Now, the black bishop will join in and White’s position is hardly defensible.
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.