This week's game was played at the Calgary International, one of the few norm tournaments in Canada. This game shows how perseverance in a seemingly draw position can often pay off, even if it relies on some help from the opponent. A perfect example of "Cat and Mouse".
[Event "7th Calgary International"]
[Site "Montreal CAN"]
[Date "2014.11.07"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Ng, Gary"]
[Black "Humphreys, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2151"]
[BlackElo "2190"]
[PlyCount "180"]
[EventDate "2014.10.10"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceDate "2014.11.09"]
[TimeControl "5400+2065"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:34"]
[BlackClock "0:26:29"]
1. b4 e5 {e5 is usually considered the best reply to b4. It may seem odd for
Black to exchange a central pawn for a b pawn, but Black is usually able to
seize the center and develop his pieces very quickly.} 2. Bb2 Bxb4 3. Bxe5 Nf6
4. c4 $6 {In order to prevent d5. But this move is often considered dubious,
because of the Nc6 line.} O-O (4... Nc6 5. Bb2 O-O 6. e3 d5 $17) 5. Nf3 d5 6.
e3 c5 7. Nc3 Nbd7 8. Bd6 ({Also worth considering was to exchange pieces in
order to release the pressure in the center.} 8. Bxf6 Nxf6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Qb3
) 8... Re8 9. Nxd5 Nxd5 10. cxd5 Nf6 11. Be5 $2 (11. Bg3 {Was necessary.})
11... Ne4 $1 {White now probably realized why Be5 was a mistake. His knight
needs to protect both the d2 pawn and the e5 bishop.} 12. Bb2 Bg4 $1 {No need
to take the d5 pawn; Black can simply add more pressure.} 13. Bc1 {It was
either that or giving away the d2 pawn.} Qxd5 14. Qb3 Rad8 $2 (14... Qh5 $1 15.
Be2 Rad8 {And White is completely lost}) 15. Qxd5 Rxd5 16. Bc4 Rd6 17. a3 Ba5
18. Ra2 Bxf3 $2 {Why releasing the pressure? The knight is not going anywhere.
Bringing another rook on the d file would have been much better.} 19. gxf3 Nxd2
20. Bxd2 Rxd2 21. O-O {Black has managed to win a pawn, but could have aimed
for more. It will now be rather difficult to convert this pawn into a win,
especially considering the opposite-colored bishops.} Red8 22. Rxd2 Rxd2 23.
Rb1 b6 24. Rc1 {At this point, Black has way to attack the a3 pawn or to add
extra pressure on the f2 and h2 pawn. His only option is to bring his king and
use it to advance his pawns.} Kf8 25. f4 Ke7 26. Kg2 Rb2 27. a4 Bd2 $6 (27...
Rd2 {Was probably better. It does seem like Black plans to exchange the rooks.
The endgame would then be hard to win, but also very hard to lose.}) 28. Rd1
Bc3 29. Bb5 Rd2 30. Rxd2 Bxd2 {It is hard to find a plan for Black here. With
optimal play, it should be a draw. But that doesn't prevent him from trying!}
31. Kf3 f5 {Black tries to fix all the pawns on the kingside and hopes to
somehow have a breakthrough on the queenside. But this is a very optimistic
plan.} 32. Bd3 Ke6 33. Bc4+ Kf6 34. h4 g6 35. Bd3 {Black can now try to play
Cat and Mouse. He has nothing to lose, and can try every idea he could
possibly have. Meanwhile, he can always hope that White makes a mistake, which
is quite common after hours of play.} Ke6 36. Bc4+ Ke7 37. Bd3 Kf7 38. Bc4+ Kg7
39. Bd3 Bc3 40. Bc4 (40. h5 Kf6 41. hxg6 {Would probably be a good way for
White to exchange pawns. Black can either take with the King, and thus be
doomed to protect the f5 pawn, or take with the h pawn.}) 40... Bf6 41. Kg3 Kf8
42. Kh3 Bc3 43. Kg3 Ke7 44. Kf3 Kf6 45. Kg3 Bd2 46. Kf3 h6 47. Bb5 Bc3 48. Bc4
Ke7 49. Kg3 Bf6 {At this point it doesn't seem like Black will win this... But
readers can guess we wouldn't have featured this game if it didn't had an
explosive finish!} 50. Kh3 Kd6 51. f3 Ke7 52. Kg3 Bc3 53. Kf2 Bf6 54. Kg3 Bb2
55. Bd3 Ke6 56. e4 $2 {While not losing, this move is risky. In such endgames,
it is extremely important not to lose patience. White could have simply moved
his bishop or played h5 instead of pushing this pawn.} Bc1 57. Bc4+ Kf6 58. Bd3
Bd2 59. Bc4 Be1+ 60. Kh3 Bf2 61. Bd3 Ke6 62. Bc4+ Ke7 63. Bd3 Kd7 {An
interesting, but desperate attempt by Black.} 64. Bc4 (64. exf5 gxf5 65. Bxf5+
Kd6 66. Bd3 Kd5 67. Kg4 c4 68. Be4+ Kd4 69. f5 Ke5 70. Bc2 {And White seems to
hold.}) 64... Ke7 65. Bd3 Kd6 66. Bc4 Be3 67. Kg3 Ke7 68. Bd3 Kf6 69. Bc4 Bd2
70. Bd3 Be1+ 71. Kh3 Bf2 72. Bc4 Be3 73. Kg3 g5 {Another interesting attempty
by Black. It unfortunately doesn't work :} 74. hxg5+ hxg5 75. fxg5+ Kxg5 76.
f4+ $2 {White is ready to sacrifice a pawn to get his king closer to the
queenside. This could work in some situation, but in this case it is way to
risky} Bxf4+ 77. Kf3 Bc1 78. exf5 $2 {And White throws away the game. As
logical as this move may seem, it only helps Black activating his king.} ({
White could have tried} 78. Bd3 f4 79. e5 Bb2 80. e6 Bf6 {But Black should be
able to win, thanks to its two passed pawns.}) ({More interesting was} 78. Be6
f4 79. e5 Bb2 80. Ke4 Ba1 81. Bd7 c4 82. Be6 c3 83. Bb3 Bb2 84. Kd3 Kf5 85. e6
Kf6 {And with precise play, White might be able to hold.}) 78... Kxf5 79. Ke2
Ke4 80. Kd1 Kd4 81. Bb5 Bg5 82. Kc2 c4 83. Be8 $2 {Greatly facilitates Black
play. However, he still wins in all lines :} (83. Ba6 Kc5 84. Bb5 Kb4 85. Kb2
Bf6+ 86. Kc2 Be5 87. Bd7 (87. Ba6 Kxa4 88. Bxc4 {With a tablebase win for Black
}) 87... a6 88. Be8 b5 89. axb5 axb5 $19) 83... a6 84. Bc6 Kc5 85. Bb7 b5 86.
Bxa6 b4 87. Bc8 b3+ 88. Kb1 c3 89. Bf5 Kb4 90. Bc2 bxc2+ 0-1
