| keypusher: Ok, this is fascinating. SF was saddled (or saddled itself) with a bad opening (supposedly something from the 2016 TCEC was used), but we got a very exciting game out of it. Here's adagmator's video analysis, which I recommend (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRR...) and here are some highlights. 
click for larger viewIn this familiar position SF plays the bizarre 8....h6 instead of 8....e5. adagmator says this is a book move but there are no examples in the cg database. A0 responds with 9.e5! which I think any aggressive human player would jump at. 9....dxe5 10.Nxe5 cxd4 (10....Nxe5 11.dxe5 Nd7 12.Bf4 is hardly appealing for Black, despite White's bad pawns) 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.0-0! Now if 12....0-0 13.cxd4 the d-pawn is immune and White is just better. So SF grabs a second pawn: 12....dxc3 13.Ba3!. 
click for larger viewI've suffered some horrible defeats from positions like this. The next few moves revolve around SF's attempts to enforce ...c5, blocking the a3-f8 diagonal. 13....Qc7 14.Qf3 Rb8 15.Bc5! e5 (if 15....Nd7 16.Bd4 e5 17.Bxc3 0-0 18.Rae1 Black has managed to castle but his position is grim) 16.Rfe1 Be6 17.Qg3! Nh5 18.Qe3 Nf4 19.Bc2! f6 (finally managing to castle by hand) 20.h4! Qa5 21.Rab1 Kf7 22.g3! 
click for larger viewWhat to do with the knight? 22....Nh5? 23.Bd6 Rxb1 24.Rxb1 Rd8 25.Rb7+ Rd7 26.Qf3! g6 27.Qxc6 is hopeless for Black. Better but not good enough is 22....Nh3+ 23.Kg2 Rb2 24.Rxb2 cxb2 25.Rb1 Rb8 26.Bd6! (stronger than adagmator's 26.a3) Rd8 (26....Rb7 27.Qe4! f5 28.Qxc6 and White wins) 27.c5 Qxa2 28.f3! and Black is in a kind of zugswang. Quite possibly Black's best is a move adagmator ignores, 22....Ng6. After 23.f4!, Black can play 23....Ne7! 24.fxe5 f5!. Good luck holding that, though.... Rather than move the knight, SF counterattacks: 22....Qxa2 23.Qe4! (not 23.Qxc3 Rxb1 and after either recapture ...Ne2+) Qxc4 24.Qxc6! with the devastating threat of Qc7+. 
click for larger viewAfter 24....Nh3+ 25.Kh2 Qd5 26.h5 (with another mate threat) Rhc8 27.Qxd5 Bxd5 28.Rxb8 Rxb8 29.Kxh3 White has picked up the knight and will win easily. So, SF gives up a whole rook: 24....Nd3 25.Rxb8 Rxb8 26.Qc7+ Kg6 27.Bxd3+ Qxd3 28.Qxb8. But it has three pawns and some threats: 28....Bd5 29.Kh2! c2 (29....Qf3 30.Qb1+! Kf7 31.Rg1) 30.Qb2 a5 31.Qc1 a4 32.Qe3 Qxe3 33.fxe3. SF struggled on in this ending for quite a while, but it's hopeless. You can check the video for details. But go back to move 28 -- did SF (and adagmator) miss a possibility? 
click for larger view28....c2 29.Qe8+ Bf7 30.h5+ Kh7 31.Qxf7 Qd2 32.Bf8 (White doesn't have to save the rook) Qxe1+ 33.Kg2 Qh1+ (forced) 34.Kxh1 c1/Q+ 35.Kg2 Qg5 (preventing mate) 36.Qxa7 Kg8!. White has an extra piece (and a +4.5 SF evaluation), but how exactly does he win? Anyone? Instead of 29.Qe8+ White can play 29.Qa2 aiming for a continuation similar to the game. If 29....Bb3 30.Bxa7 Qd1 White can slowly consolidate with something like 31.Qa1 Kh7 32.Kh2 Kg3 and now 33.Qxb3! Qxe1 34.Qxc2+ Kf7 35.h5 and White wins easily. | 
Kibitzing
