Points to note
a) The 75 move rule was in force.
b) 67 Bf8? allowed 67..Kf4! when would be harder to break down Black’s ‘fortress’. c) 69 Kd3? was also a mistake since Black’s King could ‘go on the run’ with 69..Nf4+ 70 Kd2 Ke4 71 Bg7 Kd5 72 Bb2 Kc5 73 Bf1 Ne6 74 Ke3 Kd5 76 Bf6 Nc5 with a setup similar to the previous note.

BB vs N is a difficult ending to hold for 50 moves but this game indicates the following should be remembered.

Kling & Horwitz ‘fortress’ eg

click for larger view

It’s not a fortress but Black can usually hold out for some time unless the attacker is well placed.

Pseudo-fortresses eg

click for larger view

click for larger view

All of the ‘fortresses’ in this ending are pseudo in that they can be broken. These positions require more than 50 moves with correct play and are certainly worth heading for given the opportunity. Speelman acknowledged that in this game he was too wedded to Kling & Horwitz as the only option..

Illustrative play from the last position above: 1 Bc6 Na6 2 Ke4 Nc5+ 3 Ke5 Nd3+ 4 Kd6 Nb4 (not best but the human move) 5 Be4 Nd3 6 Bd5+ Kb5 7 Bf3 (unlikely to be played?) 7..Nc5 8 Kd5 Na4! (much better than 8..Nb7 9 Be5) 9 Be5 Nb6+ 10 Kd4 Na4 11 Bg3 Nb6 12 Be2+ Kc6

"Speelman tried the same tactic [get computer analysis] but his analysis never arrived!"

I remember that. They could not get though to Jon or his seconds. I was on holiday in a nearby hotel and was sent the analysis in a fax.

Then came a phone call: "Get this to the Speelman right away." was the instructions.

Don't be silly, I thought, Spielmann died in the 1940's, so threw it in the bin. (OOPS!)