Winning a Won Game
So no discovered check happened after all. Now White is a pawn up with the two bishops versus bishop and knight. It should be a matter of technique to win from here, but winning technique in superior positions isn't such an easy prospect. It requires constant vigilance and attention to detail. You do not want to miss a threat at this point.
26…. Rd8 27. Re1 Rd7.
Black prevents White from getting another rook into his seventh rank. One was enough!
28. Re6.
Since White cannot penetrate to the seventh rank, he penetrates to the sixth rank, where he threatens to win the en prise c-pawn.
28…. Rf7+ 29. Ke1 Rc7 30. a4.
The idea in playing this move is to take away as many squares from the Black knight as possible. The threat is to march the pawn to a5 for that purpose.
Making It Easier
30…. Kf7.
Black walks into a horrible pin. Notice the bishop on b3. He should try 30…. Nb6 31. a5 instead.
After Black plays the better 30…. Nb6 and White pushes the knight further back with 31. a5.
31…. Nc8. This isn't pleasant, but Black stays alive.
Just as bad as the move played is the aggressive-looking blunder 31. Bc4, when 32. axb6 Bxb3 33. cxb3 axb6 wins a piece for White.
Position after 30…. Kf7.
Defending a difficult or losing position is a very hard task. And yet, the difficulty isn't so much that it's hard to find good moves. Rather, it's psychological.
Whenever you are in a losing position, something has gone horribly wrong. You certainly didn't plan on getting into this mess! So you get depressed, lose concentration, and make further mistakes.
On the other hand, with the right attitude, defending isn't so hard after all. What more can go wrong? You're already lost. So look around for the best possible move. Resist to the last. That way, an inattentive opponent can chalk up the win in his head while you pull out a stunning defense.
Pin
31. Re4.
This combination, based on the pin along the a2-g8 diagonal, wins two more pawns while getting the rooks off the board. Without it, the game might have dragged on for a very long time.
31…. c5.
White to play. What would you do?
32. Ba3.
White makes sure of the win. The only way Black can save the piece is to force a trade of rooks, which is just what White wants.
A Variation
White had other ways to play the position. One fails to get the most out of the position because of a Zwischenzug: 32. Bxc4+ Bxc4 33. Rxc4 Re7+. The Zwischenzug. 34. Kd2 cxb4 35. Rxb4. And White didn't trade rooks and is only two pawns up.
The other works out well enough, and would also serve White well. It is based on a temporary pin as well as a Zwischenzug: 32. Rxc4. The c-pawn is temporarily pinned. 32…. Bxc4 33. Bxc4+. This Zwischenzug saves the other bishop. 33…. Ke7 34. Bc3. White has two bishops and an extra pawn for the rook.
Black has a trick to save his pinned knight, but it will cost him two pawns. Position after 32. Ba3.
32. Re7.
This neat counterpin is the only way for Black to avoid losing a whole piece. Unfortunately for Black, it commits him to a rook exchange, and he loses another pawn at the end of all the captures.
33. Rxe7+ Kxe7 34. Bxc5+ Ke6 35. Bxa7.
With three extra pawns and the bishop pair, White will not have any trouble winning.
Black is now down two pawns, including two passed pawns, and White has the positional advantage of two bishops versus bishop and knight as well. Therefore, Black resigned the game. There is really no point to playing on without any prospects for winning or even somehow grabbing a draw.
The two bishops are a positional advantage against a bishop and a knight or against two knights because they sweep the whole board. Their long-range power is always there, but when you have both of them, they cover all the squares on the board very quickly. Knights can also cover all the squares, but are slower, while a lone bishop can only cover half the squares on the board.
