Ra8 104. Kd4 Rd8+ 105. Kc3 Rd7 106. Kc4 Ke5 107. Kc3 Rc7+ 108. Kb2 Kd4 109. Bf5
Re7 110. Kb3 Re2 111. Bc2 Rf2 112. Kb2 Rd2 113. Kb3 Rg2 114. Bf5 Rg5 115. Bc2
Rg3+ 116. Kb4 Rg2 117. Kb3 Rg1 118. Kb4 Ke5 119. Kc3 Kf6 120. Kd4 Kg7 121. Be4
Rg5 122. Bd3 Rh5 123. Be4 Rg5 124. Bd3 Rh5 125. Be4 Rh4 126. Ke5 Rxe4+ 127.
Kxe4 Kxg6 {1/2-1/2 Raznikov,D (2465)-Nakamura,H (2786)/Eilat 2012/CBM 151}) 3.
Bf4 c5 4. e3 cxd4 5. exd4 Qb6 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Rb1 O-O 8. Be2 d6 9. O-O Bf5 10. h3
Rc8 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Nc6 13. a3 Na5 14. Rfe1 Nc4 15. Rxe7 Nxb2 16. Qd2 Qd8
17. Rxb7 Nc4 18. Qd3 Nxa3 19. R1b3 Nc4 20. Ng5 Nd7 21. Nd5 Na5 22. Bxd6 Qxg5
23. Ne7+ Kh8 24. Nxc8 Nxb7 25. Rxb7 Nf6 26. Nxa7 Qd5 27. Rb8+ Rxb8 28. Bxb8 Nd7
29. Bg3 Qxd4 30. Qxd4 Bxd4 31. Nc6 Bc5 32. Ne7 Kg7 33. Nd5 Bd4 34. Kf1 f5 35.
f3 Kf7 36. Bf2 Be5 37. Nb6 Nb8 38. Nc4 Bc7 39. Bb6 Bf4 40. Be3 Bc7 41. Bb6 Bf4
42. Be3 Bc7 43. Ke2 Ke6 44. Kd3 Nc6 45. c3 Kd5 46. Bd4 Bf4 47. Nb6+ Ke6 48. Nc4
h5 49. Be3 Bc7 50. Bb6 Bb8 51. Bd4 g5 52. g4 fxg4 53. fxg4 hxg4 54. hxg4 Bf4
55. Be3 Bxe3 56. Nxe3 Ke5 57. c4 Kf4 58. c5 Ne5+ 59. Kd4 Nc6+ 60. Kd5 Nb4+ 61.
Kc4 Nc6 62. Kd3 Kf3 63. Kd2 Ne5 64. Nc2 Kxg4 65. Ke3 Kh3 66. Nd4 g4 67. Nf5 {
1/2-1/2 Grachev,B (2654)-Kramnik,V (2791)/Moscow 2010/EXT 2011}) 2... Bg7 3.
Nc3 c5 (3... d6 4. e4 c5 (4... Nf6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 e5 7. O-O c6 8. Re1 Nbd7
9. Bf1 a5 10. Rb1 Re8 11. d5 Nc5 12. b3 Bd7 13. a3 cxd5 14. cxd5 a4 15. bxa4
Nxa4 16. Nxa4 Bxa4 17. Qd2 Re7 18. Rb4 Rc7 19. Qb2 Qc8 20. Be3 Ng4 21. Bb6 Rc2
22. Qb1 Bh6 23. h3 Nf6 24. Be3 Bxe3 25. Rxe3 Ra7 26. Ne1 Rc3 27. Qb2 Rxe3 28.
fxe3 Qc5 29. Kf2 Bd1 30. Bb5 g5 31. a4 g4 32. Nd3 gxh3 33. gxh3 Qc8 34. Kg3 Qd8
35. Kh2 Bf3 36. Qf2 Bh5 37. Rc4 Ra8 38. Qh4 Ng4+ 39. Kg3 Qxh4+ 40. Kxh4 Nxe3
41. Rc7 Bd1 42. Rc3 f5 43. Nf2 f4 44. Rc7 Bxa4 45. Bxa4 Rxa4 46. Kg5 b5 47. Kf6
h5 48. Rb7 b4 49. Rb8+ Kh7 50. Rb7+ Kh6 51. Rb8 Kh7 52. Rb7+ {1/2-1/2
Mikhalevski,V (2579)-Ivanchuk,V (2764)/Caleta 2011/CBM 141}) 5. Nge2 cxd4 6.
Nxd4 Nc6 7. Be3 Nf6 8. Be2 Nxd4 9. Bxd4 O-O 10. O-O Bd7 11. Qd2 a5 12. b3 Bc6
13. f3 Nd7 14. Be3 Nc5 15. Rab1 Qb6 16. Rfc1 Rfc8 17. Rc2 Qd8 18. Kh1 h5 19. a3
Kh7 20. Bf1 Be5 21. Nd5 e6 22. Nc3 Qh4 23. Bg1 Qe7 24. Ne2 Rd8 25. Nd4 Qf6 26.
b4 axb4 27. axb4 Bxe4 28. fxe4 Nxe4 29. Qe3 Qh4 30. Ne2 f5 31. Qh3 Qf6 32. Rd1
Ra4 33. b5 Rda8 34. Nd4 Ra1 35. Qd3 R8a3 36. Rxa1 Rxd3 37. Bxd3 Bxd4 38. Rd1
Nc5 39. Bxd4 Qxd4 40. Be2 Qf4 41. Bf3 b6 42. Rcd2 e5 43. Rxd6 e4 44. Be2 Qf2
45. R6d2 e3 46. Rc2 Ne4 47. Bd3 Qh4 48. Bxe4 Qxe4 49. Re2 f4 50. Rc1 f3 51.
gxf3 Qxf3+ 52. Rg2 h4 53. Kg1 h3 54. Rgc2 e2 55. Re1 Qe3+ 56. Kh1 Qe4+ {0-1 Le
Quang,L (2693)-Carlsen,M (2837)/Astana 2012/CBM 149 Extra}) 4. d5 Nf6 (4...
Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 f5 6. e4 fxe4 7. f3 Qa5 8. Qd2 Nf6 9. Rb1 d6 10. Rb5 Qc7 11. fxe4
O-O 12. e5 dxe5 13. Qe3 b6 14. Nf3 e4 15. Ng5 Qe5 16. Rb3 h6 17. Ne6 Bxe6 18.
dxe6 Ng4 19. Qg3 Qxg3+ 20. hxg3 h5 21. Be2 Nc6 22. Bxg4 hxg4 23. Bf4 Rf6 24.
Rh4 Rxe6 25. Rxg4 Na5 26. Rb1 Nxc4 27. Rd1 Nb2 28. Rd7 Nd3+ 29. Ke2 b5 30. Be3
a5 31. Rd5 b4 32. Bxc5 bxc3 33. Rxe4 c2 34. Rxe6 c1=Q 35. Rxd3 Qxc5 36. Rxg6+
Kf7 37. Rg4 {0-1 Royset,J (2180)-Nakamura,H (2741)/Oslo 2010/CBM 139 Extra}) (
4... d6 5. e4 e6 6. Nf3 Ne7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O a6 9. a4 Nd7 10. dxe6 fxe6 11.
Be2 Ne5 12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. Bh6 Rf7 14. f4 Bh8 15. Bg4 Qc7 16. Qd2 Nc6 17. Rae1
Nd4 18. f5 Bg7 19. fxg6 hxg6 20. Qg5 Bxh6 21. Qxh6 Rxf1+ 22. Rxf1 Qg7 23. Qg5
Bd7 24. Rf6 Kh7 25. Qh4+ Kg8 26. Qg5 Kh7 27. Qh4+ Kg8 28. Qg5 Kh7 29. Qh4+ Kg8
30. Qg5 {1/2-1/2 Makhmutov,R (2363)-Inarkiev,E (2707)/Tyumen 2012/CBM 149}) 5.
Nf3 (5. e4 d6 6. Bd3 (6. Nge2 O-O 7. Ng3 a6 8. a4 e6 9. Be2 exd5 10. cxd5 Nbd7
11. O-O Re8 12. f3 Rb8 13. Be3 h5 14. Qd2 Nh7 15. Bh6 Bd4+ 16. Be3 Bg7 17. Rfd1
h4 18. Nf1 h3 19. g3 b5 20. axb5 axb5 21. Nxb5 Ne5 22. Nc3 f5 23. Ra7 Qb6 24.
Rxg7+ Kxg7 25. b4 Ba6 26. b5 Bxb5 27. Nxb5 Qxb5 28. f4 Qa4 29. fxe5 Qxe4 30.
Bh6+ Kg8 31. Ne3 Qxe5 32. Bf4 Qe7 33. Bd3 Nf6 34. Nc4 Rbd8 35. Bg5 Qf7 36. Qb2
Rf8 37. Bf1 Rb8 38. Qc1 Ne4 39. Bxh3 Rb3 40. Bf1 f4 41. Bxf4 g5 42. Nxd6 Nxd6
43. Bxd6 Qf2+ 44. Kh1 Rf5 45. Bxc5 Qa2 46. Bc4 {1-0 Ivanchuk,V (2776)
-Andreikin,D (2687)/Havana 2011/CBM 143}) 6... O-O 7. Nge2 Nbd7 8. Bc2 Ne8 9.
O-O Nc7 10. a4 Na6 11. f4 Nb4 12. Be3 e6 13. dxe6 fxe6 14. Qd2 Nf6 15. Rad1 Ng4
16. Bb1 Nc6 17. Kh1 Nxe3 18. Qxe3 Nd4 19. e5 dxe5 20. fxe5 Rxf1+ 21. Rxf1 Bd7
22. Nxd4 cxd4 23. Qxd4 Bc6 24. Qg4 Qe7 25. b3 Bxe5 26. Ne2 Rd8 27. Be4 Be8 28.
Qf3 b6 29. Nf4 Bf7 30. Nd3 Bd6 31. Qe3 Qh4 32. h3 Qg3 33. Qxg3 Bxg3 34. Rf3 Bc7
35. Kg1 Rd4 36. Re3 g5 37. Kf2 h5 38. Re2 a5 39. Ke3 Rd8 40. Bf3 Kg7 41. Rb2
Bd6 42. Rb1 Kf6 43. Rf1 Ke7 44. Be4 Rg8 45. Rh1 h4 46. Bf3 Rf8 47. Rd1 Rd8 48.
Rf1 Bg6 49. Be4 Bh5 50. Bf3 Rf8 51. Nf2 Bg6 52. Ne4 Bc5+ 53. Kd3 Rd8+ 54. Kc2
g4 55. hxg4 h3 56. Rd1 Rf8 57. Kd3 h2 58. Rh1 Bg1 59. Ke2 Bxe4 60. Bxe4 Kf6 61.
Bf3 Rd8 {0-1 Caruana,F (2781)-Nakamura,H (2769)/Wijk aan Zee 2013/CB04_2013})
5... d6 6. e4 Bg4 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O Nbd7 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Ne5 11. Be2 a6 12.
f4 Ned7 13. Bf3 (13. Be3 Qc7 14. Qd2 Rab8 15. a4 Rfd8 16. Rad1 Nb6 17. Kh1 Nxa4
18. Nxa4 Nxe4 19. Qe1 b5 20. Nc3 Nxc3 21. bxc3 b4 22. Bd2 b3 {1/2-1/2 Hruska,J
(1785)-Odehnalova,L/Klatovy 2005/EXT 2006}) (13. g4 Ne8 14. Qe1 e6 15. Qg3 Bf6
16. g5 Bd4+ 17. Kg2 Qe7 18. Bd3 f5 19. dxe6 Nb6 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 Qg7 22.
Rb1 Nc7 23. Be3 b5 24. Qf2 Bxe3 25. Qxe3 b4 26. Bc2 Rfe8 27. Be4 Re7 28. Rf2
Ra7 29. h4 a5 30. a3 b3 31. Rh1 h5 32. gxh6 Qxh6 33. h5 Kf8 34. hxg6 Qg7 35.
Kf1 Ne8 36. Qh3 {1-0 Klewe,W-Biester/DDR 1987/Corr Nr. 1}) 13... Ne8 14. Ne2
$146 {Starting at Move 14 we are in new and/or rare territory. No games in my
database at this point.} (14. g4 Rb8 15. a4 Qa5 16. Qd3 Bd4+ 17. Kh1 Qd8 18. a5
b6 19. axb6 Rxb6 20. Bg2 e5 21. f5 Qh4 22. Bd2 Nc7 23. Be1 Qe7 24. Na4 Rb7 25.
Ra2 Rfb8 26. Ba5 Rb3 27. Nc3 Ne8 28. Qe2 Qh4 29. fxg6 {1/2-1/2 Blair,D (2240)
-Canibal,J (2295)/ICCF corr 1997/Corr 2002}) (14. Qd3 Nc7 15. Be3 Rb8 16. a4
Ne8 17. b3 Qa5 18. Bd2 Qc7 19. g3 Rc8 20. Kg2 Kh8 21. Rae1 b6 22. Re2 Kg8 23.
Nd1 Kh8 24. Nf2 Rb8 25. Rfe1 Rb7 26. e5 Qb8 27. e6 Ndf6 28. exf7 Rxf7 29. f5
gxf5 30. Qxf5 Kg8 31. Ng4 Nxg4 32. Qxg4 Nf6 33. Qe6 Qc7 34. Rf1 Qd7 35. Bg4 Kf8
36. Ref2 {1-0 Noack,M (2149)-Von Rosenberg,C (1688)/DESC email 2001/Corr 2004})
(14. a4 b6 15. Be3 Rb8 16. Qd2 Nc7 17. Be2 f5 18. Rab1 fxe4 19. Nxe4 b5 20.
axb5 axb5 21. b4 bxc4 22. bxc5 Rxb1 23. Rxb1 c3 24. Nxc3 Nxc5 25. Bf3 Qc8 26.
h4 Qf5 27. Rd1 Rb8 28. g4 Qf6 29. Bd4 Qxh4 30. Bxg7 Qg3+ 31. Qg2 Qxg2+ 32. Kxg2
Kxg7 33. Rb1 Ra8 34. Nb5 Nxb5 35. Rxb5 Rf8 36. Kg3 Nd3 37. Rb7 Rf7 38. f5 gxf5
39. gxf5 Kf6 40. Be4 Nc5 41. Rb4 Nxe4+ 42. Rxe4 Kxf5 43. Re6 Kg5 44. Kh3 h5 45.
Kg3 Rh7 46. Kh3 h4 47. Kg2 h3+ 48. Kh2 Kf5 49. Kg1 h2+ 50. Kf2 Kg5 51. Re2 Kf6
52. Re6+ Kf7 {0-1 MacElligott,G (2145)-Galligan,B/Cork 2005/CBM 105 ext}) 14...
e5 {b5 or Rb8 would have been better. Houdini points out I should be playing
on the queenside in this position.} ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64: 1)} 14...
b5 15. Qb3 Qa5 16. Qc2 Qb4 17. cxb5 axb5 18. a3 Qa4 19. b3 Qa6 20. Ra2 Nc7 21.
Be3 b4 22. a4 Nb5 23. Qd3 Qb6 24. Bg4 Rfd8 25. Rc2 Na3 26. Rcc1 {-0.17/22}) ({
Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64: 2)} 14... Rb8 15. Qc2 b5 16. cxb5 axb5 17. Be3
Nc7 18. a3 Nb6 19. Ra2 e6 20. dxe6 Nxe6 21. Rd1 Qe7 22. Bf2 Rfe8 23. Qd3 Na4
24. Rd2 c4 25. Qxd6 Qxd6 26. Rxd6 Nxb2 27. f5 Rbd8 28. Rxd8 Nxd8 {-0.02/22})
15. f5 gxf5 16. exf5 Bf6 ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64: 1)} 16... b5 17. Ng3
bxc4 18. Qc2 Nef6 19. Qxc4 Re8 20. Qc2 Rb8 21. Rb1 Qa5 22. b3 Qb4 23. Be4 Nb6
24. Rd1 c4 25. Be3 c3 26. Bf3 e4 27. Rd4 Qa3 28. Nxe4 Nfxd5 {0.07/20}) ({
Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64: 2)} 16... Qh4 17. Bg4 Qe7 18. f6 Ndxf6 19. Ng3
b5 20. Nf5 Qb7 21. b3 Kh8 22. Be2 Rg8 23. Qc2 bxc4 24. bxc4 Rb8 25. Kh1 Bf8 26.
Bf3 Qd7 27. Rb1 Rxb1 28. Qxb1 {0.23/19}) 17. Be4 Nb6 {Moving my knight away
from my kingside in this position was a blunder....better was to simply move
my king over} ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 17... Kh8 18. Nc3 Bg5 19. Rf3
Bxc1 20. Qxc1 Nef6 21. Bd3 Rg8 22. Qh6 Qf8 23. Qxf8 Raxf8 24. Re1 e4 25. Nxe4
Ne5 26. Rfe3 Nxe4 27. Bxe4 Nxc4 28. Rc3 b5 29. b3 Ne5 30. f6 b4 31. Rc2 Re8 {
0.04/19}) 18. b3 a5 {continuing to ignore king safety and fiddle around on the
queenside. Interesting that when I should have been playing queenside I
played kingside and when I needed to pay attention kingside I played queenside.
Fundamental misunderstanding of the position.} 19. a4 Bg5 ({Houdini 2.0c x64
Main _20_x64:} 19... Kh8 20. Nc3 Nd7 21. Qh5 Ng7 22. Qh6 Ne8 23. Kh1 Bg7 24.
Qe3 Rg8 25. Qe2 Ndf6 26. Bc2 Nc7 27. Re1 Qe7 28. Bb1 Qd7 29. Qf3 Rad8 30. Ne4
Nxe4 31. Bxe4 {0.76/21}) 20. Ra2 h6 {rather than trying to blockade the dark
squares I would have been better off simply trading off the bishops} ({Houdini
2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 20... Bxc1 21. Qxc1 Qh4 22. Nc3 Kh8 23. Qe1 Qxe1 24.
Rxe1 Rg8 25. g4 h5 26. Bf3 Nf6 27. Nb5 Rad8 28. Rh2 Nc8 29. Kf2 Kh7 30. Ke3 Ne7
31. Kd3 Rg5 32. Kc3 Kg7 {0.39/22}) 21. Ng3 ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:}
21. f6 Nxf6 22. Bxg5 hxg5 23. Ng3 Nxe4 24. Nxe4 f5 25. Raf2 f4 26. Qh5 Qe7 27.
Nxg5 Rf6 28. Ne4 Rf7 29. Qg6+ Rg7 30. Nf6+ Kf8 31. Qh6 Kf7 32. Nh5 Rag8 33. Re1
Rg6 34. Rxf4+ Ke8 35. Nf6+ Kd8 36. Nxg8 Rxh6 37. Nxe7 exf4 38. Nf5 Rf6 39. Ng7
Kd7 40. Ne6 f3 41. Rf1 Nc8 42. Rxf3 Rxf3 43. gxf3 {1.85/22}) 21... Nf6 22. Bb1
({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 22. Bxg5 hxg5 23. Qd2 Re8 24. Qxg5+ Kf8 25.
Bb1 Nbd7 26. Qe3 Qb6 27. Ne2 Qb4 28. Bc2 Ke7 29. Nc3 Rg8 30. Nb5 Rg7 31. Bd1
Rag8 32. Re2 Rg3 33. Qh6 R8g7 34. Kh1 Rh7 35. Qf4 Rg8 36. Bc2 Kd8 37. Qe3 {1.
10/21}) 22... Nh7 ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 22... Bxc1 23. Qxc1 Kh7 24.
Ne4 Rg8 25. Re2 Rg7 26. Kh1 Qe7 27. g4 Nbd7 28. Nc3 Rag8 29. Rh2 Rg5 30. Qe3
Kg7 31. Nb5 Re8 32. Re2 Rg8 33. Rfe1 Rd8 34. Be4 Nxe4 35. Qxe4 {0.49/20}) 23.
Ne4 {White had an opportunity here to swing the game decidedly in his favor
with f6. Fortunately for me he did not play it, leaving me the chance to play
f6 instead.} ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 23. f6 Bf4 24. Bxf4 exf4 25.
Qg4+ Ng5 26. Qxf4 Re8 27. Nf5 Qxf6 28. h4 Kf8 29. hxg5 hxg5 30. Qxd6+ Qxd6 31.
Nxd6 Ke7 32. Nxe8 Rxe8 33. Re2+ Kd8 34. Rxe8+ Kxe8 35. Rf5 Nd7 36. Rxg5 Ke7 37.
Kf2 b6 38. Rh5 Nf6 39. Rh4 Ne8 40. Rh6 Nd6 41. Kf3 Kd7 42. Kf4 {9.85/20}) 23...
f6 24. Qg4 ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 24. h4 Bxc1 25. Qxc1 Rf7 26. Qxh6
Rg7 27. Bc2 Qf8 28. Bd1 Kh8 29. Qe3 Nd7 30. Bh5 Qe7 31. Bg6 Nb8 32. g4 Nd7 33.
h5 Rgg8 34. Rg2 Ndf8 35. Kh2 Rd8 36. Re2 b6 37. Qh6 Qg7 {2.55/21}) 24... Rf7 {
Houdini prefers moving the king out of the line of fire here} ({Houdini 2.0c
x64 Main _20_x64:} 24... Kh8 25. Qh5 {1.47/20}) 25. h4 {Houdini shows white as
winning here - but does white have a clear winning plan from here?} ({Houdini
2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 25. h4 Rg7 26. hxg5 hxg5 27. Rf3 Qe7 28. Rh3 Nd7 29.
Rh6 Ra6 30. Qh5 Qf7 31. Qh3 Kf8 32. Re2 Qe7 33. Qh5 Qf7 34. Qh3 Qe7 {5.40/21})
25... Rg7 26. hxg5 hxg5 27. Ng3 Nf8 28. Nh5 Rh7 {This position helps to
illustrate some of blacks key mistakes earlier in the game. First, with Bxg5
looming it becomes crystal clear black needed to exchange off the dark square
bishops earlier (see earlier comments). Second, black's knight on b6 is
completely useless and this illustrates how damaging it was to move that
knight away from the kingside. Were the knight at the kingside black would be
in much better shape.} 29. Qh3 {White needed to play Bxg5 here to bust through}
({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 29. Bxg5 Rg7 30. Nxg7 Kxg7 31. Bh6+ Kf7 32.
Qg7+ Ke8 33. Qxf8+ Kd7 34. Qf7+ Kc8 35. Bf8 Kb8 36. Qe7 Qxe7 37. Bxe7 Nd7 38.
Bxd6+ Kc8 39. Kf2 Ra6 40. Be7 Rb6 41. Ra3 Kb8 42. Rh1 Ka7 43. d6 Rc6 44. Be4
Rb6 45. Rh6 Ra6 46. Kf3 Rb6 47. g4 Kb8 48. Bxf6 Rxd6 49. g5 Rd1 50. Rh8+ Ka7
51. Be7 Rf1+ 52. Kg3 {15.56/20}) 29... Nbd7 {White's last move gave black some
time to relocate the ill-placed knight to come into defense of the kingside}
30. Be4 {again the best bet was Bxg5 to weaken my kingside further} ({Houdini
2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 30. Bxg5 Kf7 31. Bc1 Rh8 32. Re2 Rb8 33. Rf3 Qe8 34.
Qh2 Rh7 35. Rh3 Ke7 36. Nf4 Rxh3 37. Qxh3 Qf7 38. Ne6 Qh7 39. Qf3 Nb6 40. Bd2
Nfd7 41. Bxa5 Rh8 42. g3 Kf7 43. Bd2 Qh3 44. Bc1 Nc8 45. a5 {6.10/22}) 30...
Qe8 {threatening to take the knight and improve my position} 31. g4 {
Mitigating the threat but also locking up the position further} b6 {better was
Qf7 reinforcing the rook in case of Rh2 and opening of the h file after the
knight moves} ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 31... Qf7 32. Rh2 Rh8 33. Kg2
Rc8 34. Qc3 Ra8 35. Rfh1 Rh7 36. Be3 Qe7 37. Rf1 Qd8 38. Rh3 Qe8 39. Qd2 Qe7
40. Rfh1 Nb6 41. Bf2 Qf7 42. Qe2 Nfd7 {4.44/23}) 32. Rh2 Qf7 {we get to the
position discussed earlier anyway} 33. Kg2 ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:}
33. Bxg5 fxg5 34. Qe3 Rxh5 35. Rxh5 Nf6 36. Rxg5+ Kh8 37. Kg2 N8h7 38. Rg6 Rg8
39. Qf3 Rg7 40. Rh1 Kg8 41. Rhh6 Qf8 42. Rxg7+ Kxg7 43. Rg6+ Kf7 44. Bc2 Ke7
45. g5 Nxg5 46. Rxg5 Qh6 47. Rg6 Qc1 48. Qe2 Kf7 49. Rg3 Qb2 50. Bd1 Qd4 51.
Qd3 Qb2+ 52. Qc2 Qd4 {6.17/20}) 33... Rb8 34. Rfh1 {continuing to neflect Bxg5}
Rb7 35. Qg3 Kh8 {Seems like a strange move but I could not think of anything
to improve the position so I just "passed"} 36. Rh3 {I think white "passed"
the ball back to me here.} Rc7 {Another waiting move. Not waiting for
anything in particular but at this point my "plan" is to not do anything to
make my position worse and see if white breaks through. Not sure much else
could be done at this point.} 37. Qh2 Nb8 {This was a mistake - if my plan was
to not worsen my position I did not stick with the plan. When I did this my
thought was to connect the rooks and queen - but the knight was useful where
it was. This moves it away from defense again.} 38. Bxg5 {White takes this
opportunity to break up my kingside.} fxg5 39. f6 Ng6 {trying to protect my
rook} 40. Bxg6 {This was a blunder an I think white converted a win to a draw
here} ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 40. Kg1 Nd7 41. Nf4 Nh4 42. Ne6 Nxf6
43. Nxg5 Qg7 44. Bxh7 Qxg5 45. Rxh4 Qe3+ 46. Kf1 Kg7 47. Qe2 Qf4+ 48. Qf2 Qg5
49. Kg1 Rf7 50. Bf5 e4 51. Bxe4 Re7 52. Bf5 Qe3 53. Qxe3 Rxe3 54. R4h3 Re5 55.
Kf2 Re7 56. Re3 Rf7 57. Kg3 Kg8 58. g5 Rg7 59. Be6+ Kf8 60. Rh8+ Ke7 61. Bf5+ {
8.77/21}) 40... Qxg6 41. Ng3 Qc2+ 42. Kg1 Qb1+ 43. Nf1 Rcf7 {could have also
considered exchanging here} ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 43... Rxh3 44.
Qxh3+ {1.82/21}) 44. Rxh7+ Rxh7 45. f7 ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 45.
Qxh7+ Qxh7 46. Nd2 Qxh1+ 47. Kxh1 Nd7 48. Ne4 Kg8 49. Kg1 Kf8 50. Kf2 Kg8 51.
f7+ Kf8 52. Kf3 Ke7 53. Kg2 Kf8 54. Kf2 Ke7 55. Ke2 Kf8 56. Kf1 Ke7 57. Kf2 Kf8
58. Kf3 {1.75/28}) 45... Nd7 {realizing my knight needed to get back into the
defense} 46. Qxh7+ Qxh7 47. Rxh7+ Kxh7 {From here white had to play carefully
for a win.} 48. Ng3 ({Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 48. Ng3 Kg6 49. Nf5 Kxf7
50. Nxd6+ Kg6 51. Ne4 Nf8 52. Kf2 Nh7 53. Nd6 Nf6 54. Kf3 e4+ 55. Nxe4 Nd7 56.
Nd6 Ne5+ 57. Ke4 Nxg4 58. Nc8 Kf6 59. Nxb6 Ne5 60. Nc8 Nf7 61. Kf3 Nd8 62. Kg3
Nf7 63. Na7 Ne5 64. Nc6 Nxc6 65. dxc6 Ke6 66. Kg4 Kd6 67. Kxg5 Kxc6 68. Kf4 Kd6
69. Kf5 Kc7 70. Ke5 Kd7 71. Kd5 {1.29/31}) 48... Kg7 49. Nf5+ Kxf7 50. Nxd6+
Kf6 51. Ne4+ Kg6 52. Kg2 Nf6 53. Kf3 Nd7 54. Nd6 Kf6 55. Ke4 Kg6 56. Ne8 Kf7
57. Nc7 Kg6 58. d6 Kf6 59. Kd5 Nb8 60. Nb5 e4 61. Kxe4 Ke6 62. Nc3 Nd7 {This
is necessary here - taking with the king loses because it let's white get to g5
} 63. Nd5 Ne5 64. Ne3 {Better was Nc7+ although even that is not a clear win} (
{Houdini 2.0c x64 Main _20_x64:} 64. Nc7+ Kxd6 65. Kf5 Nf3 66. Nd5 Kc6) 64...
Nf7 {From here I think the game is a dead draw} 65. Nf5 ({Houdini 2.0c x64
Main _20_x64:} 65. Nf5 Nd8 66. Nh6 Nb7 67. Nf5 Nd8 68. Nh6 {0.28/29}) 65... Nd8
66. Nh6 Nb7 67. Nf5 Nd8 68. Ng7+ Kf6 69. Nh5+ Ke6 70. Ng3 Nb7 71. Nf5 Nd8 {
Draw by repetition} 1/2-1/2