[Event "Rapid Play # 2"]
[Site "Mechanics Institute"]
[Date "2021-07-29"]
[White "Ruari Coffey"]
[Black "Justin Goodison"]
[WhiteElo ""]
[BlackElo ""]
[Result "1-0"]

1.c4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.g3 d6 6.Bg2 Bg4 7.O-O O-O 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.Ne4 Qe6 11.Nxc5 dxc5 12.Nd2 Nd4 13.f3 Bf5 14.Ne4 b6 15.Nc3 c6 16.e3 Rad8 17.exd4 exd4 18.Ne4 Bg6 19.Re1 Rfe8 (19...Qd7 20.Qd2) 20.Qd2 Qd7 21.Nf2 b5 22.b3 b4 23.Rxe8+ Rxe8 24.Re1 Re6 25.Bh3 f5 26.Bf1 Qe7 27.Rxe6 Qxe6 28.Qe2 Qxe2 29.Bxe2 Kf7 30.Nh3 Bh7 31.f4 Bg6 32.Kf2 Ke6 33.Ng1 Bf7 34.Nf3 Be8 35.Ne5 g5 36.Bf3 g4 37.Bxc6 Bxc6 38.Nxc6 {And now for the most stubborn attempt to win an endgame with a knight in a closed position. (R.C)} a6 39.h3 h5 40.Kg2 Kd6 41.Ne5 Ke6 42.Kh2 Kd6 43.Nf7+ Ke6 44.Ng5+ Kf6 45.Kg2 Ke7 46.Kf2 Kf6 47.Ke2 a5 48.Kd2 Ke7 49.Kc2 Kf6 50.Kb2 Ke7 51.hxg4 hxg4 52.a3 Kf6 53.axb4 axb4 54.Kc2 Ke7 55.Kd2 Kf6 56.Ke2 Ke7 57.Nf3 Ke6 {Credit where credit is due, Justin did not take the knight which significantly improves my chances to win the game. Great to see the improvement of the younger generation, still terrifies me that I probably won't be able to win decisively against players of Justin's calibre for much longer. (R.C)} 58.Ne5 Kd6 59.Kf2 Ke6 60.Nc6 Kd7 61.Ne5+ Ke6 62.Ng6 Kf7 63.Nh4 Kf6 64.Ke2 Ke6 65.Ng2 Kf6 66.Ne3 Ke6 {Again, not taking the knight. (R.C)} 67.Nd5 Kd6 68.Kd2 Ke6 69.Nc7+ Kd7 70.Nb5 {Due to having about a minute left on the clock, I stopped recording my moves, the next 31 moves are more of an approximation of the game, with easily a move or two added to the actual game. (R.C)} Ke6 71.Nc7+ Kd7 72.Nd5 Ke6 73.Nb6 Kd6 74.Na4 Kc6 75.Nb2 Kd6 76.Ke2 Ke6 77.Nd1 Kd6 78.Nf2 Ke6 79.Ne4!! {The only time when the knight sacrifice is forced to be taken as black is unable to protect the c5 pawn with the king. I didn't have enough time to calculate all the way to the end but did calculate I could snatch the g4 pawn with the king and still be in time for the d4 pawn. (R.C)} fxe4 80.dxe4 Kd6 81.Kd3 Ke6 82.Kd2 Kf6 83.e5+ Kf5 84.Kd3 Ke6 85.Ke4 Ke7 86.f5 Kf7 87.Kf4 Ke7 88.Kxg4 Kf7 89.Kf4 Ke7 90.g4 Kf7 91.g5 Ke7 92.g6 Kf8 93.f6 Kg8 94.e6 Kf8 95.Ke4 Ke8 96.g7 Kd8 97.g8=Q+ Kc7 98.Qf7+ Kc6 99.Qd7+ Kb6 100.e7 Ka5 101.e8=R Kb6 102.Rb8+ Ka6 103.Qa4# {A very tough game with an unclear path to win with the lone knight. Well done to Justin for incredibly relentless persistence for the draw. Thanks for the game. (R.C)}