Back in the early and mid 90’s, I would drag my brother, Justin, and cousin, Eric to the Michigan Open. Of course, as they were just learning to play, they would play in the Reserve section. But, since there were players up to 1799 in the section, each of them were generally over-matched for most of the tournament. The high rating ceiling did not encourage young players to come and play. Now, the Booster section gives the young players a chance to play and know that they will play with a chance to win some games. The youth factor was definitely evident in Kalamazoo as I would guess that half the section had yet to reach high school age. Dear parents of scholastic players: the word is out on the Booster section.

This was the biggest Booster section so far with 48 players and one re-entry. The 4-day schedule drew 11 players, 23 players joined the 3-day schedule, and an impressive 15 players sped their way into 2-day schedule.

Rounds 1-4

Here are a few lessons from games in the first four rounds.

Shaun McNair (1379)
Michael Harris (939)
3-day, Round 1
Two Knights, C55

Notes by Tim McGrew

Often a game isn’t published because one or both of the players suffer some sort of optical illusion. The unspoken secret of practical play is that blunders happen and that taking advantage of them is part of becoming a strong player. Here White thoroughly confuses his lower-rated opponent, but do not be too hard on Black until you’ve lost a few like this yourself!

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.0–0

In general this is an invitation to the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit, but White has a different idea in mind.

4...Nxe4 5.Re1

Today this move has been discarded, but it has its practical points as we shall see. White often plays 0–0 and Re1 in a Ruy Lopez, and though his bishop is more exposed on c4 he still has some ideas on the e-file. The most interesting move is 5.Nc3!? which takes us into the standard BKG: 5...Nxc3 6.dxc3 f6 7.Nh4! etc. This line isn’t highly regarded by theory just now. For just that reason would be a great weapon to refurbish for practical play at amateur levels. It’s also possible to play 5.Bd5 Nf6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.Nxe5 winning the pawn back immediately, though the resulting positions tend to be rather drawish.

5...d5!

A good reaction as far as it goes. Black simultaneously hits the bishop and defends his knight.

6.Bb5 Qf6?

But this early deployment of the queen is definitely an error. The right move is 6...Bc5! setting up a fork threat on f2 so that White cannot simply do as he pleases on the e-file. The sharpest reaction is 7.d4 but after 7...exd4 White has no good way both to dislodge Black’s powerful knight and to regain the two pawns that he has thrown into the bargain, e.g. 8.Nxd4 Qf6 (Now acceptable as it comes with a threat!) 9.Be3 0–0µ

7.d3

So Black will have to give back the pawn and dodge around with his knight in order to avoid losing more.

7...Nd6?

Bad moves are easy to find in lost positions. Here it is time for a courageous decision. Black’s best practical chance is actually 7...Nxf2!? obtaining two pawns for the piece and looking for the sort of compensation White has in the Cochrane Gambit of Petroff’s Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nxf7). Of course the sacrifice isn’t actually sound here when White’s rook is already activated, but in a real game it is generally no small matter to expose your opponent’s king, even if only a little. 8.Kxf2 Bd6 or 8...Bg4 would at least give White something to think about.

8.Nxe5?!

But this is not the most accurate way for White to cash in on his advantage on the e-file. 8.Bxc6+ would get the bishop off of the vulnerable b5 square. Then after 8...bxc6 9.Bg5! forces the queen to g6, after which life becomes very hard for Black: 9...Qg6 10.Rxe5+ Kd7 11.Nh4 and her majesty is neatly trapped on a full board. A difficult line to see, but quite lovely!

8...Ne4?

Startled at the prospect of a discovered check, Black overlooks his best chance for counterplay. 8...Nxb5! 9.Ng4+ Qe6 gets a rook and a bishop for the queen -- almost enough, on paper, to make it an even trade. White is still better but this would certainly make a game of it.

9.dxe4 Bc5

Finally Black gets the right idea -- counterplay against f2. But it is far too late.

10.Nf3 dxe4 11.Bg5!

A clever finish.

11...Qxb2

Black could acquiesce in the exchange of queens with 11...Qd6, but the piece-down endgame would be pure misery.

12.Qd8# 1–0

White misses a tactic:

Justin Homister (490)
James Harry (864)
Queen’s Pawn: Chigorin, D00
3-day, Round 2

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.Nf3 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4 Nc6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bb5 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Qd7 7.0–0 a6 8.Ba4?!

It is a pity to put the bishop out of active commission on the side of the board. A more natural response would be 8.Bd3, admitting that the pin was not so important after all and establishing a grip on the e4 square. But Black could reply 8...e5! provoking some interesting play after 9.Bf5!? Qd6 10.dxe5 Nxe5 etc.

8...e6 9.Bd2 Bb4 10.Rfe1 0–0 11.Re2

Not, perhaps, the first move that would spring to mind, but White is defending his bishop on d2 and as it turns out this could have been important.

11...b5 12.Bb3 Na5?

An error, but for players at this level a fairly subtle one.

White to Move

13.Bxd5?

Believe it or not, the problem is not that White is capturing on d5 but that he is doing so with the wrong piece! The alert 13.Nxd5! would exploit Black’s undefended bishop on b4, e.g. 13...Nxd5 14.Bxd5 exd5 15.Bxb4 Nc6 16.Bxf8 Rxf8 and White finishes the series of exchanges up the exchange and a pawn.

13...exd5 14.e4 Bxc3 15.Bxc3

Black’s knight on the rim must retreat, but this cannot make up for the sheer material inequality.

15...Nc6 16.Rae1

At least 16.e5 would carry a threat and gain a little king-side space. Anyone who wants to play on in lost positions has to be on the lookout for small crumbs of compensation.

16...Rae8

Adequate but not the most accurate. 16...dxe4 17.Qg3 Qd5 threatens ...b4 and ...Qxd4.

17.e5 Ne4 18.e6?

This achieves nothing. White should be trying to shift the Black knight from e4.

18...Rxe6 19.Re3 Nxc3 20.Qg4 Nxd4

Black could finish elegantly here with 20...Rxe3! 21.Qxd7 Rxe1#

21.Rh3 Rxe1# 0–1

Here is an example of when pinning the knight to the queen with a bishop can backfire:

Ed Mandell (1379)
Atulya Shetty (1228)
3/4-day, Round 4
Sicilian: Alapin, B22

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Bc4 Nb6 5.Bb3 d6

Perhaps 5...c4 makes better sense, trying to punish White for not having played his d-pawn forward earlier.

6.Nf3 Bg4?

An absolutely classic error. In his wisdom-filled little book Common Sense in Chess, Lasker advised the club player not to make this pin too early. Now we see why.

7.Bxf7+!

This does much more than win a pawn: it lays bare the light squares all around Black’s king.

7...Kxf7 8.Ng5+ Ke8

8...Kg8 is even worse.

9.Qxg4 dxe5 10.Qe6 Qd5 11.0–0 h6 12.Qg6+!

The light squares again!

12...Kd7 13.Qf5+

This is tricky but not actually best. 13.Nf7 Rg8 14.d3 Qe6 15.Qxe6+ Kxe6 16.Nd8+ picks up another pawn on b7 -- another light square. There’s a pattern emerging here...

13...Kc7?

Walking into a fork. 13...e6 is necessary.

14.Ne6+ Kd6 15.Nxf8 e6 16.Qf7! Nc6 17.Ng6

Don’t the light square weaknesses ever go away? No, I’m afraid they don’t!

17...Rh7?

Black is lost anyway, but if he intends to play on then this is an awful square for the rook, which remains inactive there to the end.

18.Na3 a6 19.c4 Nxc4 20.Nxc4+ Qxc4 21.Nf8! Rxf8 22.Qxf8+ 1–0

Black has had enough punishment. An instructive game.

The power of provoking a weakness:

Paul Paget (Unr)
Helen Chu (918)
3/4-day, Round 4
Spanish: Berlin (Beverwijk), C65

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Bc5

Simple development is one way to meet the Ruy Lopez. The Berlin Classical is one of the best of the “simple” defenses.

5.Re1

If White wants to take advantage of Black’s apparently naive setup, he must try either 5.c3 or 5.Nxe5. Current wisdom is that neither move refutes Black’s system, though there are some difficult variations in both lines.

5...d6 6.d4 exd4 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.Nxd4 Bd7

8...Ng4!? is very interesting here, but Helen pursues a wholly rational policy of development.

9.Bg5 0–0 10.Nc3 Rb8!

I can still remember when I learned about moves like this. I was playing over one of Blackburne’s games in which the great man took the time to put a rook on the b-file and provoke the weakening move b3. It seemed inconsequential, but later in one of the tactical variations Blackburne contrived to take advantage of the undefended knight. Helen does the same here.

11.b3

White does not realize his danger. 11.Nb3 is more conservative, leaving all pawns in place.

11...Rb4!?

Relentless pressure with the pieces is one of Helen’s trademarks.

12.Bxf6?

This move is weak because c3 is weak.

12...Qxf6 13.Nf3?? Qxc3

...and there it goes! Now Black simply mops up and wins on points.

14.a3 Rbb8 15.e5 Rfe8 16.exd6 cxd6 17.Rxe8+ Rxe8 18.b4 Bb6 19.h3 Qf6 20.Rb1 Qg6 21.a4?

Missing the point, not that it matters much any more.

21...Bxh3 22.Nh4 Qg5 23.g3 Qxg3+! 24.Kh1 Qxh4 25.Qg1 Bxf2 26.Qxf2 Qxf2 27.Rg1 Re1! 28.Rxe1 Qg2# 0–1

A game that demonstrates why young Helen is a player with a great deal of promise.

A good lesson for the kids that like to go for the early mate:

Emily Novick (845)
Tibin John (641)
2-day, Round 4
King’s Pawn: Napoleon, C20

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 e5 2.Qf3 Nc6 3.Bc4

Ahh, the Scholar’s Mate, beloved by school children for as long as chess has been played. Fortunately Tibin goes to a club in Kalamazoo where we teach people how to meet this sort of crude attack!

3...Nf6 4.g4 Nd4!

White is already in grave trouble.

5.Qd1

5.Qe3 Nxc2+ was Kaufmann, C. - McGrew, B., from a recent Kalamazoo Blitz event.

5...Bc5

This is a solid developing move, but Black can be more aggressive right away with 5...d5! 6.exd5 Bxg4 7.f3 Bf5 8.d3 Nxd5 and White is simply miserable.

6.Nh3 d6 7.Ng5

White just won’t give up on the idea of grabbing something on f7!

7...0–0 8.Na3 Nxg4 9.c3 Qf6!?

A little joke that White doesn’t get.

10.cxd4 Qxf2# 0–1

Who says there’s no such thing as poetic justice?

It did not take long to see where the cream of the section is:

4.0: Brereton
3.5: Aguilar, Feller, Hattrem
3.0: 10 players

Round 5

The top pairings:

1. Brereton 1 Aguilar
2. E. Mandell 1 Hattrem

First off, Brad Feller took a half-point bye for the round.

Justin Brereton, a young player out of the Okemos program, won an exchange versus Javier Aguilar and it inexplicably became a full rook.

MCA Board Member Ed Mandell shows some patience versus John Hattrem:

Ed Mandell (1379)
John Hattrem (1238)
Queen’s Pawn: Zukertort D02

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.b3 Nf6 5.c4 c6 6.Bb2 Bg4 7.h3 Bf5 8.Nc3 0–0 9.Nh4 Be4 10.f3 Bf5 11.Nxf5 gxf5 12.Bd3 e6 13.Qc2 Nbd7 14.0–0–0 dxc4 15.Bxc4 Nd5 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Bd3 Rc8 18.Bc3 Qc7 19.Kb2 a6 20.g4 b5 21.gxf5 Nf6 22.Rc1 Qb7 23.Qg2 b4 24.Bd2 Rxc1 25.Bxc1 e5 26.Rg1 Nh5 27.Qg5 exd4 28.f6 dxe3 29.Bxh7+ Kxh7 30.Qxh5+ Kg8 31.Rxg7# 1–0

Brereton is in the driver seat with a full point lead:

5.0: Brereton
4.0 E. Mandell, McNair, Gregg, Feller, Hodge, Paulovich

Round 6

1. Feller 1 Brereton
2. Gregg 0 McNair
3. Hodge 0 E. Mandell
4. Aguilar 1 Paulovich

Feller stopped Brereton by catching his king in the center:

Brad Feller (1355)
Justin Brereton (1310)
English: Agincourt, A13

Notes by Jeff Aldrich

1.c4 e6 2.d3?!

This moves feels too constricting. A more flexible option would be 2.Nc3 or 2.g3. These give White the option of directly playing d4 later.

2...d5 3.b3?

Just too many dark-square weaknesses on the queen-side.

3...c5

Missing an opportunity to win a pawn. 3...dxc4! and White cannot take back with either pawn: 4.dxc4 ( 4.bxc4 Qd4–+) 4...Qf6–+. In both lines, White must give up a piece to save the rook.

4.Nf3 Nc6

The ...Qf6 idea is still here and it hangs around for the next couple of moves. Maybe, Justin’s coach spent a lot of time cautioning about bringing out the queen early. Remember, that these are just guidelines and each position needs to be evaluated individually.

5.g3 Nf6 6.Bg2 Bd6 7.Nc3 b6 8.Bg5 Be7 9.0–0 Bb7 10.Rc1 d4 11.Bxf6 gxf6?!

Nothing wrong with 11...Bxf6. The open g-file will not be as useful to attack against the fianchetto.

12.Ne4 f5 13.Ned2 Qc7 14.e4 f4 15.Qe2 fxg3?!

Wrong plan. Black is trying to pry open White’s king-side, but he will only succeed in giving White the half-open f-file to work with.

16.fxg3 e5 17.Bh3 Rg8 18.Rf2 Bc8 19.Qf1 Nb4 20.Bf5!?

Throwing the a-pawn into the wind. Black doesn’t have to exchange, but fortunately for White, he does.

20...Bxf5 21.exf5 Nxa2 22.Ra1 Nb4

White to Move

23.Nxe5!

Striking while the Black king is still in the center. Fritz rates this as winning for Black, but it takes a little abstract thinking to find it.

23...Qxe5 24.Re1 Qd6

24...Qf6 25.Ne4 Qh6 26.f6 Bf8 27.Nxc5+

25.f6

White now gets the piece back with a big attack.

25...Nc6 26.fxe7 Nxe7 27.Rfe2 0–0–0?!

It was preferable to give up the queen and knight for the two rooks, but White is winning either way.

28.Rxe7 Rdf8 29.Qf5+ Kb8 30.Qe5?!

30.Qf3! forces mate.

30...Qxe5 31.R1xe5 a6 32.Rd7 f5 33.Ree7 f4 34.Rg7 h5 35.Ne4 b5 36.Rb7+ Ka8 37.Ra7+ Kb8 38.Rgb7+ 1–0

Gregg stepped the wrong way after a check by McNair and things got painful in a hurry.

Hodge gave up a rook for not enough of an attack.

Aguilar caught Paulovich’s queen in a pin early in the game.

Anatoli Zaremba (1200)
John Hattrem (1238)
King’s Indian, E90

Notes by Tim McGrew

Who could fail to be impressed by some of the powerful king-side attacks that Najdorf, Gligoric, and Fischer launched with the King’s Indian Defense? Black seems to have been studying some of these, for he plays like a man inspired.

1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e4 0–0 6.Be3 Nbd7

One interesting idea for Black here is 6...c5 intending 7.dxc5 Qa5 when White has to make some awkward decisions about his center. But this does take us away from those classic King’s Indian lines.

7.Bd3

This is where the game leaves the main theoretical paths. The bishop is not particularly well placed on d3 -- at least not after Black’s nearly inevitable ...e5 -- and in some variations White would rather have that square free for the maneuver Nf3-e1–d3 in order to help fight for the c5 square.

7...e5 8.d5 c6

In analogous positions Fischer used to play 8...c5, locking the queen-side (assuming White doesn’t want to capture en passant, which he doesn’t here) rather than maintaining tension. But Fischer’s queen-side knight usually ended up on e7 instead of d7.

9.0–0 Nh5 10.Qc2

This move does not make much sense to me. The rooks are connected, but what else does this move do for the White position?

10...Ndf6

Here again I like the look of 10...c5 But in a few more moves it won’t matter: all eyes will be on the king-side.

11.Nd2 Ng4

Warning signs should be flashing over the White king-side. Knights like this are serious trouble if not dealt with in the firmest possible way.

12.Nd1?!

This is not a blunder, but it contributes to a major traffic jam in the center.

12...f5

A thematic and aggressive thrust. 12...Nf4!? is also interesting since 13.Bxf4 exf4 gives Black the outstanding e5 square.

13.exf5 Bxf5?!

Not bad, but not best. Botvinnik once boasted that “every Russian schoolboy” knows that the proper recapture in such a position is 13...gxf5, giving Black control over the e4 square so that White cannot use it for a minor piece.

14.Bxf5 Rxf5

Here again 14...gxf5 is more accurate.

15.f3 Nxh2!!

The double exclam is for bravery and for the shock value that a move like this must have. I doubt that Black calculated everything out over the board, but the sacrifice may actually be sound.

16.Re1

Deep analysis confirms that acceptance of the sacrifice is worse than declining, but White has nothing to show for the pawn and the weakness of his castle now. It would have been interesting to see whether Black could find the right moves in the line 16.Kxh2 Qh4+ 17.Kg1 Nf4! 18.Bxf4 exf4 19.Qd3 c5! 20.Nb3! Rh5 when Black has a powerful attack.

16...Qh4 17.Bf2

17.Nf2 is forced, but after 17...Nf4 Black still has a vicious attack.

17...Ng3! 18.Ne4

Black to Move

18...Nxf3+! 0–1

A very impressive finish.

Black exchanges all his developed pieces out of the opening and finds nothing but trouble:

Ian McLaren (1032)
Sheldon Mandell (1253)
Queen’s Pawn: Zukertort (Chigorin), D02

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.Nf3 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.e3 Bf5

This is a reasonable response to the Colle, but it has never really caught on -- partly because of White’s next move.

4.c4 dxc4?!

Not thematic. The most reasonable move is probably 4...e6 setting a little trap: after the plausible 5.Nc3? Black has 5...Nb4! and White must lose material trying to parry the fork at c2.

5.Bxc4 e5?

But this is thoroughly incautious and lands Black in a pile of trouble right away.

6.Bb5

A reasonable move, but not the sharpest. 6.Qb3! would make Black regret his carelessness right away.

6...a6

Black cannot afford this further loss of time. 6...e4 7.Ne5 Nge7 8.Nxc6 Nxc6 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 leaves Black’s pawns quite weak, but it would be better than what happens now.

7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.Nxe5 Bxb1 9.Rxb1

Black has systematically rid himself of his only developed pieces. This is not a good sign.

9...c5??

“Chipping away at the center,” one might think to oneself just before the rude awakening...

10.Qa4+! c6

This is unlovely but forced. The alternative is 10...Ke7 11.Nc6+ with even more carnage.

11.Qxc6+ Ke7 12.Qxc5+ Kf6 13.Ng4+ Kg6 14.Qc6+ Bd6 15.Ne5+ Kf6

A king who has wandered out this far is almost inevitably mated. White finds the most efficient finish.

16.Qf3+! Kg5 17.e4+ Kh4 18.Qg4# 1–0

A very nice upset win for White; for Black, a lesson to be pondered about opening play.

Now, things tighten up:

5.0: E. Mandell, McNair, Feller, Brereton
4.5: Aguilar, Hattrem

Just like the Reserve, we have a big group of players with a chance at the championship. How will it play out?

Round 7

Got to love another opportunity to put a little suspense in a tournament report. Here are the top pairings and the results will be shown in reverse order:

1. McNair Feller
2. E. Mandell Brereton
3. Hattrem Aguilar

Hattrem won an exchange early and must have held on. I could not get all the way through the scoresheet that was submitted, so we’re not sure how it ended.

Mandell found a nice tactical shot that created a passed pawn, which he quickly converted into another queen:

Ed Mandell (1379)
Justin Brereton (1310)
Queen’s Pawn: Closed, D05

1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e6 4.b3 c5 5.c3 Nc6 6.Ba3 b6 7.Bb5 Bd7 8.0–0 Bd6 9.Bxc6 Bxc6 10.Ne5 Qc7 11.f4 Ne4 12.Nxc6 Qxc6 13.Bb2 0–0 14.Nd2 Nxd2 15.Qxd2 c4 16.b4 a5 17.a3 axb4 18.axb4 Rxa1 19.Rxa1 Ra8 20.Qe1 Ra4 21.Qd1 b5 22.Rxa4 bxa4 23.Ba3 Be7 24.b5 Qb7 25.Bxe7 Qxe7 26.Qxa4 Qb7 27.b6 g6 28.Qa7 Qc6 29.b7 Kg7 30.b8Q e5 31.Qxe5+ Kh6 32.Qxf7 Qf6 33.Qexf6 1–0

So, one player makes it to six points. Can another join him?:

Shaun McNair (1379)
Brad Feller (1355)
Sicilian, B50

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 Bg7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Be2 Bg4 8.Qb3 Qc8 9.e5 dxe5 10.dxe5 Be6 11.Qa4+ Nfd7 12.Ng5 Bxe5 13.0–0 Bxc3 14.Nxe6 Bf6 15.Ng5 0–0 16.Qh4 Bxg5 17.Bxg5 f6 18.Bh6 Re8 19.Bc4+ Kh8 20.Bf7 Rd8 21.Bxg6 hxg6 22.Bf8+ Kg8 23.Bxe7 Re8 24.Rac1 Nc6 25.Bxf6 Nxf6 26.Qxf6 Qe6 27.Qg5 Rad8 28.Rc3 Rd5 29.Qc1 Re5 30.Qc2 Nd4 31.Qd3 Ne2+ 32.Kh1 Nxc3 33.Qxc3 Re1 34.Kg1 Rxf1+ 0–1

A tie for first place and on tie-breaks the Michigan Open Booster Champion is Ed Mandell. Brad Feller, probably hurt by his half-point bye, finishes in second place. John Hattrem is the clear third place finisher.

Black has the advantage and is a little to eager to trade off queens:

Ashlee Payne (1090)
Anatoli Zaremba (1200)
Sicilian, B50

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bc4!?

It used to be thought that this move is clearly a mistake since Black can shorten the bishop’s diagonal with ...e6. Then top players began resorting to it with some success. Fashions change!

4...e6 5.d3 Be7 6.Qe2 Nc6 7.Bb5 0–0 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.0–0 e5 10.h3 Qc7 11.Be3 Ne8 12.Bg5 f5 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.a3 f4 15.Rfd1 Rf6 16.Qd2 Rg6 17.Kf1 Rh6 18.h4?

This seriously weakens the king-side and makes Black’s job easier. Over the next few moves Black takes command of the game.

18...Bg4 19.Ke2 Rxh4 20.Rh1

Minimizing the damage.

20...Rxh1 21.Rxh1 Rb8 22.Na4 d5 23.b3 Rd8 24.Qc1 Qd6 25.Nc3 Nf6 26.Rd1 Qe7 27.Kf1 Rd7 28.Rd2 Bxf3 29.gxf3 Qd8 30.Ke2 d4?!

This creates a hole at c4 and leaves the weakness at c5 immobile. Black is still better, but not by nearly as much as a move ago.

31.Na4 Qe7 32.c3 Kf7 33.cxd4 cxd4 34.Qc4+ Qe6??

Eager to trade down and capitalize on his material advantage, Black neglects to analyze past the exchange of queens.

35.Qxe6+ Kxe6 36.Nc5+!

Oops!

36...Kd6 37.Nxd7 Nxd7 38.Rd1 a5 39.Rh1 Nf6 40.Rb1 h6 41.b4 axb4 42.Rxb4!

The correct recapture, leaving the a-pawn free to run.

42...Kc7 43.a4 g5 44.a5 Nd7 45.Rb1

45.a6 Nb6 46.a7 Na8 47.Rb8 wraps things up quickly.

45...Nc5 46.Rh1 Kb7 47.Rxh6 Nd7 48.Rd6

48.Rh7! Kc8 49.a6 Nb6 50.Re7 kills a lot of pawns very quickly.

48...Nc5 49.Rg6 Nd7 50.Rg7 Kc8 51.a6 Nb6 52.Rg8+ Kc7 53.a7 Kb7 54.Rg7+ Ka8 55.Re7 Na4 56.Kd2 Nc3 57.Kc2 Nb5 58.Kb3 Nxa7 59.Rxe5 Nb5 60.Rxg5 Nc3 61.e5 Kb7 62.e6 Nd5 63.Rxd5!

The most efficient way to finish the game.

63...cxd5 64.e7 Kc7 65.e8Q Kd6 66.Kb4 Kc7 67.Kc5 Kb7 68.Qd7+ Ka6 69.Qb5+

69.Qe7! saves a couple of moves. 69...Ka5 70.Qa7#

69...Ka7 70.Kc6 Ka8 71.Qb7# 1–0