Unity Chess Club
Alexander Khalifman 2655 Friso Nijboer 2605 Groningen 1997 White to move
If White plays 26.a3, Black gets control of the a-file, whilst after 26.b5, Black gets the c5-square. Exploiting the more active position of his pieces, White found a way to break up the black pawn chain:
After 31...Nf8 32.d7 Nxd7 33.Rxe6 Rxe6 34.Bxe6+ Ke7 35.Bg8, Black loses his kingside pawns.
32.Rxe6 Qxb3 33.Re7+ Kf8 34.Rf7+ Kg8 35.Bxb3 b5 36.Rxd7+ c4 37.Re7 Kf8 38.Rxe8+ Kxe8 39.Bc2 Kd7 40.f3 Kxd6 41.Kf2
A technical decision. The position of the Bd4 is undermined, and the pawn on b7 becomes backward.
27...fxe4 28.Qxd4 Qxh3+ 29.gxh3 cxd4 30.d6!+– – the passed pawn marches to d7, whilst the black pawns, unsupported by pieces, are going nowhere.
Losing at once. More tenacious was 30...b4, but after, for example, 31.Rf3±, White can put his rook on d3 and bring his king to f3, when, in time, the central passed pawns should decide the game in White’s favor.
31.e6+ Ke7 32.d6+ Kxd6 33.e7 Rfe8 34.Nxa8 Rxe7 35.Rxe7 Kxe7 36.Rb1! b4 37.Kg2 Kd6 38.Kf3 Kc6 39.Ke2 1-0