[Event "U.S. Open Championship and State Tournam"] [Site "Norfolk, Virginia, US"] [Date "2024.07.29"] [Round "4"] [White "Timothy W Taylor"] [Black "Yedidia, Jonathan"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2361"] [BlackTeam "USA"] [Annotator "IM Robert Shlyakhtenko"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B00"] [Opening "Rat Defense: Harmonist"] [StudyName "2024 Tournaments of State Champions"] [ChapterName "Timothy W Taylor - Yedidia, Jonathan"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/2q59AWVe/aWh7qYaT"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 { I will skip the beginning of the game, interesting as it is, and jump straight to the opposite-color-bishop ending, which had many wonderful subtleties. } 1... d6 2. f4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bc4 exf4 6. d4 Nxe4 7. Nxe4 d5 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxf4 Bg4 10. Qe2 Nc6 11. c3 Qd5 12. Bxc7 O-O 13. Ned2 b5 14. h3 Bh5 15. Qf2 Bg6 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. Bxe5 Bd3 18. Rfe1 f6 19. Bf4 Rf7 20. Qf3 Rd8 21. Qxd5 Rxd5 22. Re3 g5 23. Bb8 Bf8 24. Rae1 Rb7 25. Bg3 Kf7 26. Re6 a5 27. Rc6 Re7 28. Rxe7+ Bxe7 29. Nf1 f5 30. Ne3 Rd7 31. Be5 f4 32. Ng4 b4 33. Bc7 Rd5 34. Ne5+ Ke8 35. Bb6 Bd6 36. Nxc4 Kd7 37. Rxd6+ Rxd6 38. Nxd6 bxc3 39. bxc3 Kxd6 40. Bxa5 Bc4 41. Bd8 h6 42. Bf6 Bxa2 43. Bg7 Ke6 44. Bxh6 Kf5 45. Kf2 { When watching this game, I though Black would be able to hold a draw easily. However, in what follows, IM Taylor manages to squeeze water from a stone. } 45... Bd5 (45... g4! { was a clearer path to a draw, making sure the g2-pawn remains a weakness. For example: } 46. h4 (46. hxg4+ Kxg4 { gives White no winning chances; his king is tied to the g2-pawn, and trading off this pawn means an immediate draw. }) 46... g3+ 47. Kf1 Bc4+ 48. Ke1 Bd5 49. Kf1 Bc4+ { and White cannot make progress. }) 46. g3 fxg3+ 47. Kxg3 Be6 48. Bf8 Bc4 49. Be7 Bd5 50. Bd8 { All of a sudden, Black is in only move territory. } 50... Bc4? (50... Bb7! { prevents Kg3-f3, while keeping the diagonal just long enough to be able to meet } 51. c4 { with } 51... Ba6! 52. c5 Bb7) 51. Bc7? (51. Kf3! { wins, with a similar to position to what happens later in the game. }) 51... Bd5 52. Kf2 Ke4 53. Bd8 Be6? { Suddenly, Black's position is lost! } (53... Kf4! { was necessary. }) 54. Kg3 Kf5 55. Kf3! { White's only winning plan is to give up the h3-pawn and bring his king to the queenside. This is the most expedient way of doing so: Black's king is denied penetration squares. } 55... Bd5+ { Now we reach a critical moment. As is often the case in bishop endgames, zugzwang becomes a key element. } 56. Ke3? (56. Ke2!! Bg2 57. Ke3!! { was the right way. Black is in zugzwang: } 57... Bxh3 (57... Bf1 { allows } 58. d5! Ke5 59. Bxg5 Kxd5 60. h4 { and White wins. }) 58. d5 Ke5 59. c4 Bf1 60. Bc7+! { and wins. Note that White's bishop had to be on d8 for all of this to work! }) 56... Bc4? (56... Bg2! { reaches the same position, but with White to move! Now Black holds: } 57. Be7 (57. c4 Bf1 58. c5 Bxh3 { draws. }) 57... Bxh3 58. d5 Ke5 59. c4 Bf1 { and White is missing an important check on c7. }) 57. Kd2? (57. Be7! { again puts Black in zugzwang: any bishop move allows either d4-d5 or Ke3-d3. For example, } 57... Bf1 58. d5 Ke5 59. Bxg5 Bxh3 60. c4 { wins. }) 57... Kf4 58. Kc2 Bf1? (58... Kg3! 59. Kb2 Kxh3 60. Bxg5 Kg4! { is just in time: } 61. Bd8 Kf5 62. Ka3 Ke6 63. Kb4 Kd5 { with a draw. }) 59. Kb3 Ke4 (59... Bxh3 60. Kc4! { wins easily, now the pawns are supported by the king. }) 60. Kb4? { This gives Black a chance for a miraculous save. } (60. Bxg5 Bxh3 61. Bf6! { wins similarly to the game. }) 60... Kd5? { Now Taylor does not let the win slip. } (60... Bxh3! 61. Kc5 Kd3! 62. c4 Bc8!! { draws; ...Ba6 is next. }) 61. Bf6!! { Zugzwang! Black must allow c3-c4, or give up his hopes of capturing the h3-pawn. } 61... Bxh3 62. c4+ Kc6 63. d5+ Kb7 64. Bxg5 Bf1 65. Bf4 Bh3 66. Kc5 Bf1 67. Kd4 Bh3 68. c5 { To hold this position, Black needs to have his bishop on b7 and his king on d7. That way, White's king will be tied to the defense of the d5-pawn and will not be able to come around to the queenside to enforce c5-c6+. Clearly, Black is many tempos away from reaching this setup; thus, White's position is easily winning. } 68... Kc8 69. c6 Bg2 70. Kc5 Bf3 71. d6 Bg4 72. Bg5 { Now White just needs to bring his king to e7. } 72... Bh3 73. Kd4 Bg4 74. Ke5 Bh3 75. Kf6 Bg2 76. d7+ { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0