2nd endgame in a row

K-C
January Match Internet Chess Club (6), 21.01.2006
C99 - Ruy Lopez : Closed, Tchigorin Variation, 12 ...cxd4

1.e4 e5 [I wanted revenge for our game last week, no doubt about it. I wasn't in the mood for another Opocensky Najdorf 1...c5 ;
didn't want a passive position with 1...c6 ;
and don't have the bollocks to try 1...Nf6 vs. the arch-duke of the Alekhine himself (but will in the future even if it's just blitz). So 1.e4 e5 it is] 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 [Of course there's always other options. I had to think at this point whether I wanted to play something "normal" or get him thinking on move 3 with something like 3...f5 ] 4.Ba4 [A less classy player would probably have played 4.Bxc6 ] 4...b5 a little finesse to stop a later Bxc6 5.Bb3 Nf6 6.0-0 [They say that 6.d4 is good here on chessgames.com (12 wins for White v. 2 losses, most of them miniatures). Interesting. Although after 6...exd4 7.e5 Ne4 I don't see what the big deal is as in Menke-Rellstab 1947(or even 7...Ng4 ) ] 6...Be7 7.Re1 0-0 The only reason I offered the Marshall, was not because I wanted him to play 8.c3 and allow it, but was to kill some time and let him decide whether or not to allow it. He didn't 8.h3 [The odd time where I do play the Closed Lopez I play this move order because the anti-Marshalls (IMHO) aren't as good for White as the mainline Closed Lopezes. 8.a4 Bb7 for instance] 8...d6 [I recalled that the grandmaster refutation to this line is 8...Bb7, but I couldn't remember why :) if 9.c3 (9.d3 is normally played by the Linares crowd) 9...d5! allows a better Marshall. 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxe5 Nxe5 12.Rxe5 Black doesn't have to waste a tempo with ...c6 and can play something like 12...Bf6 (or even 12...Nf4! ) ] 9.c3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 exd4?! [13...-- Releasing the tension in the center, which as a certain Mr. Frarey tought me the hard way, whomever released the central tension in the Lopez loses. I wanted to mix it up though. Kirk has made me suffer on the Black side of the Tchigorin too many times with the 14.Nf1 -- 15.Ng3 -- 16.Nh4 -- 17.Nhf5 plan and checkmated me horribly. So I wanted him to have to think for a change, plus I figured it would be easier to develop my knight if he didn' thave d5 kickign it from c6 and where was my bishop gonna go. Hell, maybe I'll have to try a different Lopez next time ;)] 14.Nxd4 Nc6 [I was thinking about moves like 14...Be6 for a while, trying to get him to trade off the bishop and get rid of my isolated pawns. The problem with this thinking (although it does develop my bishop) is that I'm making a conscious effort not to trade bishops for knights if I can help it (although that will be shown laughable later on in this game)] 15.N2f3 Ne5 Again to get my pawn away from d6 [15...Nxd4 16.Nxd4 d5 17.exd5 Bb4 18.Re2 Bb7 may have been an easier way to open up the game. History has shown (me) that Black's game gets easier the more open it is in the Tchigorin] 16.Bf4 Rd8!? not the greatest move but I had to free my pieces. [16...Nh5!? 17.Nxe5? (but 17.Bh2 basically refutes it) 17...Nxf4 may have been decent;
Probably just developing with 16...Bd7 was the strongest.] 17.Rc1! Yes! Taking advantage of my weaknesses in development. I had to decide where to put my queen. Fitz likes Qb6, but I was worried about tactics on the e7 bishop 17...Nxf3+ 18.Qxf3 Qb7 19.Bb3 Bd7 Now I wanted to trade off a pair of rooks. I don't think he will be able to put sufficient pressure on my d-pawn. 20.Qd3?! [20.e5! Qxf3 21.Nxf3 dxe5 22.Nxe5 and the weakness of my bishop on e7 tell] 20...Rac8 21.Nf3? [21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Nf3 because the rook is guarding the e-pawn.] 21...Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Qxe4 23.Bxf7+! I totally missed this. I had flashbacks to the previously mentioned game where he checkmated me horribly. I didn't see anything terrible though with... 23...Kf8 24.Qxe4 [The exchange was forced as 24.Qd2 Bxh3 is good for Black (and i even saw that)] 24...Nxe4 25.Bd5 Nc5 Aiming to fork 26.Bg3 [I wasn't sure what to try with 26.Rd1 Be6 was recommended by Fritz but 27.b4 looked good to me, stopping my queenside and leaving me with an isolated pawn] 26...Be6= I offered a draw here. Kirk took about 2 minutes before deciding on 27.Rxc5! Fritz likes it as two bishops for a rook is pretty good. The only problem with it, positionally, is that it gives me winning chances on the queenside and gets rid of my isolated pawn. 27...dxc5 28.Bxe6 Rd1+?! 29.Kh2 Bd6 This was the idea behind my odd 28th move. I wanted to trade off the bishops and go knight and light squred bishop v. rook. Unfortunately, Kirk was not so accomodating 30.Ne5 [30.Bc8 was probably better, because I'm impatient so I likely wouldn't have seen the error of my ways and played 30...Bxg3+? probably losing b/c of the active king] 30...Ke7 [I couldn't make 30...Re1 work but after 31.f4 Re2 Fritz says it's all good. My move was based on the active king. Kirk's king is more of a bystander than anything.] 31.Bc8 Bxe5? Giving up the bishop pair for no compensation, plus he grabs a couple of pawns. I was counting on 3 being better than 2 on the queenside, but honestly I was very lucky it worked out so well. [31...Re1 didn't work here as 32.Nc6+ won a piece but;
31...Rd2 32.Bxa6 Rxb2 was pretty good] 32.Bxe5 a5 33.Bxg7 a4 34.Bh6? [34.f4 was better] 34...b4 [I thought about 34...Rb1 35.b3 axb3 36.axb3 Rxb3 but that gets rid of my most advanced pawn 37.Bf5 c4 38.Bxh7 and now what?] 35.Bf5 Ra1 36.Bxh7 Rxa2 37.Bg7 [Defending the other way 37.Bc1 was likely better.] 37...a3 38.Bg8? [38.bxa3 bxa3 (38...Rxa3 to keep the pawns together loses to 39.Bg8) 39.f4 will be tough for me.] 38...Rxb2! 39.Bxb2? [He's gotta go for his own with 39.f4 ] 39...axb2 40.Ba2 c4 41.h4 c3 42.Bb3 b1Q He blundered in the endgame. As the last two games have shown, we *both* need to work on technique. We're both victims of bad decisions as much as anything 0-1