[Event "ICCD World Individual Championships"] [Site "Yerevan, Armenia"] [Date "2016.05.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Gruenfeld, Yehuda"] [Black "Kreuzer, Chris"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B40"] [Opening "Sicilian: 2...e6 3.Nc3"] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 {My turn to sidestep my normal 2...d6. This got the grandmaster thinking for all of two minutes and then he played 3.Nc3 which I then had to stop and think about. So he in effect still won the opening preparation battle, which is unsurprising as he will have forgotten more about openings than I've ever known!} 3.Nc3 d5 {This hands White a huge initiative. I had been hoping to tempt him to transpose into a French, but he exchanged instead and got to play Bb5+ with a gain of tempo.} 4.exd5 exd5 5.Bb5+ Nc6 6.O-O Nf6 7.d4 Be7 8.Ne5 Bd7 9.Nxd7 Qxd7 10.dxc5 {Rather than recapture the pawn, I try and mix things up a bit.} d4 11.Na4 {This is really White's only option - to stick the knight on the rim and slowly untangle while keeping the extra pawn. However, if Black doesn't gain anything from this, the extra pawn will decide the game in White's favour.} O-O 12.Re1 Rfe8 13.Bd2 Qd5 {This keeps Black active. I had anticipated White's next move, but was still a bit surprised when he played it. It is kind of forced as the only sensible way to keep the c5 pawn.} 14.Qf3 (14.b4 Ne4 15.Qf3 Bh4 16.Rxe4 Qxe4 17.Qxe4 Rxe4) 14...Qxf3 15.gxf3 Nd5 16.Re4 Bf6 17.Rae1 Kf8 18.a3 {White has several plans available here. I have a rush of blood to the head and try a combination that ends up just giving White an extra move.} Ne5 19.Kg2 (19.Bxe8 {A nice combination, but the game move of 19.Kg2 is obviously better and I fail to follow through with 19...Re7 after analysing the wrong continuation, though I at least realised it was better to abandon this idea if I was failing to find the right continuation, rather than play on down that line and end up not making any progress.} Nxf3+ 20.Kh1 Nxd2 21.Bb5 Nxe4) 19...Nc6 {I return the knight to c6, after using up time on the clock. Objectively a failure of nerve, but at least I keep alive some chances as will be seen later.} (19...Re7 20.Rxd4 Nxf3 21.Rxe7 Nxe7 {This is the move I failed to see.} (21...Nxd4 {This is the inferior line I was analysing and rejected.} 22.Rxb7 Nxb5 23.Rxb5) 22.Rd7 Nxd2 {Possibly I had looked at 21...Nxe7 and failed to realise that 22...Nxd2 is possible here. Quite difficult to keep all the captures and recaptures in mind from the position after 19.Kg2, but this is the sort of analysis I need to be able to do to cope with such positions.} 23.Rxd2 {I should have played this line, but I missed 21...Ne7, only analysing the inferior 21...Nxd4.}) 20.Bc4 Nce7 21.b4 a6 22.Nb2 Rec8 23.Bb3 a5 24.Nd3 axb4 25.axb4 g5 {At this point, short of time, I blunder, unnecessarily weakening my kingside.} 26.Ne5 {Eight moves earlier, a Black knight had landed on e5. This time it is a White knight.} Kg7 (26...Rd8) 27.Ng4 (27.Nxf7 {Gruenfeld missed this tactical finish, probably because he was already winning.} Kxf7 28.Rxe7+ Bxe7 29.Bxd5+ Kf8 30.Bxb7 Rd8 31.Bxa8 Rxa8) 27...Rd8 28.Nxf6 Kxf6 29.Re5 {I get slightly excited here as I see a tactical move that seems to win the exchange, and I have delusions that the grandmaster may have missed it. Sadly, it turns out to be completely winning for White.} (29.Rxd4 Nf4+ 30.Rxf4+ gxf4 31.Bc3+ Kg6 32.Rxe7) (29.Rxd4 {This is the stronger move, and the one I had expected. Maybe even grandmasters, rather than trying to spend time analysing the best moves, play practically and retain time on the clock for later. Something I've never managed to find the knack of doing... Still, I am surprised he allowed my reply after the game move 29.Re5.}) 29...Ne3+ 30.R1xe3 (30.Bxe3 dxe3 (30...Kxe5 31.Bxg5+ Kf5 32.Bxe7) 31.R5xe3) 30...dxe3 {(=) My rather cheeky draw offer (at the earliest point permitted by the tournament rules) was immediately declined by Gruenfeld.} (30...Ng6 {A subtle intermediate move that both me and my opponent missed. I would have been justified offering a draw if I had found this move.} 31.R5e4 dxe3 32.Bc3+ Kf5 33.fxe3 {This is not easy for White to win. If I had managed to get this position, I would most likely have had the pleasure (free lesson) of being ground down an exchange up for two pawns against a grandmaster} (33.Bxf7 Nf4+ 34.Rxf4+ gxf4 {It would have been beyond my wildest dreams to get this position in the game!})) 31.Bc3 {Having in effect put myself off with the draw offer, I now rather embarrassingly blunder into a mate in two. Even my habitual time trouble doesn't really excuse this.} exf2 (31...Ng8 {This move would have kept the game going, but White has a massive advantage here.}) 32.Re6+ Kf5 33.Rf6# {Oh dear. At least I now had time to watch the other final round games!} 1-0