Heart Of Finland (Jyväskylä) 2012
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 c6 4.d4 exd4 5.Qxd4 d5 6.Bg2
This is the main move, and is the choice of the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10, but 6.cxd4 is also popular.
6...Be6 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Nf3 Bc6 9.Qa4 Bc5 10.0-0 0-0 11.Rd1!?
Šulskis said he was very much expecting 11.Bg5, which is the main move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
11...Qb6 12.e3 Rac8!?
I think Šulskis said he should have developed this rook to d8, but the text is the choice of the engines.
13.Qb5!?
This forces queens off, which benefits White as it reduces the attacking potential of Black's IQP position.
13...Qxb5 14.Nxb5 a6 15.Nc3!?
Normally White wants to plonk this knight on d4 in such positions, but after 15.Nbd4 Nxd4 16.Nxd4 Bxd4!? Black gets a rook to the seventh rank.
15...Rfd8 16.Bd2
Developing the bishop here allows Black to more-easily exchange off his isolani, but 16.b3 allows ...d4 anyway, and it is not clear that the coming ...d4 in the game fully equalises.
16...b5 17.Rac1 d4 18.exd4
After 18.Nxb5!? dxe3 19.fxe3 the engines reckon Black more-or-less has full compensation for his pawn-minus, but they cannot agree on what is best play. One line runs 19...Ne4 20.Nbd4 Nxd4 21.exd4 (forced as 21.Nxd4? Nxd2 costs White at least the exchange, and more if he is not careful, eg 22.Rxd2? Bxd4 23.Rxc8 Bxe3+ etc) Bb6 22.Be3 Nd6 23.b3 Nf5 24.Bf2 Rxc1 25.Bxc1 Nxd4, when Black has got his pawn back, although the engines slightly prefer White after 26.Kf1.
18...Nxd4 19.Nxd4 Bxd4 20.Bb7 Rb8 21.Bf3
I changed my mind about playing 21.Bxa6 as I did not like 21...Ng4. The engines continue 22.Bf4!? Ra8 23.Bb7 Bxf2+ 24.Kg2 Be3 25.Bxa8 Rxa8 26.a3!? Bxc1 27.Bxc1 Bc4 with maybe a slight edge for White.
21...Bg4 22.Kg2 Rbc8 23.Bg5 h5 24.h3 Bxf3+ 25.Kxf3 Be5 26.Nd5!
A strong move that brings about liquidation into a favourable ending, although my notes show that Houdini1.5a rated the ending as equal.
26...Rxc1 27.Nxf6+ Bxf6 28.Rxd8+ Bxd8 29.Bxc1
White is slightly better thanks to having the more-centralised king.
29...f5 30.Kf4 g6 31.Ke5 h4!?
This is Komodo10's second choice behind 31...Kf7. Stockfish10 at first does not like the text at all, but later comes to reckon the text is best, before finally settling on 31...Kf7.
32.gxh4!
This is best. If, say, 32.Kd5, Black has 32...hxg3 33.fxg3 Bc7 when the engines reckon both 34.Bf4 Bxf4 35.gxf4 Kg7 and 34.g4 f4 are dead equal.
32...Bxh4 33.f3 Kf7 34.Kd5 Bf2?!
This is a difficult position for Black. Houdini1.5a suggested 34...Bd8?!, but my modern engines reckon White is winning (Stockfish10) or at least much better (Komodo10) after 35.Bd2. They instead give 34...g5!? 35.Bd2 Kg6, when one line runs 36.b3 Bf2 37.Ke5 f4 38.Bc3, which Stcokfish10 reckons slightly favours White, but Komodo10 calls equal.
The key point about 34...g5!? seems to be that it opens a line for the black king to get at the white kingside. The problem with the text is that ...g5 on the next move would simply drop the g pawn.
35.Kc6 Ke6 36.Bf4?
The immediate 36.Kb7 is stronger.
36...Bg1?
Black is just about holding on after 36...b4, according to the engines, eg 37.Kb7 Kd5 38.Kxa6 Kc4 39.Ka5 b3!? 40.axb3+ (40.a4?? loses to 40...Bd4 41.Bc1 f4!) Kxb3 41.Be5 Kc4 42.b4 Be1 43.Bd6 f4 44.Ka4 Bxb4! 45.Bxb4 Kd3 etc.
37.b3!?
The point of this move is that Black cannot advance his king, so is reduced to marking time with his bishop.
37...Bf2
Not 37...b4? as the black bishop's position on g1 means it cannot protect the black b pawn after 38.Bd6.
38.Kb7 Kd5 39.Kxa6 b4?
Šulskis pointed out 39...Kc6 in the postmortem, but White is probably still winning.
40.Bd2 Kd4
No help is 40...Kc5 41.Ka5 or 40...Bc5 41.Kb5.
41.Kb5 Kd3 42.Bxb4 Ke3 43.a4 Kxf3
 |
| White to play and win |
*****
*****
*****
*****
44.Bc5??
Winning easily is 44.a5. The problem with the text, as Šulskis pointed out, is it gives Black a tempo to clear the logjam in front of his passed pawn.
44...Bxc5 45.Kxc5 f4 46.a5 Kg3 47.a6 f3 48.a7 f2 49.a8=Q f1=Q 50.Qe4
It is not possible to hold on to both white pawns, eg 50.Qh8 Qf5+ 51.Kb4 Qxh3.
50...Qf8+ 51.Kc4 Qf7+ 52.Qd5 Qf4+ 53.Qd4 g5 54.b4 Kxh3 55.b5 Qf7+ 56.Qd5 Qc7+ 57.Qc5 Qf4+ 58.Qd4 Qxd4+ 59.Kxd4 g4 60.b6 g3 61.b7 g2 62.b8=Q g1=Q+ 63.Ke4 Qg2+ 64.Kd4 Qd2+ ½–½
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
A centralised king is a powerful piece in an ending. The position after 29.Bxc1 was definitely better for White, whatever Houdini1.5a reckoned, and the powerful king meant Black had to play very accurately to avoid defeat. Such accuracy proved beyond the grandmaster, but he was saved by my blunder at move 44.
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