WHITE: S. KUDRIN
BLACK: L. PLASKOTA

Stanley Craw Memorial, Natick, MA 1999

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cd 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nb5

This game was played in the last round of the tournament, and the fight was for the first prize. However, my opponent was a grandmaster, one of the best in the States...

5...d6 6. Bf4

Another possibility is 6. c4 Nf6 7. N1c3 a6 8. Na3 Be7 9. Be2 0-0 10. 0-0 b6 with the famous hedgehog structure. The positions that now arise demand a very concrete thinking and ... good memory.

6...e5 7. Be3 Nf6

7... a6 may be more accurate, because in this way Black can avoid doubling the pawns on the f-file, e.g., 8. N5c3 Nf6 9. Bg5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nd2 (11. Nd5 Bg5) 11...0-0 (11...Be6 12. Nc4 Bxc4 13. Bxc4 0-0 14. 0-0 Rc8 15. Nd5 Bg5 also looks good) 12. Nc4 b5! 13. Qxd6 bc 14. Qxc6 Be6 15. Be2 Rb8, as in Kasparov-Anand, Frankfurt 1998.

8. Bg5

White makes the third move in a row with the same bishop! This may look like waste of time, however, White is aiming at ruining the Black pawn structure. Note that 8. N1c3 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Nd5 Rb8 leads to a reasonable game for Black.

8...Be6

If 8...a6 or 8...Be7 then 9. Bxf6! gf, as in the game. It is worthwile to mention that after 8...Qa5 9. Qd2!? (9. Bd2 Qd8 10. Bg5 Qa5) 9... Nxe4 10. Qxa5 Nxa5 11. Be3 White has a good compensation for the pawn.

9. Bxf6!

That's the point! After 9. N1c3 a6! 10. Bxf6 gf 11. Na3 b5 Black plays the Pelikan variation (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cd 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gf) with the bishop already on e6 instead of c8. Good is also 11...d5! 12. ed Bxa3 13. ba Qa5 14. Qd2 0-0-0 15. Bc4 Rhg8 as in an old game Fisher-Petrosian, Buenos-Aires 1971. Note that if White immediately plays 9. Nd2 then Black is ready to give up the pawn d6 with 9... Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nc4 0-0! 10. Qxd6 Qc8 (10...a6!?) 11. c3 Bxc4 12. Bxc4 Qg4 with sufficient counterplay.

9...gf 10. Nd2

In comparison to the Pelikan White develops the knight on d2 leaving the c3 square for the other knight, and Black already developed the bishop on e6. White's plus is however bigger, because, in the Pelikan, the position of Na3 is an important source of Black's counterplay starting with b7-b5. In the current situation similar activity only creates weaknesses on the queen's side, as we will see very soon in this gane. Black cannot use the fact that after the text White lost for a moment control over the important d5 square. Indeed, if 10...d5 then 11. ed Bxd5 12. Bc4! and Black is practically forced to play 12...a6 (if 12...Bxg2 then 13. Rg1 and 14. Qh5, and if 12...Rc8 then 13. Bxd5 Qxd5 14. Qg4) 13. Bxd5 ab 14. Bb3 with slight, but steady edge for White.

10...a6 11. Nc3 b5?

Better was 11...f5 for the reasons mentioned in the previous comment.

12. a4! b4 13. Nd5 Bxd5

Another try was 13...f5, e.g., 14. Bc4 Bh6 15. 0-0 Kf8!?

14. ed Ne7

Interesting looks 14...Nd4 with the idea 15. g4? (threatening 16. c3) 15...Qa5! 16. Bc4 b3! 17. Bxb3 Nxb3 18. cb Bh6. However, White can make simple developing moves 15. Bd3 Qa5 16. 0-0 f5 17. Nc4 with advantage. The immediate 15. c3 bc 16. bc Nf5 17. Bd3 Ne7 18. Qf3 also looks good.

15. Nc4 f5

Black cannot play 15...a5 because of 16. Nxe5! and 17. Bb5, and this means that the pawn b4 is lost. In this situation I decided to do the following. While White is occupied by consuming the pawn, Black completes his development and concentrates the forces in the center and on the king's side with the hope of creating threats to the white king. Black has nothing to lose, after all!

16. a5 Bg7 17. Nb6 Ra7 18. Ra4 0-0 19. Rxb4 Ng6 20. Be2

Another possibility was 20. Qh5 with the idea of keeping the black queen away from the g5 square.

20...Qg5 21. g3 e4 22. 0-0 Rfe8

Both sides completed the development. Black, whose pieces take more active positions, is now trying to mate the opponent's king, while White combines the defence with the play on the queen's side. The weak pawns a6 and d6 are serious defects in Black's position. Already the next move underlines this fact.

23. Nc4 Be5!?

Black's motto is maximum activity, even if it costs some material. Hence moves like 23...Rd8 were rejected on the spot. On the other hand, Black cannot do anything else. His position is objectively lost. White is already dominating on the queen's side and falling the pawns a6 and d6 is only a matter of time. Right now, 24. Rb6 looks even stronger than the text.

24. Nxe5 Rxe5!? 25. Qd4 Rae7 26. Rb8 Kg7 27. Kh1

After 27. Bxa6 Black cannot play neither 27...Nh4 28. f4! nor 27...Nf4 28. f3!, and 27...f4 28. Kh1 led to the position in the game. The text is however a little more accurate since after 27. Bxa6 Black has an additional possibility 27...h5!? 28. Kh1 h4.

27...f4 28. Bxa6

This immediately creates a dangerous passer. Attention deserved also 28. Rb6 (28. gf?? Nxf4! 29. Rg1 Qxg1 30. Kxg1 Nxe2 and 31...Nxd4). If Black proceeds 29...Kh6 with the idea of giving mate on the h-file, then 29. Rxd6 f3 30. Bxa6 Qg4 31. Re1 (not 31. Rg1? Rh5 32. Bf1 R7e5 and White has no defence against Rh5xh2, e.g., 33. Qd2 Kg7 34. Qc3 f6) 31...Rh5 32. Bf1 R7e5 33. a6 Rxh2 34. Kxh2 Rh5 35. Kg1 Rh3 36. Qe5 winning. Another possibility for Black after 28. Rb6 is 28...h5. Then 29. Rxd6 (even stronger seems 29. Rg1 f4 30. gf Qxf4 31. Rxa6) 29...h4 30. gh! Qxh4 and now not 31. Bxa6? Kh7! 32. Be2 (32. Bc8 Rh5 33. h3 f5 -+) 32...f3! 33. Bxf3 ef 34. Qxh4 Nxh4 35. h3 Rh5! 36. Kh2 Re4! 37. Rd7 Nf5 38. Rxf7 (otherwise 39...Rxh3 and 40...Rh4#) 38...Kg6 39. Rxf5 Kxf5 40. Kg3 Rf4 41. Rg1 Rg5 42. Kh2 Rxg1 43. Kxg1 Ra4, but 31. Rxa6! having in sight 31...f3 32. Bxf3! ef 33. Rxg6 and 34. Qxh4, and if 31...Kh7 then 32. d6 Rd7 33. Ra7 with a win.

28...Kh6

In analogy to the previous comment, 28...h5 came into consideration. In this case, the best answer for white seems 29. Rg1!, e.g., 29...h4 30. gh Qxh4 31. Bf1 Kh7 32. a6 Rh5? 33. Rh8! Nxh8 34. Qg7#. During the game I hoped to eventually use the h5 square for Re5-h5, but we both were already very short of time, and I did not see all of White's possibilities from the distance. With his next move White recalls that the black king can also be in danger.

29. Rg8 Qg4 30. Qd1 Qh3 31. Bc8 f5

Here Black could have tried 31...R7e6!? with the trap 32. de?? f3 33. Rg1 Qxh2! 34. Kxh2 Rh5#. The right reaction is 32. Bxe6! fe 33. Rg1 and if 33...Rh5 (better is 33...Rxd5) 34. Rg2 f3 then 35. Qd2 Rg5 36. Rg1 with easy win.

32. g4 f3

Bad was 32...e3? 33. fe fe 34. Bxf5!, e.g., 34...e2 35. g5 Kxg5 36. Bxh3 edQ 37. Rxd1 Re1 38. Rxe1 Rxe1 39. Kg2 Re2 40. Kg1 Rxc2 41. a6 Rc7 42. b4. However, 32...Qxg4 33. Qxg4 fg could be a good practical chance, especially in time presure. The white passers on the a and b files look very dangerous, but Black also has his trumps. I was subconsiously assuming that all the endings are easily lost for Black and did not consider such continuations at all.

33. Rg1 e3 34. Bxf5

White had a chance to immediately lose after 34. Rg3?? Qxg3! 35. hg e2 36. Qd2 f4 37. Qe1 Rxd5 and there is no defence against 38...Rd1.

34...ef?

What a pity that I did not play 34...Kg5!!? which would allow to continue fighting. In this case, White would have to find a couple of accurate moves. Here is my analysis.
The straightforward 35. fe f2 36. Rf1 Rxd5! 37. Bd3 (37. Qe2 Rd2!) 37...Qxe3 leads to a position where Black's chances are quite good. E.g., 38. a6 Kh4!! and since 39. Qe2? Qxe2! 40. Bxe2 Rxe2 41. a7 Nf4! 42. a8Q Rd1! 43. Qd8 Kh3 is hopeless, White has to play 39. a7 Rxa7 40. Qe2 Qxe2 41. Bxe2 Rd2 42. Bd3 (42. Rxf2? Rae7) 42...Nf4 with most probable draw. Or 38. Kg2!? Re4! 39. h4! Kxh4 (39...Kh6 40. g5 Rxg5! 41. hg Qxg5 42. Kxf2 Qh4 with perpetual, but 40. Rxg6! hg 41. Qf3 and only White can win) 40. Rh1 Kg5 41. Rxh7 Rxd3! (41...Rxg4 42. Qxg4 Kxg4 43. Rxg6 Rg5 44. Rxg5 Kxg5 45. a6 is not so clear) 42. cd Qe1! (not sufficient is 42...f1Q 43. Kxf1 Rf4 44. Kg2 Rf2 45. Kh1 Re2 46. Rh5! Kxg4 47. Rxg6! Kxh5 48. Rg3 Qf2 49. Qg1 Qxg1 50. Rxg1! Rxb2 51. Ra1 +-) 43. Rh5 Kf6 44. Rf5 Ke7 45. Rg7 Kd8 46. Rg8 Ke7 47. Rg7 =.
The more sophisticated 35. Be6 aiming at 35...e2?? 36. Qc1 Kf6 37. g5# can be answered with 35...R7xe6! 36. de e2 37. Qd2 Kf6 38. g5 (38. Qe1 Nh4!) 38...Kxe6 39. Re8 (39. Rd8? Kf7! 40. Qxd6 Qg2! 41. Rxg2 e1Q 42. Rg1 Qxg1 43. Kxg1 Re1#) 39...Ne7 40. Rd8 (40. a6 e1Q 41. Qxe1 Rxe1 42. Rxe1 Kd7 43. R8xe7 Kd8 44. Rd8 Kd7 =, or 40. Qe1 Re4! 41. Rg3 Qf1 42. Rg1 Qxe1 43. Rxe1 Rd5 -+) 40...Nf5 and White has to repeat the moves with 41. Re8 Ne7 42. Rd8, because play for a win is very risky, e.g., 41. a6 e1Q 42. Qxe1? (42. Re8! Ne7 43. Qxe1 =) 42...Rxe1 43. Rxe1 Ne3! 44. Rg1 Nf1!, or 41. Qe1? Re4! (nice is also 41...Nh4! 42. Re8 Kf7 43. Rxe5 Qg2! 44. Rxg2 fg 45. Kg1 Nf3 46. Kxg2 Nxe1 47. Kg3 de 48. a6 Nf3! 49. a7 e1Q 50. a8Q Qg1 51. Kxf3 Qh1 and 52...Qxa8) as in one of the previous variations.
Nevertheless, I found a forced win for White after 35. Qc1! Kf6 36. Bxg6 hg 37. Rg3 Qxg3 (there is nothing else) 38. hg Kf7! (38...e2? 39. Qf4 Rf5 40. Qxd6 mating) 39. Rh8! (39. Rc8? e2 40. Qf4 Rf5 41. gf e1Q 42. Kh2 Qxf2 43. Kh3 g5!! 44. Qxd6 Qg2 45. Kg4 Re4 46. Kxg5 Qd2 with perpetual. With the rook on h8 the move 43...g5 is met with 44. Rh7 Kg8 45. Qxg5 Kxh7 46. Qxe7 Kg8 47. f6 +-) 39...Kg7! 40. fe! (40. Kg1! is equally good. On the other hand, if the rook goes then 40...e2 41. Qe1 Rxd5 -+) 40...Rxe3 41. Kg1! Kxh8 (Note the route of the black king: h6-g5-f6-f7-g7-h8) 42. Kf2 and White should win.
Less convincing, but also winning is 35. Bxg6! (immediately exterminating the dangerous knight) 35...hg 36. fe (not 36. Qc1?? Rh7, and not 36. Rg3 Qh7 37. Rf8 e2 38. Qe1 Rxd5 39. Qc1 Kh4 40. Rg1 g5! 41. a6 Rde5 42. Re1 Rf7 with Black's advantage) 36...f2 (36...Rh7 37. Qd2) 37. Rf1 and now 37...Rxe3 38. Rf8! 39. Qd2 R7e3 40. Qxf2, or 37...Qxe3 38. Rf8! Rf5!? 39. Rxf5 (39. gf?? Qe4 with mate) 39...gf 40. Qd3 Qxd3 41. cd, or 37...Rf7 38. e4 Qe3 39. Qd3 Qf4 40. h3 Rxe4 41. Kg2.
In severe time trouble I did not realize how lively the position was and made a move that simply leads to mate in five.

35. g5 Kh5 36. Bxg6 Kh4 37. Qd4 Re4 38. Qf2

38...Qg3 39. Qxg3#

1 - 0

[Warsaw, 2/10/2003]