nihalsarin vs Philippians46: game review

18.Rh4! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• Moves the attacked rook to safety.
• Moving away uncovers the queen on f3, which now hits the c6 pawn.
• The next best move, 18.Ree1, would drop White's winning chances from 73% to 56% (+0.71).
• 18.Rh4 wins a pawn, picking it up with 19.Bxh6, and gets the rook out of the way of …Nxe4.
• Sets up a sequence and wins a pawn once the captures settle, picking it up with 19.Bxh6.
• Black was threatening …Nxe4, winning the exchange. The rook steps away.

19.Bxh6! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• Takes the pawn on h6.
• The next best move, 19.Bc2, would drop White's winning chances from 76% to 62% (+1.34).
• 19.Bxh6 wins two pawns and threatens Bxg7, with mate in 5.
• Takes the h6 pawn and wins two pawns once the captures settle.
• It threatens Bxg7, with mate in 5, so Black has to spend the next move on it.
• Black answers 19…e4, forking the queen and the bishop.

21.Bxg7!! A real sacrifice: White gives up material and the engine still rates it best.

• Puts the bishop on g7 where it can be taken.
• Taking is too dangerous: Black's best reply is 21…d2 22.g4 Bg3 23.Bxf6 instead (the engine rates it 0.00).
• Takes the pawn on g7.
• Leaves Black with an isolated pawn on f7: a long-term weakness.
• 21.Bxg7 threatens Bxf6, with mate in 4, and wins a pawn.
• It threatens Bxf6, with mate in 4, so Black has to spend the next move on it.

• The idea: 21.Bxg7!! gives up the bishop on g7 to stay in the game: after it White holds the balance (0.00); anything else leaves White losing (−3.21).
• What White gives up: 21.Bxg7 puts the bishop on g7 where it can be taken by the king. That's a bishop on offer.
• If Black takes the bishop: 21…Kxg7 is met by 22.Qg5+. Then 23.Rh8+ gives check, and 24.Rxg8# is mate.
• Black's best try: Black's best is to leave the bishop alone and play 21…d2. White answers 22.g4, threatening Bxf6, winning a knight. Then 23.Bxf6 takes the knight on f6, and 24.Kg2 threatens mate. White is a piece down: White holds the balance (0.00).
• Without the sacrifice: The best move without the sacrifice, 21.f4, is clearly weaker (−3.21 against 0.00). Black answers 21…Qc8, threatening …Qxf5, winning the queen. That would leave White losing.

21…d2!! A real sacrifice: Black gives up material and the engine still rates it best.

• Leaves the knight on f6 where it can be taken.
• Taking is too dangerous: White's best reply is 22.g3 Re1+ 23.Kg2 Kxg7 instead (the engine rates it +0.09).
• Pushes the passed pawn to d2, close to promotion.
• 21…d2 threatens …Re1+, with mate in 2, and stops the mate threat Bxf6.
• It threatens …Re1+, with mate in 2, so White has to spend the next move on it.
• White was threatening Bxf6, with mate in 4. d2 takes care of it.

• The idea: 21…d2!! gives up the pawn on d2 to stay in the game: after it Black holds the balance (+0.09); anything else leaves Black getting mated (#5).
• What Black gives up: The knight on f6 is attacked by the rook on d1, and 21…d2 doesn't save it. That's a pawn on offer.
• What it does instead: It threatens …Re1+ and mate.
• If White takes the pawn: 22.Rxd2 is met by 22…Re1#, and it's mate.
• If White takes the knight: 22.Bxf6 is met by 22…Re1+, and the rook on e7 gets away. Then 23…dxe1=Q# is mate.
• White's best try: White's best is to leave the pawn alone and play 22.g3. Black answers 22…Re1+. Then 23…Kxg7 takes the bishop on g7, and 25…Ke8 threatens …Rxd1, winning a rook. Black is a pawn down: Black holds the balance (+0.09).
• Why not save the knight first?: Saving it with 21…Nh5, the best way to do that, is clearly weaker (#5 against +0.09). White answers 22.Rxh5, taking the knight on h5 and threatening Qh7# and mate. That would leave Black getting mated.

24.Qg5+! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• The queen forks the king and the pawn: both can't be saved at once.
• The next best move, 24.g5, would drop White's winning chances from 53% to 14% (−4.96).
• 24.Qg5+ wins a knight, picking it up with 25.Qxf6, and forks the king and the pawn.
• Sets up a sequence and wins a knight once the captures settle, picking it up with 25.Qxf6.
• Black answers 24…Kf8.
• After 24…Kf8 25.Qxf6 Ke8 26.Rh8+ Bf8 27.Rxd2 Qe7 28.Qxe7+ Rxe7 29.h4, the queens come off and White comes out a piece and a pawn up (+0.23).

25.Qxf6!! A real sacrifice: White gives up material and the engine still rates it best.

• Leaves the rook on d1 where it can be taken.
• Taking is too dangerous: Black's best reply is 25…Ke8 26.Rh8+ Bf8 27.Rxd2 instead (the engine rates it +0.30).
• Takes the knight on f6.
• 25.Qxf6 wins a knight and threatens Rh8#, with mate in 1.
• Takes the knight on f6 and wins a knight once the captures settle.
• It threatens Rh8#, with mate in 1, so Black has to spend the next move on it.

• The idea: 25.Qxf6!! ignores the attack on the rook on d1 and takes the knight on f6 first. Taking the rook leads to mate.
• What White gives up: The rook on d1 is attacked by the rook on e1, and 25.Qxf6 doesn't save it. That's a whole rook on offer.
• What it does instead: It takes the knight on f6 first.
• If Black takes the rook: 25…Rxd1 is met by 26.Rh8#, and it's mate.
• Black's best try: Black's best is to leave the rook alone and play 25…Ke8. White answers 26.Rh8+. Then 27.Rxd2 takes the d2 pawn. White ends up a piece and a pawn ahead: White holds the balance (+0.30).

25…Ke8! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• The next best move, 25…Rg1+, would drop Black's winning chances from 47% to 3% (+9.89).
• 25…Ke8 stops the mate threat Rh8#.
• White was threatening Rh8#, with mate in 1. Ke8 takes care of it.
• The engine's plan continues with …Bf8 and …Qe7: this move is the first step.
• White answers 26.Rxd2, winning a pawn.
• After 26.Rxd2 Bf8 27.Rh8 Qe7 28.Qxe7+ Rxe7 29.h4, the queens come off and Black is a pawn down (+0.20).

31.Rg8! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• The rook joins the attack: it now hits 3 squares around the Black king.
• The next best move, 31.Re5, would drop White's winning chances from 91% to 54% (+0.44).
• 31.Rg8 joins the attack on the king and prepares g5+, with check.
• It prepares g5+, with check: the rook covers g5.
• Black answers 31…c5.
• Engine line: 31…c5 32.g5+ Kf5 33.Rf3+ Ke6 34.d5+ (+6.39).

• Both sides followed opening theory up to 8…Bd6: 16 moves in all, 8 by White and 8 by Black.
• Theory runs out after 8…Bd6: too few games between strong players reached this position to go further.