Touring the American West + Vegas revisited

[Event "North American Open"] [Site "Las Vegas"] [Date "2012.12.29"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Gareev, Timur"] [Black "Shabalov, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D77"] [WhiteElo "2660"] [BlackElo "2578"] [Annotator "Timur Gareev"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2012.12.??"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceDate "2011.05.31"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 {Shabalov deviates from his King's Indian repertoir.} 6. O-O dxc4 7. Na3 c3 8. bxc3 c5 9. Ne5 $5 {This is a standard Fianchetto Gruenfeld position, and I took over 15 minutes to play this move. It is becoming obvious that it is easy for White to get in trouble.} Nd5 $5 {is a move I did not expect.} (9... Nbd7 10. Nd3 {making the fianchetto bishop more active and potentially exploring greater possibilities for the knight on d3.}) (9... Nfd7 10. Ng4 {was my initial consideration. It certainly looks like fun.} (10. Nac4 {is a more logical continuation.}) 10... Nb6 11. Nh6+ Kh8 12. dxc5 Qxd1 13. Rxd1 Na4 14. Nb5 {This is a fairly off-balanced position I kept in mind.}) (9... Nc6 $1 {is the best alternative to the text. Black gets good compensation.} 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bxc6 Bh3 12. Re1 Rc8 13. Bf3 Qa5) 10. Bb2 Nc6 11. Nac4 Be6 {This position has been played a number of times on a high level. It's time for White to apply caution and explore drawing possibilities.} 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Ne5 {Allows Black to develop powerful counterplay. White's chances are strategically restricted.} (13. Rc1 Rb8 14. Ba3 cxd4 15. cxd4 Nb4 16. Qd2 c5 {with balanced game}) 13... Bxe5 $1 14. dxe5 Rb8 15. Qc2 Qa5 16. c4 Nb4 {I was surprised to see this move. The knight is becoming active on the queenside, and Black's pressure intensifies. White's biggest problem is the restricted bishops.} 17. Qc3 Qa4 {Both attacking the a2 pawn and creating a possibility of playing knight to c2 and d4.} 18. Qb3 Qa6 19. Rfc1 Rfd8 {Here I felt like my position was close to losing, although computers suggests equality.} 20. Ba3 $2 {My evaluation suggested drastic measures. I allowed Black to get my queen in return for better defensive coordination.} (20. Qe3 {was the normal continuation I underestimated.} Nxa2 21. Rc2 Qa4 22. Be4 Bxc4 23. e6 {with enough counterplay to hold balance.}) 20... Nd3 21. exd3 Rxb3 22. axb3 Qb6 23. Rc3 $17 Rd7 {Black is preparing to put maximum pressure on d3 and break through. In many cases I get sufficient drawing play.} 24. Bc1 Bf5 25. Bf1 Kg7 26. Be3 Qb4 27. Bd2 h6 28. h4 {There is no reason to allow Black to expand on the kingside.} Qb8 29. Ra5 {I prefered to go for counterplay rather than defend.} Qxe5 30. b4 Qb8 31. b5 $1 {Not letting the black queen in.} Qd8 32. Rb3 cxb5 (32... Rb7 $17 {is best}) 33. Raxb5 {Here I was quite happy with my position. The pieces were finally well alligned working together.} Bxd3 $2 {Shabalov had been playing rapidly throughout the game, but the last few moves took a lot of thought. We now both had less than ten minutes on the clock (+30 sec increment per move). Shabalov went off-balance and committed a blunder.} (33... e5 34. Bc3 Qe7 35. f4 $5 g5 $5 {with complications favorable to Black.}) 34. Ba5 $1 {For the first time in the game White seizes a tangible advantage.} Qa8 (34... Bxf1 35. Bxd8 Bxc4 36. Ba5 Rd1+ 37. Kg2 Bd5+ 38. f3 Bxb3 39. Rxb3 $16) 35. Bxd3 {An interesting decision not to exchange a pair of rooks. White can put more pieces to work and create harmonious play with a lot of success.} a6 36. Rb6 Qf3 37. Bf1 Qe4 $6 {Inaccurate play caused by frustration.} 38. Re3 Qf5 39. Rxa6 g5 40. Bc3+ ( 40. hxg5 hxg5 41. Rc6) 40... f6 41. h5 {It seemed logical to keep the king in a potential checkmating web.} Kf7 42. Be2 (42. Bg2 Rd1+ 43. Be1 {bringing the bishop to d5 and going after Black's king was winning.}) 42... g4 43. Rae6 Qxe6 {leaves black no chances.} (43... Rb7 44. Bd3 Qxh5 45. Be4 {was one of the winning maneouvers I considered.}) 44. Rxe6 Kxe6 45. Bxg4+ f5 46. Be2 Rd6 47. Kg2 Rb6 48. Bf3 Kf7 49. Bd2 {Black is not capable of defending all of the weaknesses: the c5 pawn is falling and the game is over.} 1-0