White: Stanislav Kriventsov (Phalanx I)
Black: Bruce Leverett (Triple Threat I)
Pittsburgh Chess League, round 7, April 2001
French Defense, Classical Variation

My game with the same opponent from last summer's state championship was
unpublishable--agreed drawn right out of the opening.  The present game was
no masterpiece, but there was plenty to think about.

 1 e4    e6

   I also play 1 ... e5, but after a debacle against Justin Papariella a few
   months before, I realized that it is risky to play open games when you
   only play 6-7 rated games a year.  1 ... e6 is easier to play both
   strategically and tactically than 1 ... e5, but is more limiting.  If
   you've seen one locked French Defense pawn chain, you've seen them all.

 2 d4    d5
 3 Nc3   Nf6
 4 Bg5   Be7
 5 e5    Nfd7
 6 Bxe7  Qxe7
 7 f4    O-O
 8 Nf3   c5
 9 dxc5  Nc6
10 Qd2

   The main alternative is 10 Bd3 f6 11 exf6 Qxf6 12 g3 Nxc5 13 O-O.

10 ...   Nxc5
11 O-O-O a6
12 Bd3   b5
13 Qf2

   White now threatens 14 Bxh7+ Kxh7 15 Ng5+ Kg6 (15 ... Kg8 16 Qh4)
   16 Qh4 or 16 Qg3.  13 Qe3 is more accurate, making the same threat but
   avoiding some pins on the f-file.

13 ...   f5
14 exf6  Nxd3+?

   I had my heart set on recapturing on f6 with the Queen, so I had to play
   this zwischenzug.  But it is premature and removes a key attacking and
   defending piece from the queenside.  14 ... Rxf6 is necessary.

15 Rxd3  Qxf6
16 g3    Bd7
17 Re1   Rac8
18 Kb1   Be8
19 a3    Bg6
20 Rd2   Bf5
21 Nd4?

   21 Qb6 is the logical way to take advantage of Black's error on the 14th
   move.  During the game and the post-mortem, we both thought that this was
   too adventurous.  Indeed after 21 ... Rfd8 22 Qxa6? b4 Black would get
   plenty of counterplay.  But 22 Ne2 followed by 23 Nfd4 seems to put White
   firmly in control.  After the text move Black can breathe easier.

21 ...   Nxd4
22 Qxd4  Qxd4
23 Rxd4  Rc5

   Black's queenside pawns look awful, but White needs to use his knight to
   get at them, and there's no way.  White's next move does not solve the
   problem and, if anything, makes Black's game easier.  My opponent knew
   this, but felt obliged to try something, due to the League match
   standings.  His team had a shot at a tie for first place, but it seemed
   likely that he would have to win his own game for that.

24 a4    bxa4
25 Rxa4  Rb8
26 Kc1   a5
27 Rd1   Kf7
28 Rd2   Kf6
29 Ne2   Rb4?!

   This was not necessary.  White still has no serious threat, and Black
   might just as well continue his natural counterplay with 29 ... h6.

30 Rxb4  axb4
31 b3    h6
32 Kb2   g5
33 fxg5+ hxg5
34 Nc1?!

   This was tempting fate.  Black's active king and dangerous center pawns
   now give him good winning chances, which should have been taken
   seriously.  But just about now, I started to mismanage my time.  I should
   not have had much difficulty finding good moves, but in the sudden-death
   phase that started at move 30, I used up almost my whole hour by move 45
   (or even sooner).

34 ...   Ke5
35 Re2+  Kd6

   35 ... Kd4! is more to the point.  I was afraid of 36 Na2 Rb5
   37 Nxb4 Rxb4 38 c3+, but if I had looked one move further, I would have
   found 38 ... Kd3!

36 Na2   Rb5
37 h4    gxh4
38 gxh4  Rb7
39 Rh2   Kc5
40 h5    e5
41 h6    e4
42 Nc1   Kd4
43 Rh5   Bh7
44 Rh3   Rf7
45 Ne2+  Kc5
46 Kc1   Rf5
47 c3    bxc3
48 Rxc3+ Kd6

   Since I had no time to think, the next thirteen moves probably don't make
   much sense, and I won't try to annotate them.  In fact, I stopped keeping
   score at about move 50 and had to reconstruct the score from memory
   afterwards.

49 b4    Rf1+
50 Kd2   Rb1
51 Rg3   Rh1
52 Ra3   Ke5
53 Ra6   Bf5
54 Rc6   Be6
55 b5    Rxh6
56 b6    d4
57 b7    Rh8
58 Nxd4  Bd5
59 Rc8   Rh2+
60 Kc3   Bxb7
61 Rc7   Bd5
   Agreed drawn