Serpent of the Nile

Daniele Vocaturo – Evgeny Postny
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, March 5, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D15

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. e3 Bf5 6. Bd3 Bg6 7. 0-0 e6 8. Qe2 Bb4. Far more convincing than 8. ... Nbd7 9. e4 as in the game Neiksans – M. Yilmaz, 41st Chess Olympiad, Tromsø 2014. 9. Bd2 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 0-0 11. a4 Nbd7 12. Bxg6 hxg6 13. Nd2 Re8 14. a5 Qc7 15. Rfd1 Rad8 16. h3 Qb8 17. b3 Qc7 18. Bb2 Qb8 19. e4 dxe4 20. Nxe4 Qf4 21. Ng3 Qh4 22. Rd3 Nh5 23. Nxh5 Qxh5 24. Qd2 Nf8 25. Re1 g5 26. Rg3 f6 27. f4 gxf4 28. Qxf4 Kf7 29. Bc3 Rd7 30. Rf1 Ng6 31. Qe4 Nh4 32. Re3 Qg5. Threatening ... Nh4xg2. 33. g4 Qg6 34. Qf4 Nf5 35. Rd3 Nd6 36. Re3 Nf5 37. Rd3 Nd6 38. Rdf3. Daniele Vocaturo, rightly or wrongly, avoids a draw by repetition. 38. ... Ne4 39. Ba1 Ng5 40. Re3 Rh8 41. Kg2 Rh4. With the threat of 42. ... Nxh3 43. Rxh3 Rxg4+. 42. Qf2! Qh7! Both sides are playing finely. 43. Rh1 Kg8 44. Qe2 Rf7. Also 44. ... f5 is met by 45. d5! fxg4 46. dxe6 gxh3+ 47. Kh2 Re7 with a roughly balanced position. 45. d5! cxd5 46. cxd5 exd5 47. Re8+ Rf8 48. Rc1. “A difficult fight for both players! White’s last move (48. Rc1) envisions 48. ... Rxh3 49. Rxf8+, 50. Rc1-c8+ and 51. Qe2-e8 mate. Probably White was waiting for his opponent to stop the clock... but he is in for a surprise!”, Grandmaster Kevin Spraggett writes.

48. ... Rxg4+! Evgeny found a pretty way to sacrifice a Rook to force a perpetual. 49. hxg4. “49. Qxg4? Rxe8 and Black must win!”, Spraggett writes. 49. ... Qh3+ 50. Kf2. “Or 50. Kg1 Qg3+ 51. Kh1 (51. Kf1?? Qf4+) 51. ... Qh3+ 52. Kg1 Qg3+ as in the game”, Spraggett writes. 50. ... Qh4+! “Black must not allow the King to escape to the Queenside”, Spraggett writes. 51. Kg1 (51. Kg2 Qh3+) 51. ... Qg3+ 52. Kh1 Qh3+ 53. Kg1 Qg3+ 54. Kh1 Qh3+ 55. Kg1 ½ : ½.