[Event "MCC Championship "] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/XM6fIJuT"] [Date "2017.12.10"] [Round "5"] [White "Sergei Azarov"] [Black "Nicholas Checa"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C07"] [Opening "French: Tarrasch, Open, 4.Ngf3"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Re1 Nc6 { After 8...Be7, White has the option of 9.Nb3 returning to "normal" Tarrasch lines as in Topalov - Kamsky, Sofia 2009 which continued } (8... Be7 9. Nb3 (9. Ne4 Nxe4 10. Rxe4 Nc6 11. Nxd4 O-O 12. Bf4 Qc5 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. Bd3 b5 15. a4 a6 16. Re3 Bb7 17. Be4 Qxe4 18. Rxe4 Bxe4 { was Kasparov - Gelfand, Astana 2001, which eventually ended in a draw. }) 9... Nc6 10. Nbxd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 O-O 12. c3 Bd7 13. Qf3 Qb6 14. Bb3 a5 15. Be3 Bc5 16. Rad1 a4)9. Ne4 Nxe4 10. Rxe4 Be7 11. Nxd4 { Azarov decides to regain the pawn now, which begins a forcing sequence of moves requiring delicate accuracy from Black. However, 11.Qd3 and 11.Bf4 were also possible here, which would have been a more flexible options. } (11. Bf4) 11... e5 { Taking the knight would cede control of the d-file. For instance: } (11... Nxd4 12. Rxd4 Qb6 13. Be3 O-O 14. Rd7 Bc5 15. Bxc5 Qxc5 16. Qd4 Qxd4 17. Rxd4 b6 18. Rad1 Bb7) 12. Bf4! { While Black's king is still in the center, White presses his lead in development and forces Black to open the e-file putting himself into an uncomfortable pin. } 12... exf4 13. Nxc6 Qxd1+ 14. Rxd1 bxc6 15. Rde1 Kf8! { A key moment in the game. Black boldly returns the material with the idea of developing his light-square bishop to e6 and trapping the rook on d7. } 16. Rxe7 Be6 17. R1xe6 fxe6 18. Rc7 { As the smoke clears, Black has emerged with a material advantage but White has ample compensation and the easier game. White's greater piece activity taken together with Black's poorly coordinated forces makes Black's task of finding a plan that untangles his position quite difficult. } 18... h5 { Checa plans to bring his rook into play along the 6th rank, holding his weak pawn and solving all of his problems at once. White will have to spend a tempo to remedy his back rank weakness with either Kf1 or h4. } 19. Kf1 { A logical move, attempting to win both the e6 and c6 pawns would fail due to White's back rank weakness. } (19. Rxc6 Rh6 20. Bxe6?? (20. Rxe6?? Rxe6 21. Bxe6 Re8) 20... Re8 21. Bd5) 19... Rh6 20. a4 { Azarov mobilizes his majority before winning the defenseless pawn. } (20. Rxc6 Re8 21. Rc7 Re7 22. Rc8+ Re8 23. Rc7 Re7 24. Rc8+ { with a draw was Kurnosov - Najer, Kazan 2005. }) 20... a5 21. Rxc6 Ke7 22. Rc5 Kf6 23. b3 Rhh8 { With his advanced king supporting the kingside majority, Black redeploys his rook to support the pawns from the rear. } 24. h4 { Fixing Black's kingside majority in place, though also possible was the following line: } (24. Rc6 Rhe8 25. h4 Rac8 26. Ra6 Rc5) 24... g6 25. Bd3 Rhg8 26. Rc4 Ke5 27. Rc5+ Kf6 28. Rc4 Ke5! { Checa boldly marches forward with his regent to support his kingside pawn majority. This creates ideas with pushing g5 and requires White to play accurately and prevents White from playing with a free hand on the queenside where his majority will soon start rolling forward. } 29. Re4+ Kf5 30. Rd4+ Ke5 31. Re4+ Kf5 32. b4 axb4 33. Rxb4+ Ke5 34. Re4+ Kf5 35. Rb4+ Ke5 36. Re4+ Kf5 37. a5 { A tactical trick allows White to advance this pawn all the way to a6, as 37...Rxa5?? would be met with 38.Ra4+ winning the rook. } 37... e5 38. a6 Kf6 39. Ra4 Rgb8 40. Ke2 Ra7 41. Ra5 Rb6 42. Kf3 Rd6 { The final maneuver that ensures the draw. Black looks to use the d4 square to prevent White's king from entering the battle. With the outside passer sufficiently blockaded and Black's kingside majority paralyzed by White's well-coordinated forces, the players repeat the position and split the point. } 43. Ke4 Rd4+ 44. Kf3 Rd6 45. Ke4 Rd4+ 46. Kf3 Rd6 47. Ke4 Rd4+ { {#d} 1/2-1/2