In the following game, both players seemed interested in reaching a simple Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame. Apparently Black, a pawn down, assessed the position as drawn; while White believed that he could possibly out-play his opponent. Both of them were right. Except about the "simple" part.
mckenna215 - Knight32
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament
ChessWorld, 2011
30.Bxa7
At first glance, this move seems extravagant: White gives up his Kingside passed pawn in order to have a 3-to-2 edge in pawns on the Queenside. However, Black's King is well-placed to blockade the White h-pawn, should it ramain on the board. White's move simply changes the game from "drawn" to "really drawn".
But, don't go away.
30...Bxh3 31.b4 c6
Putting your pawns on the same colored squares as your Bishop is the basic drawing strategy.
32.c4 Bd7
After the game was over, Black might have asked himself why he did not simply start to run his King over to c8, and save himself some hassles. The text move does not upset the draw, it just makes it possible, some time in the future, for it to become more complicated.
33.Kd2 Kg7 34.Kd3 Kf7 35.Kd4
35...Ke6
Coming out to "confront" the enemy, Black's King wastes important tempos. After 35...Ke8 followed by 36...Kd8 and 37...Kc8, he could have protected his pawns and allowed his Bishop to move where it needed to.
36.Kc5 Bc8
37.b5
Routine play, reducing the 3-to-2 pawn majority to a 2-to-1 pawn majority. This is one step further toward producing a passed pawn, but that may not be the best goal to work toward, especially if White reaches a 1-to-0 pawn majority only to have Black sacrifice his Bishop for it.
The text ignoresWhite's winning plan: get his King to c7, where it chases away the Black Bishop and wins the b-pawn.
To accomplish this, White needs to advance his King, 37.Kb6, and then exhaust Black's extra tempos, eventually forcing the monarch away: 37...Kd7 38.c5 Kd8 39.Bb8 Kd7 40.a5 Kd8 41.Bg3! Kd7 42.Bh4 when Black's King must give up his protection of the c7 square and allow White's King to move in.
That is hard work, but that is what it sometimes takes to extract a full point from a "drawn" endgame.
37...cxb5 38.cxb5
The pawn structure foreshadows a draw. Imagine White's a-pawn advancing to a6, where it is captured by Black's b-pawn, and then White's b-pawn recaptures. Unless Black's Bishop can be kept off of both the a6-c8 diagonal and the a8-h1 diagonal, there will be nothing to stop it from capturing the remaining passer should it step on a light square.
Can White's King advance and scare off the Black Bishop? It can, but if Black's King can get around to White's pawns, then it can capture one of them while White is capturing Black's last pawn. Then, the Black Bishop will stop the remaining White pawn, as in the previous paragraph.
38...Kd7
Ouch! Black blocks his Bishop.
This is a good move if White plays 39.Kb6, as Black answers 39...Kd6. But what if White moves his Bishop?
39.Bb8 Ke6
It now looks like White's King can swoop in and execute the plan given in the notes to White's 37th move. But, no: the pawn exchanges have changed everything. White has to play 40.Bg3, holding onto the b8-h2 diagonal so that White's trip to the White pawns takes longer...
40.Kb6 Kd7
This is not an endgame, it is a commercial for a headache medication!
With 40...Kd5 Black would again have established a drawn position, even against the scary-looking 41.Kc7 Bg4 42.Kxb7, as 42...Kc5 puts the White King in place to grab one of the pawns, e.g. 43.Ka6 Kb4 44.a5 Be2, etc. One pawn will not be enough for White to win.
Now Black's King is again in the wrong place (and it blocks its Bishop, again, too).
41.Bg3 Kd8
42.a5
Having given his King and Bishop chances to untangle the game, White now nominates one of his pawns.
42...Kd7
Instead, the tactical shot 42...Bd7 holds the draw, for all the old reasons, starting with 43.Kxb7 Bxb5.
43.Ka7
Yes!
43...Kd8
According to Houdini, the best defense is 43...Ke8, after which White has a mate in 87...
44.b6
Yes!
Not 44.Kb8 when 44...Bd7 is equal.
44...Kd7 45.Kb8 Kd8 46.Bf4 Kd7 47.Bc7 Black resigned
A smooth finish: Black's King will have to move, abandoning his Bishop and pawn.
Thank you, mckenna215 and Knight32 for a very educational game!
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