Annotated Game #317: Free tempos matter

In this second-round tournament game, both my opponent and I know the Classical Caro-Kann main line out until move 17, which is where the game really starts. Unlike my main White opening and queen pawn defenses, which I've been retooling lately, I feel very solid about the Caro-Kann and it's never a source of anxiety or the internal feeling of "I don't really know this" whenever White plays 1. e4 against me.

That said, the middlegame transition could have gotten me in trouble again, as I deliberately unbalance the position while transitioning into a multi-piece endgame. The key moment on move 23 is worth studying, as White could have come out of the sequence with a significant plus, giving himself some key free tempos in the position if he had avoided going for the "automatic recapture" of my knight in the corner. This is one of those mastery concepts - perhaps worth its own post at some point - that Class players often fail to practice, or are ignorant of. It strikes me as similar to the rush to resolve pawn or piece tensions in a position with exchanges, rather than having the patience to wait and improve one's position first.

While I commit other instructive errors along the way, the last one - forcing a transition to a lost K+P endgame - is important for the strategic principle, namely that one has to be certain of the outcome when that choice is made. Although I have an extra pawn, White would be able to snarf up all my pawns first - if he had found the winning idea. Luckily we were both low on time and he decided to go for a move repetition. 

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class B"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "110"] [GameId "2203894030975058"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nf6 {known as the Campora Variation. Here it leads back to the main line with ...Nd7, since neither White nor Black decides to deviate from the usual main line Classical plan.} 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Nbd7 12. O-O-O Be7 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Nf6 15. Qe2 Qd5 {I had a relatively long think here to remember the correct idea. The centralized queen effectively neutralizes White's initiative.} 16. Kb1 Qe4 17. Qxe4 Nxe4 18. Be3 O-O (18... f5 $5 {I also considered this, but thought it weakened the squares around the king too much. The engines aren't impressed either, although it's a little more often played in the database.}) 19. Ne5 Rfd8 {activating the rook and indicating Black will reserve the other one for queenside use.} 20. g4 {I had a long think here, although I had thought this was likely to be played, as a thematic move by White.} Bg5 $6 {I decided to go for the imbalanced endgame, although the engine disagrees with this choice.} (20... Rac8 {was my other main choice, preparing ...b5 or ...c5, and is of course more solid.}) 21. f4 Bxf4 $2 {this turns out to be a major error, although my opponent fails to take full advantage of it.} (21... Be7 $14) 22. Bxf4 Nf2 {the (flawed) point of the sequence.} 23. Rhf1 $6 {after this my maneuver is justified.} (23. Rdg1 $1 {deliberately gains some tempi and White does not needlessly rush for the standard recapture.} Nxh1 24. Be3 $18 {protecting the d-pawn, as Black's knight is still trapped. White's more active pieces and kingside pawns are much more threatening than Black's bottled-up rooks.}) 23... Nxd1 $11 24. Rxd1 c5 {undermining the e5 outpost is not a bad idea, although there was a more direct route.} (24... f6 {I preferred not to do this because of} 25. Ng6 {but after} e5 $1 {exploiting the pin on the d-pawn} 26. Be3 exd4 27. Bf4 {White cannot recapture due to the pin again, with ...c5 a threat} c5 $11 {Black's material compensates for White's piece activity.}) 25. c3 Rd5 $6 {this does not help Black much.} (25... f6 {was my second choice, again I preferred to have the knight not go to g6. I had considered that it would be annoying but locked away, which is in fact the case.}) 26. Kc2 $16 Rad8 $6 {doubling rooks was of course the idea behind the previous move, but this still leaves White positionally in charge.} (26... cxd4 $5 $14 {would open more lines in the vicinity of White's king.}) 27. Nf3 f6 $6 {right idea, but played too late.} 28. Rd2 $5 (28. c4 $18 {was my main concern and the engine assesses White is simply winning after it.} R5d7 29. Re1 {here's the main problem for Black.} Kf7 {would have been the plan, but the engine shows White winning after} 30. dxc5 Rc8 31. b4 {and Black has no good answer to the looming mass of White pawns moving forward on the queenside.}) 28... cxd4 $1 $14 {the best and only real option.} 29. Rxd4 Rxd4 30. cxd4 Kf7 $11 {both my king and rook are active and I have no real weaknesses. White has everything covered on his side as well, so it is now a very even game.} 31. b4 b5 {here I correctly figured that White could not make any real progress.} 32. Kc3 a6 33. Nd2 Rd5 34. Nb3 e5 35. dxe5 fxe5 {still even, although I'm fine with having the only passed pawn in the position.} 36. Bd2 Rd6 37. Nc5 Rc6 {I did not have a lot of time by this point, but this obvious move was still adequate.} (37... Rd4 $5 $11 {is a little more active, but not really threatening anything after say} 38. g5 hxg5 39. Bxg5 Rc4+ 40. Kb3) 38. Kd3 a5 {hitting the Nc5's support.} (38... Rd6+ $5) 39. Kc3 (39. Ke4 $5 {would pose more problems for Black.} axb4 40. Bxb4 {and Black loses the e-pawn - with compensation, which however would have been a lot more stressful.} Rd6 41. Kxe5 Rd1 $11 {and the active rook can get behind the g-pawn.}) 39... Ke7 (39... a4 $11 {I also considered.}) 40. g5 hxg5 41. Bxg5+ Kd6 42. Be3 Kd5 $2 {here I miscalculated the resulting K+P ending.} (42... a4 43. Kd3 Kd5 $11) (42... axb4+ 43. Kxb4 Kd5 $11) 43. bxa5 $18 {White is now winning after the following sequence.} Rxc5+ 44. Bxc5 Kxc5 45. a6 Kb6 46. a7 Kxa7 47. Kd3 $1 {the only winning move. I knew I was in trouble now, despite having an extra pawn, but was determined to make the best race of it.} Kb6 48. Ke4 b4 49. Kxe5 Ka5 50. Kd4 Kb5 51. Kd5 Ka4 52. Kc4 Ka5 {my opponent could not find the winning idea, however, so we ended up repeating moves.} 53. Kc5 Ka4 54. Kc4 Ka5 55. Kc5 Ka4 {there are multiple ways for White to win, but the most straightforward is after Kb6, forcing the Black king forward and then both pawns come off the board, with White's king closer to the kingside and his advanced h-pawn.} 1/2-1/2