Annotated Game #335: All rook endgames *should* be drawn

This first-round tournament game was a useful experience with the reverse London System formation, which my opponent plays into as Black. As White, I could have played a little more aggressively with 4. Qb3!? but had a normal and very equal position heading into the middlegame. My opponent does a very good job with the transitions from middlegame to multiple endgame phases, seizing the opportunity to punish poor endgame decisions on piece placement. That said, the rook endgame *should* have been drawn...

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class A"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D11"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2271414718922551"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Bf5 3. c4 {this both challenges d5 and opens up the d1-a4 diagonal for the queen.} e6 {consistent with a reverse London System approach.} 4. Nc3 {this is the most-played move in the database, also scoring the best.} (4. Qb3 $5 {immediately puts pressure on b7 and d5, also leaving the knight development options open.}) 4... c6 {reinforcing d5 with a pawn.} 5. Qb3 $14 {White enjoys a small advantage in development.} Qc8 $6 {my opponent thought for a while before playing this. It is a little passive, but avoids potentially exchanging queens after ...Qb6.} 6. Bf4 {this seemed like the obvious move at the time, developing and asserting control over the the h2-b8 diagonal.} (6. cxd5 $1 {although the square is well-defended, the exchange will benefit White by removing the presence of a Black pawn on either e6 or c6.} exd5 (6... cxd5 7. Bf4 $1 {this now hits harder than in the game, with Nb5 possible and the potential for Rc1 to be a threat. For example} Nc6 8. Nb5 Bb4+ 9. Kd1 Kf8 10. Rc1 $18) 7. e4 {this aggressive pawn sac did not occur to me.} dxe4 (7... Bxe4 $2 8. Nxe4 dxe4 9. Ne5 $1 $18) 8. Ng5 Bg6 9. Bc4 Nh6 10. h4 b5 11. Be2 $16) 6... Nf6 7. e3 Be7 8. Be2 Nbd7 9. O-O h6 10. Rac1 {so far, very normal development with White retaining a small edge in piece activity.} O-O 11. cxd5 $6 {this exchange now helps Black a bit, leading to a Carlsbad pawn structure.} (11. Nd2) (11. Rfe1) (11. h3) 11... exd5 $11 12. Nb5 {this superficially looks clever, taking advantage of the pin on the c-pawn, but leads nowhere.} Ne8 {looks passive, but defends everything; the Nb5 has nowhere to go and I will have to lose a tempo withdrawing it.} 13. Bd3 Bxd3 14. Qxd3 a6 15. Nc3 Nef6 16. h3 {the position is now extremely equal.} (16. Nh4 $5 {is possible, aiming to transfer the knight to f5, the tactical point being if} g5 17. Nf5 $1 {and Black does not have the time to take the Bf4.}) 16... Qd8 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. Bxe5 (18. dxe5 $5 {I considered, but did not like the doubled e-pawns and Black's future potential to roll forward the c/d pawns. However, there are positive dynamic aspects:} Nd7 19. e4 dxe4 20. Nxe4 {un-doubling the pawns and placing the knight on an excellent square. Things are still only equal, however, after} Nxe5 21. Qxd8 Bxd8 22. Bxe5 Re8 23. f4 f6 24. Nxf6+ Bxf6 $11) 18... Re8 19. Bxf6 {a correct decision to exchange, according to the engine. I judged my knight would be a little more effective than Black's dark-square bishop, given the d4/e3/f2 pawn chain.} Bxf6 20. a3 {placing another pawn on a dark square and proactively protecting the a-pawn against a possible ...Qa5 sortie, which in fact happens.} (20. Na4 $5 {would more quickly mobilize the knight.} Qa5 {was the reason I did not play this, but White is actually winning after} 21. Nc5 Qxa2 $2 (21... Ra7 $11) 22. b4 $1 {and Black will have to lose material to get the queen out.}) 20... Qa5 21. Rc2 {this is not a bad move in itself, but my idea behind it - to double on the c-file - is mistaken.} (21. Rfd1) (21. Rb1) 21... Rad8 22. Ne2 (22. b4 $5 {and the a-pawn is still tactically protected.}) 22... Qb5 23. Qxb5 {this is fine, but unnecessary, and it would have been easier to maintain the balance with queens on.} (23. Qd2 $11) 23... axb5 24. Nc1 Be7 25. Nd3 Bd6 26. Rfc1 $6 {this is unfortunately just a bad idea. Doubling rooks has no effect on the c-file, since I will never be able to get a pawn break on it.} f5 27. Nc5 Bxc5 28. dxc5 $2 {my first real mistake, as I underestimate the power of Black's subsequent central play.} (28. Rxc5 $11) 28... Re4 $1 $17 {the Black rook is strong on the 4th rank, able to support either the d- or f-pawn advances.} 29. Kf1 Rde8 30. b4 $6 (30. b3 $5 $17 {this would have at least taken a couple of squares away from Black's rook on the 4th rank.}) 30... Ra8 31. Rc3 {here I thought I could hold by defending on the 3rd rank.} Rae8 32. g3 Kf7 {bringing the king into the action.} 33. h4 Kf6 34. Kg2 $2 {this brings the king further away from the central action.} d4 $6 {this was premature.} (34... Rc4 $1 $19 {now an exchange would favor Black, with a protected passed pawn on c4, and the Rc3 is also pinned against the Rc1.}) 35. exd4 $1 {best, and essentially forced.} Rxd4 36. Kf3 $11 {now we should be back to equality.} (36. Rf3 $5 {I did not consider, but would be an effective way to dominate the 3rd rank after playing Rcc3.}) 36... g5 37. hxg5+ hxg5 38. R1c2 $4 {long think, wrong think here. My brain was rather fried by this point.} (38. Re3 g4+ 39. Ke2 $11 {for some reason I recall only looking at Kg2 here, which loses.}) 38... g4+ $19 39. Kg2 Re1 {Black now threatens mate by doubling rooks on the first rank, since the g4 pawn cuts off the king's escape.} 40. f3 Ke5 41. Kf2 Rdd1 {the only move that maintains Black's winning advantage, but not hard to find.} 42. Re3+ Rxe3 43. Kxe3 gxf3 44. Rc3 (44. Kxf3 Rd3+ 45. Kg2 Rxa3 $19) 44... Re1+ 45. Kf2 Re2+ $1 {Black correctly and forcibly transitions into a winning K+P endgame, although both sides will queen for another transition.} 46. Kxf3 Kd4 47. Kxe2 Kxc3 48. Ke3 Kb3 49. Kf4 Kxa3 50. Kxf5 Kxb4 51. g4 Kxc5 52. g5 b4 53. g6 b3 54. g7 b2 55. Kf6 {this avoids having Black queen with check, although of course my chances objectively are not improved.} (55. g8=Q b1=Q+ 56. Kf4 Qf1+ $19) 55... b1=Q 56. g8=Q Qe4 57. Qa8 b5 58. Qa7+ Kb4 {unfortunately, Black's two pawns and centralized queen mean that my queen cannot get any threats going.} 59. Qa2 Qd4+ 60. Kg5 $2 {I was losing anyway, so this was a quicker end after} Qd5+ {again forcing a winning K+P endgame, so I resigned.} 0-1