Annotated chess game: Would a computer have played this move?

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ANNOTATED GAME

Would a computer have played this move?
ibinor (1752) vs. charleshiggie (1907)
Annotated by: charleshiggie

(2211)
Chess opening: Sicilian defence (B30)

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1. e4	In this game, I gain positional advantages which eventually lead to the win of a pawn. My opponent sacs another pawn to keep my knight hemmed in. I sac it to go into an ending a knight for 2 pawns down, but my king is so active, it is very hard to defend. I honestly couldn't see all the posibilities to the end. I wonder - would a computer have played this sac? Perhaps someone with Fritz or a decent chess computer can tell me please? Was there a defence?
	1 comment freeman8201 (1831) on 09-Jun-09: Nice endgame!


1... c5	The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. "Indeed, most statistical surveys suggest that 1.d4 is the most successful first move for White, but only because 1...c5 scores so highly against 1.e4." (Rowson, Jonathan (2005). Chess for Zebras: Thinking Differently About Black and White. Gambit Publications. p. 243. ISBN 1901983854.)



2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 d6 4. Bb5 Bd7 5. Bxc6 Bxc6	I was a bit surprised at black exchanging on c6. Surely it is better to wait?
	2 comments archduke_piccolo (2340) on 08-Jun-09: White exchanging? charleshiggie (2211) on 08-Jun-09: yeh I meant white exchanging


6. d3 g6 7. b3 Bg7 8. Bb2 f5 9. exf5 Qa5 10. Qd2 Bxf3 11. gxf3 gxf5 12. O-O-O	I have managed to weaken his pawns.



12... O-O-O 13. Kb1 e6 14. Ne4 Qxd2	White finds an interesting way of exchanging. I wasn't worried about exchanges. Pawn weaknesses can be harder to defend in endings.



15. Nxd2 Bxb2 16. Kxb2 Nf6 17. Nc4 b5 18. Ne3 Rhg8 19. Rhg1 d5 20. a3 d4 21. Ng2 Nd5 22. Rde1 Kd7 23. Nh4 Rxg1 24. Rxg1 Kd6 25. Rg7 Rd7 26. Rg8	Black has centrally placed pieces. The white knight is off-side, but the rook is active.



26... Nc3 27. Kc1 Kd5 28. Ng2 Ke5 29. f4+ Kf6 30. h3 Rg7	So I force the exchange of rooks



31. Rxg7 Kxg7	This is very hard for white not to lose a pawn. He finds the best way to lose it!



32. Kd2 Nb1+ 33. Kc1 Nxa3 34. b4	Bravo! With this clever sacrifice white keeps the black knight blocked in. Without this move black is winning easily.



34... cxb4 35. Kb2 Kf6 36. Ne1 Ke7 37. Nf3 Kd6 38. Nxd4 a5 39. Nb3 a4 40. Nd4 Kd5 41. Nf3 h6 42. h4 Nc4+	And here it is. I thought I had to play this to make any progress. I saw that the endings were hard for white, but I couldn't see every possibility.



43. dxc4+ bxc4	and black has his pawns straightened out.



44. Ne5	I think this is an error. 44. c3 by white offers more resistance I think.
	4 comments archduke_piccolo (2340) on 08-Jun-09: I think 44.c3 might have been good enough to hold the draw for White. Black dare not play 44...b3? as after 45.Nd2 Black just about finds himself in "zugzwang". After 44...a3+ 45.Ka2 Ke4 46.Ne5 bxc3 47.Kxa3 Kxf4 48.Nxc4, will White's knight be mobile enough to contain Black's king and pawns whilst his own king gradually comes across to the K-side? A possible continuation from here would be 48...Kg4 49.Ne5+ Kxh4 50.Kb3 Kh3 51.Kxc3 Kg2 52.Nd3! (52.f4? is bad on account of 52...h5 53.Ng6 Kg3 54 Kd4 h4 55.Nxh4 Kxh4 56.Ke5 Kg4 57.Kxe6 Kxf4 Black wins). To continue: 52...h5 53.Kd2 h4 54.Ke2 e5 (In turn, Black may not play 54...h3 owing to 55.Nf4+ Kh2 56.Kf1 and suddenly it is Black in "zugzwang") 55.Nxe5 h3 56.Nf3 f4 57.Ne1+ Kg1 58.Nf3+ (=). charleshiggie (2211) on 09-Jun-09: I did see that b3 would have been a mistake, I was planning on meeting c3 with bxc easy19 (1200) on 10-Jun-09: What about 44.h5 as white i would try to win not try to draw.. nuntar (1702) on 02-Aug-09: 44. c3 bxc3? surely loses: 45. Kxc3 followed by h5, Nf7, Nxh6 etc. White's king is able to stop the a-pawn.


44... c3+	Now he doesn't get a chance to play it.



45. Ka2 Ke4	While my king is a great attacking piece
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 08-Jun-09: At this point, White's knight undertakes a counteraction on the K-sside. The opposite direction might have yielded a more positive result: 46.Nc6. Black can choose to let the Q-side go so as to annihilate White's K-side betimes, or else maintain the pressure on 5the Q-side to tie White down there more or less permanently. The latter plan might go: 46...b3+!? 47.cxb3 c2! 48.Kb2 axb3 49.Na5 Kf3 50.Nxb3 Kxf2 51.Kxc2 Kf3 52.Nd4 Kxf4 53.Nxe6+ Kg4 54.Kd3 and White should draw comfortably enough. If instead 46...Kxf4 (say) 47,Nxb4 Kf3 48.Nd3 Ke2 49.Ka3 Kd2!? 50.Nb4! Ke2 51.Kxa4 Kxf2 52.Kb3 h5 53.Kxc3 Kg3 54.Kd4 Kxh4 55.Nd3! Kg3 56.Ke5! h4 57.Nf4 and White wins! After 57...h3, 58.Nxh3 Kxh3 59.Kf4 after which the c-pawn is on the fast track to promotion. It looks as though Black's drawing chances in the 46...Kxf4 line are much more problematic.


46. Nf7 h5 47. Nd8 Kxf4 48. Nxe6+ Kg4 49. Nd4 Kxh4 50. Nxf5+	White has managed to maintain his slight theoretical plus, but the h pawn is a winner!
	2 comments archduke_piccolo (2340) on 08-Jun-09: Black already has a clear advantage. nuntar (1702) on 09-Jun-09: Your comment (the annotator's, not Ion's) is confusing. "White has a theoretical plus, but Black is winning"? It's like saying that Chelsea have scored four goals to Arsenal's one, and Arsenal are winning. I assume you were thinking of "theoretical" in the narrow sense of "according to the standard set of rigid evaluative rules, White would appear to be winning, but in fact Black is". Still doesn't work, because there is no one standard set of evaluative rules. Any set that correctly evaluated an outside passed pawn -- with the enemy king on the opposite rook's file, no less! -- as advantageous could identify Black's advantage here.


50... Kg4 51. Ng3	This move looks like a blunder to me, although it may be lost at this stage. Trying to keep checking the king, seems better.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 08-Jun-09: The alternative, 51.Ne3+ isn't significantly better: 51.Ne3+ Kf3 52.Nf5 Kxf2, after which the knight will have to give itself up for the h-pawn, whereupon the Black king ambles over to the other wing to force the pawns home.


51... h4 52. Nh1 Kf3 53. Kb1 b3 54. cxb3 axb3	I told my opponent how I was to finish him off "I can play h3 and h2 followed by Kg2. If you try f4 I queen with check and can stop you queening. If you meet Kg2 with Ng3, I take your f pawn and your knight cannot stop my h pawn queening." He resigned. The questions are - could have held that ending? Are there any computer programs which would have played that knight sac?
	2 comments dynamic-dv (2562) on 09-Jun-09: I would say not! as it would see after white plays 44.c3 he has an advantage. easy19 (1200) on 10-Jun-09: I would not play 55.Ng3 because it leads to a mate in about 9 or 10 moves As i can find a mate in 9 moves a computer can find it much faster then i can, and it will avoid the move that leads to it. 55.Kc1 will lead to a longer mating sequence, a fast look at the analyze board and i say about 16 moves I guess a chess-computer will take the longest way to avoid a mate. >>>> Ok just noticed it is not about move 55 but about move 42 <<<