[Event "Canadian Championship"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2017.07.01"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Black "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A47"]
[WhiteElo "2471"]
[BlackElo "2539"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "102"]
{Going into the final round, Black was tied for the lead with IM Nikolay
Noritsyn, both with 7/8. Noritsyn had played all the highest-rated players
and was Black against the 21st ranked Rohan Talukdar (2269 CFC, 2119 FIDE),
and so could reasonably be expected to win. That made this a must-win game
for Black. After a loss to Noritsyn and a series of draws against
lower-rated opponents White was far back with 5/8, but he could still play
spoiler/king-maker: he's an IM with 2 GM norms, the #4 seed, and a player who
Black had never beaten in a tournament game.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 {
The London System. Black has a choice of ways to equalize, but it is very
difficult to create winning chances against someone who would be happy with a
draw. I considered this a provocatively passive opening choice by White: he
knows Black has to play for a win, but doing so against a very solid set-up
entails risk.} b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 d6 $5 {Both ...c5 and ...d5 are reckoned to
be fine for Black, but playing with the small center keeps Black's options
open.} 6. O-O (6. h3 g6 7. Bh2 Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. c4 Nbd7 10. Nc3 Re8 11. Bc2 e5
12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Ba4 c6 14. Qe2 $11 {All four Bishops are about equally bad.}
Qe7 15. Rfd1 h6 16. Rd2 e4 17. Nd4 Rac8 18. Rad1 Ne5 19. Bc2 Qb4 20. Nxe4 Nxe4
21. Bxe4 Nxc4 22. Nc2 Qc5 {No matter what the opening, chess games can always
spin off into strang positions if the players want them to:} 23. b4 Nxd2 $1 24.
bxc5 Nxe4 25. Qf3 Nxc5 26. h4 h5 27. g4 hxg4 28. Qxg4 $13 {1-0 (40) Moreno
Trujillo,A (2500)-Vallejo Pons,F (2697) Don Benito, 2012.}) 6... h6 7. Nbd2 (7.
h3 {keeping the B makes sense, though it's not nearly as strong a piece as
when Black leaves the h2-b8 diagonal open with ...d5.}) 7... Nh5 8. Be4 c6 9.
Bd3 g5 10. Bg3 Nd7 11. e4 Nxg3 12. hxg3 (12. fxg3 $5 {opening the f-file looks
sensible now that Black has weakened his kingside, doubly so with there being
no direct way for Black to exploit the g1-a7 diagonal.}) 12... h5 13. d5 $6 {
The computer doesn't like it, but this pawn sac is at least a reasonable try
to get some play by opening lines in the center.} cxd5 14. exd5 Bxd5 15. Be4
Bxe4 16. Nxe4 g4 17. Nd4 d5 18. Nc3 Bg7 $17 19. Re1 Ne5 20. Nce2 h4 21. Nf4
hxg3 22. fxg3 Qd6 23. c3 {[#]} Rc8 $6 {White's only comp for the pawn is that
Black's K is in the center, which creates a lot of tactical shots. Bator plays
the French a lot, and is used to having his K sitting safely on e8, but
there's no good reason not to castle long. After ...Rc8 I started to wonder
whether White's passive-aggressive play had successfully provoked Black into
trying to prove that he had nothing to fear from White.} (23... O-O-O {looks
both natural and safe.} 24. a4 (24. Nb5 $2 Qc5+) (24. Qa4 Kb7) 24... a6 $19 {
when Black can keep the queenside files closed and White doesn't have enough
for the pawn and the fractured kingside.}) 24. Qe2 Rc4 25. Rad1 Qc5 $2 26. Qf2
$1 {aiming to double Rooks on the e-file.} b5 27. a3 (27. Re3 $1 {threatening
N(either one)xe6} Rh6 (27... b4 $4 28. Nfxe6 fxe6 29. Nxe6 Qe7 30. Nxg7+ Qxg7
31. Rxd5 $18)) 27... Rh6 28. Re3 a6 $1 {Stabilizing. Black doesn't have to
force the pace with ...a5 and ...b4.} (28... a5 29. Rde1 (29. Nfe2 $6 {
threatening to win an exchange with b3.} Qf8 $1 {creates a retreat for the R
and threatens ...Qh8.}) (29. Rf1 Qf8 {leads to wild complications:} (29... Rxd4
{is safe,} 30. cxd4 Qxd4 $15) 30. Rxe5 Bxe5 31. Nfxe6 {Only move.} Qe7 32. Nf5 {Only move.} (32.
Ng5 $2 Rf6 {Only move.} $19) 32... Qxe6 33. Nxh6 Qxh6 34. Qxf7+ {looks like it might be
good enough for a perpetual, but Black's K shmmys away with precise defence:}
Kd8 35. Qxd5+ Bd6 $15 (35... Qd6 $2 36. Rf8+ Kc7 37. Rf7+ Kd8 38. Rf8+ $11) 36.
Qg8+ (36. Qxb5 $4 Bc5+ $19) 36... Kd7 37. Rf7+ (37. Qf7+ $2 Kc6 38. Qe8+ Kb6
39. Qd8+ Kb7 {Only move.} $19) 37... Be7 $15 38. Qa8 $2 Qc6 39. Qxa5 Ra4 $19)) 29. Rd2
Qf8 30. Qe2 Qh8 31. Kf2 {Threatening Nf5.} (31. Nf5 $4 Rh1+ 32. Kf2 Qh2 $1 {
threatening ...Qg1#} (32... Rxf4+ 33. gxf4 Qh2 $19) 33. Nxg7+ Kd7 $1 (33... Ke7
$4 34. Nxd5+ $16) 34. Rd1 Rxf4+ {Only move.} 35. gxf4 Qxf4+ $19) 31... Rh1 32. Ndxe6 {
The moves came very fast here; I suspect one or both players were in time
trouble.} (32. Nf5 $2 Qh2 $1 $19 {transposes to the previous note.}) (32. Rd1 {
dends the back rank, but after} Rxd1 33. Qxd1 Kd7 {Black has traded the Rh6
for one of the ones that was pressuring his center.}) 32... fxe6 33. Nxe6 Kf7 (
33... Kd7 34. Rxd5+ Kxe6 {and Black's N is the MVP.}) 34. Nd4 Qh2 (34... Qh6
$142) 35. Rd1 Rxd1 36. Qxd1 Qh5 37. Ne2 Ng6 (37... Ke6 $4 {it may be
surprising, but this terrible move doesn't lose:} 38. Nf4+ Rxf4+ 39. gxf4 g3+
$1 40. Ke1 {Only move.} Qh1+ 41. Kd2 Qxg2+ 42. Re2 Qh3 {Black has comp.}) 38. Rd3 d4 39.
cxd4 Bf8 (39... Qd5 {is good too, leaving White terribly bottled up (and down
a piece for a pawn-and-a-half).}) 40. Nc3 Rc6 $19 {Both players made the time
control (40/90 + G/30 + 30s), and Black has a clearly winning position.} 41.
Re3 Rf6+ 42. Kg1 Kg7 43. Re4 (43. Ne4 Re6 44. d5 $2 Rxe4 $3 45. Rxe4 Bc5+ 46.
Kf1 Qh1+ 47. Ke2 Qxg2+ 48. Kd3 Qxg3+ $19) 43... Bd6 $6 (43... Rc6 $142 {
with the idea} 44. Qxg4 Qxg4 45. Rxg4 Bxa3 $19) 44. Qxg4 Qxg4 45. Rxg4 {
White has three pawns for the B, but the extra pawns are all easily blockaded.}
Rf5 46. Ne4 Bb8 (46... Be7 {is good, and would be the automatic move in blitz
to Tsujji the N.}) 47. Nd2 Kf6 48. Nf3 {defending d4 and allowing the white K
to centralize.} Rh5 {Keeps the White K on g1, since Kf2 allows ...Rh1 and
attacking the queenside.... but has a second threat...} (48... Rd5 49. Kf2 Ba7
50. Ke3) 49. a4 $2 {...which White misses!} Kf5 {Trapping the R.} 50. Nh2 Rxh2
(50... bxa4 51. Rf4+ Nxf4 52. g4+ Ke4 {also wins.}) 51. Rxg6 Kxg6 {White
resigns and Black is guaranteed at least a playoff for the Championship as
Noritsyn also won his ournd 9 game with Black.} (51... Kxg6 52. Kxh2 bxa4 {
White's pawns aren't going anywhere and Black has ...Ba7-d4xb2.}) 0-1
