Game 1: GM Alejandro Ramirez - GM Larry Christiansen
This was an exciting contest in a Symmetrical English that Christiansen decided to unbalance with an early ...e5. It was White's move 23 pawn sacrifice that really unbalanced the game, however, an excellent example of a sacrifice invigorating a position. White breaks into Black's position starting on move 34 and some complex tactics ensue. Winning this game put Ramirez into the playoff with Kamsky.
[Event "2013 U.S. and Womens' Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis, Missouri, USA"]
[Date "2013.05.12"]
[Round "9.7"]
[White "Ramirez, Alejandro"]
[Black "Christiansen, Larry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A37"]
[WhiteElo "2551"]
[BlackElo "2579"]
[Annotator "ChessAdmin/Houdini"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[TimeControl "6000+890"]
[WhiteClock "0:19:06"]
[BlackClock "0:10:41"]
1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 {Black is not usually this committal on move 3,
preferring to develop with ...g6 and Bg7 or bringing out the other knight.
Christiansen is indicating early that he is looking for an aggressive,
unbalanced response and not a drawish line.} 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. a3 {
this can be a prelude to a pawn sacrifice on b4, but this game continues in a
more standard fashion, although the usual pawn push d3 is delayed.} Nge7 7. Rb1
(7. b4 {and now accepting the pawn can be extremely dangerous for Black, for
example} cxb4 8. axb4 Nxb4 9. Ba3 Nec6 10. Nd5 e4 11. Nxb4 exf3 12. Bxf3 Nxb4
13. Bxb4 Bxa1 14. Qxa1 f6 15. Bd5 d6 16. O-O Kf8 17. Qa3 Kg7 18. Bxd6 Re8 19.
e4 Bh3 20. Rb1 b6 21. d4 Qd7 22. e5 Qf5 23. Re1 fxe5 24. Bxe5+ Kh6 25. Be4 Qg4
26. Qe3+ g5 27. f3 Qd7 28. Bf6 Qf5 29. Be5 Qf7 30. g4 Rac8 31. Bd5 Qd7 32. Kf2
b5 33. Ra1 a5 34. Rxa5 Bxg4 35. h4 Qf5 36. Ra6+ Kh5 37. Bf7+ Kxh4 38. Rh6+ {
1-0 (38) Aguettaz,M (2443)-Tomazini,Z (2267) Pula 2012}) 7... O-O 8. O-O a5 9.
Ne1 {part of the standard plan in this position, to reposition the knight with
the idea of supporting the b4 advance.} d6 10. Nc2 a4 {as mentioned during the
live commentary, the idea is to disrupt the b4 advance by taking en passant on
b3, which would prevent White from recapturing with the a3 pawn as normal
after an exchange on b4. White therefore continues by moving the knight on yet
again.} 11. Ne3 Nd4 {the knight looks really strong here and White has no good
way to get rid of it in the near term.} 12. d3 {usually this is played earlier,
among other things to free up the Bc1, which is now blocked by the Ne3.} h6 {
this guards against the typical Bg5 idea White has, with either an awkward pin
on the Ne7 or provoking ...f6 as the result. Although it's a prophylactic move,
I'm not sure it was truly necessary and perhaps Black could have done
something more for his development.} 13. Re1 (13. Nxa4 {this pawn snatch
doesn't tactically work, as also pointed out during the live commentary, due
to a deflection tactic after} Nxe2+ 14. Qxe2 Rxa4) 13... Qa5 {after White's
last move ...Nxe2 no longer tactically protects the a4 pawn, so Black has to
defend it the old-fashioned way by moving a piece.} 14. Ned5 Nxd5 15. Bxd5 Kh7
{proactively moving off the diagonal with the pin on the f-pawn.} 16. Be3 {
White would be fine with trading his bishop, which has little scope, for
Black's finely posted knight.} Nb3 17. Ne4 Qb6 18. Nd2 f5 19. Nxb3 {White
finally gets rid of the knight in his territory and saddles Black with
defending the isolated b3 pawn.} axb3 20. Bd2 {White continues his piece
maneuvers, getting out of the way of further Black pawn pushes and allowing
his next move.} Bd7 21. e3 {concentrating on defending the key f4 square.} Rae8
22. Bc3 Re7 (22... f4 {would be premature here, for example} 23. exf4 exf4 24.
Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Bxg7 Kxg7 26. Qf3 $14) 23. a4 {Houdini immediately finds this
move and likes its dynamic possibilities. This was a key point in the game, as
Ramirez's positional pawn sacrifice completely changes the dynamics of the
game.} Bxa4 24. Ra1 Ra8 25. e4 {again both Ramirez and Houdini agree on the
next aggressive blow, this time in the center.} f4 26. gxf4 exf4 27. Bxg7 Kxg7
28. Qf3 {see how this idea from the move 22 variation makes a reappearance.
Black's pieces on the queenside are temporarily out of play, as pointed out
during the live commentary, while White now has local superiority on the
kingside for an attack.} Re5 29. Qxf4 Rf8 30. Qe3 Bc6 31. f4 Rh5 {this turns
out to bit a bit awkward after White's next move.} (31... Ree8 $5) 32. Qg3 $14
Bxd5 33. exd5 Rhf5 {after this, White's rooks open up with heavy fire on
Black's position.} (33... Qc7 {is Houdini's move and was also mentioned during
the commentary. Black needs to get the queen back over for defense.}) 34. Re6 (
34. Re7+ {was favored in the live commentary and is also Houdini's preference
for continuing the attack. The idea is to force the rook on the 8th rank off
before playing Ra8. In the game continuation, Black voluntarily does this,
making things easier for White.} R8f7 (34... R5f7 35. f5 g5 36. Re6 Rf6 37. h4)
35. Re6 R5f6 36. Ra8) 34... R8f6 (34... R5f6) 35. Ra8 Rxe6 36. dxe6 Qc7 37. Re8
(37. Qh4 {was brought up during the live commentary as the strongest
continuation.} g5 38. Qh5) 37... d5 {this loses immediately to the pawn push,
although the tactic is not necessarily obvious.} (37... g5) 38. e7 Kf7 39. Rh8
Kxe7 40. Qxg6 {and now Black loses material, with his Rf5 under attack and the
simultaneous White threat of skewering his king and queen along the 7th rank.}
1-0
Game 2: GM Timur Gareev - GM Conrad Holt
The opening phase saw Holt reject a possible early draw in an Exchange Slav and eventually end up in a closed position, but with some chances for both sides to try and make progress. Choices made about where to play were worth studying, with Houdini for example suggesting White could have pursued a queenside strategy. A long endgame struggle ends after a slip by Holt allows White to force a queen exchange that would give him a winning K+P endgame.
[Event "2013 U.S. and Womens' Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis, Missouri, USA"]
[Date "2013.05.12"]
[Round "9.8"]
[White "Gareev, Timur"]
[Black "Holt, Conrad"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D13"]
[WhiteElo "2674"]
[BlackElo "2513"]
[Annotator "ChessAdmin/Houdini"]
[PlyCount "168"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[TimeControl "6000+1155"]
[WhiteClock "0:02:16"]
[BlackClock "0:00:34"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 {the Exchange Slav, which has the reputation for
being a very drawish opening. It can be, but usually only if both players are
happy with a draw.} cxd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 {varying with ...a6 or ...Qb6
here would be one way to go for a more unbalanced position.} 6. Bf4 Nh5 {
the classic treatment of the variation is to keep symmetry with ...Bf5. The
text move in fact scores over 50 percent in the database.} 7. Bd2 {the usual
choice, White chooses a safe path for the bishop, implicitly arguing that
while the Bd2 isn't on a great square, the Nh5 is on a worse one.} e6 {
indicating that Black is looking for an unbalanced game.} (7... Nf6 {is the
drawing line, if Black is willing to accept that outcome. White is faced with
the choice of continuing play with his bishop on d2, moving it to another
substandard square, or repeating moves.}) 8. e3 Bd6 9. Ne5 g6 {only a handful
of games are in the database, but this scores 70 percent for White. Weakening
the dark-square complex like this looks strange, but White is not in a
position to take advantage of it, with his relevant bishop locked in. It also
allows the possibility of Nh5-g7-f5 at some point.} (9... Nf6 {is the other
main choice, which scores better for Black overall, although not in the
following high-level example, also a long endgame win fo White.} 10. f4 O-O 11.
Bd3 Ne7 12. O-O b6 13. Be1 Bb7 14. Bh4 Ne4 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Qb3 Qe8 17. Bxe7
Qxe7 18. a4 Bb4 19. f5 f6 20. Ng4 Rac8 21. Rfc1 Rfe8 22. Nf2 a5 23. Rc2 Ba6 24.
Qxe6+ Qxe6 25. fxe6 Rxe6 26. Rac1 Rec6 27. d5 R6c7 28. Rd1 f5 29. g4 g6 30.
gxf5 gxf5 31. Nh3 Rg7+ 32. Rg2 Bc5 33. Rxg7+ Kxg7 34. Kf2 Kf6 35. Nf4 Bc4 36.
Rg1 Bb4 37. h4 Bb3 38. Nfe2 Rd8 39. Nd4 Bxd5 40. Rg5 Be6 41. Rh5 Kg6 42. Nxe6
Rd2+ 43. Ke1 Rxb2 44. Nf4+ Kg7 45. Rg5+ Kf6 46. Nfd5+ Ke5 47. Nxb4 axb4 48. Ne2
Kd5 49. Rxf5+ Kc4 50. Rb5 Ra2 51. Rxb6 b3 52. Nd4 b2 53. Kd1 Ra3 54. Kd2 Ra2
55. Nc2 h5 56. a5 Rxa5 57. Rb4+ Kd5 58. Rxb2 Ke5 59. Nd4 Ra3 60. Rb5+ Kf6 61.
Rxh5 Rd3+ 62. Ke2 Rxd4 63. exd4 {1-0 (63) Ivanchuk,V (2729)-Morozevich,A (2721)
Monte Carlo 2006}) 10. Nb5 Be7 {Black needs to keep the bishop on the board to
help cover the dark squares.} 11. Bd3 O-O 12. O-O a6 $11 {Black has apparently
achieved what he intended, reaching equality out of the opening but in a
relatively unbalanced position which may give him chances to pursue a win.} 13.
Nc3 Bd6 {this appears to lose Black time and give White some initiative.} (
13... Nxe5 {seems logical here, getting rid of the strong Ne5, which is an
analagous theme in the Stonewall.}) 14. f4 {now exchanging on e5 would be
favorable for White, giving him a cramping pawn on e5 and the half-open f-file.
} Bd7 15. Qf3 (15. Na4 {is Houdini's choice here, with the idea of pursuing a
queenside strategy and following up with Rc1.}) 15... Be8 (15... f5 {is
another option, going for a Stonewall-like formation that would shut White
down on the kingside.}) 16. Qh3 Ng7 17. Rf3 {an aggressive-looking move that
goes nowhere for White and causes him to lose time repositioning the rook
later.} (17. Rac1 $5) 17... f6 18. Ng4 h5 19. Nf2 f5 {this seems unnecessary,
as the Be8 already covers g6 (why it was moved there in the first place, one
would imagine).} (19... Rc8 $5 {immediately looks fine.}) 20. Bf1 Rc8 21. Rd1 {
at this point we have a largely closed position with a lot of pieces clogging
up the board. Both sides attempt to reposition themselves.} Rf7 (21... Bf7 {
followed by Ng7-e8-f6 would bring the knight back into the game.}) 22. Nd3 Rfc7
{While the doubled rooks look good, it's unclear what they can accomplish on
the c-file.} 23. Be1 Be7 24. Rf2 Bf7 {as happened earlier, Houdini again
prefers a queenside strategy starting with Na4, looking to exploit the hole on
b6.} 25. Ne5 (25. Na4 {as happened earlier, Houdini again prefers a queenside
strategy starting with the text move, looking to exploit the hole on b6.})
25... Nxe5 {now that the position is closed on the kingside, this is a more
favorable exchange for Black.} 26. dxe5 Be8 27. Rfd2 Bd7 (27... g5 {is what
the aggressive engine recommends. Black in fact has a structure similar to a
Dutch Stonewall, with the potential for a well-supported pawn advance on the
kingside.}) 28. Bd3 Qf8 (28... Bc5 {looks good, hitting the e3 pawn, but Black
has different ideas in mind for his bishops.}) 29. Rc2 {inviting Black's next
move.} Ba4 30. b3 Bb5 31. Qf3 Bb4 {this sets off a sequence of complex
exchanges.} (31... Bxd3 32. Rxd3 b5 {followed by ...Bb4 gives Black a small
plus here, according to Houdini.}) 32. Nxb5 Rxc2 33. Bxb4 Qxb4 34. Nd6 Kh7 35.
h3 {neither side it seems wants to resolve the question of which Black rook
will be taken.} Rc1 36. Nxc8 {finally!} Rxc8 {after the dust settles, Houdini
considers the position as equal. With only the c-file open and more or less
equivalent minor pieces, that seems reasonable.} 37. g4 hxg4 38. hxg4 {White
has opened the h-file, which he perhaps has a better chance to exploit, as
well as clearing some more light squares for his bishop.} Qa3 39. Qe2 Kg8 40.
Kg2 Rc1 41. Rd2 Qc5 42. Rc2 {deciding to force the exchange.} Rxc2 43. Bxc2 {
again, full equality.} Kf7 44. Kg3 d4 45. gxf5 gxf5 46. e4 d3 47. Qxd3 Qg1+ 48.
Kf3 Qh1+ 49. Ke3 Qg1+ 50. Kd2 Qf2+ 51. Kd1 Qg1+ 52. Kd2 Qf2+ 53. Kc3 Qxf4 {
a long dance to maintain equality.} 54. Qd7+ Kg8 55. Qc8+ Kh7 56. Qxb7 Qxe5+
57. Kc4 Qb2 58. Bd3 Qc1+ 59. Kd4 Qg1+ 60. Kc3 Qa1+ 61. Kb4 a5+ 62. Kc5 (62.
Kxa5 $2 Qc3+ {picks up the bishop.}) 62... e5 (62... Qc3+ {would have
continued the dance.}) 63. Qd5 f4 {Black appears to be trying for a win -
otherwise he could have continued the previous sequence of checks - but his
queen is somewhat misplaced and his knight is out of the action, leaving White
with good counterplay.} 64. Kd6 Qxa2 (64... f3 $5) 65. Bc4 Qa3+ 66. Kxe5 {
Houdini considers this equal, but it looks a lot easier to play as White here.}
Qe7+ {what should be the losing move, according to Houdini. White now picks up
the f-pawn, but is subjected to a series of checks.} (66... f3) (66... Qf8) 67.
Kxf4 Qh4+ 68. Ke3 Qe1+ 69. Kd4 (69. Kf3 {would eventually allow White's king
to run to the queenside and block the checks, keeping the extra pawn.} Qh1+ 70.
Kf2 Qh4+ 71. Ke2 Qg4+ 72. Kd2 Qf4+ 73. Kc2 Qf2+ 74. Kc3 Qe1+ 75. Qd2) 69...
Qg1+ 70. Ke5 Qg3+ 71. Kf6 {now Black regains the pawn after another series of
checks.} Qf4+ 72. Ke7 Qc7+ 73. Qd7 Qe5+ 74. Kf8 Qb8+ 75. Ke7 Qe5+ 76. Be6 Qxe4
$11 77. Qd5 Qb4+ (77... Qxd5 78. Bxd5 Nf5+ {is an excellent drawing idea.
White cannot stop Black from eliminating his last pawn, for example} 79. Kd7
Nd4 80. Kd6 Nxb3) 78. Kf6 Qh4+ 79. Kf7 Qf4+ 80. Ke7 Qb4+ 81. Kd7 Nxe6 82. Kxe6
{Black, after playing a long and what must have been exhausting game, now lets
it slip away quickly, showing how difficult queen endings can be.} Kh6 (82...
Qe1+) 83. Kd7 {White screens himself from further checks, giving himself the
initiative.} Kg7 {this now allows White to gang up with both king and queen on
the Black king and then force an exchange of queens, with a winning K+P ending.
} (83... a4 84. Qc6+ Kh5 85. bxa4 {looks good for White as well.}) 84. Qe5+ Kf7
{one continuation would be Qe6+, Kf8, Qe8+, Kg7 and then Qe7+} 1-0
Game 3: FM John Bryant - Yaacov Norowitz
The Caro-Kann Bronstein-Larsen variation finally chalks up a win in this event, as Norowitz masterfully uses Black's positional characteristics to his advantage, instead of having White take over the initiative as occurred in previous games. It is both fitting and ironic that Black's doubled f-pawns are the key to final victory.
[Event "2013 U.S. and Womens' Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis, Missouri, USA"]
[Date "2013.05.12"]
[Round "9.11"]
[White "Bryant, John"]
[Black "Norowitz, Yaacov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B16"]
[WhiteElo "2442"]
[BlackElo "2451"]
[Annotator "ChessAdmin/Houdini"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[TimeControl "6000+1385"]
[WhiteClock "0:13:01"]
[BlackClock "0:02:50"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 {Norowitz is
persistent, still playing the Bronstein-Larsen after losses with it in two
previous rounds.} 6. Nf3 {not the most challenging continuation, as it invites
Black to develop his bishop with a pin.} Bg4 7. Be2 e6 8. O-O Bd6 {instead of
the ...Qc7 played in the first round against Christiansen.} 9. c4 Rg8 {a move
that Norowitz never managed to get in during the round 1 game.} 10. Kh1 Nd7 11.
d5 Qe7 {Norowitz now varies from Tringov-Smyslov (!), presented below as a
fine example of an attacking game in this opening line.} (11... Nc5 12. Nd4 f5
13. Bxg4 Rxg4 14. h3 Qf6 15. Nf3 Rxc4 16. dxc6 Ne4 17. cxb7 Rb8 18. Qd3 Rb4 19.
Be3 R4xb7 20. b3 Rd7 21. Qa6 Bc5 22. Bxc5 Nxc5 23. Qa5 Nd3 24. Kg1 Rbd8 25.
Rab1 Kf8 26. Ne1 Ne5 27. f4 Ng6 28. Nf3 Kg7 29. g3 Rc8 30. Rbd1 Rdc7 31. Rd2
Qe7 32. Ne5 Rc5 33. Nxg6 hxg6 34. Qb4 Qf6 35. Re1 a5 36. Qa3 Rc3 37. Kh2 Rxg3
38. Qxa5 Qh4 {0-1 (38) Tringov,G-Smyslov,V Havana 1965}) 12. dxc6 bxc6 13. Nd4
Bxe2 14. Qxe2 {White has exchanged off another pair of minor pieces, a good
strategic move that brings him closer to the endgame.} Rc8 15. Qh5 {White
decides to go pawn hunting, which does not turn out well for him.} (15. Be3 {
seems solid.}) 15... f5 {a key move idea in this variation (also played
earlier on in the Smyslov game given above). The diagonal is opened up for
Black's queen and the doubled pawn is used to grab space in White's territory.}
16. Qxh7 Nf6 {Black uses the pawn sacrifice to activate his pieces, moving his
knight into the game and also making the Bd6 a much more powerful piece with
the h-file now open for attacking purposes (targeting the h2 pawn).} 17. Qh3
Ng4 18. g3 {this cuts off the Black bishop, but causes additional problems for
White.} (18. f3 Nxh2 19. Re1 Nf1 {is a wild line, in which Black is OK because
of the latent threat of a pin on the h-file, for example} 20. Rxf1 $2 (20. Nxf5
Ng3+ 21. Nxg3 Bxg3 22. Re2 $11) 20... Qf6 $19) (18. Nf3 {may be a more solid
defense.}) 18... Bc5 $15 19. f3 Bxd4 20. fxg4 Rxg4 {Black has now regained his
sacrificed pawn and his pieces are certainly more active and better placed,
although the position is still quite sharp.} 21. Qg2 Qb4 22. Bf4 {now White
chooses to sacrifice the c-pawn, but his compensation is not as robust as
Black's was earlier.} (22. Qc2 $5) 22... Qxc4 23. Rfd1 e5 $17 {now Black gets
rolling in the center and the strength of this passed pawn proves to be the
deciding factor in the end.} 24. Rac1 Qe6 25. Re1 f6 {a remarkable display of
how Black's normally weak pawn grouping can become a strength.} 26. Be3 Kf7 27.
Bxd4 Rxd4 28. Rf1 Kg6 {a bold and effective use of the king. Ironically
White's two kingside pawns serve as effective shields for Black's king.} (28...
e4 {was also possible.}) 29. Rc2 Rcd8 {Black's domination of the central
squares and files is now complete.} 30. h4 (30. Rxc6 Qxa2 31. h4 Rd1 $19) 30...
Rd1 31. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 32. Kh2 Qd5 $19 33. Rf2 (33. Qxd5 cxd5 {and Black's central
pawns will be unstoppable.}) 33... Qxg2+ {Black prefers to trade queens here
and head into the less complicated rook ending.} 34. Kxg2 $17 Rd4 (34... c5 $5)
35. Rc2 f4 36. g4 (36. Rxc6 $2 {would be bad due to} Rd2+ {and now White loses
the g-pawn in all variations, for example} 37. Kh3 Rd3 38. Kh2 Rxg3) (36. gxf4
Rxf4 37. Kg3 {might be a more stubborn defense.}) 36... Rd3 $19 {Black's rook
dominates White's back ranks and can enable the Black pawns to roll forward.}
37. Kh2 Rg3 38. Rg2 Rxg2+ 39. Kxg2 e4 {now Black's extra f-pawn ensures his
victory, a fitting end for a Bronstein-Larsen game!} 0-1
Game 4: GM Melik Khachiyan - GM Marc Arnold
For Slav devotees, this game is an excellent illustration of why almost no one plays a fianchetto against it.
[Event "2013 U.S. and Womens' Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis, Missouri, USA"]
[Date "2013.05.12"]
[Round "9.14"]
[White "Khachiyan, Melik"]
[Black "Arnold, Marc"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2518"]
[BlackElo "2538"]
[Annotator "ChessAdmin/Houdini"]
[PlyCount "36"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[TimeControl "6000+1130"]
[WhiteClock "0:26:00"]
[BlackClock "0:18:49"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. g3 {an uncommon continuation with some transpositional
possibilities.} c6 {Black chooses a Slav setup, which immediately aims to
nullify White's pending bishop development to g2.} 4. Bg2 Bf5 5. O-O Nbd7 6. c4
{we now have a fianchetto-type Slav, which is not nearly as effective an
opening for White as the analagous Catalan against the QGD (without ...c6
being played)} e6 7. Qb3 {an aggressive move, but one which scores over 56
percent for Black in the database. All of the main continuations favor Black,
showing how the fianchetto line versus the Slav is generally ineffective.} Qc8
{a rather passive development for the queen.} (7... Qb6 {is the most popular
and should be the easiest road to equality. Exchanging queens on b6 would be
fine for Black, as he then would get the half-open a-file and the doubled
b-pawns are not in fact weak.}) 8. Nc3 dxc4 {a novelty in the database. Black
normally continues to maintain the tension in the center and have the extra
control over e4. The text move leads to a looser continuation by Black which
is more aggressive and unbalanced.} (8... h6 {is the most played here.}) 9.
Qxc4 b5 10. Qb3 b4 {the logical follow-up. Now that Black has chosen this
aggressive line which also weakens his queenside, he needs to keep hitting
White's pieces to disrupt his opponent and keep him off-balance.} 11. Na4 (11.
Nb1 {is an alternative, looking to reposition the knight to d2.}) 11... Be4 12.
Bd2 {White plays carefully to neutralize Black's chances.} (12. Bg5 $5 Bd5 13.
Qd3 Be4 14. Qe3 {would see White play for an advantage and avoid the
repetition line from the game.}) 12... Bd5 13. Qc2 Qa6 {by attacking the Na4
and the e2 pawn simultaneously, Black sets up the conditions for the
repetition. The White queen must stay on the d1-a4 diagonal to protect the
knight and White also has to worry about the pawn.} 14. Rfe1 Be4 15. Qb3 {
White accepts the idea of a draw by repetition.} (15. Qd1 {would avoid this,
but the position is equal in any case.}) 15... Bd5 16. Qc2 Be4 17. Qb3 Bd5 18.
Qc2 Be4 1/2-1/2
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