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Kevin Kent 0 - 1 Dave Regis
This was a good scrap; White was always one move short of landing the final blow and Black wriggles out into a better endgame. This is I guess how you are supposed to play with Black; easier in correspondence than OTB! It also confirms my prejudices about the line: in my games Black scored 2/3 in the gambit accepted!

This is a well-known position, and both sides have tried several alternatives. I was heading for a position which Harding assesses as =+ but White is by no means obliged to comply.

9.Qh4 Nb6
[9...c5 looks the only realistic alternative here.]

10.Bb3 a5 11.a4 Nbd5

This is the first CRITICAL POSITION. White has an apparent opportunity to win back the Pawn, but Harding thinks this gives Black slightly the better position.

12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 (13.c4) 13...Qxd5 14.Qxe7 Qc6 (14...Bxd4+ 15.Nxd4 Qxd4+ 16.Be3 Qd7;
14...Qd7) 15.c3 Be6 16.Bf4 Rac8 17.Ne5 Qd5 = Lane, =+ Harding
I hoped White would try and win the e-Pawn, but instead he goes for a slow build-up in the familiar manner. All the books give only 12. Nxd5, but White actually has lots of alternatives:
(12.Bg5; 12.Bh6; 12.Ne5 Be6 13.Bh6 c6; 12.h3; 12.Ng5 h6)

12.h3
An interesting move, the motivation of which it is worth pondering. Black often has trouble developing the Bishop on c8, and in the BDG it is often useful to send this Queen's-side piece out to g4 and exchange it for the dangerous Knight on f3.
I probably wouldn't have gone for ...Bg4: I don't really approve of giving up the two Bishops like this and the offer to bring the Rf1 into play on f3 also seems unnecessarily helpful.

12...c6
[12...Qd6 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.c4 Nf6 15.Bf4 Qb6;
12...Be6 13.Ng5 Ra6?? 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Rxf6]

13.Bh6
[13.Ng5 h6]

13...Nxc3 Black has many alternatives here but this looked clearest.

14.bxc3
[14.Ng5 Ne2+ 15.Kh1 Qxd4]

Another CRITICAL POSITION: White has a straightforward plan of Ng5, Bxg7, Rxf6 and Qxh7 against routine tries by Black. So Black must both avoid this idea and make sure nothing worse awaits him.

14...Nh5
It was hard to see much else. I looked at a long forcing line here which White played straight down the middle of. Black can and should have confidence in the position to face attacks like this, look them in the eye, and find the way to safety. Neither hope nor fear are friends to the chess player, only judgement and analysis!

15.Bxg7
With hindsight White should have preferred:
[15.Bg5 or; 15.Be3, when it's still a fight]

15...Kxg7 16.Ng5
[16.g4 Nf6 17.Ng5 h6 18.Nxf7 Rxf7 19.Bxf7 g5 20.Qg3 Kxf7 when Black might make something out of the material imbalance. 21.Rab1]

16...e6
provocative! - but importantly pins the Knight to the Queen

17.g4
[17.Nxe6+ Bxe6]

17...h6 18.Nxe6+
[18.Nf3 Qxh4 19.Nxh4 Nf6;
18.gxh5 hxg5 (18...Qxg5+ 19.Qxg5 hxg5 20.hxg6 Kxg6) 19.h6+ Kh7 20.Qe4 f5 (20...Qd6 21.Rf3) 21.Qe3 Qf6 22.Rae1 Bd7 23.Bxe6 Rae8]

18...Bxe6 19.Qxd8 Raxd8 20.Bxe6 Ng3! 21.Rf3 Ne2+ 22.Kf2 Nxc3 23.Rxc3
[23.Bb3 Ne4+ 24.Ke3 Ng5 (24...f5 25.gxf5 gxf5 26.Rg1+ Kf6 27.Rgf1 Nd6 28.c4 Rde8+ 29.Kd3) 25.Rg3 Rfe8+ 26.Kd3 Ne4 27.Rf3 Nc5+ 28.Kc4 Nxb3 29.Rxb3 is rather like the game continuation in the end!]

23...fxe6+

... and Black has wangled his extra pawn back. If I had been frightened of the attack at move 14-18 I might have had to back out of the whole line, but I couldn't see a way through, and wanted to prove the point. This is easier in correspondence than OTB, I admit, but you must have this attitude. Even if you are wrong and are proved wrong about the variations, your attitude is still right.

24.Ke3 e5! 25.dxe5 Rd5 26.Rb1
Probably best?
[26.Ke4; 26.Rb3]

26...Rxe5+ 27.Kd4 Rd5+ 28.Kc4??
throwing away another Pawn because of the loose Rb1. White seemed to lose heart here but some of the Rook endgames could have been awkward for Black.
[28.Ke4! and Black has to decide if he is going to go passive or try for activity. Although the books say in general you should go for activity I think uncoiling from a stonewall is Black's best hope here. 28...Re8+ 29.Kf3 Re7 30.Rcb3 Rdd7 Now Black can transfer the King to c8 and get a Rook free to harass White's loose Pawns.]

28...Rf4+ 29.Kb3 Rb4+
[29...b5 30.Rxc6 (30.axb5 cxb5) 30...Rxa4 31.Re1 looked less in control]

30.Ka2 Rxa4+ 31.Kb2 Rb4+ 32.Ka2
[32.Rb3; 32.Kc1]

32...Rdb5
forcing an exchange and on Black's terms.

33.Rxb4
[33.Rd1 Ra4+ 34.Ra3 Rxa3+ 35.Kxa3 Kf6]

33...Rxb4 34.Rd3
[34.Rc5 Rb5 35.Rc4 Kf6]

34...Kf6

Just in time. The Queen's-side Pawns are all little monsters; White cannot stop them without bringing the Rook back, and if he brings the Rook back, the Black King will nibble the King's-side Pawns.

35.c3 Rc4 36.Kb3 b5 37.Kb2 a4 38.Ka3 Ke5 39.Kb2 h5 40.gxh5 gxh5 41.Ka3? Ke4 42. Rg3 h4 0 - 1

Dave Regis

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