Yes he did miss Nc2, fortunately for him it doesn't work.

Trading the Queenside pawns leads to a very simplified position and I don't know how great White's winning chances will be. Probably around 50/50 or 60/40 given that there are quite a few tactical pitfalls that Black can fall for.

All in all though Rab1 is probably a better practical choice. It's a difficult move to make because everyone likes to play actively, but there's no shame in playing defensively for a bit.

how does it not work? not seeing it

I shouldn't say it doesn't work - it's playable for Black, but White is still better after Nc2 Rad1/Ra5 Nxe1 Rxd5. I think Bxb2 is more stubborn.

Yeah. Nxa6 Bxa6 Bxa6 Nc2 -- if something like Rad1 Nxe1 Rxd5 the knight escapes via c2.

(Maybe there's something even better than Nc2 here, e.g., if Black can force the trade of pawns on the queenside and get the f4 pawn.)

Edit: Oh, I agree White is still better at the end of those lines; it's still a critical response that was missed.

White has Rd7 and Bc4 attacking f7 in this line, White either forces the win of the f7 pawn or succeeds in keeping the b-pawn, in either case getting pretty good winning chances I think.

My impression is that the position after Bb2 and Nf4 offers Black better drawing chances. We could eventually see a pawnless ending with R&B vs. 2N, which is supposed to be theoretically winning, but in over 50 moves.

I agree that White's still better although f7 is weak in both cases. It's an interesting choice for Black (between winning the exchange or trying to get pawns on b2 and f4) that White didn't have to offer.

Ok, if not 28...Bxa6, then something like 29. Bxb5 Rxb5 30. Nxb4 and 31. Ra8+ Bf8 32. Re8 seems lost. I guess I could avoid this with 28...Nxa6 29. Bxb5 Rxb5 30. Rxa6 Rb8 but that's the same as 28...Bxa6 29. Bxa6 Nxa6 30. Rxa6 except with the bishop capture first I save a tempo.

Continuing ahead with the plan I outlined in the previous note. Not a whole lot more to add.

Ok, I could play 29...Nxa6 30. Rxa6, but then I'm down a pawn and exchange, and I think he'd get his rooks on the 7th which would ruin me.

I was previously scared of 29...Nc2 30. Rad1 Nxe1 31. Rxd5 Nc2 32. Bc4 but maybe it's actually ok: 32...Rc8 33. Bb3 Kf8? I don't know that I have much in the way of options anyway, and the sooner I lose the sooner I can read the spoilers... no, I wouldn't lose on purpose. This leaves me down a pawn in a somewhat dangerous position, but I think it all might just hold together, at least better than anything else I can see at the moment.

Well good grief. I might be the worst chess player in the world. How the heck did I not see the obvious Nc2 fork at the end of that line? That freakin knight has been on b4 for 20 moves now threatening one dang thing and I fall right into it. Son of a gun. That's really irritating.

Alright, time to ignore how badly I suck and look at the position objectively. From what it looks like, white doesn't have too many moves. I think white has to attack the knight on d5. If white moves the rook to a square with no threat, like Rac1, then Nxe1 Rxe1 and it looks like what has no advantage at all anymore. So I think white has to harass the d5 knight. And then black has to play Nxe1 because any defense or moving the d5 knight and the e1 rook can escape the fork.

Now, how to attack the knight? Both Ra5 and Rad1 do the trick, but is one better than the other? I really can't see a difference. I mean I guess I'll play Ra5 because it feels more active but I can't find something different between the two.

So at this point I'm looking at 30. Ra5 Nxe1 31. Rxd5 and now black only has one move to save the knight, 31...Nc2. Literally everything else loses. It's interesting to note that black can't try something like Rb6 to attack the Ba6 because after 32. Rxc2 Rxa6 33. Rc8+ black loses because of bank rank issues.

After 31...Nc2, how does white continue? The knight is still somewhat limited in its movement because of the bishop on f2 and pawn on b2. I feel like I have to keep attacking it because if black gets a free move, he can capture the b2-pawn and white's winning chances are gone completely. Despite giving back the exchange (unknowingly, of course, I'm terrible), I think white can retain some winning chances if he manages to hang onto the b-pawn.

So after 31...Nc2 32. Rd2 (attacking the knight), it looks like black can't play 32...Rxb2 because the bank rank motif comes up again. So I would think black needs to play 32...Nb4 when white can play 33. Bc4 and everything is covered and white has the two bishops and extra pawn. Granted, I'd probably rather have the exchange because this looks like a technical grind, but I bet white still has some chances.

I hope I'm not overlooking or missing anything else, but this line seems decent. Still pissed at myself for overlooking the knight fork. That's just terrible.

Well it's not 30. Rad1, but I can't see how I can treat it differently, so on with the plan!!

He went for the correct line, IMO, so I'm continuing with Rxd5 as outlined in the previous post. I'm guessing he'll respond with 31...Nc2 and then we'll continue with 32. Rd2 as I've said before.

Yeah...

Still continuing as planned. Let's hope I haven't overlooked any other simple tactics. *still irritated haha*

Not what I was expecting, possibly a mistake. I've got to save my knight. I don't like 32...Rxb2 or 32...Ra8 (threatening to trade my knight for the LSB) as if my rook leaves the back rank, I could be in some trouble. So 32...Nb4 33. Bc4 Rc8? I think ...Rc8 is necessary as 33...Kf8 34. Rd7 f5 would be nice for me to get my king out of the way of the rook and LSB but 34/35. Bc5+ ruins this. Therefore, 33...Rc8 is nice as it prevents Bc5 and does so with tempo as it attacks the Bc4.

"33...Kf8 34. Rd7 f5 would be nice for me to get my king out of the way of the rook and LSB but 34/35. Bc5+ ruins this. Therefore, 33...Rc8 is nice as it prevents Bc5 and does so with tempo as it attacks the Bc4." Uhm, wouldn't Kf8+f5 just allow Rf7+? White seems to be back on track after 33.Bc4 Rc8 34.b3

I think Nb4 was a mistake. Na1 was tougher because Black wins the b-pawn by force, although White wins the f-pawn and should probably win eventually.

After Nb4 Bc4, Black does not have a lot of options - Nc6-Na5 or Nc6-d8-e6 and try to hold the ending a pawn down, but his drawing chances look minimal imo.

The a6 bishop is attacked and I have to move it. The only move I'm really considering is Bc4. Not only is the bishop safe from that square, but it pressures f7, which is really the only weakness to attack. I'm not exactly sure how to proceed yet, but I want to see what ganstaman does and go from there. I'm hoping to somehow use the two bishops to both help escort the b-pawn and also pressure the kingside, particularly f7. Let's see how this thing develops.

Hmmm, I have a problem. My plan of 33...Rc8 34. b3 Kf8 35. Rd7 f5 is terrible as the f-pawn isn't the problem, but the f7 square -- 36. Rf7+ wins for white. I can't play 33...Rf8 34. Bc5. While 33...Kh8 34. Bxf7 gets out of the problem, it puts me down 2 pawns in what looks like a lost endgame.

So, does anything work? The only thing I see is 33...Nc6 34. Rd7 Nd8. However, we then have something like 35. Ba7 Rc8 36. Ba6 Ra8 ah, maybe this actually works. At the least, it's worth heading into to see if everything else already loses.

Rc8 b3 Rc7 might have been an option? either way Black is coming under a lot of pressure, I'm guessing there is a trick for White in every line and the computer already shows +3 or more

2 Bishops, an outside passed pawn and a weakness on f7....

should be plain sailing from here

My initial reaction after looking at the position for 3 seconds, as if this was a blitz game, is to play 34. b3, but then it looks like 34...Na5 is annoying, so there goes that idea. I guess I'll have to look at the position a bit deeper.

The position has changed greatly since my last real deep think, and this is what Kaidanov would call a critical moment. I've been trying to get better at looking at a position with a fresh set of eyes after it has changed a great deal. Now is one of those times to get up from the board, take a walk, get some water, and refocus. So here goes.

White enjoys the only winning chances, obviously. The pawn advantage is great and the two bishops are nice as well. I feel like white should be able to win this position. The only thing I can think I'd really like to avoid is to allow a trade of knight for my DSB. I don't know endgame theory as to whether or not this would be winnable with opposite colored bishops, but given their drawish reputation, I'd rather not find out.

Black's main weakness, and my current focal point, is the weak f7 pawn. The bishop is doing a beautiful job on c4 of pinning that pawn, and the rook can quickly come to the 7th rank to help out.

Those are my thoughts in a general sense, but time to get concrete. Black is attacking the b2 pawn twice, so I really can't defend it as it stands. I'm going to look for some sort of tactical solution and see if I can create some threats instead of having to defend it. I'll only do that if absolutely necessary.

One interesting thing to note is that black currently has some back rank issues, and I want to see if there's a way to take advantage of that. If given the time, he'll be able to play h5 (a good move in these structures anyway) and alleviate that issue. Now, to see if there's a good way to take advantage of it...

So I've been looking at the position for half an hour now and have gotten really nothing concrete out of it. My "analysis", if you can even really call it that, pretty much boils down to two main candidate moves.

34. b3
This is a reactionary move, but I don't think it does much. After 34...Na5, I think black is winning the pawn. At that point white still has the two bishops, but with a 3v3 on one side of the board, I don't know if the two bishops are any better than knight and bishop. I don't know enough about endgame theory in these positions to know what is best, but giving up a pawn, particularly a passed pawn on the opposite side of the board, just doesn't feel right.

34. Rd7
This move just feels so natural, like it's begging to be played. But does it accomplish enough? After 34. Rd7 Bxb2 35. Rxf7 Kh8, does white have anything? White is still a pawn up, but again now we have pawns on one side of the board. I don't see a concrete winning follow up. Maybe something like 36. Rc7 to attack the black knight and keep some sort of initiative (am I reaching here?), but then after 36...Nd4, what next? This is the type of position I really struggle in, because there's no forced win or clear plan of action. I'm not good at playing in this sort of grey area.

Out of those, Rd7 seems to be the pretty clear choice. Not only does it maintain the pawn plus, but it also actively puts the rook on the 7th and creates some threats, and more importantly potential for later threats. Since this is a Malkovich game and the only thing at stake here is personal internet embarrassment as opposed to actual rating points, I think I'm going to forge ahead with Rd7. I can't find some sort of clear win, clear tactic, or even a clear plan, but it just feels right. Since I can't calculate anything better, I'm just going to trust my intuition and hope the situation clarifies on later moves.

In situations like these OTB, if I can't find a clear move, I usually go against my intuition and go into a situation I can clearly calculate, even if it's not optimal. Because for some reason that sort of clarity provides a sense of security, I think (any chess psychologists on here??? Please??? ) So with that said, I'm going to try to go outside my comfort zone and venture into the unknown with Rd7. Pretty wild huh? Next thing you know I'll be running with scissors.

So 2 options:
34...Nd8 as explained before. However, after 35. b3, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. It's very passive and ties up my pieces.

34...Bxb2, trading the b-pawn for the f-pawn. I respond to R or B xf7 with ...Kh8 and it looks safe-ish enough. The advantage of this line is that while I stay down a pawn, all the pawns are together on the kingside so I don't have to worry about a distant b-pawn causing trouble. I feel like I remember that rook and pawn endings are more drawn if all the pawns are on the same side, which makes a lot of sense even without it being a written 'rule.'

I think this was the best move for black. He can't afford to get the rook off the back rank and might as well capture the pawn while it's free.

As mentioned in my last spoiler, I still don't have any sort of a concrete line but am going to continue playing actively. I tried to decide between Rxf7 and Bxf7+ and really can't definitely see why one is better than the other. For whatever reason, capturing with the rook feels less awkward to me, so I'm playing it. I hope I'm not overlooking anything (like freakin obvious knight forks. Clearly still bitter and not over Nc2).

If I don't get out of the discovered attack, I'll lose a piece (well, maybe just an exchange 35...Na5 36. Rb7+ Nxc4 37. Rxb8+).