[Event "Carnival"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.02.19"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Le Siège, Alexandre"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2567"]
[Annotator "Bator Sambuev"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.14"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 {Trying to play a Zukertort.} g6 {But now I get
Grunfeld or, if you want, Catalan reversed.} 4. c4 Bg7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Be2 c5 7.
dxc5 {[#]} (7. O-O {leads to Tarrasch reversed, another opening in my
repertoire.}) 7... dxc4 (7... Qa5 {is the main line. I think White's extra
move (Be2) should tell in some circumstances. For example:} 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9.
Qxd5 Bxc3+ 10. Bd2 Rd8 11. Qxd8+ $5 Qxd8 12. Bxc3 {and compared to the same
line in the Catalan White already may castle. I think in such a position this
should be important.}) 8. Qxd8 Rxd8 9. Bxc4 {On the other hand, now I lose my
extra tempo, and the position is equal.} Nbd7 10. c6 bxc6 11. Bd2 (11. O-O {
would be more accurate, but I didn't want to evacuate my king from the centre
too early.}) 11... Nb6 (11... Ng4 {now could be unpleasant.}) 12. Be2 c5 13.
Rc1 ({Following a wrong plan. After} 13. O-O Bb7 14. Rfd1 {I have a chance to
trade some pieces and then attack Black's weak pawns.}) 13... Bb7 14. b3 a5 {
[#]} 15. Bb5 {This is the point of my plan. Here I already was optimistic. If
I manage to complete development, Black's pawns on a5 and c5 will become
targets. But, after some thinking, Alexandre found very strong regrouping.}
Rdc8 16. O-O Ne8 $1 (16... c4 {allows Black to get rid of the c-pawn, but not
the a-pawn.}) 17. Be2 Nd6 18. Rc2 c4 19. Rfc1 {[#] It looks like it's going to
be another boring grandmaster draw. But suddenly it becomes very sharp.} Nd5 $5
{Not the best move -- 19...a4 -- but eventually we get a very interesting
study-like ending.} 20. Nxd5 (20. Na4 Nb4 (20... c3 {also leads to a draw, but
requires some accuracy:} 21. Bxc3 Bxc3 22. Nxc3 Nb4 23. Rb2 Bxf3 24. gxf3 Rc7
$1 25. a3 Rac8 $1 26. Rd1 Rxc3 27. axb4 axb4 28. Rd4 $11) 21. Bxb4 cxb3 $1 22.
Rxc8+ Rxc8 23. Rxc8+ Nxc8 24. axb3 axb4 {Black is slightly better due to the
bishop pair, but most likely it's a draw. I found one trick that Alexandre
missed playing 19... Nd5. Unfortunately for me I missed another intermediate
move that led me to lost position.}) 20... Bxd5 21. Bxc4 $2 ({After} 21. Nd4 {
it's still equal. But I realized my mistake too late.}) 21... Nxc4 ({Here
Alexandre noticed that on} 21... Be4 $2 22. Bxf7+ $1 {wins! But...}) 22. e4 {
[#]} Bb2 $1 (22... Bxe4 $2 23. Rxc4 Rxc4 24. Rxc4 {Black should be OK due to
the bishop pair, but a pawn is a pawn.}) 23. Rd1 ({editor -} 23. bxc4 $2 Bxc1
24. exd5 Bxd2 25. Nxd2 Rab8 $19 {White's pawns aren't going anywhere.}) 23...
Bxe4 24. Rxc4 Rxc4 25. bxc4 Rd8 $1 {This is the problem. This pin should
secure Black some material advantage.} 26. Kf1 Bd3+ 27. Kg1 {White cannot do
anything else.} Be4 {Black tries to win the c-pawn while keeping a-pawns on
the board. That would be deadly for White.} (27... Bxc4 28. Rb1 Bf6 29. Bxa5 {
with drawing chances.}) 28. Kf1 a4 29. Ne1 Bb7 30. Nc2 Ba6 31. Ne3 f5 {The
last few moves were more-or-less logical. I understood that passive defence
most likely leads to a loss and prepared one interesting trap.} 32. Ke1 f4 33.
Nd5 Bxc4 34. Bc1 $1 Rxd5 ({It looks like my last move came as surprise for
Alexandre. Black's position is still winning after:} 34... Rb8 {but what if
Black simply wins second pawn?}) 35. Rxd5 Bxd5 36. Bxb2 Bxa2 {A key factor is
that a1 is the wrong corner for Black's B. My task is to trade as many pawns
as possible. So...} 37. h4 $1 Bd5 {[#]} 38. Kf1 $3 ({The whole point. When I
calculated 32.Ke1 with this ending I understood, that} 38. g3 fxg3 39. fxg3 {
might be dangerous because Black may attack g3. The problem is that after
losing my g-pawn (say, Black trades it for his e-pawn) I probably lose my
h-pawn. But if there is only one pawn on the kingside then I can move my king
toward the a1 corner and give up my bishop for the g-pawn. That's why I think
it's so important to trade h-pawns.}) 38... Kf7 ({After} 38... h6 39. Bc1 g5
40. hxg5 hxg5 41. g3 fxg3 (41... e5 42. Bb2) 42. fxg3 g4 {Black can't even
attack g3.}) 39. Be5 f3 40. g3 {Now it's elementary because e-pawn is
absolutely harmless.} Ke6 41. Bb2 Bc4+ 42. Ke1 Kd5 43. Kd2 e5 44. Kc3 e4 45.
Bc1 a3 46. Be3 {[#] The ramaining moves don't require any comment.} Kc6 47. Bc1
Kb5 48. Be3 Ka4 49. Bc1 Bd3 50. Be3 Be2 51. Bc1 a2 52. Kb2 Bc4 53. Be3 Be6 54.
Bd4 Kb4 55. Be3 Bb3 56. Bd4 Kc4 57. Be3 Kd3 58. Bc5 {From my point of view, a
very instructive ending.} 1/2-1/2
