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Then 20.Be3! (20.g4? e4 21.Bg2 Rxd5 22.gxf5 Rd1+ or 21.Be2 a6 looks good for Black) e4 21.Be2 a6. Now if 22.Rd1, Black gets his counter play going with either 22...Bd6 or 22...g5, with good chances (note how the bishops are blunted).

There are more promising tries for White. 22.g4!? could lead to an interesting pawn sacrifice,  since 22...Rxd5 23.gxf5 Rxf5 24.Rd1! opens up the position nicely for White's pieces. The other alternative is 22.c4, when 22...bxc4 23.Bxc4 threatens the discovered check and the a6 pawn, but 23...Nxc4 24.bxc4 leads to a tough endgame that I think favors White. Black can take the b-file (and if he doesn't White will) with 24...Rb8, but 25.Bf4! is a problem since 25...Rb4? 26.Bc7! motorizes the d-pawn.

20.Ba3!

White has no interest in exchanging off Black's bad bishop. Instead, White uses tactical tricks to open the position for his bishops. Thus 20...Nb7 21.d6! Nxd6 22.Bxc5 makes both bishops powerful. Similarly, 20...Be7 21.d6! Bxd6 22.Rd1 and Black has problems because his knight is stuck on the edge of the board – definitely no match for White's bishop. This is the type of transformation of the position that White seeks and Black must avoid.

20...c4 21.Bb4

White wants to make the exchange on c4, but he wants to leave Black with a weak pawn there, not the dominating knight, so he chases it away.

21...Nb7 22.bxc4 bxc4 23.Be2 Rxd5

Black might have done better to toss in ...a5 here or on his previous move. In the game the pawn on a7 becomes weak (and lost), and this would have given some additional opportunities to defend the pawn. On the other hand, the pawn on a5 would also be subject to attack.

24.Bxc4

White has brokered his passed d5 pawn into an open position for his two bishops (and passed c-pawn). This concept, of trading one advantage for another, is very important in chess. It is a rare game where one side obtains one type of small advantage and shepherds it all the way to victory. More common is to make a series of "transactions" that change one type of advantage into another type. Now White must make his two bishops work. Since the position is open, that seems possible.

24...Rd2

The game has passed through a transition from a semi-blocked game to an open one. Often the critical point in such a transition is the first move or two by both sides. Before deciding to make a transition, work to envision the new position and determine if there are any forcing moves that suddenly give one side or the other the edge. It's amazing how often a player will submit to a major change because they miss a one or two move cruncher that completely changes the game's complexion.

In this case, 24...Rd2 was the key move I examined when playing 23.Be2. While it appears active, it takes the rook away from the possible defense of the a-pawn.

25.Ba6!

Attacks the knight and restricts the a7-pawn. The bishops start making their presence felt. Black must also be aware of the possibility of White quickly advancing the c4-pawn.

25...Nd6

25...Nd8 26.Bc5 Nc6 27.Bb5 leads to the same type of problem for Black – the light-squared bishop cannot be challenged.

26.Bc5(?)

The culmination of White's plan, I played this move quickly. If I had spent more time (although I didn't have a whole lot left to get to the time control at move 30), I might have played 26.c4!. I looked at something like 26.c4 Rd4!? 27.Bc5 Rd3 28.Bxa7? Ra3 and decided that the line was too risky, but 28.a4 should be sufficient. While Black has some tactical chances after 26.c4, White's bishops can harass and dominate the opposing knight, and Black's pieces are all clumsily placed.

26...Ne4 27.Bxa7 Nxc3 28.a4

Obvious but strong. The passed pawn must be pushed! Note how the long-range bishops, even from the a-file hinterlands, control key kingside squares, preventing Black from putting together an attack.

28...Ne2+?

Black decides to exchange one of the bishops, but it leads to a technically won endgame. One of the advantages of the two bishops is that one of the bishops can be exchanged off while still preserving opportunities for the advantage. This is such a case. The remaining White bishop, in connection with a rook behind the passed a-pawn, can bring home the pawn. Black would do better to keep the knight on the board, with 28...Nd5, which affords opportunities to interfere with White's straightforward plan of pushing the a-pawn.

29.Bxe2 Rxe2 30.a5 e4 31.a6 Bf6 32.Ra4

A key point about passed rook pawns: they're very hard on minor pieces, because they only allow the minor piece one side of the board from which to defend against their advance. In this case, with the White bishop controlling the a7-g1 diagonal and the a7-b8 diagonal, Black's bishop cannot help stop the pawn.

32...Rb2

Black hopes for 33.Bd4 Rb8 34.a7 Ra8 when White must still work for the victory. Black dreams about 33.Rxe4??, which tosses away the win after 33...Ra2!. Remember that rooks belong behind passed pawns – there's absolutely no reason for White to abandon his a6 gold mine for the fool's gold on e4. Note also that 32...Rd2 33.Bb8! prevents the Black rook from stopping the pawn.

33.Bb6!, 1-0.

Since 33...Rxb6 34.a7 forces a new queen, White relishes the poetic justice of the game concluding with a bishop move.

After resigning, my European opponent said that I didn't play like an American; rather, he said, I played this game "like a Russian." I took that as a compliment!

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