To the last pawn - Part VII

As soon as the ‘box’ command was sounded by the referee, Favreau pounced on his opponent, throwing punches like a madman, forgetting about his own safety. He knew he had to get something going in the ring, if not on the board. Dominguez, on his part, fought fire with fire. For a few moments, it seemed the scythe had met a rock, as the Mexican threw back two punches for each one thrown at him. But lady luck smiled at the Canadian again – one of his punches, and not a particularly powerful one at that, caught Dominguez above the left eye, gushing blood all over his face. The contest was stopped as Enrique was taken to his corner for a brief laser-stitching.
“Peripheral vision fine?” Favreau inquired when they met again at the middle of the ring, before throwing another punch at the same eye.
“Go to hell.”
The fight raged on.

***

The barman got the bright idea to turn the TV’s volume all the way up, in spite of multiple protests from the yuppies.
“Shut up, I want to hear the commentary!” he waved them off, “Just cause I’m at work here doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the game like a normal human being!”
The familiar voices of Bob Jensen and Jimmy Manetta surrounded Lisa again.

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 28.Qxa4

“Wow, what a boxing round, Jimmy! Applause from the capacity crowd here at the Palace, as the players head back to the board. And now, is physical condition going to be a factor?”
“Yes, Bob, it will be. Dominguez is hurt above the eye, he’s lost some blood, Favreau took some body punches and a hard one to the chin, it’s all beginning to accumulate. A great match so far, let’s see what happens next.”
“Favreau is thinking.”
“And he has a lot to think about, Bob. White has an extra pawn, and black must seek some compensation. Maybe 28…Ra8, badgering the white queen … no, wait, it’s no good, white responds 29.Qb3 with the dual threats of Qxb7 and d6+. Maybe he should just play it safe and block the passed pawn. Rd6 or Bd6, yeah, that’s what I would do.”
“Oh, here’s a move, 28…c4.”
“Interesting. He wants to stop white from playing c4 himself and strengthening d5.”
“And 29.Rxb7 by Dominguez! Look at that, did he sacrifice an exchange?”
“Wow, Favreau sure messed it up tactically with his last move. White wins material.”
“But … oh, I see it now, 29…Qxb7 30.d6 played. White wins two bishops for a rook.”
“Yes, Bob, he does. The first move after the boxing round is always the toughest, that’s what they teach you at beginner’s class, and that is apparently also true at Grandmaster level. Both sides took quite a beating in this fantastic third round, Favreau comes out of the blocks with a poor move, loses further material.”
“Would you say Dominguez is winning now? Is it over?”
“Well, after 30…e4 31.dxe7 Qxe7 white is up two pieces for a rook, but we have three more boxing rounds, don’t forget that, Bob. Anything can happen.”
“Yeah, those have always been the great equalizer. So we’re not going to page the fat lady yet, folks at home, her time has not yet come! Favreau makes a move … with his queen … it’s 30…Qb3”
“An enterprising decision by the Canadian! He’s willing to leave white with a pawn on e7 just to get his own passed pawn on b3.”
“A fighting choice. He’d rather go down swinging, folks. Queens exchanged, bishop taken, 31.Qxb3 cxb3 32.dxe7, and now 32…Rd2 from Favreau.”
“Penetrating with the rook to the seventh row. Although black’s passed pawn is not as advanced as white’s, I would say it’s at least as dangerous, if not more. But white’s still up on material.”
“Dominguez contemplating. Will he try to postpone his decision until after the fourth round, Jimmy?”
“He would like to, Bob, but the time on his clock says otherwise. I think he’ll have to move now.”
“33.Bf3 from Dominguez.”
“Okay, he’s guarding the knight and threatening 34.Bh5. Another idea would have been 33.Ng3, followed by 34.Ne4. Yeah, Ng3 was definitely the way to go. Now black has a potential e5-e4 shot, deflecting the bishop.”
“He can go e4 now?”
“Well, not now, Bob, because of Bh5, but it’s an option to keep in mind for the future.”
“And we have the gong for the fourth boxing round out of the scheduled six. Gloves are on again.”

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 33.Bf3

***

The fourth boxing round far more relentless than the ones that preceded it, with the violence steadily escalating to match the proceedings on the board. The crowd was bored no more – expecting a sleepy undercard fight as a prelude to the real thing, they got a bloody carnage. When the gong sounded three minutes later, and contestants staggered to their chairs, they were rewarded with a standing ovation.

***

With only two rounds left in the undercard fight, most of the bar’s patrons left to their arena seats, not only to watch Klichkovsky in action, but also to catch the conclusion of this exciting match live.
“Would you need anything else, ladies?” The bartended approached their table.
“No, thanks, we’re good.”
The man passed his eyes between the TV screen and the wooden door, which connected the bar to the arena.
“Oh, just go,” Debbie was quick to resolve his doubts. We won’t steal any tequila bottles.”

After the door closed behind him, she and Lisa turned to the screen.
“What do you think?” Lisa asked.
“Messy.” Was the laconic reply, as Favreau played 33...Kf7, keeping the white passed pawn in check.
After 34.Rb1 b2 it became clear even to Lisa that Jimmy Manetta was right on one account – the black passed pawn was indeed more dangerous. Dominguez held his bruised head between his equally battered hands and took a long think before playing 35.Kg1, and Favreau pushed the central pawn – 35…e4.
“Bishop to h5, only move to hold.” Debbie whispered, then turned to Lisa and smiled, “But easy for me to say, I haven’t been beaten up for four rounds.”
Dominguez, as his opponent, was beaten for four rounds, with two yet to come. His vision slightly blurred and his mind dazed, he played 36.g6+ with an unsure hand.
“Wow,” Debbie said, “Believe it or not, he’s actually winning now.”
“White?”
“No...”

36…hxg6 37.fxg6+ Kxe7 were played, and Dominguez saved his bishop with 38.Bg4, attacking the black rook at the same time. But after Favreau’s 38…Ra8 he plunged into thought, trying to figure out how exactly to stop the penetration of the black rook. From this contemplation he was awakened only by the fifth round gong.

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 38...Ra8

After the fifth round, the arena crowd was getting truly excited. None of them expected this to happen. They came to see a world championship match, and here were two underdogs, giving them an amazing show in the preliminary fight. Not a single spectator remained seated when Favreau and Dominguez limped heavily to their chairs.

“What a match, what a match we are seeing here so far, ladies and gentlemen! Advantage passes from side to side, hard punches thrown all around, these two fighters are really giving it all they’ve got!”
“Yes Bob, this is one for the record books.”
“So, Dominguez starts this round with 39.Kf2, Jimmy. Bringing his king closer to the action?”
“Yes Bob, the king is a fighting piece in the endgame. He must do something about that b-pawn.”
“Favreau picks up another pawn, 39…Rxa3.”
“Tough times for white. After Rook to a1, the pawn will crash through.”
“Okay, we have 40.Bf5 Ra1 41.Bxe4 Rxb1 42.Bxb1 Rd1 43.Bf5, all played very quickly.”
“The pawn will cost white a piece, but can black win this endgame? I’m not hundred percent sure, Bob.”
“Not to forget, Jimmy, that we still have one more boxing round to go. And here we go, Favreau made a queen, and Dominguez has to give the Bishop. 43...b1=Q 44.Bxb1 Rxb1, and now a quick 45.Nd4 by Dominguez.”
“Oh, a great move, Bob! He’s not clinging to the c3 pawn, instead seeking to check on f5 with the knight, trying to keep the white king pinned down to defend g7.”
“Look at this crowd, Jimmy! Twenty thousand people, absolutely breathless! What a game! 45…Rc1 46.Nf5+ Kf8 played.”
“See, that’s what I was talking about. Had he tried to defend passively with 46.Ne2, black would get his king in the open, but now it’s stuck on the back row.”
“47.Kg3 Rxc3+ now.”
“Oh my, a mutual blunder by both sides, did you see it, Bob?”
“Actually no, Jimmy. You tell me.”
“White wanted to bring his king up, but he should have done it through f3, not g3.”
“What’s the difference?”
“The difference is that now black had 47…Rg1+, Bob, winning g6 and releasing his king. But who can blame these guys for missing an itsy-bitsy check, after all the punishment they took in the ring?”
“Well, Favreau snatched the c-pawn, and now 48.Kf4 Rc4+ 49.Kg3, and this brings us to the final round! This one is for all the marbles! Your evaluation of the endgame, Jimmy?”
“White should be winning, but I’m not sure how … maybe put the rook on the seventh, relieve the king of the need to guard g7 … or maneuver the rook to g5 through g1 and try to put white in zugzwang, those could be the two plans. But, with the time on their clocks winding down, and the contestants’ physical condition, anything can happen.”
“Well, they’ll have plenty of time to think of plans later … and now, it’s Punchtime! Don’t go anywhere, ladies and gentlemen! Forget Klichkovsky and McKenna, these two forgotten fighters, these two glorious gladiators, are the real deal here at the Palace!”

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 49...Kg3

To be continued ...

Posted by Alex Shternshain at March 4, 2004 03:33 PM