Bryon Nickoloff Annotations

[Brad Thomson]

Thanks Hans, that is an incredible compliment to Nick. I am quite touched and I know that Bryon would be too.

Many people knew Nick by reputation, of course, but few knew him well and got close to him. He was very different over post-game refreshments than he was during the rest of the time he spent with friends. The one quality that struck me the most was his shyness. Nick was one of the shyest persons that I have ever known. I was immediately attracted to him when I learned that he was a huge lover of cats- dogs too, but especially cats. I myself share this profound love, and in 1995 Nick gave me two cats that had been born in the apartment that he shared with the love of his life, Heather. Both Zugzwang and Thomas Hearns were named by Nick himself, and like Nick they were both destined to live only to middle age.

As we grown older, and as the world around us falls apart, we naturally turn to our memories for solace. I had the good fortune of spending a lot of time with Nick and Heather, crashing at their apartment during the various Toronto tournaments during those years. They also spent the Closed of 1995 and the Open of 1998 with me in Ottawa. In Toronto, Nick and Heather had a small place, just a bachelor, and often I was not the only guest. Nick never slept, I have never know anyone who could stay awake for so long. And he had a remarkable ability to remember his games, move by move, no matter how long ago he had played them. We would start by looking at the game he had just played, but Nick would explain other games he had played in the same opening, or against the same opponent, and remember them from start to finish even if they had been played years earlier. His chess memory was astounding, this must be why his opening repertoire was so deep. As noted above, Nick's favourite player from the past was probably Capablanca, but he was also quite fond of both Fischer and Karpov. Michael Schleifer once told me that Nick played like Fischer.

[Aris Marghetis]

Great post Brad, thanks. Ironically, I only met Bryon near the end. It was at a weekender in Arnprior, and despite his state, I was struck by his utter earnestness in the postgames, very moving.

[Brad Thomson]

Thanks Aris.

Bryon Nickoloff and Dickey Betts are each others' doppelgangers. The resemblance is amazing, right down to their mannerisms and the way they dress. This famous Betts tune even describes Bryon's lifestyle accurately, and it displays the joy for life that he possessed. Nick did not play an instrument, but he loved karaoke (he could not sing at all), and he was an avid dancer who was known to do triple-pirouettes well into the evenings.

The Allman Brothers Band - Ramblin' Man - 12/16/1981 - Capitol Theatre (Official) - YouTube

[Ian Findlay]

I'm willing to go on record as saying that Nick would be 2700 with todays computer prep and increments. Nick was born a generation too soon as far as chess accomplishments go.

Agree. Can you imagine Nick not being able to lose on time. lol. Very scary.

[Ian Findlay]

'Michael Schleifer once told me that Nick played like Fischer.' Yes, in that Nick played very sharp and always looked for the best move and always tried to win, whether white or black. Nick played a great game in his pet Arch Angel, long before it became popular. In a sharp game where Nick was winning, fizzled out to a draw. No doubt Nick and Shirov probably had a long post mortem. Then surprise, Shirov started playing the Arch Angel!! I asked Shirov in Edmonton a few years ago if he remembered that game and he said 'Of course!' He thought Nick had talent.
Spraggett claimed Nick was much more talented than himself. Nice memories.

[Brad Thomson]

Thanks Ian.

Spraggett said the same thing to me, and I remember him encouraging Nick to take a trip to Europe and trying to become a grandmaster himself. Spraggett told Nick that if he was on form he would have no trouble attaining the title. These sorts of honours, titles, accolades and so forth did not mean much to Bryon however. The fact that he believed himself to be that good was good enough for him. Nick was an extremely confident person when it came to his chess, though he was utterly modest otherwise. Nick once told me that he thought he was the second most talented player in the world, contending that Kasparov was even better. He always admitted that his lifestyle held him back. I love Nick dearly and I miss him very much to this day. When you were with Bryon you simply knew that you were in the presence of true greatness.

I first met Nick in London during the Canadian Open of 1993 that Hans helped to run. He was on his way back from Philadelphia and dropped in. A bunch of us were invited to the home of the father of Ian Langlands to shoot some stick and Nick and Heather came along. He was a pretty good shot, though I was better and I observed that he was very gracious in defeat. Naturally the chess board came out and Nick went over a game he had played recently against Deen Hergott that he was particularly proud of. I was about to go the the fridge for a few refreshments and asked Nick, tongue in cheek, if he would like a light beer or a regular one. Nick, of course, did nothing half-assed. He was an all or nothing type of dude.

[Neil Frarey]

And speaking of all or nothing ... here's your requested scan of EP #128 Shirov vs Nickoloff ...

https://chessmetro.com//images/EP128_BN_1.jpg
https://chessmetro.com//images/EP128_BN_2.jpg

[Brad Thomson]

Thanks again to Grandmasterov for his invaluable work!

This famous game took place when Alexei Shirov was ranked number three on the planet, behind only Kasparov and Karpov. Shirov had taken draws with the other foreign grandmasters but had slaughtered his Canadian opponents, including Hergott and Lesiege. Nick showed him who was boss. Bryon threw away the win as a result of the combination of his addiction to time trouble and his perfectionism. I actually transcribed his notes into Informant symbolism and faxed it to them- the game made it into the publication, and the editors agreed with Nick in awarding a sclam to his Novelty and considered it to be an important new move in the position. It was a very exciting game to witness, and I recall the TD, Jonathan Berry, having to chase away the throng from time to time so that the players could breathe. The great Boris Spassky got into the post-mortem, as noted above, and congratulated Nick, said he was winning and that it was too bad he got into time trouble. Bryon claimed that in the post-mortem, "Shirov hogged the board, but I was the only guy who knew what the fuck was going on in the position." Later, at the Moscow Olympiad, Shirov spotted Nick in the analysis room and came up to him, set up a position from a game he had just played and asked Nick about it. Bryon got up from his seat and stated "I don't give free lessons" as he departed. Nick was known to sometimes give draws a little too readily, and Heather would get on his case for doing so. The final position in this game has Nick up a pawn but in a dead drawn opposite coloured bishop ending. Heather started bombing into him and so Nick asked me to explain to her the truth of the matter.

[Brad Thomson]

The diagram after 28.Nf5 shows the crucial position. As Nick points out, it seems as if the simple 28...Rb7 must be winning. I was watching this game throughout and recall thinking to myself that Nick was about to take off number three on the planet. A practical player such as Tom O'Donnell would have played 28...Rb7 without thinking, and he would have been willing to grind out the win no matter how many moves it might take. But Nick, ever the artistic perfectionist, was loath to play a second-best move. Unfortunately, this meant that he sometimes did, and he may have in this case. 28...Nxe4 came as a shock and left the peanut gallery wondering if the move was going to work. Had Nick gotten greedy, or was he not only going to beat Shirov but totally crush him? Possibly, but then Nick's old nemesis, time trouble, reared its ugly head with when he played 31...Qc5 instead of 31...Rxb2. Nick missed Shirov's response, 32.Ba3. This oversight would not have taken place in the modern era of incremental time controls.

[Sid Belzberg]

https://www.365chess.com/game.php?gid=1616137

[Peter McKillop]

.....Later, at the Moscow Olympiad, Shirov spotted Nick in the analysis room and came up to him, set up a position from a game he had just played and asked Nick about it. Bryon got up from his seat and stated "I don't give free lessons" as he departed. .......

Brad, just curious, why was Bryon so rude to Shirov? It seems, as you related the story, that Shirov was showing respect for Bryon's abilities by asking for his opinion. Is there more to the story, e.g. had Shirov previously offended Bryon?

[Brad Thomson]

Thanks for the link, Sid.

Peter, Bryon told me he was not impressed when Shirov "hogged the board" during the post-mortem. Nick felt that he was the one who fully understood what was happening throughout the game and he wanted to explain it to Shirov. But during the post-mortem Shirov was the one who wanted to do the explaining and Nick thought that this was improper given that it was he, Nick, who tossed away the win, not Shirov. I also think that Nick's sense of humour may have played a role, because it is rather funny for a Canadian IM to tell the third best player on the planet that he does not wish to give him a free lesson. Nick could be abrupt.

[Pargat Perrer]

Thanks Pargat. I will have a close look at your work. I certainly witnessed the Nick game with Lawrence, though I do not remember it specifically now. I will say that Nick was a chronic time-trouble fanatic. This is because he was such a perfectionist. Nick was always in search of the best possible moves, he was not at all practical sometimes. The famous game where he drew Shirov is an example. In Nick's own notes he points out where he went for the perfect knockout blow rather that simply mopping up effectively. In the postmortem Spassky said to Nick that he played a good game, was winning and that it was too bad he gave away the game in time trouble. Also, I once beat Nick in a blitz game- he flagged looking for a perfect kill in a position that he was easily winning, all he needed to do was play sensible moves.

Here is the pgn file with the Stockfish 15 analysis for the Nickoloff game against Lawrence Day. It is very long, and for anyone into game analysis, I heartily recommend it. The lines are very instructive, I think, on the intricacies of mutual kingside attacks. Truly an amazing game, maybe the most interesting I have yet done GPR analysis on.

The GPR figures I'm getting I will disclose when I've finished all 5 of the Nickoloff games I have for analysis. To repeat, the lack of time increments is proving to give rich ground for analysis as so many weak moves get made in time control crunches, by both players, and this is happening in ALL then 1994 Nickoloff games. So it is taking me an extraordinarily long time to finish the analysis.

I have pasted this text below into my SCID gui for chess, and it gets imported without any errors. If anyone tries doing the same with their favorite gui and gets errors, let me know.

I had to split it into 2 posts, the character limit was exceeded.

[Date "1994"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[White "Bryon Nickoloff"]
[Black "Lawrence Day"]
[Event "Canadian Closed 1994"]
[Round "11"]
1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 h6 4.Qc2 Bg4 5.Nc3 Nbd7 6.g3 c6 7.Bg2 Qb6 8.Be3 Qa5?!
( 8...Qa6 )
9.O-O Bf5 10.Qb3 Rb8 11.d5 c5 12.Bd2 g5 13.Nb5 Qd8?!
( 13...Qb6 )
14.Nxa7 Bg7 15.Bc3 O-O 16.Nb5 Be4 17.Qd1 Nb6
( 17...Nh5 18.e3 Bg6 19.Ne1 f5 20.Bxg7 Kxg7 21.f4 Nhf6 22.Qc2 Kh8 23.Nf3
Ne4 24.Nd2 Nxd2 25.Qxd2 Ra8 26.a4 Qa5 27.Qc1 Kg7 28.Qc2 Nf6 29.Nc3 g4
30.Rfe1 Qd8 31.b3 Rf7 32.Qb2 Kg8 33.e4 fxe4 34.Nxe4 Qf8 35.Re3 Bf5
36.Rae1 Qg7 37.Nxf6+ exf6 38.b4 cxb4 39.Qxb4 Qf8 40.Be4 Bxe4 41.Rxe4
Rc7 42.Qb5 Qf7 43.Re6 Rac8 44.Rxd6 Rxc4 45.Rd7 Qg6 46.Rde7 Rc1 )
18.b3 Qd7 19.a4 Qf5 20.Ra2 Nbd7 21.Ba1
( 21.Ne1 Bxg2 22.Nxg2 Qh3 23.f3 Nh5 24.e4 Bxc3 25.Nxc3 Ne5 26.Ne3 Ng7
27.Ng4 Nxg4 28.fxg4 h5 29.gxh5 Nxh5 30.Raf2 f6 31.Nb5 Rf7 32.Nc7 Ng7
33.Qf3 Kh8 )
21...Qg6 22.Nc3 Bf5
( 22...Rbe8 23.Qc1 Bh8 24.Re1 Nb8 25.h3 Bg7 26.Rd2 Nbd7 27.Rf1 Nb8
28.Nh2 Bxg2 29.Kxg2 Ne4 30.Nxe4 Qxe4+ 31.f3 Qg6 32.Bxg7 Kxg7 33.Qc3+
Kg8 34.e4 h5 35.Qe3 e5 36.Kg1 f5 37.exf5 Rxf5 38.Rg2 Nd7 39.Rff2 Ref8
40.a5 R8f7 41.Qd3 Qf6 42.g4 hxg4 43.Nxg4 Qg7 44.h4 Kf8 45.h5 Rf4 46.h6
Qh7 47.Qxh7 Rxh7 48.Rg3 Nf6 49.Rh2 Nxg4 50.Rxg4 Rf6 51.Kf2 Rfxh6
52.Rxh6 Rxh6 53.Rxg5 )
23.Re1
( 23.Nd2 Ne5 24.Nb5 h5 25.e4 Bd7 26.Bxe5 dxe5 27.h3 Rfc8 28.Qe2 Ne8
29.Rb1 g4 30.h4 Bh6 31.Nf1 Bxb5 32.cxb5 b6 33.Kh2 Nd6 34.Nd2 Bxd2
35.Rxd2 Kg7 36.Rc2 Ra8 37.Ra1 f6 38.Kg1 Ra7 39.Rd1 Rca8 40.Rf1 Rg8
41.Rc3 Kf7 42.Kh2 Kg7 43.f3 gxf3 44.Bxf3 Kh8 45.Rg1 Qh7 46.Rg2 )
23...Qh5 24.Nd2 Bh3 25.Nf1
( 25.e3 Ng4 26.f3 Nge5 27.Bxh3 Qxh3 28.Qe2 f5 29.Nb5 Rf7 30.Nc7 Nf8
31.Bxe5 Bxe5 32.f4 Bg7 33.Qg2 Qh5 34.Kh1 e5 35.Nb5 Qg6 36.e4 exf4
37.gxf4 fxe4 38.Nxe4 )
25...Ne5 26.f3 Nfd7 27.g4
( 27.Bxh3 Qxh3 28.Ne4 f5 29.Nf2 Qh5 30.Ne3 Qg6 31.Ng2 Rf7 32.Qb1 Qh7
33.Kh1 Kh8 34.a5 Rbf8 35.Rg1 Rg8 36.Ne3 f4 37.Qxh7+ Kxh7 38.Nf1 Ng6
39.Nd2 Bxa1 40.Rgxa1 Kg7 41.Nde4 Ra8 42.a6 bxa6 43.Rxa6 Rxa6 )
27...Qh4 28.Ne3
( 28.Bxh3 Qxh3 29.Ng3 Ng6 30.Kh1 Nh4 31.Rg1 f5 32.Qe1 Bd4 33.Nd1
( 33.gxf5 Bxg1 34.Qxg1 Nxf5 35.Nce4 Nxg3+ 36.Nxg3 Rf4 37.Bc3 Kf7
38.Ra1 Rf8 39.Qf1 Qxf1+ 40.Rxf1 Kg6 41.Rg1 Nf6 42.Bd2 Rd4 43.Bc3
Rh4 44.Be1 h5 45.Kg2 g4 46.Ne4 gxf3+ 47.exf3 Rf4 48.Bd2 Rf5 49.Kf1+
Kh7 )
( 33.Nxf5 Bxg1 34.Qxg1 Nxf5 35.gxf5 Rxf5 36.Ne4 Rbf8 37.Nf2 Qh5
38.Rd2 Qg6 39.Qb1 Nf6 40.Rd1 Kf7 41.Rg1 Nh5 42.Bc3 Rf4 43.Ng4 Qxb1
44.Rxb1 Kg6 45.Kg2 Kh7 46.Be1 R8f7 )
( 33.Qf1 fxg4 34.Qxh3 gxh3 35.Rd1 g4 36.Nce4 Bxa1 37.Rdxa1 gxf3
38.Nf2 Ne5 39.Nxh3 fxe2 40.Rxe2 Rf3 41.Rb1 Rbf8 42.a5 Nhg6 43.Ng1
Rd3 44.Nh3 Rff3 45.Reb2 Ng4 46.Ng1
( 46.Kg1 N6e5 47.Nf2 Nxf2 48.Rxf2 Rxb3 49.Rxb3 Rxb3 50.Nf5 Nxc4
51.Nxh6+ Kh7 52.Nf5 Ne3 )
46...Rf7 47.Nh3 N6e5 48.Kg2 Rdf3 49.Kh1 Kf8 50.Rf2 Nd3 51.Ra1 Ke8
52.a6 bxa6 53.Rxa6 Kf8 54.Ra7 Ne3 55.Rxf3 Rxf3 56.Ra2 Kf7 57.Kg1
Nc1 58.Rf2 Rxf2 59.Kxf2 Ng4+ 60.Kf3 Nxh2+ 61.Kf4 Nxb3 62.Nf5 Ke8
63.Nxh6 Na5 )
33...Bxg1 34.Qxg1 f4 35.Nf2 fxg3 36.Nxh3 g2+ 37.Qxg2 Nxg2 38.Kxg2 Kh7 )
28...f5
( 28...Nxg4 29.Nxg4 Bxg4 30.fxg4 Be5 31.e4 Bxh2+ 32.Kf1 h5 33.Rf2 Bg3
34.Re3 Bxf2 35.Rh3 Qxg4 36.Kxf2 Ne5
( 36...Qxd1 37.Nxd1 h4 38.Ne3 f6 39.Rh1 Ne5 40.Bxe5 fxe5+ 41.Nf5 Kf7
42.Bf3 Rh8 43.Bg4 Rh7 44.Kg2 Kg6 45.Rg1 Rf7 46.Rb1 Ra8 47.Kh3 Rh7
48.Rg1 Rb8 49.Rf1 Rf7 50.Rb1 Ra8 )
( 36...Qf4+ 37.Kg1 h4 38.Kh1 Ne5 39.Ne2 Qg4 40.Bxe5 dxe5 41.Re3 e6
42.Bh3 Qh5 43.dxe6 fxe6 44.Bxe6+ Kh8 45.Qd6 g4 46.Bf5 Rbe8 47.Rd3
Qg5 48.Kg2 Kg7 49.a5 Kh8 50.Qxc5 Rxf5 51.exf5 Qxf5 52.Qe3 Rf8
53.Ng1 Qf4 54.Kh1 Kg8 55.b4 e4 56.Ra3 g3 57.Qxf4 Rxf4 58.Re3 Kf7
59.Ne2 Rf1+ 60.Kg2 Rf2+ 61.Kg1 Ke7 62.Rxe4+ Kd6 63.Nf4 Rb2 64.c5+
Kc7 65.Ne6+ Kd7 )
37.Qxg4 Nxg4+ 38.Kg1 h4 39.Bf1 Kh7 40.Be2 Ne5 41.Nb5 Kg6 42.Bxe5 dxe5
43.Bg4 e6 44.Be2 Rbd8 45.Re3 Kh7 )
29.Nxf5 Rxf5 30.gxf5 Bxf5
( 30...Bxg2 31.Kxg2 Ng4 32.fxg4 Bxc3 33.Rg1
( 33.Bxc3 Qxg4+ 34.Kf2 Qf4+ 35.Kg1 Qg4+ 36.Kf2 )
33...Bxa1 34.Rxa1 Qxg4+ 35.Kh1 Qe4+ 36.Rg2 Rf8 37.Qd3 Qf4 38.Qf3 Qxf3
39.exf3 Rxf5 40.Rf1 Ne5 41.Re2 Kf7 42.Kg2 Ng6 43.Re3 h5 44.Kf2 b6
45.Re4 Ne5 46.Ke3 Ke8 )
31.e3?
( 31.Rf1 Ng6 32.Qe1 Qh5 33.Nd1 Nde5 34.Ne3 Bd7 35.b4 cxb4 36.Qxb4 Nf4
37.c5 Qh4 38.Qb1 dxc5 39.a5 Rf8 40.Qxb7 g4 41.a6 g3 42.hxg3 Qxg3
43.a7 Nh3+ 44.Kh1 Nf2+ 45.Rxf2 Qxf2 46.Nf1
( 46.a8=Q Qxe3 47.Qa3 Qf2 48.Qc3 Qh4+ 49.Kg1 Nxf3+ 50.exf3 Bxc3
51.Bxc3 Qc4 52.Ra3 Qb5 53.Qxb5 Bxb5 54.Ra5 Be2 55.Kf2 Bd1
56.Rxc5 )
46...Qh4+ 47.Kg1 Nxf3+ 48.Bxf3 Qg5+ 49.Kh1 Qc1 50.Kg2 Bh3+ 51.Kh2
Qxf1 52.Qb8 Bg4 53.Qg3 Bxa1 54.a8=Q Be5 55.Qxf8+ Kxf8 56.Qxe5 Qf2+
57.Bg2 Qf5 58.Qg3 )
31...Bh3?
( 31...Rf8 32.Rf1 Nd3 33.Ne2 Bxa1 34.Rxa1 Bg6 35.a5 N7e5 36.Ng3 Nb4
37.Qd2 Bd3 38.f4 Bxf1 39.Rxf1 gxf4 40.exf4 Nbd3 41.Ne2 Ng4 42.h3 Ngf2
43.Qe3 Kf7 44.Rxf2 Nxf2 45.Qxf2 Qxf2+ 46.Kxf2 Ra8 )
32.Rf1 Rf8 33.Qe1??
( 33.f4 Bg4 34.Ne2 Ng6 35.Bxg7 Kxg7 36.Qe1 Qh5 37.Ng3 Qh4 38.Kh1 Nf6
39.Qc3 Bd7 40.a5 Kh7 41.Qd3 Kg7 42.Qc2 Ng4 43.Be4 Rf6 44.Bxg6 Rxg6
45.Qe4 gxf4 46.Qxf4 {+4.54} )
33...Qh5
( 33...Nxf3+ 34.Bxf3
( 34.Kh1 Nxe1 35.Rxf8+ Kxf8 36.Bxh3 Qxh3 37.Rf2+ Kg8 38.Bb2 Nd3
39.Kg1 Bxc3 40.Bxc3 Qxe3 41.Be1 Qxe1+ 42.Rf1 Qe2 43.Rf5 Nf4
44.Rxf4 gxf4 45.b4 f3 )
( 34.Rxf3 Qxe1+ 35.Bf1 Qxf1+ 36.Rxf1 Rxf1# )
34...Rxf3 35.Rg2 Rxf1+ 36.Qxf1 Bxg2 37.Kxg2 Be5 38.Qg1 Nf6 39.Kf1
Qh3+ 40.Ke2 Ng4 41.Kd3 Nxh2 42.Bb2 Nf3 43.Qf2 Qf5+ 44.e4 Qf4 45.a5
g4 46.Qe3 Qf6 47.Kc2 h5 48.Kb1 h4 49.Nd1 h3 50.Bxe5 Nxe5 51.Qg3 Qg6
52.Nf2 Qh5 53.Kc2 h2 54.Nh1 Kf7 55.b4 cxb4 56.c5 dxc5 57.Qf4+ Kg7
58.Ng3 h1=Q 59.Nxh1 Ng6 60.Qf1 Qe5 61.Qd3 Qh2+ 62.Kb3 Qxh1 63.d6
exd6 64.Qxd6 Qf3+ 65.Ka4 )
34.Qg3?
( 34.f4 Bxg2 35.Kxg2 Ng6 36.Kh1 Nh4 37.Qd1 Qg6 38.Qb1 Qh5 39.Qe4 Kh8
40.Ne2 Bxa1 41.Ng3 Qg4 42.Qe6 Qxe6 43.dxe6 Nf6 44.Rfxa1 Ng4 45.a5
Nxe3 46.fxg5 hxg5 47.Re2 Rf3 48.Ne4 Ng4 49.Nxg5 Re3 50.Rxe3 Nxe3 )
34...Bxg2 35.Kxg2
( 35.Rxg2? Rxf3 36.Rxf3 Nxf3+ 37.Kh1 Be5 38.Qg4 Qxg4 39.Rxg4 Nxh2
40.Rg1 Nf3 41.Rd1 h5 42.Ne4 g4 43.Bxe5 Ndxe5 44.Nd2 Nd3 45.Kg2 Nh4+
46.Kg1 Nf5 47.Ne4 Ne5 48.Rb1 h4 49.b4 cxb4 50.Rxb4 h3 51.Kh2 Nf3+
52.Kh1 {-0.10} )
( 35.Qxg2? Nxf3+ 36.Kh1 Be5 37.h3 Nh4 38.Rxf8+ Nxf8 39.Qe2 Qg6 40.e4
Qf6 41.Qf2 Nf3 42.Qf1 Ng6 43.Ne2 Bxa1 44.Qxa1 Nfe5 45.Ng1 Qf4
46.Qe1 Nd3 47.Qd2 Qxe4+ 48.Qg2 Qf5 49.Qg3 Nge5 50.Re2 Kf8 51.Qe3 Ke8
52.Rg2 Kd7 {-1.07} )
35...Nf6?
( 35...Ng6 36.f4 Nh4+ 37.Kh1 Nf6 38.e4 Nd7 39.Ne2 Bxa1 40.Rfxa1 Nf6
41.Nc3 Kh8 42.Rf1 Ng4 43.h3 Nf6 44.f5 Rg8 45.Ne2 Qf7 46.Qe3 Qg7
47.a5 g4 48.Qg3 Nf3 49.hxg4 Ne5 {+3.23} )
36.h3?
( 36.Kh1 Nfg4 37.f4 Qg6 38.Rg2 h5 39.Nd1 Qb1 40.Bb2 Ng6 41.Bxg7 Kxg7
42.h3 gxf4 43.exf4 Rxf4 44.Rfg1 Qe4 45.Nc3 Qf5 46.hxg4 hxg4 47.Rh2
Rf3 48.Qxg4 {+4.45} )
36...Ng6 37.Kh1?
( 37.f4 Nh4+ 38.Kg1 Qg6 39.a5 Nf5 40.Qe1 g4 41.Rg2 Qh5 42.hxg4 Nxg4
43.Ne4 Nh4 44.Rxg4 Qxg4+ 45.Qg3 Qxg3+ 46.Nxg3 Ra8 47.Bxg7 Kxg7
48.Ra1 Nf3+ 49.Kf2 Nd2 50.Ra3 Kf7 51.Ke2 Rg8 52.Kxd2 Rxg3 53.Kd3
Rg8 {+1.80} )
37...Ne5??
( 37...Nh4 38.Kh2 Kh7 39.Rg2 Nxg2 40.Kxg2 Qg6 41.Qe1 Nd7 42.Qd1 h5
43.Qb1 Qxb1 44.Rxb1 Ne5 45.Rf1 Ng6 46.Kg3 Be5+ 47.Kf2 Nh4 48.Ke2
Kg6 49.Bb2 Kh6 50.f4 gxf4 51.exf4 Bd4 {0.00} )
38.Rh2?
( 38.f4 Nd3 39.Rg2 Rf7 40.Kg1 Kh8 41.Rd2 Nb4 42.fxg5 hxg5 43.Qg2 Nd7
44.Rxf7 Qxf7 45.Rd1 Qh5 46.Rf1 Qh4 47.Ne4 Bxa1 48.Rxa1 Nd3 49.Rf1
N7e5 {+4.87} )
38...Qg6?
( 38...Ng6 39.f4 Nh4 40.fxg5 hxg5 41.Rhf2 Kh7 42.Rg1 Bh6 43.Rff1 Rf7
44.Bb2 Qg6 45.e4 Rf8 46.Qd3 Kg8 47.Bc1 Nh5 48.Rxf8+ Kxf8 49.Qf1+ Kg8
50.Qe2 Nf6 51.Qe3 Nh5 52.Ne2 Kf7 53.e5 Nf5 54.e6+ Ke8 55.Qd3 Kd8
56.Bd2 Kc7 57.Kh2 Qf6 58.Ba5+ Kb8 59.Bc3 Nd4 60.Nxd4 Qf4+ 61.Kh1 cxd4
62.Bxd4 Bg7 63.Bxg7 Nxg7 {+4.96} )
39.f4??
( 39.Qg2 Nh5 40.Ne2 Rxf3 41.Rxf3 Nxf3 42.Qxf3 Bxa1 43.Rf2 Bg7 44.Qf5
Qxf5 45.Rxf5 Be5 46.Rf1 Nf6 47.Kg2 Kg7 48.Ng3 Bxg3 49.Kxg3 Ne4+ 50.Kg2
Nd2 51.Rd1 Nxb3 52.Rb1 Na5 53.Rb5 b6 54.Rxb6 Nxc4 55.Rb7 Nxe3+ 56.Kf2
Nxd5 57.a5 Nb4 58.Rxe7+ Kf6 59.Rh7 c4 60.Ke2 Kf5 61.Rxh6 {+4.32} )
39...Nh5 40.Qg2 gxf4

[Pargat Perrer]

Here is the pgn file with the Stockfish 15 analysis for the Nickoloff game against Lawrence Day.

......

Here is the 2nd part, from moves 41 on:

41.Qxg6 Nxg6 42.Ne4
( 42.Rg2? Nh4 43.Rxg7+ Kxg7 44.Ne2+ Kg6 45.Rg1+ Kf5 46.Rg4 Ng6 47.Bg7
Nxg7 48.Nxf4 Rf6 49.e4+ Kxe4 50.Nxg6+ Kd3 51.Nxe7 Rf7 52.Rg3+ Kd2
53.Rg2+ Kc3 54.Rg3+ Kb4 55.Nc8 Nf5 56.Rf3 Rc7 57.Nb6 Nd4 58.Rf6 Rg7
59.Nc8
( 59.Rxd6?? Nf3 )
59...Nxb3 60.Nxd6 Na5 61.Rxh6 Kxa4 {0.00} )
42...Bxa1
( 42...f3? 43.Bxg7 Nxg7 44.Rhf2 Ne5 45.Kg1 Nh5 46.Kh2 Ng7 47.Nd2 Nf5
48.Rxf3 Nxf3+ 49.Rxf3 Rf7 50.Ne4 Nh4 51.Rxf7 Kxf7 52.Kg3 Ng6 53.Kg4
Ne5+ 54.Kh5 Kg7 55.Ng3 Nf3 56.Nf5+ Kf6 57.Nxh6 Nd2 58.Ng4+ Kf7 59.Nf2
Nxb3 60.Ne4 {+/-} )
43.Rxa1
( 43.Rg2 Kh7 44.Rxa1 fxe3 45.Re1 Nhf4 46.Rg3 e2 47.Re3 Nh4 48.Ng3 Rf7
49.Re4 Nf3 50.Nxe2 Nxe1 51.Nxf4 Nf3 52.Ne6 Nd2 53.Re2 Nxb3 54.Nd8 Rg7
55.Nxb7 Nd4 56.Rg2 Rf7 57.Ra2 Rf1+ 58.Kg2 Rf8 59.a5 )
43...fxe3 44.Re1
( 44.Rg1 Nf4 45.Re1 e2 46.Rg1 Kh7 47.Ng3 Nh4 48.Rf2 Nf5 49.Nxf5 Rxf5
50.Rf3 h5 51.a5 Re5 52.Re1 Re4 53.Rxf4 Rxf4 54.Rxe2 Rf7 55.Kg2 Kg8
56.Re6 Rg7+ 57.Kf2 h4 58.Re4 Rg3 59.Rg4+ Rxg4 60.hxg4 Kh8 61.Kf3
{+0.58} )
44...Nh4 45.Rhe2
( 45.Rg1+? Kh7 46.Nc3 Nf3 47.Re2 Nxg1 48.Kxg1 Rg8+ 49.Kh2 Ng3 50.Re1
Nf5 51.Ne4 h5 52.Re2 h4 53.Kh1 Rg7 54.Re1 Kh6 55.Kh2 Ng3 56.Nxg3 Rxg3
57.Rf1 Kg5 58.Rf7 b6 59.Rxe7 Kf4 60.Re6 Kf3 61.Rf6+ Ke2 {-/+} )
45...Nf5?
( 45...Rf4 46.Rxe3 Nf5 47.Kg2 Nxe3+ 48.Rxe3 Kf7 49.Ng3 Nxg3 50.Kxg3
Rd4 51.a5 h5 52.Kf3 Ke8 53.Kf2 Rd2+ 54.Kg3 Rd4 55.Rf3 h4+ 56.Kf2 Rd1
57.Ke3 Ra1 58.Kf4 Rxa5 59.Kg5 {=} )
46.Rg2+
( 46.Rg1+ Kh8 47.Ree1 Kh7 48.Rg4 Re8 49.Kg2 e6 50.dxe6 Rxe6 51.Nc3 e2
52.Nd5 Nd4 53.Kf2 Re5 54.Rxd4 cxd4 55.Rxe2 Rf5+ 56.Ke1 Ng3 57.Re7+
Kg6 58.b4 Rf3 59.Rxb7 Ra3 60.b5 Ra1+ 61.Kf2 Ne4+ 62.Kf3 Nd2+ 63.Ke2
Nxc4 64.Ne7+
( 64.Rd7 d3+ 65.Kxd3 Ne5+ )
64...Kf6 65.Nc6 Rxa4 66.Nxd4 Na5 67.Ra7 Rxd4 68.Rxa5 Rd5 {0.00} )
46...Kf7
( 46...Kh7? 47.Rgg1 Rf7 48.Rg4 e6 49.dxe6 Re7 50.Kg2 Rxe6 51.Nc3 e2
52.Nd5 Nd4 53.Kf2 Re5 54.Rxd4 cxd4 55.Rxe2 Rf5+ 56.Ke1 Ng3 57.Re7+
Kg6 58.a5 Rf3 59.Rxb7 Rf1+ 60.Kd2 Ne4+ 61.Kd3 Nc5+ 62.Ke2 Nxb7 63.a6
Rb1 64.Ne7+ Kg5 {+0.75} )
47.Rf1 Ke8
( 47...Ng7 48.Re2 Ke8 49.Ree1 h5 50.h4 Rg8 51.Rf3 b6 52.Rf4 Kd7 53.Rg1
Re8 54.Rf3 Rh8 55.Nc3 Re8 56.Rgf1 e6 57.Re1 Re7 58.dxe6+ Rxe6 59.Nd5
Kc6 60.Rh3 e2 61.Rf3 Re4 62.Rf4 Rxf4 63.Nxf4 Nxh4 64.Rxe2 Ngf5
{+1.85} )
48.Rf3 Nh4 49.Rxe3 Nxg2 50.Kxg2 {1/2-1/2} *

[Pargat Perrer]

Here is the 2nd part, from moves 41 on:

Just a comment that 33.Qe1?? was a mammoth blunder, scored -11.12 by Stockfish 15, almost the worst move possible at that position, so the time control effects must have come this early in the game for Nick.

Nick in his own analysis on 33.Qe1 just mentions that he is offering a Pawn, but I don't think he realized it even in his analysis how bad a move it was?