American Hustle Takes Rilton Cup

The 49th edition of the Rilton Cup took place from December 27th through January 5th in Stockholm, the Swedish capital. Participants from 24 countries decided to celebrate the new year over-the-board, while the venue, the Scandic Continental hotel, was situated in the city center with proximity to several restaurants and a shopping mall. It was a perfect place to get inspired for pushing some wood! The U.S. had five representatives in the main tournament: GM Elshan Moradiabadi, IM Eric Santarius, IM Dean Ippolito, WGM Sabina Foisor, and FM John Bick. FM Alex Betaneli decided to try his luck in U2200 section. The tournament was a overall success for the American players, with top honors going to tournament winner Moradiabadi. The North Carolina-based GM, who is training for his debut in this year’s U.S. Championship, posted a solid 2705 performance, giving him reason for optimism in Saint Louis. Here, Moradiabadi (with an assist from Betaneli) provides you with a number of memorable moments for Team America in this event, where players showed the power of their 'American hustle' to their European counterparts!

[pgn]

[Event "Rilton Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Falkevall, Axel"]
[Black "Betaneli, Alex"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D31"]
[Annotator "A.Betaneli"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/4nk1p/4p1p1/1p2P3/p1p1B2P/P5P1/1P2KP2/2R5 b - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "25"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.03"]

{[#]} 35... Nf5 36. Bxf5 $2 {During the game this felt like a mistake. After
some analysis, my tentative conclusion is that this error is decisive.} (36.
Rd1 {is what I expected} Nd4+ (36... Rxd1 37. Kxd1 {is plainly lost for Black})
(36... Ke8 {gives rise to an endgame that is winning for White} 37. Rxd8+ Kxd8
38. Bxf5 gxf5 39. Ke3 Kc7 (39... b4 40. axb4 c3 41. Kd3 cxb2 42. Kc2 a3 43. h5
{here White creates two passed pawns and wins}) 40. Kd4 Kc6 {[#]} 41. h5 $3 {
White will follow up with f3-g4. The win requires no calculation.}) 37. Ke1 {
and it is not clear how either side can make progress}) 36... gxf5 37. Rd1 {[#]
} (37. Rc3 {I thought Black would be much better here}) 37... Rd5 $3 {I am
definitely proud of this move.} ({Instead,} 37... Rxd1 38. Kxd1 {felt very
unclear. If the Black King goes to the K-side, there is f2-f3 in combination
with counterplay on the Q-side. While after} h5 {it is extremely important
that white hasn't committed to f2-f4 yet. I chose not to calculate this, but
here is a good illustrative line by the engine:} 39. Kd2 Ke7 {both Kings are
going to the Q-side} 40. Kc3 Kd7 41. Kd4 Kc6 {[#] now White would be lost if
his pawn were on f4 (see diagram below) and would be winning if Black's pawn
were on h7 (see two diagrams above). Here we have:} 42. f3 $3 Kb6 43. g4 hxg4
44. fxg4 fxg4 45. h5 g3 46. Ke3 g2 47. Kf2 g1=Q+ 48. Kxg1 b4 49. h6 c3 50. bxc3
bxa3 51. h7 a2 52. h8=Q a1=Q+ 53. Kf2 {with an endgame that is probably drawn})
38. Rxd5 (38. f4 {but now} Rxd1 39. Kxd1 h5 {wins easily} 40. Kd2 Ke7 41. Ke3
Kd7 42. Kd4 Kc6 {[#] the K-side is locked up, so White loses without a fight.
There are no nuances here as only White is in zugzwang (Black on move would
have Kb6)} 43. Kc3 Kc5 {and so on}) 38... exd5 39. Kd2 ({the key point is that
after} 39. Ke3 {[#] it looks like White is winning, but there is} b4 $3 40.
axb4 (40. Kd4 c3 41. bxc3 bxa3 {and Black wins}) 40... c3 $1 41. Kd3 cxb2 42.
Kc2 a3 43. b5 d4 44. b6 d3+ 45. Kb1 d2 {and Black wins the race comfortably})
39... d4 40. f4 Ke6 {I wanted to make time control and then calculate carefully
} 41. Kc2 h5 {White is in zugzwang and has to move the King. This zugwang
isn't mutual as Black can move the King if needed.} 42. Kc1 {[#]} b4 $1 {
Conceptually, Black is trying to get passed pawns on the "a" and "d" files.
Knowing this makes calculation easier.} 43. axb4 c3 44. b5 {White chooses the
trickiest line} (44. bxc3 d3 {and the two pawns are unstoppable, while being
faster at the same time.}) 44... d3 $1 45. bxc3 a3 $1 46. b6 a2 47. Kb2 d2 0-1

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Rilton Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.12.27"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Ajay Krishna, S.."]
[Black "Moradiabadi, Elshan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A37"]
[WhiteElo "2302"]
[BlackElo "2539"]
[Annotator "Elshan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4rr1k/1p6/5pqp/p2PpR2/P1Q4P/2P3P1/7K/5R2 b - - 0 37"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.03"]
[WhiteTeam "India"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "IND"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#]} {[#] Caissa was with me from day one in Rilton. My play in this game was
an utter disgrace, but here in a seemingly lost position just before the time
control, I took my chance.} 37... e4 $4 {Totally losing! But with three
minutes on his clock it wasn't easy for my opponent to calculate all the
consequences.} 38. d6 $4 {White - an underrated Indian player - returned the
favor with a bonus, once again confirming that you need luck to win any
tournament.} (38. Qd4 e3 39. Rxf6 Rxf6 40. Rxf6 Qg7 {seems unclear at first,
but after} 41. d6 e2 42. Rxh6+ Kg8 43. Qd5+ Qf7 44. Qg5+ Qg7 45. Rg6 {White is
winning.}) 38... Rg8 $1 {Note that g3 is not defendable as Rg1 lets go of the
other rook on f5.} 39. Kh1 Qxg3 40. Qe2 Rg4 41. Rh5 Qh3+ 0-1

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Rilton Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.12.28"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Moradiabadi, Elshan"]
[Black "Percivaldi, Martin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A28"]
[WhiteElo "2539"]
[BlackElo "2386"]
[Annotator "Elshan"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.03"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Denmark"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "DEN"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 6. Qxc3 Qe7 7. a3 d5 8. d4
exd4 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 c5 11. Qh4 O-O 12. cxd5 Rd8 13. Be2 Rxd5 14. f3 Be6
15. e4 Rd7 16. O-O Nd5 17. Qf2 Nc7 18. Be3 b6 19. f4 f5 20. exf5 Bxf5 21. Rfe1
Qf6 {[#] I had a superb position out of the opening, ending up with a tangible
advantage: two bishops, and for nothing in return. My play afterward was
suboptimal but here I used my advantage.} 22. b4 $1 Nd5 $6 (22... cxb4 $6 23.
axb4 Qf8 (23... Nd5 24. Bd4 Qd6 25. Bb5 Rdd8 26. Qb2 $1 {and Black is running
out of good moves.}) 24. Bf3 Nd5 25. Qa2 Rad8 $14) 23. bxc5 Nxe3 24. Qxe3 bxc5
25. Qxc5 Qd4+ 26. Qxd4 Rxd4 {My opponent overestimated his chances in this
position.} 27. Bf3 Rad8 28. Re7 Rxf4 $6 {The final mistake in my opinion. The
a-pawn needed to be preserved.} 29. Rxa7 g5 30. a4 g4 31. Ra8 Rfd4 32. Rxd8+
Rxd8 33. Bb7 $1 {The key move.} Rd7 34. Bc8 (34. Bc8 Rf7 35. Bxf5 Rxf5 36. a5
Rf7 37. a6 Ra7 38. Kf2 $18) 1-0

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Rilton Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.12.29"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Koykka, Pekka"]
[Black "Moradiabadi, Elshan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2372"]
[BlackElo "2539"]
[Annotator "Elshan"]
[PlyCount "124"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.03"]
[WhiteTeam "Finland"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FIN"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nxc6 Qf6 6. Qf3 dxc6 7. Nc3 Be6
8. Bd3 (8. Be3 Bb4 9. Bd2 O-O-O 10. O-O-O Qe7 $13 11. Qg3 h5 12. f4 Nf6) 8...
O-O-O 9. Qg3 Bd4 $6 (9... Qg6 10. Bf4 Qxg3 11. Bxg3 Nf6 12. Bh4 Bd4 13. O-O-O
Ng4 14. Rdf1 f6 15. Ne2 Bc5 16. Kb1 h5 17. h3 Ne5 18. Nc1 Nc4 19. Nb3 Bb6 20.
f4 Rhg8 21. f5 Bf7 22. g4 hxg4 23. hxg4 Ne3 24. Rfg1 Rh8 25. e5 Bd5 26. Rh3 Ng2
27. Rgh1 Nxh4 28. R1h2 Bg1 29. Rxh4 Bxh2 {0-1 (29) Nikolovski,N (2420)-Erdos,V
(2624) Antalya 2017}) (9... h5 $5 10. h4 Bd6 11. f4 (11. Qg5 Ne7 12. Qxf6 (12.
Qa5 Qe5 13. Qxa7 Bc5 14. Qa4 Ng6 {with a strong attack.}) 12... gxf6 13. Be3
Ng6 14. g3 (14. O-O-O Ne5 15. Be2 Rhg8 16. g3 Ng4 17. Bxg4 Bxg4 $13) 14... Ne5
$15) 11... Bb4 12. Bd2 Bg4 {with preferable position for black.}) 10. O-O (10.
Bd2 Qg6 (10... h5 $1 11. h4 (11. f4 $6 h4 12. Qf3 Qe7 13. O-O-O Nf6 14. f5 Bd7
15. Kb1 Kb8 16. Ne2 Be5 {Black looks better.}) (11. Qf4 $2 h4 12. h3 Qxf4 13.
Bxf4 Nf6 14. O-O Nd7 $15) 11... Ne7 12. f3 Qg6 $11) 11. f3 Ne7 12. O-O-O Qxg3
13. hxg3 Ng6 14. Ne2 Bf2 15. Bc3 Be3+ 16. Bd2 Bf2 17. Bc3 Be3+ 18. Bd2 {
1/2-1/2 (18) Jones,G (2653) -Fressinet,L (2714) Istanbul 2012} (18. Kb1 f6 19.
g4 c5 20. b3 Ne5 21. Ng3 g6 22. Kb2 a6 $11)) 10... h5 11. h4 Be5 12. Qg5 c5 $6
(12... Ne7 13. Be3 Rhe8 14. Rad1 g6 15. Na4 Qxg5 16. hxg5 b6 17. f4 Bg7 18. Kf2
c5 {Black looks good.}) 13. Be3 Qxg5 (13... c4 14. Be2 Ne7 $13) 14. hxg5 Bd4 (
14... Ne7 {looks interesting, but the pawn sac leads nowhere:} 15. Bxc5 Ng6 16.
Be3 Nf4 17. Rfd1 h4 18. Bf1 Rxd1 19. Rxd1 h3 20. g3 Bxc3 21. gxf4 (21. bxc3 h2+
22. Kh1 Bg4 $19) 21... Bxb2 22. Kh2 a5 23. c4 $16) 15. Bxd4 cxd4 16. Ne2 Ne7
17. Nf4 Bd7 18. Be2 h4 19. Rad1 c5 20. Nd3 b6 21. b4 cxb4 22. Nxb4 Be6 $2 (
22... Nc6 23. Nxc6 Bxc6 24. f3 $11) 23. Ba6+ $2 (23. f4 Kc7 24. f5 {and Black
is very uncomfortable.}) 23... Kc7 24. Rd2 Nc6 25. a3 h3 26. g3 h2+ 27. Kh1 Bh3
$6 (27... f6 28. gxf6 gxf6 29. Rfd1 Ne5 30. Be2 b5 $13 31. Rxd4 $4 Ng4 32. Bxg4
Bxg4) 28. Rc1 $2 (28. Nd5+ Kb8 29. Rb1 Be6 30. Nf4 Bg4 31. Be2 Bxe2 32. Rxe2
Ne5 $11) 28... Bg4 29. Be2 Bxe2 30. Rxe2 Nxb4 31. axb4 Kc6 $15 32. Rd2 $6 {
Too passive.} (32. Ra1 Rd7 33. e5) (32. e5 Kb5 33. Rb1 Rc8 34. f4) 32... Kb5
33. Rb1 (33. e5 Kxb4 34. Rxd4+ {missed it.}) 33... Rd7 34. Rb3 Kc4 35. f4 f6 $2
(35... Re7 $1 36. e5 f6 37. gxf6 gxf6 $17) 36. gxf6 gxf6 37. Rbd3 Re8 38. Kxh2
Rxe4 39. Kg2 f5 40. Kf3 Rde7 41. b5 Re3+ 42. Kf2 Rxd3 43. Rxd3 {[#]} Rc7 $4 {
Preposterous.} (43... Re3 44. Rxe3 dxe3+ 45. Kxe3 Kxb5 46. g4 fxg4 47. f5 Kc6
48. Kf4 a5 {I saw this, but tried to play it safe! What a coward!}) 44. Kf3 $2
(44. g4 {is probably a draw.}) 44... Kxb5 45. g4 fxg4+ 46. Kxg4 Rxc2 47. Rxd4
Rg2+ $4 {This doesn't win a tempo; in fact, it only helps White's king!} (47...
a5 48. f5 a4 49. f6 a3) 48. Kf3 Rg8 49. f5 $6 (49. Rd1 $3 a5 50. Rb1+ Ka6 (
50... Kc5 51. Ra1 $1 {Very counter-intuitive, but refreshing!} Ra8 52. Ke4 b5
53. Kd3 a4 54. f5 a3 (54... Rh8 55. f6 Rh3+ 56. Ke4 $11) 55. f6 Kb4 56. f7 Rf8
57. Rb1+ Ka4 58. Rf1 b4 59. Kc2 b3+ 60. Kb1 $11) 51. Ke4 a4 52. f5 b5 53. f6
Ka5 54. Rf1 a3 55. f7 Rf8 56. Kd3 Ka4 57. Kc2 b4 58. Kb1) 49... a5 50. f6 $4
Rf8 (50... a4 $19) 51. Rf4 a4 52. Ke3 $4 (52. Ke4 $1 a3 53. Ke5 a2 54. Rf1 Ka4
(54... Kb4 55. Rf4+) (54... Re8+ 55. Kd6 Rd8+ 56. Ke7 Ra8 57. f7 Kc4 58. Rf4+
Kd5 59. Rf5+ Ke4 60. Rf1 $11) 55. Rf4+ $11) 52... a3 53. Kd3 a2 54. Rf1 Rxf6
55. Ra1 Rf3+ 56. Kc2 Kb4 57. Rxa2 Rf2+ 58. Kb1 Rxa2 59. Kxa2 Kc3 60. Ka3 b5 61.
Ka2 b4 62. Kb1 Kb3 0-1

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Rilton Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.12.28"]
[Round "2.14"]
[White "Ippolito, Dean"]
[Black "Ivanov, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D46"]
[WhiteElo "2356"]
[BlackElo "2478"]
[Annotator "Elshan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/pp3p2/5Brp/3q4/2p5/4b2P/PP3QP1/5R1K w - - 0 39"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.03"]

{[#]} {[#] Under serious attack, Dean was almost lost at some point against
the experienced Russian GM, but here he introduced his opponent to the
'American Hustle!'} 39. Qe2 Qd3 $4 {One can miss such things with only a few
minutes on his clock.} 40. Rd1 $1 {Oops.} Bd2 41. Qe8+ 1-0

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Rilton Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.01.02"]
[Round "6.38"]
[White "Gueci, Tea"]
[Black "Ippolito, Dean"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2250"]
[BlackElo "2356"]
[Annotator "Elshan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/1p1nq1p1/p1p1rp1p/P2nPQ2/3P4/1N3N2/1P4PP/2R1R1K1 w - - 0 28"]
[PlyCount "10"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.03"]

{[#]} {[#] Dean's 'hustle' was never ending. Here he had another trick up his
sleeve!} 28. exf6 $4 (28. Nc5 Nxc5 29. Rxc5 fxe5 30. Rxe5 Rxe5 31. Nxe5 Rf8 32.
Qe4 {is definitely better for Black, but White isn't lost yet.}) 28... Rxe1+
29. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 30. Nxe1 Rxe1+ 31. Kf2 Rf1+ $1 {Oops again!} 32. Kxf1 Ne3+ 0-1

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Rilton Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.01.05"]
[Round "9.16"]
[White "Ippolito, Dean"]
[Black "Valsecchi, Alessio"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E01"]
[WhiteElo "2356"]
[BlackElo "2503"]
[Annotator "Elshan"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.03"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Italy"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ITA"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bd6 6. Nc3 c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. e4
Nxe4 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Qxe4 c5 11. Bc3 Nf6 12. Qc2 cxd4 13. Nxd4 a6 14. Bg2 O-O
15. O-O Qc7 16. b3 Bd7 17. a4 Rac8 18. a5 Rfe8 19. Rfe1 Bc5 20. Nf3 Ng4 21. Re2
Bc6 {[#] Saving the best for the last, Dean played his best game in the very
last round.} 22. Ng5 f5 23. Nxe6 Rxe6 24. Rxe6 Bxf2+ 25. Kh1 Qf7 26. Bxc6 $1 {
Accurate.} Qh5 27. h4 $1 {Cold blooded.} bxc6 28. Qd3 Bxg3 29. Qxg3 f4 30. Qe1
Ne3 31. Rxe3 $1 {Now the rest is, as they say, just a matter of technique...}
fxe3 32. Qg3 g6 33. Qxe3 Qxh4+ 34. Kg2 Qg4+ 35. Qg3 Qe4+ 36. Kg1 Rf8 37. Re1
Qf5 38. Bd4 h5 39. Re7 Rd8 40. Bf2 Rf8 41. b4 Qc2 42. c5 Qb1+ 43. Re1 Qc2 44.
Qe3 Qb2 45. Qe6+ Kg7 46. Qd7+ Kh6 47. Be3+ g5 48. Bd4 1-0

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Rilton Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.12.30"]
[Round "4.14"]
[White "Santarius, Erik"]
[Black "Valsecchi, Alessio"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2382"]
[BlackElo "2503"]
[Annotator "Elshan"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.03"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8.
cxd5 exd5 9. e3 O-O 10. Rc1 Qg6 11. Nh4 Qf6 12. Nf3 Qg6 13. Nh4 $5 {"Draw?!"}
Qg4 14. Nf3 Be6 {Black declines the repetition.} 15. h3 Qg6 16. Qd1 a6 17. Bd3
Qf6 (17... Qxg2 $4 18. Rh2 {The queen gets trapped.}) 18. O-O Rfe8 (18... Rfd8
19. Na4 Bd6 20. Nc5 Bc8 21. Kh1 Ne7 22. e4 Bxc5 23. e5 Qb6 24. Rxc5 c6 25. Qc1
Bf5 26. Bxf5 Nxf5 27. a3 Re8 28. g4 Ne7 29. Nh4 Qb3 30. Rc3 Qa4 31. Qd2 Rac8
32. Nf5 Nxf5 33. gxf5 c5 34. Rg1 Kh7 35. Rcg3 Rg8 36. Rg4 cxd4 37. Rh4 Rc6 38.
e6 Rh8 39. f6 {1-0 (35) Bologan,V (2640)-Fressinet,L (2672) Doha 2016}) 19. a3
Bd6 20. Na4 Rad8 21. Nc5 Bc8 22. b4 g5 $6 {A bit reckless.} (22... Ne7 {
is more in accordance.}) 23. Nh2 {A cunning move.} a5 $6 24. Ng4 $1 Qg7 25. Qf3
$1 {A nice idea, missed by the Italian GM.} f5 $2 {Desperation.} (25... Be7 26.
Bf5 $1 axb4 27. Bxc8 Rxc8 28. Nxb7 h5 29. Nh2 {is definitely close to losing
but not losing yet!}) 26. Bxf5 Rf8 27. Be6+ Kh8 28. Qd1 {Here Santarius
converted with ease.} h5 29. Bxc8 Rxc8 30. Nxb7 hxg4 31. Rxc6 g3 32. Nxd6 gxf2+
33. Rxf2 1-0

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Rilton Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.01.02"]
[Round "6.54"]
[White "Jain, Tanmay"]
[Black "Bick, John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C60"]
[WhiteElo "2193"]
[BlackElo "2155"]
[Annotator "Elshan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5Q2/p5pk/1pr1b2p/3p2n1/1B1P4/5P2/PPr3P1/4R1K1 w - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.03"]

{[#]} 31. f4 {This was my first opportunity to meet John Bick. The Nashville
based FM showed his 'American hustle' to his Swedish opponent in this game!}
Bh3 $1 32. fxg5 (32. gxh3 $4 Nf3+ 33. Kf1 Nh2+ 34. Kg1 Rg6+ 35. Kh1 Nf3 {
and mate is inevitable.}) 32... Rxg2+ 33. Kh1 Rcc2 34. g6+ Rxg6 {Now both Bd6
and Rg1 lead to a draw, but White got too optimisitc.} 35. Re8 {Still a draw.}
Bg2+ 36. Kh2 Bf1+ 37. Kh1 Bg2+ 38. Kh2 Bf1+ 39. Kh1 Bg2+ 40. Kh2 Bf3+ 41. Kh3 {
Knowing that he is safe, Bick flirts with the idea of luring White out of his
comfort zone.} Bg4+ 42. Kh4 Rh2+ 43. Kg3 Rh3+ 44. Kg2 Bd7+ 45. Kf1 $4 {And his
efforts pay off!} (45. Kf2 Bxe8 46. Qxe8 Rh2+ 47. Kf3 Rxb2 {with a balanced
endgame.} (47... Rh3+ 48. Kf2 Rh2+ {is also a draw.})) 45... Bb5+ $1 {A very
cunning check!} 46. Ke1 Rg1+ 47. Kf2 (47. Kd2 Rh2+ 48. Ke3 Re2+ 49. Kf3 Rf1+
50. Kg3 Rxe8 {loses faster.}) 47... Rf1+ 48. Kg2 Rxf8 49. Rxf8 {Now Black is
up two pawns, and Bick converts with ease.} Rd3 50. Rf7 a5 51. Bd6 Rd2+ 52. Kg3
Rxb2 53. Be5 Kg6 54. Rxg7+ Kf5 55. Rh7 Bc4 56. Rxh6 b5 57. Rf6+ Ke4 58. Rf4+
Kd3 59. a3 Kc2 60. Bd6 Rb1 61. Rf2+ Kb3 62. Kf4 Re1 63. Rf3+ Ka4 64. Bc5 b4 65.
axb4 axb4 66. Re3 Rf1+ 67. Ke5 b3 0-1

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Rilton Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.01.04"]
[Round "8.41"]
[White "Foisor, Sabina-Francesca"]
[Black "Soderstrom, Adrian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2274"]
[BlackElo "2095"]
[Annotator "Elshan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r7/4Np1k/2R2P1p/5Kp1/4Pn2/8/7P/8 w - - 0 46"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.03"]

{[#]} 46. Nd5 {After a mistake in the opening, Sabina was trying to squeeze
water from a stone for a long time. She probably got a bit reckless at a few
points, but her endeavors paid off here, where her opponent forgot about the
pawn shelter in the Phillidor position:} Ra5 $4 47. Rc7 $1 Nxd5 48. Rxf7+ Kg8
49. Rg7+ {The key check} Kf8 50. exd5 Rxd5+ 51. Kg6 {Black is willing to give
up his h and g pawn for white's h-pawn, but that is now how things work!} g4
52. Ra7 Rg5+ 53. Kxh6 1-0

[/pgn]