[Event "FMShield2015"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015-08-09"]
[White "Michael Sugrue"]
[Black "Bas van Riel"]
[WhiteElo "1922"]
[BlackElo "1787"]
[Result "0.5-0.5"]

{584MB, Fritz11.ctg} 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5 7.O-O dxc5 8.e5 Ng4 9.Bb5+ Kf8? {I rejected 9...Nc6 because of the ugly, isolated double-pawns after 10.Bxc6, and 9...Bd7 because 10.Bxd6, Nxd7; 11.e6! But Kf8 is the worst of the options.} 10.Bf4 a6 11.Bc4 {From here on, white plays a series of weak moves, eroding his big advantage. 11.Ba4 would have kept the pressure on. 11..b5 would fail on 12.Qd5, Ra7;13.Ng5, Be6;14.Nxe6 etc} Nc6 12.Qd2 {12. Qe1 is better} Bf5! {still black is worse..} 13.Rfe1? {13.Instead 13.h3,Ngxe5;14.Nxe5,Bxe5;15.Bxe5, Nxe5; 16Qh6+, Kg8;17.Rae1,Nc6; 18.Nd5, Qd8; 19.Rxe7! is quite easily won for white} (13.h3 Ngxe5 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 15.Bxe5 Nxe5 16.Qh6+ Kg8 17.Rae1 Nc6 18.Nd5 Qd8) 13...Rd8 {positions are now equal} 14.Qc1 b5 15.Bd5 Nd4! 16.Be4! b4 17.Bxf5 gxf5 {(!)} 18.Nd1 b3? {spoils it all for black: we both believed that the text-move would give black at least an exchange advantage, but the combination is flawed.18...Rg8! instead would have been more effective and patient} 19.Ne3! {White's saving move! It should have saved white's day..} Nxe3 20.Nxd4 { better would have been axb3 first} Nxc2? {the worst of 3 options: cxd4 and (the preferred) Nxg2 which I all had considered} (20...Nxg2! 21.Kxg2 cxd4 22.axb3 Qd5+ {simple and equal}) 21.Nxc2 bxc2 22.Qxc2 e6 {now black has an inferior pawn structure} 23.Rad1 Rd5 {draw offered, but refused by white for quite obvious reasons. However he was short (7 minutes) in time.} 24.Ra1? {White did pick up his Rd1 with the intention to take on Rd5, when, the rook in midair, he discovered that checkmate would follow on e1. Feeling embarrassed, he offered a draw, although his position still is better.} {#d}