Annotated Game #161: A misleading winning narrative

In my next tournament, I played basically to expectations for my rating, so not a lot of progress.  This first-round game is nonetheless an interesting one, both for what happened on the board and in evaluating my perception of it.  Part of the practice of analyzing my own games is to notate them in my personal games database with my thoughts and some light analysis shortly after the game ends, to capture my perceptions at the time.  Once serious analysis is eventually done on the game, it's instructive to see how a more thorough, objective view matches up with how I was feeling about the game at the time.  This type of lesson offers useful conceptual feedback for how I evaluate future positions while at the board.

In this case, after an up-and-down opening (first up, then down), I blunder the exchange - although if you win in the end, you can call it an "unintentional exchange sacrifice".  After the "sacrifice" I do fight well for compensation, while in contrast my opponent plays passively and focuses on attempting to trade down material, without much else in terms of a plan.  I spot a possible tactic after my opponent weakens his kingside with  27...g6?! and eventually get the chance to execute it, leading to a breakthrough and a win.  (By coincidence - or perhaps not - this matches up nicely with ideas in the recent "importance of sequencing" post).

While reviewing my initial notes in the database, I was struck by how the final result colored my outlook on the entire game.  My opening play was initially fine but then got significantly weaker as I approached the middlegame, which is a recurring pattern that I've identified (so will now fix, as in Third Time's the Charm).  Specifically, one of my main recurring errors has been neglecting development and allowing my opponent to restrict my pieces, which always brings problems with it.  I should have been harsher (or more realistic) during my earlier evaluation and recognized that the narrative of triumph after the "unintentional sacrifice" was due less to my abilities - although I did find some correct ideas - rather than my opponent's passivity and creation of unnecessary weaknesses.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class C"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A11"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 9.3"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 c6 5. b3 Bb4 {this was a little surprising, I felt that ...Bd6 would be more in keeping with Black's Semi-Slav type setup.} 6. Bb2 O-O 7. Qc2 Qd6 {this seemed like a premature development of the queen, as well as restricting the Bb4's retreat squares. We are now out of the database.} 8. a3 {the obvious reaction, inconveniencing the bishop.} Ba5 9. b4 {continuing with the theme of pushing back Black's pieces and gaining space on the queenside. Perhaps not most effective, however. The bishop on a5 is not doing much and represents a waste of time for Black, while the new square it goes to is more useful.} (9. d4 $5 {would get space in the center and make a the follow-on Bd3 development logical.}) 9... Bc7 10. c5 {this does nothing for my development and leaves Black's d-pawn looking stronger.} (10. Be2 dxc4 11. Bxc4 $14) 10... Qe7 $11 11. Be2 {again, d4 is logical but would have the disadvantage of shutting in the Bb2.} b6 {challenging the pawn chain at its top.} 12. cxb6 axb6 13. O-O Bb7 {Black continues with a rather slow development plan.} 14. Rfd1 Nbd7 {although I felt that Black had not played the opening particularly well, at this point his development is fine and a bit better coordinated than mine. He is certainly better positioned in the center for space. Komodo gives a slight edge to Black.} 15. d3 {in the expectation that the following sequence would occur.} e5 16. e4 d4 17. Nb1 c5 $6 {this seems like an obvious move at the Class level, to advance and support the d4 pawn, but with Black having gained space and restricted my pieces, this just allows me to get some breathing space on the queenside.} (17... b5 $5 {would lock things up to Black's advantage.}) 18. bxc5 $6 (18. Nbd2 {would help with my neglected piece development.}) 18... bxc5 {this is what I had expected.} ( 18... Nxc5 $1 {and now Black will dominate the queenside, likely winning the a-pawn and causing major problems once his bishops get further into play from d6 and c6.}) 19. Nbd2 Bc6 {here I failed to ask the question in my thinking process, what did my opponent's move change about the position? What new CCT does he now have available?} 20. Nc4 $2 {this leads to an unintentional exchange sacrifice. I spotted Black's skewer tactic immediately *after* moving. I therefore played the next couple of moves rapidly and with confidence, since there was nothing else to be done.} (20. Rdc1) (20. a4) 20... Ba4 $17 21. Qd2 Bxd1 22. Bxd1 {a key part of the sequence for White, capturing with the bishop rather than the queen. The bishop will be repositioned to a much better square, serving as partial compensation for the sacrifice.} Nb6 {normally it's a good idea to simplify with piece exchanges in order to magnify a material advantage, and this was presumably my opponent's main idea here. However, this benefits me by accelerating the activation of my light-square bishop.} (22... Rfb8) 23. Nxb6 Bxb6 24. Qg5 {I felt this was necessary to develop counterplay. The queen has to be activated and has a relatively open field in front of the Black king. The pin on the Nf6 will also lose Black some time.} Rfe8 {unpinning the Nf6.} 25. Bb3 {While Black is still comfortably winning on objective measures, this bishop now becomes a monster on the a2-g8 diagonal and its pinning of the f7 pawn will eventually be the decisive factor in the game.} Bc7 {clearing the b-file for one of Black's rooks and reinforcing e5. However, a Black rook never ends up on the b-file.} 26. Bc4 {anticipating future possible pressure down the b-file.} Nd7 {offering a queen trade.} 27. Qh5 {naturally I avoid trading queens and maintain some pressure on Black's kingside, adding h7 as a target and attacking f7 again. Ng5 now becomes a potential threat.} g6 $6 { unnecessarily weakening the squares in front of the Black king.} (27... Nf6 { is what I was expecting.} 28. Qg5 {and we try again with the position.}) (27... Rf8 {is the engine's choice, but this sort of defensive move can be psychologically hard to play, especially since the rook had just recently moved away from f8.}) 28. Qh6 Qf8 {this apparently was the idea behind the previous move, but this ends up placing Black's queen on a much more awkward square.} 29. Qh3 Nf6 {in contrast with the previous situation, now the Nf6 is not protected.} 30. Bc1 $15 {bringing another piece around to exert pressure and materially improving the evaluation for White, as previously the dark-square bishop was locked out of the game. Part of my compensation for being down an exchange is that I am able to use both bishops and the knight effectively to attack the kingside, along with the queen, while Black has only the queen and knight defending the kingside.} h5 31. Bg5 $6 {wrong piece. The bishop is doing fine on the c1-h6 diagonal where it is, while the knight could do better on g5. Attacking the Nf6 is not much of a threat in reality, although it does prompt my opponent to play an awkward follow-up move.} (31. Ng5 {would target f7 and increase the pressure.} Re7 32. Qh4 $15) 31... Bd8 ( 31... Qd6 $17 {is much better, getting the queen to a more effective square.}) 32. Qg3 {leaving the diagonal and shifting the queen's target to the now underprotected e5 pawn.} Nd7 $2 {missing the following tactic, one which I had spotted as a possibility after 27...g6, based on the pin of the f7 pawn. I believe my opponent was still focused on a general plan of trading down material.} (32... Qd6) 33. Bxd8 $18 Raxd8 34. Qxg6+ Kh8 (34... Qg7 35. Bxf7+ Kf8 36. Bxe8 Rxe8 37. Qxh5 $18) 35. Qxh5+ Kg7 36. Qg4+ {I thought for a while before making this move. I wanted to bring another piece (the Nf3) into the attack by leaving the g5 square open for it.} Kh8 37. Ng5 {now the combination of mate threats plus the attack on f7 decide the game.} Nb6 38. Qh5+ 1-0

The importance of sequencing

Part of improvement comes in being able to better identify key tactical themes (pins, hanging pieces, sacrificial attacks, mating patterns, etc.) and the moves necessary to exploit them.  This is a huge subject in itself - which I've addressed before - and I would say constitutes the bulk (let's say for argument's sake 3/4) of success in the tactical realm.  However, I would include in that last 1/4 - which is often crucial in actual play - the idea of sequencing and precise move-order calculation.  This is where tactical ideas intersect with your visualization and calculation skills, which become more important the longer a sequence runs.

The following tactics problem, which I suffered some unnecessary blindness on when solving, reminded me forcefully of the necessity of considering sequencing - which is also another way of saying that you need to be able to visualize all of your opponent's responses concretely, and not just your own ideas:

Chess.com tactic problem 40353

Rasovsky - Mikyska

Result: *

Site: corrs. -

Date: 1908

[...] 13...c6 14.¤f6+ gxf6 15.¥d3

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After the (blunder) by Black of 13...c6, breaking down the tactical elements of the position is not hard.  Black's last move forces you to think about where the Nd5 can (must) move and with Black's bare kingside, the f6 square immediately suggests itself.  The knight then double attacks h7, threatening mate with the queen.  Black must therefore take the knight with the g-pawn or lose, in the process leaving the king more vulnerable.  However, the White queen itself is still not sufficient to force the a win.  What to do?

Then one notices the light-squared bishop, which is in a place where it can move to hit h7.  With the g-pawn gone and nothing else on Black's side able to intervene defensively, the mate is assured.

So then why not simply play 14. Bd3 immediately (I thought), since it is just as forcing?  After ...g6 in response and then 15. Nf6+, the knight appears to move with the same effect, gaining a tempo on the check and dooming the h7 pawn.  But no, in fact the response 15...Qxf6! prevents the combination due to the fact that now both queens are en prise.  So only the sequence with the knight moving first can work.

This is just one conceptual example, but many sequencing choices will in fact occur during play.  As I've gotten stronger tactically and have been seeing different useful move possibilities in positions, the sequencing part - which I would consider the more sophisticated side of tactics - has become increasingly important.  It's certainly good to see those initial tactical ideas, but there remains more work to be done in executing them in my games, including seeing better opportunities in different sequences, for example as shown in Annotated Game #151.

Training quote of the day #8: Garry Kasparov

From Peter Zhdanov's Yearbook of Chess Wisdom, quoting former World Champion Garry Kasparov:

You can learn just about anything from books, and chess is included.  But to really improve, you must play regularly, like any other sport.  The concentration and mental discipline needed to improve chess performance can't come from study.  Especially true below master level.  Experienced tournament players have developed those "game muscles" well.  Amateurs need to build them.  Study won't help you if you can't focus.

Commentary: 2016 World Junior Championship, Round 12 (Bersamina - Xiong)

This very recent game caught my eye, as a victory by the new World Junior Champion, American GM Jeffery Xiong.  Ranked first in the world U16 category, Xiong in round 12 clinched the title by winning as Black against IM Paulo Bersamina.  I had an initial interest in the game because it (a Grand Prix Sicilian) turns into what could be considered a reversed English Opening, making its subsequent play full of ideas that are directly relevant to my opening repertoire.  There are a lot of more general lessons contained here, though, including the importance of time and development in the opening and early middlegame (which White ignores on multiple occasions), the value of the initiative, and some interesting tactical ideas.  White essentially takes a wrong turn with his plans on move 11, offering to sacrifice a pawn with very little compensation, but Xiong passes up simpler ways of exploiting this in favor of more complex play, which seems to be an intentional strategy.  Xiong's endgame technique and ideas are also worth looking at, in terms of how to win a won game.

[Event "World Junior Open 2016"] [Site "Bhubaneswar IND"] [Date "2016.08.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Bersamina, Paulo"] [Black "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "2402"] [BlackElo "2633"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 9.3"] [PlyCount "155"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. O-O Bg7 7. Bc4 {this seems like a bit of a waste of time in the opening, especially after the next move. Presumably it was done to preserve the bishop from exchange.} Na5 8. Be2 Nf6 {this looks like it makes the knight a target for an advance of the e-pawn, but that would not turn out particularly well for White.} 9. Qe1 {at around 48 percent, this scores better than anything else for White in the database, but it's still not a good thing. Black has fully equalized already while White continues to lose time in the opening.} (9. e5 dxe5 10. Nxe5 (10. fxe5 $6 Ng4 $17) 10... O-O $11 {and Black has a comfortable game.}) 9... Nc6 10. Bc4 { inviting a repetition of moves, although Black can do better.} Nd4 (10... O-O $5 {the engine suggests castling first, which looks safer.} 11. d3 Nd4) 11. Qh4 $6 {this doesn't work and I'm not sure what White was looking to do here by offering the c2 pawn as a sacrifice. Even simply castling in response is fine for Black.} (11. Nxd4 {simplest appears best here.} cxd4 12. e5 dxc3 13. exf6 Qb6+ 14. Rf2 Bxf6 $11) 11... b5 {an interesting idea that further complicates the game and keeps the tension up, which is probably what Xiong wanted.} (11... Nxc2 12. Rb1 Nd4 $17 {and White doesn't have any real threats. For example} 13. Ng5 $2 (13. b3 $17) 13... d5 (13... e6 {is also sufficient}) 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. f5 (15. Nxh7 $2 {the knight is pinned here and Black now has a free hand.} Nb6 16. b3 Nxc4 17. bxc4 Bc6 $19) 15... Bf6 $19) (11... O-O 12. f5 $5 {should be OK for Black, but gives White at least the appearance of some initiative.}) 12. Nxd4 cxd4 13. Nxb5 Qb6 {Black has (temporarily) invested a pawn, but has the initiative in return.} 14. a4 a6 15. a5 Qc6 16. Na3 Nxe4 {now Black has his pawn back and a favorable position, while White's pieces are uncoordinated and he lacks an obvious plan to make progress.} 17. d3 Nf6 18. Nb1 {an excellent illustration of how time in the opening and early middlegame can be valuable. The knight has journeyed back to its original square, with associated tempo loss, while Black can now make progress in the center.} (18. Bb3 $5 $15 { would clear the c4 square for the knight instead.}) 18... d5 19. Bb3 Qc5 { this avoids having White play Ba4. While d6 seems like a more useful square for the queen, being less limited, Xiong no doubt had the next knight maneuver to e3 in mind, which the queen supports.} 20. Re1 Ng4 21. Re2 Ne3 {Black would be quite happy to have White capture the knight, thereby undoubling the Black d-pawns and giving him a passed pawn on e3.} 22. h3 {another time-wasting move. } (22. Nd2 $5 {White really needs to get more of his pieces into the game.}) 22... O-O {White now has no prospects on the kingside and it's about time to get the king to safety away from the center.} 23. Qe1 Rab8 {activating the rook; Black wants to play with all of his pieces. This may seem to ignore White's last move, which adds pressure to the Ne3, but it still cannot be taken without benefiting Black.} 24. Ra3 {again a move illustrating how awkward White's position is.} (24. Bxe3 dxe3 {opening up the long diagonal and the d4 square for the Bg7} 25. Rxe3 $2 Bd4 $19) 24... Rfc8 $19 {by this point White is under huge pressure, which will simply get worse, and can do nothing about it.} 25. Kh1 {moving off of the g1-a7 diagonal and taking away the ... Bd4 tactic, but it still doesn't help much.} Bf5 26. Bxe3 dxe3 27. Rxe3 Bxb2 28. Ra2 Bd4 {Black can again safely ignore White's threat to pick up a pawn, in this case on e7.} 29. Rf3 (29. Rxe7 Bf2 $1 {and now wherever the queen moves, the Re7 will be left hanging, or White opens himself to back rank problems.} (29... Bxd3 {would also be sufficient, as the Bb3 would be hanging after a recapture on d3}) 30. Qe2 (30. Qd2 Rxb3 31. cxb3 Qxe7 32. Qxf2 Rc1+) 30... Rxb3 {winning the piece, as if} 31. cxb3 $2 Qc1+ $19) 29... h5 {stopping g4 to kick the Bf5} 30. Nd2 {White finally gets all of his pieces developed, on move 30.} Bc3 31. Qf2 e6 {an instructive decision. Black heads for the endgame, which he must be confident of winning, as he will pick up the indefensible a5 pawn in the process.} 32. Qxc5 Rxc5 {After the exchange of queens Black wins the a-pawn and the game is practically over.} 33. Nf1 Rxa5 34. Rxa5 Bxa5 {Black has the outside passed a-pawn, the two bishops, and a well-placed rook, which should (and do) lead him to victory from this point on. } 35. Kh2 Bc3 36. g3 a5 {passed pawns must be pushed!} 37. Ne3 {designed to support the g-pawn advance} Rb4 {Black can also just make a waiting move with the bishop here, such as ...Bg7. This would remove White's subsequent threat along the third rank with the rook, although it perhaps doesn't matter in the end.} 38. g4 hxg4 39. hxg4 {Black can now play this several different ways. The problem for White is that his bishop is trapped after ...a4} Bxd3 40. Ng2 a4 41. Bxa4 Be4 42. Rxc3 Rxa4 {Black is still winning comfortably after the end of the sequence - remaining a pawn up, with a strong bishop vs. knight, and one pawn island versus two. However, those of us with lesser endgame technique might not have chosen this particular path.} 43. Ne1 Ra1 44. Re3 Rc1 {the ideal spot for the rook, behind White's isolated pawn.} 45. Re2 Kf8 { time to bring the king into the game.} 46. Kg3 Ke7 47. g5 Kd6 48. Kf2 Bf5 49. Nd3 Rh1 50. Ne5 Rh2+ {once the rooks come off, the win becomes more trivial for Black.} 51. Ke3 $6 {this allows the following tactic} (51. Kf3 Rxe2 52. Kxe2 $19) 51... d4+ 52. Kd2 Rxe2+ 53. Kxe2 Kd5 {compared with the above variation, Black is significantly ahead with the d-pawn and his king position in the center. Although the f-pawn will fall, this doesn't affect Black's defense against the White pawns, as Black's king will penetrate.} 54. Kd2 Ke4 55. Nxf7 Kxf4 56. c3 d3 {White could simply resign at this point, but apparently decides to play on in the hopes of a blunder by his opponent.} 57. Nd6 e5 58. Nc4 e4 {Black has two connected passed pawns in the center, will grab the g5 pawn giving him a third passed pawn, and Black's bishop covers the c8 queening square for White.} 59. Ne3 Kxg5 {a minor piece exchange is fine for Black, since the White king can't cover all of the passed pawns.} 60. Ke1 Bg4 61. Nd5 Kf5 62. Kd2 Ke5 63. Ne7 g5 64. Ke3 Bf3 65. c4 g4 {passed pawns (especially outside ones) must be pushed!} 66. Ng6+ Kd6 67. Nh4 Kc5 68. Nf5 Kxc4 69. Kd2 {is White playing for stalemate now? Hardly seems sporting.} Kd5 70. Ke3 Ke6 71. Ng3 Ke5 72. Nf1 Kf5 {Black's king now runs around the wing to escort his outside passed pawn.} 73. Ng3+ Kg5 74. Nf1 Kh4 75. Kf2 Kh3 76. Ke3 g3 77. Nd2 g2 78. Kf2 0-1

Commentary: 2016 U.S. Championship, Round 11 (Krush - Paikidze)

This last commentary game from the 2016 US Championship is the decisive round 11 encounter between GM Irina Krush and IM Nazi Paikidze in the Women's section.  (Original ChessBase commentary can be found here.)  Krush by this point in the tournament, with 6 points, was out of the running, while Paikidze had to win as Black in order to catch up to WGM Tatev Abrahamyan.

As with many games, knowing the context is important to understanding the choices made by the players.  Paikidze as Black could not afford to be passive, while Krush as White had no need to strive for a win.  This dynamic I think helped shape the game from the start in terms of the opening choice (a King's Indian Attack).  White with 17. f4 provokes a complex middlegame with a number of tactical ideas lurking in the variations - mostly to Black's benefit.  Black in response sacrifices a pawn and has the initiative for almost the entire game, although Krush at one point had fought back to near-equality.  Paikidze's play illustrates some important tactical and positional concepts for improving players and the factors involved are well worth studying.

[Event "ch-USA w 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "11.2"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2465"] [BlackElo "2346"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 9.3"] [PlyCount "128"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 {a noncommital response to White's first move, while ruling out an immediate e4 as follow-up.} 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 {this is slightly more challenging than the other standard move developing the bishop to f5.} 5. d3 {continuing with the standard plan of the King's Indian Attack setup. White will eventually play e4.} Nbd7 {the knight needs to be developed in any case, and this provides the option of supporting an ...e5 push.} 6. h3 Bh5 7. Qe1 { getting off the h5-d1 diagonal and behind the e-pawn.} e5 {played the vast majority of the time, forming a pawn duo in the center.} (7... e6 {is certainly possible, but is unambitious and drawish.}) 8. e4 dxe4 {not necessarily obligatory, but almost always played. The following game shows how problems can develop for Black by delaying it.} (8... Bd6 9. exd5 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nxd5 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 O-O 13. Rb1 Qc7 14. Bd2 f5 15. Qe2 Rae8 16. Bg2 Kh8 17. Qh5 Bc5 18. Bg5 Bb6 19. Rb4 Re6 20. Rh4 h6 21. d4 f4 22. gxf4 exd4 23. Qg4 Rg6 24. Be4 Rxf4 25. Qxf4 Qxf4 26. Rxf4 Rxg5+ 27. Kh1 Nf6 28. cxd4 Bxd4 29. Rd1 Bb6 30. Bf5 Kg8 31. c4 Bc7 32. Rf3 b5 33. cxb5 cxb5 34. Rb1 a6 35. Rc1 Be5 36. Rc6 Kf7 37. Rxa6 Bd4 38. Rd6 Bc5 39. Rc6 Be7 40. Rc7 g6 41. Re3 {1-0 (41) Movsesian,S (2695)-Zontakh,A (2546) Loo 2013}) 9. dxe4 Bc5 {developing the bishop to its most effective diagonal.} 10. a4 a5 {preventing a b4 advance.} 11. Na3 {actually the most common move played here, but scoring only 46 percent for White in the database. The point is to transfer the knight to c4.} O-O 12. Nc4 Qc7 {protecting e5 and connecting the rooks.} 13. Bd2 b6 {the obvious move, to ensure the a5 pawn is protected and Black's pieces are not tied down to it.} 14. Nh4 {intending to go to f5, but the knight ends up stuck here for a long time before exchanging itself for the bishop on g6.} Rfe8 { developing the rook, which was doing nothing on f8.} 15. Kh1 {getting off the a7-g1 diagonal and preparing to push the f-pawn.} Bg6 {anticipating the push g4 and pressuring e4, essentially inviting the following exchange.} 16. Nxg6 hxg6 {although White now has the two bishops, the individual minor piece trade is a fine idea for Black. Her light-square bishop was not doing anything very important and the White knight on the kingside otherwise could effectively support a pawn advance and/or could go to f5.} 17. f4 {a natural move, but perhaps White could have taken some more time to prepare it. Black is able to launch a counterstroke on the queenside.} b5 {the tactics work in Black's favor if White accepts the pawn sacrifice.} 18. Bxa5 (18. Nxa5 {is inferior, as the Na5 is out on a limb and its protectors can become overloaded, while Black has multiple other threats.} exf4 19. axb5 f3 20. Rxf3 (20. Bxf3 cxb5 $15 {and now Black can threaten the g3 and c2 pawns after ...Bd6.}) 20... cxb5 21. Rb3 Bd6 $15 22. Re3 (22. Rxb5 $2 Nc5 $17)) 18... Qc8 19. axb5 cxb5 20. Nd2 { the engine assesses the position as equal, as White's pieces are not as well coordinated as her opponent's and Black can start making threats along the e-file.} exf4 21. gxf4 Nd5 {a key move in the sequence, as the knight takes advantage of the pinned e-pawn to use d5 as an outpost and threaten to go to e3.} 22. Rf3 {defending the e3 square, albeit awkwardly.} (22. b4 $5 {is a recurring idea in this position that the engines identify. White at least temporarily gives back the pawn in order to better activate her pieces and deflect Black's threats. For example} Nxb4 23. Qb1 Nc6 24. Qxb5 Nxa5 25. Rxa5 Rxa5 26. Qxa5 Nf6 $11) 22... f5 $6 {this invites the advance of the e-pawn, which essentially solves White's problems with it.} (22... N7f6 {would increase the pressure and not allow for the advance, as if} 23. e5 $6 Nh5 $17 { and now the f-pawn is under fire.}) 23. e5 g5 {evidently this was Paikidze's idea, to pressure the e-pawn by undermining its support. White is faced with some complex choices.} 24. fxg5 $2 {this was unnecessary and justifies Black's play.} (24. Qd1 {would get the queen out of the pin first and improve on the idea.} gxf4 $2 (24... N7b6 25. fxg5 Rxe5 26. b4 Bxb4 27. Bxb4 Nxb4 28. Rxa8 Nxa8 29. Rb3 $16) (24... Nxf4 $2 25. Rxf4 gxf4 26. Bd5+ Kf8 27. Qh5 $16) 25. Nc4 bxc4 26. Qxd5+ $18) (24. b4 $5 {has similar ideas as in the variation above. The hanging Nd5 and the open long diagonal give White some tactical possibilities and Black has to be careful.}) 24... Nxe5 {Black now takes over the initiative. The two centralized knights in combination with the Re8 and Bc5 can make a variety of threats in this wide-open position.} 25. Rf2 $2 { preserving the rook in this way just leads to more trouble for White. The engines suggest a positional exchange sacrifice.} (25. Qg3 $5 Nxf3 26. Bxf3 $17 ) (25. Rf1 Ne3 $17) 25... Ne3 $19 {it's clear by this point that for the investment of a pawn, Black's pieces are now dominating the game. This is a more positional road to victory.} (25... Nd3 $1 {is even stronger, with a double attack on the queen and rook. White loses material in all lines, for example} 26. Bxd5+ Kh7 27. cxd3 Rxe1+ 28. Rxe1 Bxf2 $19) 26. Nb3 {protecting the c2 pawn by opening the second rank, but it would be safer to get the queen out of danger with Qb1.} Nxg2 {Black again passes up the ...Nd3 tactic.} 27. Rxg2 $17 f4 {following the precept that passed pawns must be pushed, although this reduces the pressure of Black's pieces.} (27... Nf3 $5) 28. Qc3 Nc4 (28... f3 {is favored by the engines and is the logical continuation of the previous move's idea.}) 29. Qf3 {White has been doing a good job of containing Black's threats as best she can and the engines show only a slight advantage for Black at this point.} Qf5 $15 30. Nxc5 {White logically wants to eliminate Black's strong bishop, but now the Ba5 is hanging. This is a case of where "doing something" in a position is actually inferior to waiting.} (30. g6 $5 {is the engine recommendation, a waiting move that also restricts Black's king.} Rac8 31. Qg4 Qxg4 32. Rxg4 Bd6 $15) 30... Qxc5 31. b4 Qf5 $17 {looking at how the position has transformed, White's bishop is now largely locked away, although may get back into the action via c7. Meanwhile Black's control of the e-file and the well-placed Nc4 are key advantages; the Ra8 can also easily get into the action.} 32. Rf2 Re4 33. Rg1 Rae8 34. Bc7 $2 {an apparently logical idea, to increase pressure on the f-pawn and have the bishop do something useful, but now Black's domination of the e-file and her rooks will decide the game.} ( 34. Kh2 {would protect the h-pawn, which is vulnerable to pressure along the 3rd rank.}) (34. Qg4) 34... Re3 $1 $19 35. Qxf4 Rxh3+ {a good example of the principle of looking for tactical exchanges, in this case the f-pawn for the h-pawn, since White could not take and also protect at the same time. Obviously the loss of the h-pawn hurts White much more than the f-pawn does Black, due to White's vulnerable king.} 36. Kg2 Ne3+ 37. Qxe3 {forced.} Qg4+ { here the value of the tactic of gaining a tempo is illustrated, with White's queen moving out of danger.} 38. Qg3 Rxg3+ 39. Bxg3 Re3 40. Kh2 Qh5+ {a nice little tactic to pick up the g-pawn and give Black a passed pawn on the kingside.} 41. Kg2 Qxg5 {White does not have compensation for being down material (R+B vs Q). It is instructive to see how Black's Q+R combination holds the initiative and how White is essentially helpless to do anything from this point forward.} 42. Kh2 Re6 43. Rgg2 Qh5+ 44. Kg1 Qd1+ 45. Rf1 Qd4+ 46. Rff2 Re1+ 47. Kh2 Qd1 48. Bf4 Qh5+ 49. Kg3 Rh1 50. Rh2 Rg1+ 51. Rhg2 Rh1 52. Rh2 Qg6+ 53. Kh3 Qe6+ 54. Kg3 Re1 55. Rhg2 Qg6+ 56. Kh2 Qe4 57. Bg5 Qxb4 { an illustration of the power of the queen to reposition herself with tempo and then pick up additional material in an endgame.} 58. Bf4 (58. Bf6 $2 Qd6+ 59. Kh3 Rh1+ 60. Kg4 gxf6 $19) 58... Qe7 59. Kg3 Re6 60. Kh3 Qd7 61. Kh2 Re4 62. Kg3 Qf5 63. Rf3 g5 {Black is now able to bring another piece into the attack.} 64. Bxg5 {one last attempt at setting a trap.} Rg4+ {the tactical intermediate move that finishes things off.} (64... Qxg5+ $4 65. Kh3) 0-1