Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2014-15: Horsham 1 – Eastbourne 1

   [Event "Mid-Sussex League (Division 1)"]  [Site "Horsham"]  [Date "2015.01.13"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Butt, Laurence A"]  [Black "Mansson, James C"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "D00"]  [Annotator "Mansson,James"]  [PlyCount "80"]  [EventDate "2015.??.??"]  [EventCountry "ENG"]  [WhiteTeam "Eastbourne 1"]  [BlackTeam "Horsham 1"]   1. d4 d5 2. Bg5 Nf6 {Black invites White to play Bxf6, reasoning that the  bishop pair is at least compensation for the weakened pawn structure.} 3. c3 c6  4. Nd2 Bf5 5. Ngf3 h6 6. Bxf6 (6. Bh4 {was more circumspect.}) 6... exf6 7. Qb3  Qb6 8. Qxb6 axb6 {This endgame holds no fears for Black. Indeed, he can claim  the better chances because of his bishop pair.} 9. e3 b5 10. Be2 Nd7 11. O-O  Bd6 12. Ne1 Nb6 13. Bd3 Be6 14. e4 dxe4 (14... Na4 $17 {looks even stronger})  15. Nxe4 Be7 $15 {Black is on top because of his bishop pair and the pressure  down the e-file.} 16. a3 $2 {This loses material.} Nc4 $19 17. b4 (17. Bxc4  Bxc4 {loses the exchange}) (17. Rb1 f5 {is like the game}) 17... f5 {The key  move. The knight is forced away from covering d2, so Black is able to play ...  Nd2, winning the exchange.} 18. Ng3 (18. Bxc4 Bxc4 {also wins the exchange})  18... Nd2 19. Nxf5 Bxf5 20. Bxf5 Nxf1 21. Kxf1 {Black is clearly on top, but  needs to find a winning plan. He decides to attempt to open the game up for  his rooks by advancing on the kingside. However, he first brings his king to  c7 to get out of the way of the rooks.} Kd8 22. Ke2 Kc7 23. Kd3 g6 24. Be4 f5  25. Bf3 g5 26. Bd1 g4 27. Nc2 Bd6 28. g3 h5 29. Ne1 $2 {White is in a bad way,  but this makes things easy, as Black penetrates via the h-file easily.} (29. d5  $5 {was worth a try, although Black should prevail in the end.}) 29... h4 30.  Kd2 hxg3 31. hxg3 Rh2 32. Nd3 Bxg3 33. Ke1 Rh1+ 34. Kd2 Bh4 35. Kc2 Rh2 36. Kb3  Bxf2 37. a4 Rxa4 38. Rc1 Be3 39. Rb1 g3 40. Bf3 g2 0-1