Although White has obtained two knights for the black rook, his knights are positioned on the edge of the board. Black can attack the weak white pawns on the queenside. The position remains double-edged.
Black was counting on the fact that the short-range knights find it difficult to fight against an outside passed pawn. But Black had missed something in his calculation of concrete variations.
Correct was 34...Ke5! 35.Nfe4 Rxb3 36.Nf3+ Kd5 37.Nf6+ Kd6, which allows Black to continue the battle, probably with a drawn outcome.
Correct was 34...Ke5! 35.Nfe4 Rxb3 36.Nf3+ Kd5 37.Nf6+ Kd6, which allows Black to continue the battle, probably with a drawn outcome.
35.f4 Rb1+ 36.Ke2 Rb2+ 37.Kf3 Rb3+ 38.Kg4 Rb2 39.g3 b5 40.Nfe4+ Kd5 41.f5 b4 42.f6 Ra2 43.f7 Ra8 44.Nh7 b3 45.Nd2 b2 46.Kf3 Kd4 47.Ke2 c5 48.f8=Q Rxf8 49.Nxf8 c4 50.Ne6+ Kd5 51.Nf4+ Kd4 52.Nb1 1-0
Unity Chess Club
Sergei Karjakin 2780 Anish Giri 2720 Wijk aan Zee 2013 Black to move
Black’s problem is that his queen is being attacked with tempi, and the solution is a radical one:
A quiet course of the game would promise Black some unpleasantness:
A) 19...Qa5 20.Qb5 Qxb5 21.Bxb5 +/=
B) 19...Qc5 20.Qb5 Qf2 (20...Qxb5 21.Bxb5+/=) 21.Ne4 Qh4 22.g3+/= – the black queen is banished to h6, which guarantees White the initiative.
A) 19...Qa5 20.Qb5 Qxb5 21.Bxb5 +/=
B) 19...Qc5 20.Qb5 Qf2 (20...Qxb5 21.Bxb5+/=) 21.Ne4 Qh4 22.g3+/= – the black queen is banished to h6, which guarantees White the initiative.
A good decision.
Accepting the sacrifice with 20.Nf6+ exf6 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.exf6 Bxf6³ leads to a position where the white king is in serious danger, whilst the black pieces are well coordinated.
Accepting the sacrifice with 20.Nf6+ exf6 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.exf6 Bxf6³ leads to a position where the white king is in serious danger, whilst the black pieces are well coordinated.
Black has satisfactorily resolved the problems he faced and has developed his pieces. The game is equal.