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(7) Loh,B (2175) - Tefanis,F [B23]
Perfect 10 Invitational Western Suburbs Leagues Club (2.2), 21.08.2001
[Kerry Stead]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.f4 Bg7 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bc4 d6 6.0-0 a6 7.a4 e6 8.d3 Nge7 9.Qe1 Qc7 10.f5 The thematic break in the Grand Prix Attack. 10...gxf5!? 11.Qh4!?N This is generally a thematic follow-up to the f5 break, however it may not be so good in this paticular position. [11.exf5 d5 (11...Nxf5 12.Nd5 Qd8 13.Bg5 Nfe7 14.Nf6+ 1-0 Al Modiahki,M-Lupu,M/Val Thorens 1990/EXT 99 (26)) 12.Bb3 Bd7 13.Ng5 Be5 14.fxe6 fxe6 15.Qe2 Rg8 16.Qh5+ Rg6 17.Nxh7 1-0 Braun,S-Buervenich,S/Trier 1989/EXT 97 (37)] 11...Ng6 12.Qh5 fxe4 13.dxe4 Bd7 If black is allowed to castle queenside and consolidate his extra pawn, then he should be winning easily. The struggle now revolves around these ideas. 14.Bg5 Na5 15.Ba2 c4 Trying to shut white's bishop out of the game, as well as to possibly prepare d5. 16.Be3 0-0-0 Part 1 of black's plan has been achieved. The king looks to be relatively safe for the time being. Now black must try to consolidate the extra pawn. 17.Ng5 Be8 18.Qh3 Kb8 19.Rad1 h6 20.Nf3 Bxc3!? A very commital move, winning a pawn, but giving up the bishop pair and giving white a strong initiative. 21.bxc3 Bxa4 22.Rb1! Suddenly the black king is looking a little insecure. The threat of Bb6 means that the white squared bishop must become passive for a few moves. 22...Bb5 23.Nd4 Be8 24.Nxe6! fxe6 25.Bb6 Qc8 26.Bxd8 Qxd8 27.Qxe6 After a series of exchanges, black has emerged with 2 pieces for a rook, however white's pieces are better co-ordinated, so the game is still in the balance. 27...Nf8 28.Qd5?! [A better alternative may have been 28.Qf6 Qxf6 29.Rxf6 with white's material disadvantage being offset by black's poor piece co-ordination. ] 28...Bc6 29.Qf7 Nd7 30.Qe6? This simply allows white to win a pawn, while the last few queen moves have given black a chance to co-ordinate his pieces. [30.Qf4 Trying to put pressure on black's weak d6 pawn may have been better. ] 30...Nc5 31.Qf7 Nxe4 32.Bxc4 Nd2!? If white's attack amounts to nothing, then black will simply have more material! [Fritz prefers the aggressive looking 32...b5 leaving Nd2 up its sleeve. ] 33.Bxa6 Nxf1? [33...Qg5! Threatening mate is one way to ensure that white's attack is slowed. ] 34.Bxf1 Although black is a piece ahead, the lack of pawns make the vicory tough to achieve in practise. 34...Rf8 35.Qg7 Qf6 36.Qg3 Qe5 37.Qd3 Both players are following the general principles of endings with material imbalances. The side with the advantage is trying to swap pieces, while the defending side would prefer to swap pawns. 37...Re8 38.Kh1 d5 39.Qg6 Qxc3 40.Qxh6 Qe5 This exchange has helped white's cause. As it turns out, the g and h pawns prove invaluable for white. 41.Qd2 Rh8 42.h3 d4 43.Kg1 Qe3+ 44.Qf2 Re8 45.Rd1 Qxf2+?! This allows white to either get his kingside pawns moving up the board, or exchange a set of pawns. Frank chooses the latter option. [45...Rf8 may have been better, to force white to capture the queen. ] 46.Kxf2 Be4 47.Rxd4 Bxc2 48.g4 Nc6 It appears as though black's winning method should involve leaving the king supporting the pawn, the rook cutting the king off from the queenside, while the knight and bishop could work together to prevent the g ang h pawns from advancing. 49.Rd2 Be4 50.Kg3 Ne5 51.h4 Rf8! So far, all to plan. 52.Be2 Kc7 53.g5 Bf3 54.h5 Bxe2 55.Rxe2 Rf5 56.Kh4 Rf4+ [56...Nf3+ 57.Kg4 Rxg5+ 58.Kxf3 Rxh5 looks like a tough position for white to hold. ] 57.Kh3 Kd6?! The problem for black is that the king is needed to defend the b pawn if black is to retain any chance of winning. [57...Rf5 Trying to reach the rook ending above might be the best course of action. ] 58.Rb2 Ke6 59.Rxb7 Kf5 60.g6 Kg5 At this stage, Frank was still looking to win, particularly after seeing what had transpired in the few moves previously. [60...Nxg6 Secures the draw 61.Rf7+ Kg5 62.Rxf4 Nxf4+=] 61.g7 Rh4+ 62.Kg2 Rg4+ 63.Kf2 Kxh5 64.Rb5 [64.Rb5 Rxg7 65.Rxe5+=] 1/2-1/2
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