OstapBender wrote on 10/13/06 at 00:50:29:


Yes, well, don't work too hard on that line.  I won't be playing 34...Qxf4, that's for sure.  Of course, judging by your recent posts, perhaps I should start looking more critically at moves other than 33.Qa5.

*

I was replaying the game just now to see how things fit together and could not help but notice that the bizarre trajectory of the Black queen has continued since the opening: Qb6-a5-c7-g3-d6xc6-f6xh4-g3 and with the queen expected to continue to bounce along the b8-h2 diagonal for a while more...

OstapBender wrote on 10/12/06 at 14:12:13:


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f3 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2
Nc6 9. O-O-O d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bd4 Bxd4 13. Qxd4 Qb6 14. Na4
Qa5 15. b3 Qc7 16. h4 h5 17. c4 Nf4 18. Qe3 Rb8 19. Rg1 Ne6 20. Bd3 Rd8 21. Be4
Bd7 22. Bc2 c5 23. Nc3 Qg3 24. Nd5 Nd4 25. Qxe7 Bc6 26. Qe1 Qd6 27. Ne7+ Kg7
28. Nxc6 Qxc6 29. Kb1 Re8 30. Qc3 Qf6 31. Rd2 Qxh4 32. Rgd1 Qg3 33. Qa5 Qe5 34.
f4 Qxf4 35. Qxc5 Ne2 36. Rd3 Rbd8 37. Qa5 Rxd3 38. Bxd3 Qf6 39. Kc2 Qf2 40. Qg5
Nf4+ 41. Rd2 Qe3 42. g3 Nxd3 43. Qxe3 Nb4+ 44. Kc3 Rxe3+ 45. Kxb4 Rxg3 46. c5

Good luck!
Let's just say that Black's play isn't entirely forced...

Willempie wrote on 10/12/06 at 10:07:47:


Well, the idea is to sacrifice the rook when the pawn gets to c7 and then try to win with the three connected passed pawns on the kingside.  Since posting, my opinion has shifted and it now looks like this is a touch slow -- Black has enough for a draw, but no win in my analysis.  And in these sorts of positions, that usually indicates that White has pretty good winning chances.

OstapBender wrote on 10/10/06 at 19:16:06:


Yes, this is the main alternative.  My impression is that Black retains good winning chances, since he can push the h-pawn more easily than White can push any of his (and it is a certainty that I would try to grab on g2 and do just that).  It's hard to be sure, though; these sort of slow-motion pawn races make for difficult assessments, and often all three results look plausible before the key line is found.

The only other candidates I considered were moves to protect the queen (in order to make Be4 possible), but these seemed less promising.

I view Qa5 as both most likely and best, and so most of my analysis has been of that move.  To be honest, I have not even managed to prepare my reply to that yet, so I probably won't look further at Rxd4 unless it appears.

Here's a much more interesting endgame study than the one I gave before.  I have always been fascinated by this type of position (rooks and pawns on opposite wings).




Probably a draw, but I'll have to see if Black can squeeze out a win with those kingside pawns.  Bonus points if you can reach this position from the game.

fen=8/p4pk1/6p1/2P4p/1K6/1P4r1/P2R4/8 if you want to analyze this yourself.

OstapBender wrote on 10/09/06 at 01:36:43:


Well, 33.Qa5 looks pretty solid, but I imagine that 33.Be4?? will be crossed off the list pretty quickly (Rxe4).

My move is 32...Qg3.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.0-0-0 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 Bxd4 13.Qxd4 Qb6 14.Na4 Qa5 15. b3 Qc7 16.h4 h5 17.c4 Nf4 18.Qe3 Rb8 19.Rg1 Ne6 20.Bd3 Rd8 21.Be4 Bd7 22.Bc2 c5 23.Nc3 Qg3 24.Nd5 Nd4 25.Qxe7 Bc6 26.Qe1 Qd6 27.Ne7+ Kg7 28.Nxc6 Qxc6 29.Kb1 Re8 30.Qc3 Qf6 31.Rd2 Qxh4 32.Rgd1 Qg3


White seems destined to play Rxd4, but perhaps his position can be improved before he commits to doing so.  32...Qf6 was the main alternative, but the selected move puts a little more pressure on White.