offramp: White was Andrey Zlotnik he was rated 2096. Black, Alina Bivol, is a WGM with an OTB rating is 2345 (2156 rapid, 2250 blitz). This game was blitz. You may have seen this game: B Pang vs M Ainakul, 2024 (blitz). Pang Bo had ♔ + ♗ + ♘ v ♔ and he had little trouble. He checkmated Black from move 49 to 72. I am sad to report that in this game Black failed to checkmate his opponent. Black had ♔ + ♗ + ♘ v ♔ and struggled along from <move 49 to move <133>>. I think Black was very close to a checkmate here:
43. b6.
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43...Rg2+ would have mated White.
Here is the finale.
49...Kxf5.
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Right at the outset the white king is in the h1-area - a white square. So Black had a head start. 5 moves later, 54...Ke3, everything looks hunky-dory.
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55. Kf1 Bf3
56. Ke1 Ne5
57. Kf1 Nd3
58. Kg1 Kf4
59. Kf1 Kg3
60. Kg1.
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60...Be2.
I can hardly believe what happens now...
61. Kh1 Ne5
62. Kg1 Ng4
63. Kh1 Bc4
64. Kg1 Ne3
65. Kh1.
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65...Nc2
66. Kg1 Nd4
67. Kh1 Bb5
68. Kg1 Ne2+
69. Kf1 Nf4+
70. Ke1 Kf3
71. Kd2. What is going on?
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Now White escaped the corner and headed for the open sea. Black persevered from move 48 to 133, 83 moves in total, but eventually she gave up. I don't criticise players for misplaying this difficult ending, but at about move 50 Black started in the most favourable position possible; the white king was was in the white corner. It's incredible that the white king got away with that. |