Two to Tango! The variation 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6!?

[Frank Dixon]

I'm starting a new thread on the Black Knights' Tango line: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6!?

This is quite distinct from the variation long played and written about by IM Orlov of Washington state, who had published two books on 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6, and which he has named the Black Knights' Tango. IM Orlov has been a frequent and successful player in many important Canadian western events for some 20+ years.

Although I am not the first to play this variation, I may have been playing and analyzing it longer than anyone in the world today.

During the pandemic, when organized chess was largely unavailable in Canada, I spent much of my chess time sorting through my chess archives, a sizable chest with some 7,000 pieces of paper, ranging from old pairing cards to cross-tables to tournament reports to game scores to analysis to lessons to CFC Governors' Letters to whatever, and have recycled some stuff, and organized many of the game scores.

I do have quite a few old game scores in this variation, dating back to 1977, when I first played it in competition against a strong opponent.

My plan, dating back 20 years or so, was to publish this material in an organized article in Canada's chess magazine, but we don't have one anymore, so this is the next best thing.

I am encouraging respectful feedback, and, particularly, other posters who have also played games in this line, to share them here.

Looking forward to fun and learning!!

Respectfully,
Frank Dixon
NTD, Kingston
Peak CFC rating 2090 in 2000

[Hans Jung]

I remember you submitting a game to Chess Canada when I was editor in 2004. It started: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e4 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.e5 Ne4 7.Nf3 Bb4 8.Qc2 f5. Fascinating stuff and I started playing it. Really enjoyed your analysis.

[Patrick Kirby]

Fun fact: this line can transpose into the Guico Piano. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4 Be7 9.Nc3, reaching the same position as after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e6 4.e4 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.e5 Ne4 7.Bb5 Be7 8.Nf3. Though one could argue that Be7 is not an optimal move in either variation.

Does the line have any independent significance if White doesn't play 4.e4? I imagine after 4.Nf3/g3/e3/Bg5 there's not really anything better than to transpose into some line of the Nimzo with Bb4.

[Frank Dixon]

Thanks to Hans and Patrick for their interesting posts.

Reply to Hans: Yes, and I am planning to post that game, Bokhout 0-1 Dixon, with analysis, on this thread, fairly soon.

Reply to Patrick: Fascinating point! It takes a true chess wizard to notice that, and no, I had NOT considered that particular transposition possibility. Transpositions to several other variations are possible. I do believe that the line has independent significance if White does NOT play 4.e4. In addition to the 4th moves you list (4.Nf3, 4.g3, 4.e3, 4.Bg5), all of which I have met, I have also seen 4.d5 and 4.a3 in competitive situations. But, in the absence of any ECO / NCO / MCO published analysis, indicating the best moves to move 12 or so, as we see in well-known lines, many players will play 4.e4, since Black has supposedly committed virtual heresy in allowing White to play 4.e4 in that position. Many people will see it as strongest, and it is the most frequent reply I have met.

[Frank Dixon]

Matthew Struthers (2178) -- Frank Dixon (2010)
Black Knights' Tango, E20
Kingston 1999, played 1999-01-11
Kingston Chess Club Winter Rapid (3), G/30'
Org: Kingston Chess Club: TD: Frank Dixon
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e4 d5 5.Bg5
[Matthew took a few minutes here. He could play 5.cxd5, 5.exd5, or 5.e5 as the main alternatives.]
5...Bb4
[This is the line which is sharpest in the early going. I believe that 5...Be7 and 5...dxe4 are also playable here. The text position is similar to a French MacCutcheon, with c2-c4 added for White and ...Nb8-c6 added for Black; that is, 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4.]
6.e5
[Matthew said later he thought he was just winning here, but the position is somewhat deceptive.]
6...h6!
[Only move.]
7.exf6
[White could play either 7.Bxf6, 7.Bh4, or 7.Bd2 here.]
7...hxg5 8.fxg7 Rg8 9.Qh5
[I don't believe this is good. In the MacCutcheon, the similar move is not the best.]
9...Qf6! 10.Nf3 Qxg7 (14,4) 11.Rd1
[White could consider 11.O-O-O here.]
11...Bd7
[Black has to castle long, and prepares this without delay.]
12.a3 Bxc3+ 13.bxc3 O-O-O 14.c5?!
[White starts drifting; he could play 14.cxd5 exd5, or 14.Be2, and then castle short, with only a slight disadvantage.]
14...e5!
[Black wants to open the e-file and long dark diagonal.]
15.Bb5?
[White misjudges the position, underestimating Black's speed and piece cohesion.]
15...exd4 16.cxd4 Rd8+! 17.Be2
[White has lost very valuable time, and is now in a critical position. It was here that Matthew said he realized he could not play 17.Ne5? as it loses a piece to 17...Nxe5!]
17...g4! 18.Ne5
[18.Ng1 is not good either.]
18...Nxe5 19.dxe5 Rxe5 (26,15)
[Black could also win White's Queen with 19...Rh8!, but this is cleaner.]
20.Qh4
[The only safe square.]
20...Bb5! 21.Rd2 Rxe2+! 22.Rxe2 Qa1+ 23.Kd2 Qb2+, 0-1. (29,17)
[In this game, virtually everything went right for Black, and virtually nothing went right for White. Matthew said he would study the line and meet me again in it!]

[Guillaume Cardin]

5... exd4 seems to just win a free pawn :) 6. d5 is just staying with a pawn down with no compensation with the white king nowhere near to leave the center and the e4 pawn seriously hinders white's kingside development and of course 6. Nxe4 Bb4+ is just over on move 6

[Frank Dixon]

Mr. Cardin may have a typo in his post, since 5...exd4 refers to a position which did NOT occur in Struthers -- Dixon, nor in any side variation I refer to. The e-pawn is not on e5, so it can't capture on d4 and 'win a free pawn', as he writes.

More games coming soon from me in this line! I have been organizing the game scores, playing through, and writing notes.

[Paul Leblanc]

I have an autographed copy of Georgi Orlov's Black Knights' Tango. He comes up here for the Paul Keres Memorial every year including 2023.

[Frank Dixon]

My next game illustrates well the vitally important issue around transpositions, as NM Patrick Kirby discussed in his post. When I played the diverging line in this game, with 5...dxc4 in 1996 (heading into the direction of a Queen's Gambit more so than the Tango!), I still had some doubts about the line with 5...Bb4, which I played in the game against Struthers in 1999.
The books by GM Lev Polugaevsky -- 'Grandmaster Preparation' and 'Grandmaster Achievement' -- were both hugely inspiring to me, and enormously entertaining and informative. His chapter 'The Birth of a Variation', discussing the Polugaevsky Variation in the Sicilian Najdorf, remains one of the classics of world-class chess writing, and I highly recommend both books.

Dr. James Cairns (1850) -- Frank Dixon (1950)
Kingston 1996, G/30', played May 12
Kingston Chess Club Spring Active (3)
TD: Frank Dixon, Org: Kingston Chess Club
Black Knights' Tango ---> Queen's Gambit, E20
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e4
[James Pearson Cairns (1923-2010) had by this time retired from his career as Professor of Economics, Royal Military College of Canada; doctorate earned at Johns Hopkins. He was still a formidable player, having defeated Wayne Coppin (2000+) in a tournament game the previous year, and was capable of winning over anyone in the Kingston region, even past age 70. Over sixty years of chess experience made him a player to be respected and feared; he varied his openings, and was also a skilled correspondence player. Member of KCC for more than 50 years, and a friend to all who knew him, Jim remains an inspiration to everyone in Kingston chess, and the KCC has renamed one of its competitive trophies in his honour.]
4...d5 5.Bg5 dxc4!?
[I have also played 5....Bb4, 5...dxe4, and 5...Be7 in this position. My move is more connected to the Queen's Gambit, a major opening with which I had limited experience from the Black side.]
6.e5
[Perhaps premature; the solid 6.Nf3! gives a good position.]
6...h6 7.exf6
[Alternatives are 7.Bxf6, 7.Bh4, and 7.Be3.]
7...hxg5 8.Bxc4 Qxf6 9.Nge2
[The presence of the g5 pawn renders 9.Nf3 problematic for White, and this move has long-term consequences.]
9...Bd7 10.O-O?!
[It turns out that this is asking too much from Black's position, with opposite sides castling coming up, and an open h-file, with a sharp game. Jim said later he was aware of the dangers, but thought he could both defend and get enough active play himself. A more positional game would have resulted from an eventual long castling plan from White.]
10...O-O-O 11.Rb1 Kb8 12.a3 Bc8! (11,5)
[The dominant themes are sure to be the open h-file and the isolated d-pawn. Black puts the d-pawn under pressure right away, and since it can't be defended securely, White advances it, sooner than he would like to. I aim to limit White's significant dynamic possibilities, while enhancing my own. We are now well away from previous games.]
13.d5 Na5 14.Ba2
[Puts this important piece in an inactive, offside position, where it will play no role.]
14...b6 15.Qc2 e5!
[Renders the d-pawn quieter, and opens the c8-h3 diagonal for my own light bishop.]
16.Ne4
[Jim said later he considered 16.Nb5 here, but concluded Black could defend easily. He wanted to bring the knight nearer to the Kingside to defend.]
16...Qh6!
[Threatens mate on h2.]
17.h3 Bxh3! 18.f3 Bf5 (21,12)
[Had I played 18...Bxg2!?, I may have won more quickly. But I was wary of such a committal move, having messed up a combination in the previous round, letting that game slide to a draw. I thought White could perhaps stroll out with his King. Black is simply aiming to exchange off White's defenders, then mate down the h-file, and this works well; this plan isn't going away. 18...g4 is also good.]
19.b4 Nb7 20.Qc3 g4! 21.Qxe5 Bxe4 22.Qxe4 Bd6!
[Brings this important piece into play. White is suffering on the dark squares.]
23.f4 Rde8! 24.Qd3 Rxe2! 25.Qxe2 g3!, 0-1. (27,16)
[Mate next can't be avoided.]

[Guillaume Cardin]

Mr. Cardin may have a typo in his post, since 5...exd4 refers to a position which did NOT occur in Struthers -- Dixon, nor in any side variation I refer to. The e-pawn is not on e5, so it can't capture on d4 and 'win a free pawn', as he writes.

More games coming soon from me in this line! I have been organizing the game scores, playing through, and writing notes.

indeed, dxe4 appears to just win a free pawn

[Frank Dixon]

Responding to Mr. Cardin:
In the variation 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e4 d5 5.Bg5 dxe4, my game with Dr. Roger Kewley, Kingston G/30' 1977 followed this path. It's important to not get caught up in pursuing pawns which seem to be free in this variation, for either color, since tactics usually intervene in a few moves. I will present that Kewley game soon; it was a quiet draw in 20 moves.

[Fred Henderson]

My next game illustrates well the vitally important issue around transpositions, as NM Patrick Kirby discussed in his post. When I played the diverging line in this game, with 5...dxc4 in 1996 (heading into the direction of a Queen's Gambit more so than the Tango!), I still had some doubts about the line with 5...Bb4, which I played in the game against Struthers in 1999.
The books by GM Lev Polugaevsky -- 'Grandmaster Preparation' and 'Grandmaster Achievement' -- were both hugely inspiring to me, and enormously entertaining and informative. His chapter 'The Birth of a Variation', discussing the Polugaevsky Variation in the Sicilian Najdorf, remains one of the classics of world-class chess writing, and I highly recommend both books.

Dr. James Cairns (1850) -- Frank Dixon (1950)
Kingston 1996, G/30', played May 12
Kingston Chess Club Spring Active (3)
TD: Frank Dixon, Org: Kingston Chess Club
Black Knights' Tango ---> Queen's Gambit, E20
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e4
[James Pearson Cairns (1923-2010) had by this time retired from his career as Professor of Economics, Royal Military College of Canada; doctorate earned at Johns Hopkins. He was still a formidable player, having defeated Wayne Coppin (2000+) in a tournament game the previous year, and was capable of winning over anyone in the Kingston region, even past age 70. Over sixty years of chess experience made him a player to be respected and feared; he varied his openings, and was also a skilled correspondence player. Member of KCC for more than 50 years, and a friend to all who knew him, Jim remains an inspiration to everyone in Kingston chess, and the KCC has renamed one of its competitive trophies in his honour.]
4...d5 5.Bg5 dxc4!?
[I have also played 5....Bb4, 5...dxe4, and 5...Be7 in this position. My move is more connected to the Queen's Gambit, a major opening with which I had limited experience from the Black side.]
6.e5
[Perhaps premature; the solid 6.Nf3! gives a good position.]
6...h6 7.exf6
[Alternatives are 7.Bxf6, 7.Bh4, and 7.Be3.]
7...hxg5 8.Bxc4 Qxf6 9.Nge2
[The presence of the g5 pawn renders 9.Nf3 problematic for White, and this move has long-term consequences.]
9...Bd7 10.O-O?!
[It turns out that this is asking too much from Black's position, with opposite sides castling coming up, and an open h-file, with a sharp game. Jim said later he was aware of the dangers, but thought he could both defend and get enough active play himself. A more positional game would have resulted from an eventual long castling plan from White.]
10...O-O-O 11.Rb1 Kb8 12.a3 Bc8! (11,5)
[The dominant themes are sure to be the open h-file and the isolated d-pawn. Black puts the d-pawn under pressure right away, and since it can't be defended securely, White advances it, sooner than he would like to. I aim to limit White's significant dynamic possibilities, while enhancing my own. We are now well away from previous games.]
13.d5 Na5 14.Ba2
[Puts this important piece in an inactive, offside position, where it will play no role.]
14...b6 15.Qc2 e5!
[Renders the d-pawn quieter, and opens the c8-h3 diagonal for my own light bishop.]
16.Ne4
[Jim said later he considered 16.Nb5 here, but concluded Black could defend easily. He wanted to bring the knight nearer to the Kingside to defend.]
16...Qh6!
[Threatens mate on h2.]
17.h3 Bxh3! 18.f3 Bf5 (21,12)
[Had I played 18...Bxg2!?, I may have won more quickly. But I was wary of such a committal move, having messed up a combination in the previous round, letting that game slide to a draw. I thought White could perhaps stroll out with his King. Black is simply aiming to exchange off White's defenders, then mate down the h-file, and this works well; this plan isn't going away. 18...g4 is also good.]
19.b4 Nb7 20.Qc3 g4! 21.Qxe5 Bxe4 22.Qxe4 Bd6!
[Brings this important piece into play. White is suffering on the dark squares.]
23.f4 Rde8! 24.Qd3 Rxe2! 25.Qxe2 g3!, 0-1. (27,16)
[Mate next can't be avoided.]

I do not like 4.e4 It seems too primitive, too direct, and not necessary too play right away. White's big center is not as good as it looks. I would play 4.Nf3, welcoming 4...d5 which transposes to the Chigorin's Defence, which is not good at all. I suspect 4.a3 is better than 4.e4 als would say 3...Nc6?! It's anti-positional, Can't imagine playing it against a good player, especially one that is prepared.

I'm sure that Avrukh tears the tango apart in Volume 4 of his 1.d4 Grandmaster Repertoire series.

That's about as respectful; as I can be about the two-knights Tango

[Frank Dixon]

Thanks for your comments, Fred. I think it would be more prudent to wait for an evaluation, as more games are presented. The main point with 4.e4 is that it looks super-tempting. There is so much we don't know! There are no easy sources for evaluations in openings treatises! NCO (1999) simply gives 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e4 +/=.

Here is another game, in a very different line from the games I have posted so far. This is one of the most important lines, and for me, one of the most important games. By 1997, I had played the line in a number of Kingston Chess Club games, with success, and people there were talking about it. My friend Geoff McKay, many-times KCC champion, challenged me to a game with it, in correspondence. He had examined the line in some depth beforehand, and as one of the strongest players in the Kingston area for more than two decades, was sure to be a good test for me. So it proved. Geoff and I played quite a few games in this variation over the next decade. Geoff plays 1.e4 on a virtually exclusive basis, so he welcomed the chance for examining the new line in a 1.d4 opening, at a leisurely pace.

Geoff McKay (2100) -- Frank Dixon (1971)
Kingston, email correspondence friendly 1997-98
Black Knights' Tango, E20
Played Sept. 26, 1997 -- Feb. 24, 1998
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e4 d5 5.e5
[Has to be a critical test. If Black cannot get a playable game after this move, the entire variation could be dubious.]
5...Ne4 6.Nge2 f6 7.Nxe4 dxe4 8.exf6 Qxf6
[When possible I play this move, activating the queen, pressuring the f-file and the long black diagonal, and preparing a possible long castling. It was played in Struthers -- Dixon and Cairns -- Dixon as well. That said, there are other lines where it is NOT played.]
9.Be3 Bb4+ 10.Nc3 O-O
[The game has morphed into a position akin to many Nimzo-Indian and Queen's Indian lines; both are very popular and well analyzed. Again, perfectly reasonable that this sort of transposition would occur.]
11.a3 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Ne7 13.Qd2 b6 14.Be2 Bb7 15.O-O Nf5 16.f3 Qg6
[Both sides have castled short, and a positional battle is in prospect. White has the two bishops, but for now the position remains fairly blocked.]
17.f4 Rad8 18.Bd1 Rd6 19.Bb3 Rfd8 20.Qf2 h5 21.a4 a5 22.Rfe1 h4 23.Rab1 Ba8
[Both sides are playing carefully and actively, as White aims to open the position for his bishops with central pawn advances such as c4-c5 and / or d4-d5, and Black looks for counterplay on the kingside, while aiming to forestall White's activity. The e4-pawn is a key to the position for Black to retain decent control of the game.]
24.Rb2 h3 25.Ba2 Kf7 26.Kf1 Rh8 27.g3, 1/2--1/2.
[Drawn on White's offer. Perhaps an unsatisfactory conclusion for the spectator, but we both thought the position was level, and neither was willing to take a big risk.]

[Frank Dixon]

Another important line, but one which has been underplayed by my opponents (and in other games!), features 4.d5. This cuts off Black's main idea of 4.e4 d5, but is independent and interesting in its own ways. I do have several examples of it to share here.

Ernesto Solari -- Frank Dixon (1900)
Kingston 2001, Queen's University Chess Club fall active, G/30'
Played 2001-11-24
TD: Frank Dixon, Org.: Queen's University Chess Club
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

[My opponent was a graduate student in business at Queen's University, and a Candidate Master in Mexico. He was in Kingston along with his family -- wife and young child -- for a two-year program. He told me he had had little time for chess for the previous few years, and had even less while in Kingston, due to the academic challenges. Ernesto, who spoke excellent English, did organize an excellent and well-attended simul on behalf of the Queen's Club, with IM David Ross, a few weeks before this game. Ernesto, a super-nice fellow, completed his program a few months later.]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d5
[There are only two examples with this move at 365chess.com.]
4...exd5
[And neither game on that site has this move, so we could be in new territory, as far as I know.]
5.cxd5 Ne5 6.e4 Bb4 7.f3 h6 (7,4) 8.Qd4
[I had never analyzed or seen this move before, so decided to take some time here.]
8...Bxc3+ (9,11)
[The main alternative I considered was 9...Qe7!?]
9.Qxc3 d6 10.Ne2 O-O 11.Bf4 Ng6 12.Be3 Re8 13.Nd4 Qe7 (17,13)
[The position seems fairly level and interesting.]
14.Rc1? Nxd5!
[A not uncommon occurrence in my games with the variation -- White overlooks a small tactic. Ernesto deplored his rustiness in tactical alertness; when we played in the Kingston Open 2002, it was the same phenomenon; reaching a good middlegame position, fairly even, he went astray in the complications, and lost to me from the White side in an interesting Sicilian Najdorf.]
15.Qb3 Nxe3 16.Qxe3 c5 (22,15) 17.Nb5 a6 18.Nc3 Be6 19.b3 b5
[Black has a clear advantage.]
20.Be2 Ne5
[Headed for d4; White is approaching time pressure.]
21.O-O Nc6 22.Rfd1 Nd4 23.e5 dxe5 24.Qxe5 Rac8 (27,18) 25.Bd3 Qh4 26.Ne4? Bxb3!, 0-1. (29,20)

[Frank Dixon]

Here is another exciting game in this BKT line, with a somewhat surprising Super-GM variant at move 7. I think this does quite a bit to reinforce the credibility, soundness and playability of the variation!

Jacky Chow -- Frank Dixon (1950)
Kingston 2002, played Nov. 20
Queen's University Chess Club Fall Tournament
Time control: G/60'
Black Knights' Tango, E20
TD: Frank Dixon, Org.: QUCC
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e4 d5
[Jacky was an Engineering student at Queen's, a Candidate Master in Hong Kong, who had represented his nation at the WYCC B18 before arriving at Queen's, He never played much chess while at Queen's, preferring to focus on his studies; he obtained his degree in this very difficult program. He did represent Queen's in the InterUniversity Team Tournament. As this game shows, he is clearly a very talented player.]
5.cxd5 exd5
[White treats the position much like an Exchange Queen's Gambit.]
6.e5 Ne4 7.Nf3
[I reached this position again a few months later in the game Peter Bokhout -- Frank Dixon, Ontario Open, Kingston 2003. That game, which I won and annotated deeply, was published in the Canadian magazine while FM Hans Jung was editor, in 2004, as Hans referred to in his post on this thread, a few weeks ago. The super-GM game GM Hikaru Nakamura -- GM Wesley So, Las Vegas Millionaire TB Final 2015 (3), reached this position after move 6, with White choosing 7.Bb5 here; White won after a good battle. That game began with the Mikenas--Carls variation of the English, with 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 Nc6, and then 4.d4 d5, leading into what I call the BKT.]
7...Bb4 8.Qc2 O-O 9.Bd3 f5 10.O-O
[In the Bokhout game, we had 10.exf6 Qxf6. The current game sees the center stay closed, and evolves into more of a slower, maneuvering contest.]
10...Be6 11.a3 Be7
[Also playable are 11...Ba5 and 11...Bxc3. I preferred to keep this potentially useful piece on the board.]
[12.Ne2 g5!? (11,6)
[Risky but seemingly playable. Black seeks to raise the activity quotient of the game. In the Bokhout game, I adopted a similar plan with a kingside pawn advance.]
13.Nd2
[Here 13.Ne1!? g4 14.Be3 Ng5 15.Nf4 would have given White an advantage. Black has alternatives, however.]
13...Kh8 14.Bb5 Nb8 15.f4 c6 16.Bd3 g4 17.Bxe4 dxe4
[In the game's first piece exchange, White has removed Black's strong knight, but now faces a durable light-squared pawn chain.]
18.Nc4 b5 19.Ne3 Qb6 (23,14)
[Black finally succeeds in finding an active role for his Queen, which often appears on f6 in this line -- impossible here. I think the position is roughly even, and an interesting middlegame battle is in prospect, with an unbalanced situation.]
20.b4 Na6 21.Bb2 Rad8 22.Rac1 Bd5 (30,19) 23.Ng3 Bxb4!?
[Giving up a piece for two pawns, I create two passed pawns of my own on the queenside.]
24.Nxd5 cxd5 25.axb4 Nxb4 26.Qb3 Nd3! (36,24)
[This very strong knight gives Black excellent compensation. He plans a rapid queenside pawn advance, with further potential sacrificial play, accentuating the imbalances.]
27.Rc2 a5 28.Kh1 a4 29.Qa2 Ra8 30.Qxd5 b4 31.Nxf5 a3 (43,29)
[Black is clearly all-in for his attack, with potential queening combinations. However, this yields White his own powerful play, which must be watched very carefully; his Queen and knight have now attained menacing positions.]
32.Rc6 axb2! 33.Qd6 Qb5 34.Rb6 Nf2+! 35.Kg1 Qxf1+! 36.Kxf1 a1Q+ 37.Kxf2 Ra2+ (56,41)
[Time pressure is now a major factor for White as he seeks to defend, while enhancing his own strong threats against Black's King. White had four minutes left to finish the game, Black 19.]
38.Kg3 Qe1+ 39.Kxg4 Rxg2+ 40.Kh3?
[We looked at 40.Ng3! later, and concluded that it would have likely drawn with best play, by perpetual check!]
40...Rgg8!
[Enclosing White's King to the h-file, and guarding the R/f8, which couldn't leave the protection of f6, as White would then check on that square with his Queen, and have mate in two.]
41.Rb8 Qf1+ 42.Kh4 Qxf4+, 0-1. (59,46)
[Mate is forced. A lovely finish to a fascinating game in this rare opening variation!]