1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 Na6 This is playing the Four pawns Attack of the King's Indian Defense, an aggressive and ambitious line. The Na6 move is usually delayed, as it's more normal for Black to castle first. But unless White immediately launches e5, transpositions are very likely, as the game shows. 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Bd3 7. e5 Nd7 8. Be2 c5 9. Be3 is the best line for White. 7... e5 8. fxe5 dxe5 9. d5 With this move, white maintains her dominance of the light colored center squares, but has little impact on the dark squares. the game may well be decided over issues of which side is dominant over which colored squares. 9... Nc5 10. Bc2 a5 11. O-O Nfd7 Now that White has castled and the king is no longer on the e file, the Black pawn on e5 ought to be defended. But this move may inhibit the development of the Black bishop and queen. White has a small but significant positional advantage, given her greater space and mobility. 12. Be3 b6 13. Qe2 f6 14. Rad1 Rf7 15. Nb5 Ba6 16. Na3 The knight was well posted on b5, and White shouldn't fear the exchange if Black has to give up his good bishop for it. The knight seems misplaced and out of the action on a3. 16... Qf8 17. Rf2 Qd6 18. Rdf1 Raf8 19. Qd2 g5 Black is willing to compromise the security of his own king to launch a maneuver against the White kingside. 20. h4 h6 21. hxg5 fxg5 22. Nh2 This move weakens White's position significantly. The knight will not be allowed to get to g4, and couldn't stay there even if it did. Now that Black has access to and through f6, White needs to be able to react to threats immediately. With both knights on the side of the board, White is less developed and is at a serious disadvantage. 22... Nf6 23. Bxc5 White attempts to ease pressure on the e pawn, but the move played only serves to activate the Black queen, moving the threat from the e pawn to the c pawn, and hands the queen a strong pin. 23... Qxc5 24. Nf3 It seems impossible for White free to herself both from the pin and the threat against the c pawn. For example, if 24. Bd3 Nh5! 25. Ng4 Ng3 26. Re1 Bc8 and something has to give. But although it's very difficult, there is a path in 24. g3 Bxc4 25. Nxc4 Qxc4 26. Bb3! intending 26... Qxe4 (Better but harder to fathom is 26... Qxb3 27. axb3 Nxe4 28. Rxf7 Nxd2 29. Rxf8+ Bxf8 30. Re1 Bc5+ 31. Kg2 Bd4 32. Ng4 Bxb2 33. Nxh6+ Kg7 and Black has only a small edge.) 27. d6 for a pin of her own. Unfortunately, with the move made, Black will inevitably win major material, and the remainder of the game is only a matter of technique. 24... Ng4 25. Bd3 Nxf2 26. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 27. Kxf2 g4 28. Ke2 gxf3+ 29. gxf3 Bc8 30. Ke3 h5 31. Be2 Kh7 32. Rh1 Kh6 33. Nb5 Bf6 34. f4 exf4+ 35. Kxf4 Bd4+ 36. Kg3 Rg8+ 37. Kh2 Be5# A very convincing finish to a well played game. Both sides went all out, accepted the challenges of the complicated position, and made an interesting and instructive game for us all. 0-1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. h3 This has been a Classical Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defense, but the book move at this point is 9. Nb3 White prefers to delay that move to maximize his options until Black's committed his queen to a given square. 9... Bd7 10. O-O Rc8 11. a3 a6 12. Rad1 Ne5 13. Bh6 Nc4 14. Bxc4 Rxc4 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Qd3 Qc7 17. Rd2 Rc8 18. Rc1 The game is even at this point, and White takes a moment to keep Black from having good targets to focus on. But white could have been more aggressive with the placement of the rook. 18... e6 19. Nf3 Rxc3 Black is concerned about the attack on the d pawn, but it can be defended by 19... Rc6 Or Black can investigate a compensatory counterattack with 19... Qb6 The positional sacrifice does mess up White's pawn structure, but it doesn't reduce White's pressure enough and it doesn't give Black enough of an attack. It's close, but not quite enough. 20. bxc3 Qxc3 21. Qxc3 Rxc3 22. Rxd6 Bc6 23. Rd3 Nxe4 24. Nd4 Bd5 25. Rxc3 Nxc3 26. Kf1 26. f4 is a better way to deal with the knight fork threat, as it keeps the White knight secure against an attack from a pawn on e5. 26... Bc4+ 27. Ke1 Kf6 28. Kd2 Nd5 29. g3 e5 30. Nf3 Kf5 31. a4 b5 This makes White's task easier by removing a weak weak pawn and weakening the self-supporting Black pawns. 32. axb5 axb5 33. Ra1 f6 34. Ra7 h5 35. Rg7 35. Nh4+ first is faster, since the king must go to 35... Kg5 to hold the pawn and then there is no way to defend it again after 36. Rg7 35... g5 36. Rh7 Kg6 37. Rh8 Bf1 38. h4 g4 39. Ne1 Kg7 Black decided this was not the move he wanted to make after touching the piece. there was a momentary hand quiver that could be seen after the piece was released but before the clock was hit--too late to do anything about it. Black thought he might have dropped a pawn, but White decided there was too much risk that taking the pawn would lock the rook out of play. The win of the h pawn was not a high priority, when the b pawn would be a more forceful win. 40. Rb8 Nb4 41. Nd3 Nxd3 42. cxd3 e4 43. Rxb5 Bxd3 44. Rxh5 Kg6 45. Rd5 Bc4 46. Rd4 Bd3 47. Ke3 f5 48. Kf4 Wins the f pawn as the king can be pushed away with a check. 48... Bb5 49. Rd6+ Kh5 50. Kxf5 Bd3 51. Kf4 Ba6 It's a try for stalemate, but it wouldn't work. White could take the bishop, and move the rook to a1 in time to stop the pawn from queening, freeing the Black king from it's current immobility. Now White should simply take the g pawn, either immediately or after giving check on g5. That should be enough to convince Black to resign, but with a two pawn advantage, it won't matter if Black wins the rook for the bishop. Still, the ending as played was a bit sloppy. 52. Rd5+ Kg6 53. Kxe4 Bd3+ 54. Kxd3 1-0

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. Nf3 This has been the Advance Winawer variation of the French Defense. At this point it's more normal for White to immediately address the pin by 5. a3 or 5. Bd2 both of which give Black many options with fair play for both sides, or to counterattack with 5. Qg4 Ne7 6. Qxg7 (6. Nf3 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Ng6) 6... Rg8 7. Qh6 cxd4 8. a3 Ba5 The move played gives Black no problems. 5... Nc6 6. Bb5 Qb6 7. O-O Bd7 8. Bxc6 bxc6 Black should lose a pawn after this move. Normally, Black could expect lively play along the half open c file, and he should not block it with a pawn. Further, he must keep the knight from attacking the queen from a4. 9. Ne2? 9. Na4 Qb5 10. a3 Ba5 11. Nxc5 with a very good good advantage. 9... cxd4 10. Nexd4 c5 11. Nb3 Ne7 Black can win the exchange with 11... Bb5 12. c3 c4 13. cxb4 cxb3 14. Qxb3 Nc6 15. a3 a5 16. Qe3 16. Be3 is better here, preventing Black from winning the pawn back. Black cannot block the attack by advancing he pawn to d4 because White simply takes it, making use of the pin against the queen to win a piece should Black try to recover it. 16... Qxe3 17. Bxe3 axb4 18. axb4 O-O 19. Bc5 Rfc8 19... Rab8 is better, as the move played wastes a tempo when White exchanges rooks on the a file. 20. Rxa8 Rxa8 21. Nd4? This move is simply a mistake, and drops a pawn. Instead, White should keep up the pressure by mobilizing his rook or pushing the b pawn. Even if the e pawn wasn't loose, exchanging knights gives up White's advantage, making the game into a simplified ending with bishops of opposite colors, a likely draw even White had a surplus pawn. 21... Nxe5 22. b5 Rb8 23. b6 Nc4 24. Ra1 f5 Black is in real trouble, as the advanced White pawn cannot be ignored and his bishop is bad. Combined with the threat of a back rank mate, White can penetrate the Black position with impunity, so that threat must be dealt with immediately. However, 24... f6 is safer, as it's easier for Black to maintain a stable pawn chain. The backwards e pawn may give Black some trouble later. 25. Ra7! Bc8 26. Nb5? White misses a quick win with 26. Nc6! Rb7 27. Ne7+ picks up the bishop or the exchange. Now instead Black can begin a short series of exchanges ruinous to White. 26... Nxb6 27. Bxb6 Rxb6 28. Ra8 Rxb5 29. Rxc8+ Kf7 Black is now a pawn up, and that pawn is a protected passer. However, rook and pawn endings are notorious for draws, so there's still hope for White. 30. Rc2 d4 31. g3 A waste of time. White must activate the king. 31... e5 32. f3 Ke6 33. Kf2 e4 34. fxe4 fxe4 The connected pawns are simply too much, and White admits the inevitable defeat. This was an interesting game, with tactical wins missed by both sides on several occasions. Sometimes not making the best, winning move gives the same result as making a bad, losing move. 0-1

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Nge2 Bb7 6. a3 Be7 7. d5 d6 8. e4 O-O This opening is known as Rubenstein Variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. 9. f3 This move is questionable, and accomplishes nothing that 9. Ng3 doesn't do. The latter move furthers White's development, which needs attention. 9... Nh5 Where is this knight going? Perhaps Black intended to act against the weakened White kingside with .. f5, and the knight was in the way. But before embarking on such a plan, Black should complete his development, possibly with ... Nd7 ... Nc5. 10. Be3 e5 11. Qd2 c6 12. O-O-O White makes a bold and daring move, indicating his willingness to attack the Black kingside with abandon. But given that Black is poised to open up the c file, White is taking considerable risk in castling long. 12... Na6 13. b4 cxd5 14. cxd5 Rc8 15. g4 Nf4 16. Nxf4 exf4 17. Bxf4? 17. Bd4 is more protective of the critical c3 square. Whenever your opponent loses material, you should think long and hard about whether it's a mistake you should take advantage of, or a trap you should avoid. 17... Bf6 18. e5 dxe5 19. g5 exf4 20. gxf6 Qxf6 21. Kb2 Consider the state of the board at this point. White has an exposed king and is a pawn down, with an isolated d pawn, which is passed and might be worth some pressure. Black has doubled f pawns and an awkwardly placed knight, but he is up material. It will be easier for Black to correct his problems than for White to address his, which are more structural. Overall, the game distinctly favors Black at this point. 21... Nb8 22. Qd4 Nd7 23. Bb5 Ne5? this move gives the edge back to White. It would have been better to just trade queens, or activate the other rook by ... Rfd8. Now Black's mobility is restricted, as the knight is somewhat pinned against the queen. Even though a material loss might not result, a strategic loss might, and that can be just as back when facing decent opposition. 24. Rhe1 Nxf3 25. Qxf6 gxf6 26. Re7! Rb8 the White h pawn isn't worth taking at this point, and the time involved to either capture or defend it would be a detrimental distraction from the more important areas of play. 27. Ne4 Rfd8 28. Nxf6+ Kf8 29. Rd7 White had better in 29. d6 Rxd6 30. Rxb7 wins material, so the king must move away from the rook and into harms way. Or 29. Rc7 threatening both the fork with Nd7+ and the Black kingside with Rf1. 29... a6 29... Ne5 releasing the pressure is to Black's advantage. White has a concentration of threats, with the advanced White rook attacking the enemy rook and bishop, the prospect of a fork, and the possibility of shifting the attack to the weak pawn on f7. All this is hard for Black to deal with, so it's best to exchange the threatening pieces. Since the White rook is somewhat isolated, at least from White's other rook, this can be accomplished. The game might go 30. Rc7 Rd6 31. Nxh7+ The pawn was a goner no matter what 31... Kg7 32. Ng5 Bxd5 33. Rxa7 Rh8 and Black is as active as White in this roughly even position. 30. Bc6 Ba8 31. Rf1 Even better was 31. Bxa8 Rxa8 32. Rb7 Rd6 33. Nd7+ Kg7 34. Nxb6 winning a pawn and increasing the mobility of the d pawn. 31... Ne5 32. Rc7 Bxc6 33. dxc6 Rd2+ The critical feature in this position is the advanced White pawn and the strong rook on the seventh. Black should focus on taking care of that before looking to grab pawns. Therefore the better play was 33... Rbc8 34. Nd7+ Nxd7 35. Rxd7 Rxd7 36. cxd7 Rd8 37. Rxf4 Rxd7 with an ending that's no worse than drawn but where all the winning chances are on Black's side. Another possible play was 33... Rd6 34. Nxh7+ Kg7 35. Ng5 Rxc6 and Black's game is improved now that the c pawn is no more. 34. Kc1 Rd4? 34... Rd6 as above and Black has a small edge. 35. Rg1! A powerful move for White. The mate threat forces Black to divert the knight and that gives White control over d7. This tactic is enough for White to win the game in short order. 35... Ng6 36. Nd7+ Rxd7 37. cxd7 Rd8 38. Re1 Ne7 and in this position the score ends due to time pressure, but White has a winning advantage and did go on to win the game. This was a close and interesting contest that went back and forth several times. although there was room for improvement on both sides, each player made sharp and reasonable moves. Only the slight but significant error by Black on move 34 gave White the opportunity to make a strong and decisive move. Before that, at no point was either side dominant. This is a game well worth studying. 1-0

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 Qe7 7. e3 Ngxe5 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O a5 This is the Rubenstein Variation of the Budapest Gambit in the Indian family of openings. This move by Black and White's reply are not in the book, which goes 10... Bxd2 11. Qxd2 d6 12. Rfd1 (or 12. b4) (or 12. a3) So except for this curious interjection the game follows normal lines. 11. a3 Bxd2 12. Qxd2 d6 13. Qc3 Ng6 Why retreat? Black would have done better to simply continue with his development. Again, this is a minor interjection after which the game continues exactly as it could have been played a move earlier. 14. Bg3 Bf5 15. Rfd1 Be4 16. Bd3 b6 17. Bxe4 Qxe4 18. Rd4 White gets to double his rooks, but the file is closed and hard to pry open. 18... Qe6 19. Rad1 a4 The notion of developing the rook through a5 is an interesting one, but it's not clear what the rook might seek to accomplish there. Better to double or triple up the heavy pieces on the e file and try to force it open. 20. e4 f6 21. f4 Qe8 22. Re1 Ra5 Unless Black is willing to exchange the rooks when White plays his to d5, this moves does little except to further White's plans. 23. Rd5 Ra8 24. e5 fxe5 25. fxe5 dxe5 26. Bxe5 Nxe5 27. Rdxe5 Qf7 28. Re7? The game was dead even before this blunder. If White had recognized the threat, a simple h3 would have been sufficient. 28... Qf2+ 0-1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb3 The Lowenthal Variation of the Sicilian Defense. The standard continuation in this line goes 5. Nb5 a6 (5... d6 here makes up the Kalashnikov Variations) 6. Nd6+ Bxd6 7. Qxd6 Qf6 8. Qd1 (or 8. Qxf6 is also a decent line) 8... Qg6 9. Nc3 d5 The move played is overly conservative. 5... Nf6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Bxf6 Bxf6 8. Bc4 O-O 9. O-O a6 10. a4 Qc7 11. Qe2 d6 12. Nc3 Be6 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. Bxd5 Nb4 15. c4 It would have been better to protect the bishop by piling up pieces on the d file, as this also puts pressure on Black's backwards d pawn. A backwards pawn blocked by a piece is a good target. a backwards pawn blocked by another pawn isn't nearly as weak. 15... Nxd5 16. cxd5 Qb6 17. Nc1 Rac8 18. Nd3 Rc7 19. Rfc1 Rfc8 20. Kf1 There too much firepower on the board to expose the king. Better would have been a trade of rooks. 20... Bg5 21. Rxc7 Qxc7 22. Qg4 Bh6 23. f4 A very daring and dangerous move, in fact, it is a deadly mistake. White cuts off defense of the e pawn and allows for a pin on the knight. With the king a bit more exposed than it should be at this point, the pawn move is even more weakening. Curiously, at this point both score sheets show the same next moves, 23... Qc5 24. Kf2 Qd4+ 25. Qxe4+ Ke1. Clearly something is wrong here. The queen can be freely captured by the knight on c5, and the queen covers the f2 square, so even if White overlooked the capture he cannot move into check. So we must assume the correct move is 23... Qc4. 23... Qc4 24. Kf2 Qd4+ 25. Ke1 Qxe4+ 25... Rc2 is a far superior move, forcing White to give up his queen to avoid mate. But as it is, White wins the first pawn, soon to be followed by another. 26. Qe2 Qxe2+ 27. Kxe2 exf4 28. Kf3 g5 29. Rc1 Rxc1 30. Nxc1 f5 31. Nd3 Kf7 32. Nc1 It's a mistake to take the knight away from Black's advancing kingside pawns, but what else can White do? The intent is to find a way to penetrate the Black queenside and pick up some pawns to make a counterthrust for White. But the bishop can cover the long diagonal and the pawns keep the knight from moving to any effective squares, so it's a lost cause. 32... g4+ 33. Kf2 f3 33... g3+ 34. Kg1 (34. hxg3? fxg3+ 35. Kxg3 Bxc1) 34... f3 is even more effective, since it advances the pawns before revealing the discovered attack on the knight. 34. Nb3 fxg2 35. Kxg2 Be3 36. Na5 b6 37. Nc6 f4 38. Nd8+ Kf6 39. h3 gxh3+ 39... f3+ 40. Kg3 f2 41. Kg2 gxh3+ is faster. 40. Kxh3 Ke5 41. Nf7+ Kxd5 42. Kg2 Kc5 and White concedes to the inevitable. 0-1

1. e4 c6 2. c4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. cxd5 Qxd5 5. Nc3 Qe5+ An unusual opening, which leaves White saddled with an isolated d pawn. But Black has developmental issues. The game will likely be won by the player who corrects his problems first. 6. Be2 Bg4 7. d4 Bxe2 8. Ngxe2 Qc7 9. Bf4 Qd7 White still has the isolated pawn, but Black's developmental gap has gotten far worse. White has a very strong advantage at this point, but must find a way to turn that edge into a material advantage soon or it will evaporate. 10. d5 Nf6 11. Qb3 Na6 12. Nd4 Nc5 13. Qc4 Nce4 13... Rc8 is the more natural move and almost gives black equality. 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Rc1? White misses a chance to win quickly. Much better was 15. Nb5 threatening both the enemy knight on e4 and the fork on c7. Black cannot defend against both of these threats, so must lose either the exchange or a piece outright. 15... Nd6 16. Qb3 g6 17. Be5 f6 Black shouldn't create such weaknesses around his king when White's pieces are already so well poised to immediately exploit them. As painful as it seems, it's best to forsake castling and play 17... Bh6 to exchange the rooks. If White declines the trade, then Black might have a good opportunity to castle. 18. Bg3 Bh6 19. Rc2 O-O 20. O-O Kg7? Oops. Black steps into a fork. 21. Ne6+ Kf7 22. Rc7! A nice intermezzo that doesn't give up the right to take the rook later, as Black has nowhere to put the queen that can attack the enemy rook after it's unprotected when White takes his booty. 22... Qb5 23. Bxd6 Qxb3 24. Rxe7+ Kg8 25. axb3 Rfc8 26. Rxb7 Rc1 27. Rxc1 Bxc1 28. Rg7+ Simplest would be to just reduce the position to an easily won endgame with 28. Rb8+ Rxb8 29. Bxb8 Kf7 (If 29... a6 the White e pawn will march right down to the back rank, by 30. d6 Kf7 31. d7 Ke7 32. d8=Q+ since the knight supports that square.) 30. Bxa7 Bxb2 31. Bc5 and White is up a piece and two very mobile pawns which are hard to stop from queening. 28... Kh8 29. Rf7 A wasted move that lets White drag the game out a while longer. 29... Bxb2 30. Bf8 Rc8 31. g3 a5 32. Ra7 Bc3 33. d6 Bb4 34. d7 Rc1+ 35. Kg2 Rd1 36. Bg7+ Another simplification would have been better. 36. Bxb4 and White cannot recapture 36... axb4 because of 37. Ra8# Along these lines, any bishop move is good, compelling White to give up major material just to delay the inevitable by a few moves. 36... Kg8 37. Bxf6 Rd2 38. d8=Q+ Rxd8 39. Bxd8 1-0

1. e4 c5 2. f4 d5 3. Nc3 A Grand Prix Attack in the Sicilian Defense, an aggressive line for White that has been fairly successful in the English Grand Prix circuit. Black chooses the sharpest continuation, but White then begins to play too conservatively. The only acceptable line after Black's push in the center, according to MCO-14 is 3. exd5 Nf6 4. Bb5+ Bd7 5. Bxd7+ Qxd7 6. c4 e6 7. Qe2 Bd6 8. d3 O-O 9. dxe6 fxe6 10. Nf3 Nc6 with equality. 3... dxe4 4. Nxe4 e6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. c3 On general principles, 6. Bb5 was the better way to contest the d4 square. 6... Nf6 7. Nxf6+ Qxf6 8. d3 Bd6 9. Qd2 O-O 10. Be2 e5 A good move, though Black could also have continued his development by 10... b6 11. fxe5 Nxe5 12. O-O Qe7 13. d4 cxd4 14. cxd4 It's unfortunate that White must accept the isolated pawn, but 14. Qxd4 fails to 14... Bc5 winning the queen. 14... Nc6 15. Re1? Bb4! 16. Bd3 Qxe1+ 17. Qxe1 Bxe1 18. Nxe1 Nxd4 19. Bf4 Bf5 20. Bd6 Rfd8 21. Rd1 Bxd3 With these exchanges, the game is simplified to a hopelessly lost ending for White. 22. Rxd3 Rxd6 23. Nc2 Ne2+ 0-1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Qc7 An unusual Closed Sicilian. MCO-14 prefers 3... g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Re1 Nf6 6. c3 O-O 7. d4 d5! 8. e5 Ne4 9. Nbd2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qb6 but there are lots of variations worth exploring, such as the line here. 4. Bxc6 Qxc6 5. d3 d6 6. Nc3 Bg4 7. O-O e6 8. h3 Bh5 9. g4 Bg6 10. Nh4 Nf6 11. Nxg6 White shouldn't open up lines to his own king, especially given his lack of development, making it difficult to get pieces where they might be needed for a defense. True, Black is hindered by a cramped position himself, but that is more easily correctable than a compromised kingside. 11... hxg6 12. Kg2 O-O-O 13. Bg5 Be7 14. Bxf6 Taking the time to trade is not a good idea here, unless it's necessary to fend off immediate attacks. 14... Bxf6 15. Rh1 d5 16. exd5 exd5 17. Qf3 Bh4 18. b3 A pointless move. All this move accomplishes is to allow the knight to be pinned against the rook. Instead, it would have been better to bring this rook toward the center. 18... Rhf8? Black misses an excellent opportunity. The bishop is doing little on the kingside, and it'd further the attack to get it out of the way. It gets a more active role with 18... Bf6! and White is forced to give up a pawn by 19. d4 to protect the knight with the queen. 19... Bxd4 With the move played, Black has gone a long way to allowing White to regain equality. 19. Rae1 Bf6 20. Nd1 Rfe8 21. Rxe8 Rxe8 22. c4 dxc4 23. Qxc6+ bxc6 24. dxc4 Re2 The weakness on the second rank is the only real edge Black has. Had White blocked access to this rank with 22. Ne3 before pushing the c pawn, he wouldn't be in this trouble. 25. a3 Bd4 26. Kf3 Ra2 27. Re1 Kd7 28. b4? A serious mistake. 28. a4 holds together for awhile, as the b pawn is hard to attack since the knight on d1 covers squares the rook needs to access. The move played just gives pawns away and makes Black's endgame easy. 28... Rxa3+ 29. Kg2 cxb4 30. Re2 c5 31. h4 b3 32. Re1 Ra1 33. Kf1 b2 34. Ne3 Rxe1+ 35. Kxe1 b1=Q+ 36. Ke2 Bxe3 37. Kxe3 Qb3+ 38. Kf4 Qxc4+ 39. Kg5 Ke6 39... Qd4 is even quicker. 40. f4 Ke7 41. f5 Qc1# 0-1