This was the decisive game in our last Garden State Chess League match for the 2016-2017 season. The other three games in the match were drawn so we lost the match 2.5 to 1.5.
Despite this match result we ended up finishing in a three way tie for third for the season and were awarded third place as a result of tiebreak points.
Like I mentioned in the notes I quickly glanced at 28...f4!!, but I didn't realize the entire strength of the move. And being in time pressure I did not have time to analyze it so I just stuck with my plan.
After the game I quickly analyzed the game with my opponent, and he was very proud of his counterattack idea of 27. f5 and 28. g6. Only after we completed our quick analysis did I look at it again by myself and see the strength of 28...f4!! And when I showed him what I had found his pride was a bit more subdued!
The bottom line though is he forced me to take my time in the middlegame so therefore I had to move hastily towards the key part of the game, I blundered as a result, and of course he was victorious. So really he had the last laugh.
Notes courtesy of Bryan Cohen with more analysis likely to appear in the near future.