[Event "Gonzaga Masters 2016"]
[Site "Dublin IRL"]
[Date "2016.01.23"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Li, Henry"]
[Black "Murray, David B"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1882"]
[BlackElo "2160"]
[ECO "C78"]
[Annotator "Murray, David B."]
[ICUid "31838"]
[UsedInIcuSite "true"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 { In our only
previous encounter Henry had smashed me in a model game of the Grand Prix
Attack. This time I resolved to be sure I would last more than 20 moves and
picked a slower opening: the Archangel Variation of the Ruy Lopez } 7. c3
d6 8. d4 Bb6 9. Bg5 { a slightly unusual move } (9. a4 { leads to the very
theoretical main line, where Black usually has to sacrifice the b-pawn. })
(9. Be3 { was played against me last summer by another talented young
aggressive player, India's Aryan Chopra } 9... Bg4 10. Nbd2 exd4 $2 11.
cxd4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bxd4 13. Bxf7+ Kxf7 14. Qb3+ d5 15. Nxd4 c5 16. e5 $1 {
with an attack in Chopra-Murray, Riga 2015 }) 9... O-O { I remembered that
...h6 and ...g5 was the normal way to play against the early Bg5, but I
couldn't see why it should be good here. I decided to play more solidly and
get my king out of the centre first. } (9... h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Bg4 12.
dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nbd2 Nfd7 { and Black had quite a nice position in
Bologan-Tkachiev, Tilburg 1994 }) 10. d5 $6 { a strange decision to close
the centre. Normally Black is happy to see this move, opening up his
bishop, giving him a target to chip away at with c7-c6, and sometimes
condemning White's bishop to be very passive on g3. } 10... Nb8 11. a4 bxa4
{ grabbing the bishop pair } 12. Bxa4 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Qd3 a5 15. Nbd2
Na6 16. Bc6 Nc5 17. Qc2 Rb8 18. b4 axb4 19. cxb4 Nd7 (19... Na6 $5 { Henry
said he was much more worried about this possibility, which I didn't really
consider } 20. Rab1 Nxb4 $1 21. Rxb4 Bxf2+ 22. Rxf2 Rxb4 { with quite a
different game }) 20. Qa4 { not really gaining a tempo, because the knight
wants to go to f8 and g6 anyway and the rook needs to make way for it }
20... Rd8 21. Nc4 Nf8 22. Nxb6 { Here I had a big decision to make } 22...
cxb6 { I chose to put all my eggs in the kingside basket. White's bishop
prevents my rooks from being active on the a- to e- files, so the only plan
is Ng6, Rf8, Q moves and f5. This is quite a slow plan but I didn't see
what he could do on the queenside in the meantime - even if he gets his
rook and queen to the seventh rank he isn't threatening much and they would
be a long way from defending his king } (22... Rxb6 $5 { would allow me to
play on the queenside as well as the kingside. Either the b4-pawn remains
as a target, or it advances to b5 shutting out the bishop and maybe giving
me c5 for the knight. }) 23. Qb3 Ng6 24. Qe3 Nf4 { threatening Bh3 } 25.
Kh1 $1 (25. Ra7 $2 Bh3 26. Ne1 Qg6 27. Qf3 Bg4 28. Qe3 Be2 { winning an
exchange }) 25... Rf8 26. Ne1 Qg6 27. g3 Nh3 28. f4 $1 { not allowing me to
have it all my way on the kingside } 28... f5 $1 { this has to be played
anyway } 29. fxe5 dxe5 30. Nd3 $1 { a good move which I had missed,
covering e5 and f4. Fortunately some tactics here work out in my favour. }
30... Qd6 31. Rae1 { defending e4 and preparing to be able to take on e5.
But after Ng5 it is hard to defend the e-pawn } (31. exf5 $6 Bxf5 32. Qxe5
$4 Qxe5 33. Nxe5 Be4+ { wins }) (31. Qe1 $1 { a clever computer manoeuvre
to counter-attack the e5-pawn } 31... Ng5 32. Qc3 fxe4 33. Qxe5 Qxe5 34.
Nxe5 { and White's passed pawn is better supported than Black's }) 31...
Ng5 $1 32. Nb2 $2 { A blunder in a position that was becoming difficult. }
(32. exf5 $2 Bxf5 { with a huge threat of Be4+ and Nh3 mate } 33. Nf2 Rbc8
$3 { with an unstoppable threat of mate on the light squares } 34. b5 Rxc6
$1 35. dxc6 Qd5+ 36. Kg1 Nf3+ { winning }) (32. Rc1 $5 Nxe4 33. g4 $1 {
keeps the position unclear }) 32... Qxb4 33. Nd3 Qxe4+ $2 { after winning a
pawn, it was tempting to exchange queens, destroy the support of White's
passed pawn and bring my knight to the blockading e4-d6 route. But these
are all superficial things. If I had looked deeper I would have seen how
much compensation White has here. This was my most disappointing decision
of the tournament. } (33... Qd6 $1 { returning to the same position from
two moves ago, but having won the b4-pawn. Now Black has total control and
should be winning with the pressure on e4. } 34. Rc1 Ba6 $1 { shows a big
difference now that b4 is gone. }) 34. Qxe4 Nxe4 35. Nxe5 { I had managed
my time pretty well and now I was a pawn up with 30 minutes against 10. But
the longer I looked the less I could find a clear route to an advantage. }
35... Rd8 (35... b5 { the most natural try } 36. Ng6 Rd8 37. Ne7+ Kh8 38.
Nxc8 Rdxc8 39. Rxf5 { with equality }) 36. g4 $1 { Henry correctly tried to
mix it up and get activity at all costs. Even if he loses the g-pawn he
opens the f-file, the e-file and the b1-h7 diagonal and removes my knight
from its excellent outpost on e4. } 36... Nd6 37. Ng6 fxg4 $6 (37... Kh7 {
is a better winning attempt, but White still has compensation }) 38. Re7 $2
{ a big let off for me. } (38. Ne7+ Kh7 39. Ba4 { is quite a
straightforward draw that both of us missed at the time. Black can't defend
against both Nc6 and Bc2+ } 39... Bb7 40. Bc2+ g6 $2 { even loses: } 41.
Re6 Nf5 42. Bxf5 gxf5 43. Rxf5 Rf8 44. Rh5) 38... b5 39. Ne5 b4 { Now
White's pieces look quite threatening, but the b-pawn can't be stopped }
40. Ra1 (40. Nf7 $2 Rf8 { wins }) 40... b3 41. Bd7 Bxd7 42. Rxd7 Rxd7 43.
Nxd7 b2 44. Rb1 Rb5 45. Ne5 Rxd5 46. Nxg4 Nc4 47. Nf2 Ra5 48. Nd1 Ra1 49.
Nc3 Nd2 { One last trick to finish it off. A back-and-forth game where I
made the second last mistake. Definitely more pleasant than our last game,
and the stroke of luck I needed to be in with a chance of winning the
tournament on Sunday. } 0-1
