[Event "Frederica Chess IM"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2023.05.21"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Toktomushev, Teimur"] [Black "Nilssen, Ellen Fredericia"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2239"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackElo "2114"] [BlackTeam "Denmark"] [Annotator "Nilssen,Ellen"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D41"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense, Exchange Variation"] [StudyName "Fredericia's Study"] [ChapterName "Toktomushev, Teimur - Nilssen, Ellen Fredericia"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/e8pUlx8p/7tqu6nFI"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 O-O 11. Bc4 Nd7 12. O-O b6 13. Rfe1 Bb7 14. Rad1 Rc8 15. Bd3!? (15. Bb3 { This is the main line. }) 15... h6 16. Bb1 Re8 17. h3 Qc7 { This had all been played before. Black wants to trade Queens along the c-file with Qc3 - and so White should do something about this. My opponent decided to go for the most concrete. } 18. d5 { I had a lot to calculate here. } 18... exd5! (18... e5? { I considered this move to shut down the Bishop on b1 and worsen the Knight on f3. However, White can quickly get the pieces back into play, and White should try to solve one of those two problems with his next move. } 19. Bd3! (19. Nh4 { Trying to get the Knight to f5. While this is also good for White, Black manages to solve some problems. } 19... Qc3 { White should try to avoid the Queen trade. } 20. Qe2 g6 $16 { This is an improved version for Black. }) 19... a6 { An attempt to stop White's plan. } (19... Qd6?! { Once again, the threat of Bb5 is not stopped, and White has a great position. } 20. Bb5 $18) (19... Qc3? { Now this is not very good for Black. } 20. Bb5 Qxd2 21. Rxd2 Rcd8 (21... Red8 { Drops a pawn. } 22. Bxd7 Rxd7 23. Nxe5 $18) 22. Rc2 $18 { Loses the c-file. White will trade the Bishop for the Knight and reach a superior endgame. }) 20. Nh4 { But now the Knight reaches f5. } 20... Qc3 21. Qe3 $18 { Avoiding the Queen trade. With the Queen on e3 - compared to on e2 - Black can not play g6. White is much better. }) (18... Ne5 19. d6 Nxf3+ 20. gxf3 Qd7 21. e5 { With the Queens still on the board, Black isn't in time for counterplay with .. .g5 and ...f6, and thus White's passed pawn is too strong. } 21... Bxf3 { Doesn't help anything as White wins the Bishop } 22. Qd3! $18) (18... Qc3 { White can win an important pawn in several ways. } 19. Qxc3 (19. dxe6 Qxd2 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Nxd2 $18) 19... Rxc3 20. dxe6 Nc5 21. exf7+ Kxf7 $18) 19. exd5 Qd6 { I'd rather have the Knight blocking the pawn, but for the time being it's no problem blocking it with the Queen. } 20. Nh4!? { A move I had not considered at all. I had seen that the Knight could not go to d4, but by going this way, the threat of Nf5 is renewed. I experienced some form of panicking here - and poor calculation led to a poor move. } (20. Nd4 { There are no tricks with this move. } 20... Qxd5 $19) 20... Qf6?! { Allowing the Knight to go to f5 as I couldn't see how to stop it. } (20... Rxe1+ 21. Qxe1 (21. Rxe1? Qxd5 $19 { Black just picks up the pawn. }) 21... g6 { Looking at it now, I find it rather strange why I didn't play like this. With the Queen on d2, ...g6 is not an option, so first trading on e1 to then play ...g6 is very natural. It actually turns out that White has a very difficult time keeping the balance here. } 22. Bf5! { A spectacular but necessary move. There are many fine moves for Black here, but I'm not sure what the most natural way to play is. } 22... Rc5 { I like the idea of this move, but it seems a bit counter-intuitive to leave the 8th rank unprotected. } (22... gxf5 { This is also possible and perhaps a bit more ambitious. There is no mate, but White will give up two pieces for a Rook and a pawn. } 23. Nxf5 Qe5 { I find it the most natural to trade the Queens due to the weakened pawn structure around the black King. } (23... Qf6 { Black can also keep the Queens on the board. } 24. Ne7+ Kf8 25. Nxc8 Bxc8 { This should be a rather complex position where the engine's zeros don't have much practical value. }) 24. Ne7+ Kf8 25. Qxe5 Nxe5 26. Nxc8 Bxc8 { A very interesting endgame is ahead - though this is the more solid approach rather than keep Queens on the board. }) 23. Bxd7! (23. Qe8+? Nf8 $19) 23... Qxd7 24. d6 Rd5 25. Rxd5 Bxd5 { With an interesting but level endgame ahead. }) 21. Nf5 { Now Black has to be extremely careful which I failed to be. } 21... Re5? (21... Kf8! { To protect the e7-square and get away from possible Qh7+ ideas. } 22. d6 { This move does seem scary but now it is time for my move } 22... Re5! { The Knight on d7 is a good blockader } 23. Rxe5 Qxe5 { Compared to the game, the Knight now immediately blocks the d6-pawn and Ne7 doesn't win the exchange. White is pressing, but Black is still very much in the game. = / += }) 22. Rxe5! Nxe5 (22... Qxe5? { This would now fail to } 23. Re1 $18 { When Ne7+ is devastating. }) 23. d6?! Rd8 { The Rook has to attack the pawn immediately. } 24. f4 { Despite being very low on time at this point, my opponent keeps on playing energetically and critically. } (24. Qe2 { Also poses serious questions to Black as f4 next is a serious threat now that ...Nc4 is not longer available. }) 24... Nc4 25. Qe2! (25. Qd3 b5! { Instead Black can secure the Knight on the c4 square. The difference to Nb2 is subtle, but it's there } (25... Nb2 { This was my idea during the game as I had seen that Black does not get mated immediately } 26. Ne7+ Kf8 27. Qh7 Rxd6 { To me it seemed as if I would in a pawn, but that is not the truth } 28. Rxd6 Qxd6 29. Nf5! { The key idea! Now Black is losing } 29... Qc5+ 30. Kh2! Ke8 31. Qg8+ Qf8 32. Nxg7+ $18) 26. Ne7+ Kf8 27. Qh7 Rxd6 28. Rxd6 Nxd6! { Amazing, now the Knight is protecting from Nf5! } (28... Qxd6 { Would, of course, be a mistake due to } 29. Nf5!)) (25. Qb4 Qb2! { Is likely to transpose to what happened in the game after } 26. Qxb2 Nxb2 { We reached this exact position in the game. }) (25. Qf2 { Allows an incredible variation } 25... g6! 26. Nxh6+ Kg7 27. Ng4 Rxd6!! { Just wow } 28. Nxf6? { This is close to losing for White } 28... Rxd1+ 29. Kh2 Rd2 30. Qg3 (30. Ne8+ Kf8 31. Qg1 Rxg2+ 32. Qxg2 Bxg2 33. Kxg2 Kxe8 $17 { White can hope to save the endgame with the Bishop being stronger than the Knight - but it's a long and tough road ahead. }) 30... Ne3! 31. Ne4! Nf1+ 32. Kg1 Nxg3 33. Nxd2 Ne2+ 34. Kf2 Nxf4 { When Black is pushing with a pawn more. The engine says that it's winning for Black, but we know that the endgame would probably be a long one. -/+ / -+ }) 25... Qb2? { My opponent and I both missed a very nice move from White here } (25... Qe6! { Insisting on a Queen trade was necessary } 26. Qf2 { This is how, White should keep the Queens on the board. Though it does not look simple for either side. It is a bit counter-intuitive to me to first play Qe2 and then Qf2. } (26. Qg4 Qf6 { Would transpose to the game })) 26. Qg4? (26. Bc2!! { The only winning move. Avoiding the Queen trade, and now actually attacking the Knight on c4 which doesn't have anywhere good to go. } 26... b5 27. d7 $18 { The Queen is too far away from the defence and the game should be over. It's funny how everything seems so simple afterwards when you sit at homw with your engine on. }) 26... Qf6?! (26... b5 { The best move according to the engine, just allowing Nxh6+. However, I don't find this move natural at all. You'd need nerves of steel to play a move like this. } 27. Nxh6+ Kf8 28. Nf5 (28. Nxf7 { The engine suggests a perpetual like this } 28... Kxf7 29. Qh5+ (29. Bg6+ { White could also play the attack in another fashion } 29... Kg8 30. Re1 { But it should soon end in a perpetual anyawy. Luckily, Black still has mate threats on g2 which makes sure that White doesn't have time to checkmate. } 30... Nxd6 31. Qe6+ Kh8 32. Qg4 { Threatening mate, so Black must either go back or go into an endgame. } 32... Kg8 (32... Qxg2+ 33. Qxg2 Bxg2 34. Kxg2 { When the game would continue, but I'd rather be White here. }) 33. Qe6+) 29... Kg8 30. Qh7+ Kf7 31. Qh5+)) 27. Qe2! Qb2? { Giving White a second chance, but as my opponent was playing on increment, he didn't spot it. } 28. Qxb2 (28. Bc2!!) 28... Nxb2 { Finally the Queens have been traded, but here my opponent made an understandable mistake. } 29. Re1? { An ambitious and almost good move, but luckily, I can defend here. } (29. Rc1! { Taking the file furtherst away from the opponent's King! This is a common principle that also works in this position. It is not easy finding a good move for Black, since White is threatening Rc7, and the Knight can't go back to c4. } 29... Ba6 (29... Na4 { The Knight can try this. } 30. Rc7 Nc5 31. a3! { Incredible. White threatens Ba2, and now Black has to find } 31... Be4! 32. Bxe4 Nxe4 33. d7 { With the threat of Rc8 } 33... Kh7 34. Rxa7 $18 { White emerges with a pawn more and Black is in grave danger - practically it's probably just lost. }) 30. Rc7 Kf8 31. Rxa7 (31. a3 { Now this move can be met with } 31... Bc4!) 31... Bc4! $16 { Black is holding on for dear life, but it looks very difficult. }) (29. Rd4 { Was the move, I considered most during the game, making sure the Knight has nowhere to go. Black has to be careful. } 29... Kf8 { Bringing the King. Whit will press, but this is not as critical as 29. Rc1! }) 29... Nc4 { Bringing the Knight back and attacking d6. } 30. Re7 Bc8 { I'd be happy to trade the a7-pawn for the d6 pawn. } 31. Bd3 { Some panic went through me and to be honest, I had no clue what the evaluation of the position was. I felt that I had managed the worst, but concretely I still couldn't quite see the way out. } (31. Rxa7 Bxf5 32. Bxf5 Nxd6 { Black should be completely fine here. }) 31... Bxf5 32. Bxc4 Be6 { At first, this seemed terrible to me, but then I spotted the key idea } (32... Rxd6 33. Bxf7+ (33. Rxf7 Be6! 34. Bxe6 Rxe6 35. Rxa7 { White will have a pawn more, but Black should hold. }) 33... Kf8 34. Rxa7 Be6 { This looks tougher for Black than 33. Rxf7 as White can now keep the Bishops on the board. Black will create counterplay with an active Rook. For example } 35. Bg6 Rd2 36. a4 Bd5 37. g4 Rg2+ 38. Kf1 Rg3) 33. Bxe6 fxe6 34. Rxe6 { This is the critical. } (34. Rxa7 Rxd6 { Is a rather easy draw. }) 34... Kf7 35. f5 { Now Black has to realise that } (35. Re7+ Kf6 36. Rxa7 Rxd6 { Once again, Black should hold this. }) 35... Re8! { Is the only move. At first, I thought White was still doing very well after this move beacuse of 36.Rg6, but then I noticed something } 36. Rxe8 { Still, my opponent had only increment on his clock, and now we enter a pawn endgame. } (36. Rg6 Re5 (36... Re2 { This can also be played immediately }) 37. g4 Re2 { The Rook on g6 is actually stuck! (and the King is also stuck on the first rank for the time being) White has to give away the d-pawn in order to ever get it out. When I realised this, the decision of 35...Re8 was simple. }) 36... Kxe8 37. Kf2 Kd7 38. Ke3 Kxd6 39. Kd4 { So far, the moves in the pawn endgame have been very natural, but here I had to make a decision. Luckily, I found the right idea } 39... h5! { After this, I thought the game would end in a draw rather quickly after the time control - but my opponent had other ideas } (39... b5 { Is objectively also a draw but a much more difficult one if you ask me. I don't think it makes much sense to allow White to play g4 uncontested } 40. g4 b4! { This is the way to make a draw, but the road ahead is still narrow for Black. Therefor, I've given 39... h5 and exclamation mark due to its great practical value. } (40... Kc6 { A very unnatural way to play. After a race, we will arrive in a Queen endgame with a pawn more for White. } 41. Ke5 b4 42. Ke6 a5 43. Kf7 a4 44. Kxg7 b3 45. axb3 a3 46. f6 a2 47. f7 a1=Q+ 48. Kg8 { Black has no checks. } 48... Qa2 49. f8=Q Qxb3+ { When the tablebases says it's a draw, but I don't think you can find many people who'd be comfortable with the Black pieces. Black does not win the h3-pawn as White has Qxh6+ in the end in most cases. }) 41. h4 { And here Black has to find either } 41... h5! (41... Ke7!)) (39... a6?? 40. g4! $18) 40. Kc4?? { He played this move rather confidently, probably thinking that there was no way he could lose the pawn endgame. But now he loses several tempi, and I didn't need long to calculate the win - though I did spend quite some time making sure I was right } (40. g4 { I was quite sure this was the way the game would go } 40... hxg4 41. hxg4 b5 { With White trying to create a passer, Black should do the same. } (41... a6 { Is also good enough } 42. g5 b5! 43. f6 gxf6 44. gxf6 Ke6 45. Kc5 Kxf6 46. Kb6 Ke6 47. Kxa6 Kd6 48. Kxb5 Kc7 49. Ka6 Kb8) (41... a5?? { Just don't play like this } 42. a4! $18 { And now Black is losing }) 42. a3 a5 43. g5 b4 44. axb4 axb4 45. f6 gxf6 46. gxf6 Ke6 47. Kc4 Kxf6 48. Kxb4 { And it's safe to safe that we could shake hands here }) (40. g3 { Is also an option, but it just delays the inevitable. } 40... a6 { To me, this looks the simplest. Not allowing White the Kc4-b5-a6 route. } 41. g4 { Is similar to 40.g4. }) 40... a6 { This seemed the most simple to me. Just denying the King access via b5 and a6. } (40... h4 { Is the other winning move, but this seemed a little bit more complicated to me }) 41. g3 (41. Kd4 h4 { When Black will end up winning the opposition and thus the game. The game could continue } 42. Ke4 b5 43. Kf4 { So many moves too slow that calculation is barely needed } 43... a5 44. g4 hxg3! { Though this one is necessary but not difficult } (44... b4?? { The problem is that Black will never be able to go around the pawns and pick up the h3-pawn as White will create a passer. } 45. Ke4 { Black even has to be careful not to lose } 45... Kc5! 46. Kd3 a4 47. Kc2 Kd4 { When the Kings will dance around and in the end make a draw. }) 45. Kxg3 b4 $19 { Black will make a Queen and win the game. }) 41... Ke5 { The black King goes forward and is ahead in the race as White also can't reach the Queenside } 42. a3 (42. g4 hxg4 43. hxg4 Kf4 44. Kd5 Kxg4 45. Kc6 Kxf5 $19 { Almost the same as in the game }) (42. a4 { Black has many ways to Rome } 42... b5+ 43. axb5 axb5+ 44. Kxb5 Kxf5 45. Kc4 Ke4! $19) 42... Ke4 (42... Kxf5 $19 { Was also good enough }) 43. g4 hxg4 44. hxg4 Kf4 { Now Black is just in time } 45. Kd5 Kxg4 46. Kc6 Kxf5 47. Kxb6 g5 48. Kxa6 g4 49. a4 g3 50. a5 g2 51. Kb7 g1=Q 52. a6 { The pawn is one square too far away for it to be a draw. I didn't find the quickest way here, but I did find the way } 52... Qg2+ 53. Kb8 Qg3+ 54. Kc8 Qf3 (54... Qg7 55. Kb8 Ke6 56. a7 Kd6 57. a8=Q Qc7# { Would also have been cute }) 55. Kb8 Qf4+ 56. Ka8 Qc7 { With mate on the next move! } 0-1