The black king is blocked in by its own pieces, and White seals it up even further:

More tenacious is 17...gxf6 18.exf6 Rd8! (he loses after 18...Bd6 19.Rd4! – the rook goes to h4), preventing the transfer of the white rook to the kingside. However, Black’s position is still difficult, of course, as his king is exposed, and his dark squares are creaking.

The king is protected by the enemy pawn on g7, a well-known defensive device. Black would like to capture it later, when things have simplified, and his king is not under threat.

On the way to help its neighbour. The white pawn is heading to h6, to secure a decisive advantage in the endgame, as the black king will be completely tied down to covering the passed pawn.

White solves his main task at this moment, organising a blockade on c4, for which purpose his queen retreats to b3.

White has been ready for a queen exchange for some 20-23 moves, ever since he finished the march of his rook’s pawn! Black had to keep the queens on, choosing, for example, 33...Qg4 – White would face greater technical problems there.

Black resigned.

Exploiting his numerical superiority on the queenside, Black sacrifices a pawn to create a passed pawn.

Unable to sustain the pressure of the battle. White could hold a draw by 35.Rc6! c3 36.Be2+ Ka5 37.Rxf6 Bxf6 38.Bd1 Kb4 39.Kf3 Ka3 40.Ke3 Kxa2 41.Kd3 Ka3 42.d6 Kb4 43.d7 a5 44.Bf3 Kc5 45.Bd1 Kb4 46.Bf3 Be7 47.Bd5 f6 48.Bg8 h6 49.g4=.

In this version, the opposite-coloured bishop ending is lost.