22.Qe2 would have won simply. Alekhine/Kotov do not mention this possibility. After the text move White had to win the game all over again - which he did.
'Surely the white queen doesn't lack space here?' you'll probably say. Yet Rozentalis decided that he could not break through on the kingside and that he had to open the position up somehow. He managed to come up with a really fantastic concept.
The queen is looking for activity on the queenside to create a second front!
Of course, it is possible for a simple exchange of queens, solving a space problem, to be the goal of a creeping queen maneuver. Here there is more to it, as the b-file is now opened up for the white rooks.
In the current case, Rozentalis even considered the exchange on a3 to be the decisive mistake. He won the endgame in equally great fashion.
In the current case, Rozentalis even considered the exchange on a3 to be the decisive mistake. He won the endgame in equally great fashion.
I think he certainly has a lot of similarities to Magnus, like excellent calculation. On the other hand, just like Magnus, he doesn’t want to enter some crazy Tal-like position or Shirov-like position, sacrificing your house. This is not what he wants.
He’s an active player, with a predominantly active positional style. He plays actively, but on a sound basis. He’s got very good technique, a technique even Magnus felt himself, losing that technical position against him in the World Rapid. Not many people on this planet can beat Magnus in such a technical way.
He’s an active player, with a predominantly active positional style. He plays actively, but on a sound basis. He’s got very good technique, a technique even Magnus felt himself, losing that technical position against him in the World Rapid. Not many people on this planet can beat Magnus in such a technical way.
At the start of the middlegame, the rook may often be a bit slow to enter the play. Pawns or pieces may still be in the way. This can be one of the reasons to advance a rook's pawn. But then sometimes there is another solution: the second rank.
How many of us would, certainly in a rapid game (and this was a rapid game) , automatically reply with the 'standard' 20...Rb8?
However, 20...Rb8? can be met by 21.Nxd6 Nf6 22.Bb3, which immediately creates the annoying possibility of 22.Nf7+.
However, 20...Rb8? can be met by 21.Nxd6 Nf6 22.Bb3, which immediately creates the annoying possibility of 22.Nf7+.
No worrying now over Nf7+ , anyway, as the rook on a7 is also covering that one!