Knight v Bishop (part 28)

Black has just captured on d8 in Spanton (2081) - R Myhrvold (2253), Bergen (Norway) 2000. Who stands better, and by how much?

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Black has much the better pawn-structure, and the better minor piece for working with rival pawn-majorities (not that the white majority is likely to produce a passed pawn anyway). Stockfish12 gives Black the upper hand, but Komodo11.01 reckons Black only has a slight edge.

23.Kc2 Kc7

Not 23...c3? 24.b3 and 25.Kxc3.

24.Kc3 b5?!

Probably better is 24...Kd6

25.Kb4?

Much better is 25.Nd4 Bd7 26.a4.

25...Kb6 26.Nd4?!

The one good thing about the white position is that the knight has a central outpost, but that is of little consolation as the black queenside majority is fast-moving. However, better here seems to be 26.a4 a5+ 27.Kc3 b4+ 28.Kd4 Bd7 29.Nd2 c3! 30.Nc4+ Ka6 31.bxc3 bxc3 32.Kxc3 Bxa4, although Black is for choice.

26...a5+ 27.Kc3 b4+ 28.Kd2 Bd7 29.Kc2 Kc5 30.Kd2 Kd5 31.Nc2 Ba4 32.Nd4

White has no real possibility of counterplay, and must wait for Black to attack.

32...g6 33.Nf3 Ke4 34.Nd4 Bd7 35.Nc2 Kf5 36.Nd4+ Kg4 37.Nf3 Kh3

I see from my original notes "I was close to resigning here." The engines agree resignation is justified - Black is +4.46, according to Komodo11.01; +7.5, according to Stockfish12.

38.e4 Be6?!

This maintains Black's winning advantage, but I doubt if RM would have played it if he had taken my next move seriously.

39.e5!?

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39...h6?

This turns a win into a loss.

Better is 39...Kg4 40.exf6 Kf5 with approximate equality (also equal, according to the engines, is 40.Nd4 c3+ 41.bxc3 bxc3+ 42.Kxc3 Bxa2).

But winning, according to the engines, is 39...fxe5!! 40.Ng5+ Kxh2 41.Nxe6 h5, one plausible line being 42.Nf8 g5 43.Ng6 Kxg3 44.Nxe5 h4 45.Nxc4 (45.Nf3 g4)  h3 etc.

40.exf6 g5 41.Ne5!?

This probably wins but the engines' 41.e4 is more solid.

41...g4

More challenging seems to be 41...Kxh2 42.f7 Bxf7 43.Nxf7 Kxg3 but 44.Nxh6 Kf4 45.e3+ Ke4 46.a4!? appears good enough for White.

42.f7 Bxf7 43.Nxf7 h5 44.e4 Kxh2 45.e5 Kxg3

Or 45...h4 46.Nh6 Kxg3 47.e6 h3 48.e7 h2 49.e8=Q h1=Q 50.Qe5+, after which Black cannot prevent queens coming off, leaving White with an easy win.

46.e6 h4 47.e7 h3 48.e8=Q Kg2 49.Qe4+ 1-0