GM Nigel Davies - Caro Kaan

[Date "2013.03.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "M Ivan"]
[Black "moonbus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1575"]
[BlackElo "1891"]
[EndDate "2013.05.13"]
[WhiteRating "1575"]
[BlackRating "1891"]
[GameId "9928332"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Bd3 Bxd3 5. Qxd3 e6 6. Nf3 Qa5+ 7. Bd2 Qa6 8. Qxa6 Nxa6 9. O-O c5 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. Nb5 Nf5 12. g4 Nxd4 13. Nbxd4 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nc7 {To prevent the White N from encroaching to b5.} 15. a4 Be7 16. Ba5 O-O-O 17. Bxc7 Kxc7 18. a5 a6 19. Kg2 Bc5 20. c3 Rc8 21. f4 {White is grabbing more and more territory; Black's position is looking uncomfortably cramped. While Black has a 'good' bishop (= not on the same color as his own pawns), White's dominant knight is better still. The knight cannot be threatened by a pawn into moving, so it will have to be traded off.} 21... b5 {Black initiates a minority attack to counter White's king-side advance; Black is counting on gaining rook activity on some open queen-side file} 22. axb6+ Kxb6 23. Rfc1 Bxd4 24. cxd4 Rc4 {This move leaves White with a choice of two unsavory alternatives. Either a) allow Black to double the rooks on the c-file, or ...} 25. Rxc4 dxc4 {b) give Black a potentially dangerous candidate pawn on the queen-side.} 26. Kf3 Rd8 27. Ke3 {White looses a crucial tempo here. The White king is heading for e4; he should move there now instead of next move. (Maybe a fumbled click on the web interface?)} 27... a5 28. Ke4 Rd5 {The Black rook is heading for open waters on the b-file, from where it will both attack White's b pawn and hamper the advance of White's d pawn.} 29. f5 Rb5 30. Ra2 {Ouch. The White rook is buried here. Rb1 would be met by ... c4-c3.} 30... Rb4 31. h4 a4 {Pawn storms on both sides; who flinches first looses!} 32. g5 g6 33. fxe6 fxe6 34. Ke3 {White flinches first: 14. d4-d5? would be met by ... c4-c3+; 15. Kd3, c3xb2 and Black must sacrifice his rook to stop the b pawn from promoting.} 34... Kb5 35. Ke4 Kc6 36. d5+ exd5+ {So, White has obtained his passer after all.} 37. Kd4 c3+ {The return of the pawn serves three purposes: 1. to activate the Black rook, 2. shift the attack to the other flank, and 3. drive the White king backwards to a less favorable square.} 38. Kxc3 Rxh4 {Black is now a clear pawn ahead, and with an active rook; Black's plan now is to exchange down to a R+P vs. R ending which would be winable (provided Black does not get stuck with a lone RP).} 39. b4 {Necessary to activate the White rook.} 39... axb3 40. Kxb3 Re4 {Black's pawn majority on the king-side must wait until later; White's e pawn must first be neutralized} 41. Ra6+ Kb5 42. Re6 Re3+ 43. Kc2 Kc5 44. Re8 d4 45. e6 Kd6 {White's e pawn is dead. After exchanging the e pawn for the d pawn, Black's king will be near the remaining pawns on the king-side, whereas White's king will not be. This will prove to be decisive for the final push. I began to entertain plans for reaching the "Lucena Position".} 46. Rd8+ Kxe6 47. Rxd4 Rg3 48. Re4+ {Another lost tempo, driving the Black king to where he should go anyway. Better would have been Rh4 directly.} 48... Kf5 49. Rh4 Kxg5 {Not RxP? The reason will soon become clear.} 50. Rxh7 Re3 {K+R+P vs K+R is a scenario analyzed by Lucena in the fifteenth century. Success depends on keeping the opposing king at least two files away from the advancing pawn. 49. ... RxP? would have left the Black rook in the shadow of the Black king, unable to take command of the e file on this move, with the result that White could have continued 50. Kd2 followed by 51. Ke2, putting him within striking distance of the g file with strong drawing chances. However, with the Black rook keeping the White king at a safe distance, Black will now advance the g pawn under the close watch of the king.} 51. Kd2 Re5 {The rook must stay on the e file, to prevent the White king from getting any nearer the g file. Rook to any other rank wastes a tempo; we will see why later, after the g pawn reaches the 2d rank.} 52. Kd3 Kg4 53. Rh1 g5 {This position occurs in Reuben Fine's Basic Chess Endings, Rook & Pawn Endings, diagrams 310 & 310a, page 293 (Tartan paperback ed). From here on, it is truly a 'text book case'.} 54. Rg1+ Kf3 {First reason why the Black rook belongs on the 5th rank and no where else: this allows the Black king to go 'hunting' the White rook while leaving the g pawn protected by the Black rook.} 55. Rf1+ Kg2 {The White rook can no longer threaten the advance of the g pawn from the front, so he must now zip across and try to harass the g pawn from behind. The pawn will shield the Black king from checks while it advances.} 56. Rf8 g4 57. Kd2 {White has nothing better to do than mark time until the Black pawn reaches g2, at which time the last phase of the Lucena maneuver will commence.} 57... g3 58. Rf7 Kg1 59. Rf8 g2 60. Rh8 {Lucena Position, final phase: the Black king will now wander away from the queening square to allow the pawn to promote; White will check with the rook from a distance to delay the move ... g2-g1. So, where will the Black king find shelter from rook checks?} 60... Kf2 61. Rf8+ Kg3 62. Rg8+ Kf3 63. Rf8+ Kg4 64. Rg8+ Rg5 {Now the second reason why the Black rook belongs on the 5th rank: this is where the Black king finds shelter from persistent rook checks (see note to move 51. above). Note also that if the White king were one file closer to the g pawn (e.g., if the White king were now at e2 instead of d2, see note to move 50. above), then, after 65. RxR+, KxR; 66. Kf2, White intercepts the g pawn and draws. An instructive endgame. 0-1}