GM Bator Sambuev is the winningest chess players in the Candian swiss tournament circuit in recent memory, and it is through wins such as the following against a strong master that he achieves such success. Watch him convert a suspect position after a less than optimal opening into a (relatively) risk-free win.
[Event "TORO (Open)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.07"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Kraiouchkine, Nikita"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2528"]
[BlackElo "2243"]
[Annotator "MacKinnon,Keith"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 {The exchange variation
of the Gueen's Gambit Declined} 6. e3 c5 (6... Nbd7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2
c4 10. Bf5 {main line but White's results aren't great}) 7. Bb5+ {staying away
from the transposition back into the main line that would arise after 7.Nf3} (
7. dxc5 {is somewhat tempting also - especially if you enjoy playing against
isolated queen pawns}) 7... Bd7 8. Bxd7+ Nbxd7 9. Nge2 h6 (9... Qa5 10. Bxf6
Nxf6 11. dxc5) 10. Bh4 Qb6 $146 (10... c4 11. O-O Qa5 12. a3 Bxc3 13. bxc3 O-O
14. Qc2 Rfe8 15. Rfb1 Qa6 16. Qb2 b6 17. Bxf6 Nxf6 $11 {but eventual 1-0 Zhou
Jianchao (2660)-Lu,S (2456)/Tianjin 2011/CBM 141 Extra (41)}) 11. O-O (11. dxc5
Qxc5 12. O-O O-O 13. Rc1 $14) 11... cxd4 12. Na4 Qa6 13. Nxd4 O-O 14. a3 Bd6
15. Nc3 Be5 (15... Rfe8) 16. Bg3 (16. f4 {looks interesting at first, but
Black gets good play} Bxd4 17. Qxd4 Rfe8 18. Rfe1 Rac8 19. Rad1 (19. Nxd5 Rc4 (
19... Nxd5 20. Qxd5 Nb6 21. Qd4 Rc2 $44)) 19... Rc4 20. Qd3 Nc5 21. Qe2 Nce4
$11) 16... Bxg3 17. hxg3 Ne5 18. Qe2 {Isolated pawns are often a bigger
disadvantage in the endgame, so it is logical that Bator would seek to
exchange Queens} Qxe2 19. Ncxe2 (19. Ndxe2 Nc4 $11) 19... Rfd8 20. Rfd1 Rac8
21. Rab1 {Black has full equality, so it will be interesting to see how the
game develops from this point onward} Kf8 22. f3 Nc4 23. Kf2 Re8 24. Rd3 Re5 (
24... a6) 25. b3 (25. Rc1 Ree8 26. Rdc3 Nd6 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. g4 {and White
will be the one playing for the win due to Black's pawn on d5, but the draw
should be easily attainable}) 25... Nd6 ({the pawn is immune} 25... Nxa3 26.
Ra1 Nc2 27. Rc1 $18) 26. g4 Re7 27. Rc1 {Exchanging one pair of rooks may make
Black's defensive task more difficult} Rxc1 28. Nxc1 Rc7 29. Nce2 a6 30. a4 b5
(30... g6 31. Ke1 Rc8 32. Rd1 Kg7 33. Nf4 $14) 31. axb5 axb5 32. Rd2 $6 (32.
Rd1 {would have been a lot cleaner. Black would have had a very difficult
defensive task ahead} Ra7 33. Rc1 Ra2 34. Rc2 Ra5 35. Nf4 g6 36. Nd3 $16) 32...
Nxg4+ 33. fxg4 Ne4+ 34. Ke1 Nxd2 35. Kxd2 Re7 36. Nc3 b4 (36... Re5 37. Ke2 {
the b5 pawn isn't going anywhere, and this way, we can defend g4 on ...Rg5})
37. Nxd5 Re4 38. Nf4 g6 (38... g5 39. Kd3 $16) 39. Kd3 Re5 40. e4 h5 41. gxh5
gxh5 42. Nc6 {There were easier ways to go about the win, but this does the
trick} (42. g3 {preparing to play Nd5 and take b4} Ke8 43. Nd5 Rg5 44. Nf5 $18)
42... Rg5 43. Nxb4 h4 {Do you see the threat?} 44. Ke2 {the only winning move!}
(44. Nbd5 Rxg2 $1 {The rook is immune as Knights are really bad at defending
against outside passers} 45. b4 $11 (45. Nxg2 h3 46. Ngf4 h2 47. e5 h1=Q 48. e6
$11 {Surprisingly, White isn't lost even here.})) 44... Rg3 (44... Rxg2+ 45.
Nxg2 h3 46. Nd3 $18 {it is for this reason that 44.Ke2 wins} h2 47. Nf2) 45.
Nbd3 {White confidently converts his advantage from here on out} f6 46. Kd2 Ke8
47. Kc3 Kd7 48. Kd4 Kd6 49. b4 Rg5 50. Ne1 Rg4 51. Ke3 f5 52. exf5 Ke5 53.
Ned3+ Kxf5 54. b5 Rg8 55. Kd4 Kf6 56. b6 Ke7 57. Kd5 Kd8 58. Kc6 Rh8 59. Nc5
Rh6+ 60. Nfe6+ 1-0
