1.e4
Jay Bonin had never defeated 2 Grandmasters in the New York Masters after 130 events. However before this game he was 3-0, having already defeated Stripunsky. He had faced many situations like this in the past, and always came up a bit short. However this week Bonin came through bigtime, and followed it up with a repeat performance the following week, winning first place again while defeating Stripunsky and Wojtkiewicz and drawing Gata Kamsky in the final round!!
1...e6
2.d3
Typical Yudasin. Avoid opening theory and just outplay your "weaker" opponent. Yudasin especially loves to play this way in action chess.
2...d5
3.Qe2
b6
4.exd5
Qxd5
5.Nc3
Bb4
6.Bd2
Bxc3
7.Bxc3
I'm sure Yudasin was happy here to have the 2 bishops advantage right out of the opening.
7...Nf6
8.Qf3
Yudasin puts the ultimate faith in his endgame technique. Leonid probably felt that the 2 bishop advantage would be enough to defeat his lower rated opponent. Jay had scored some upsets against Yudasin before, but mostly in messier positions than this. Leonid felt that in an endgame he was "playing for only two results", meaning he has good chances to outplay Jay and win the game, but if it somehow goes wrong, the worst that can happen is a draw.
8...Qxf3
9.Nxf3
Bb7
10.Ne5
Nc6
11.Nxc6
Bxc6
12.f3
This is probably what Yudasin dreams about everynight. Yudasin has two bishops and Jay has a bishop and knight. I think in Russia this is supposed to be a decisive advantage, but Jay is known for his famous "Bonin Knights".
12...Rg8
What may seem to be an internet mouseslip is actually just a move to defend the g7 pawn to free up the f6 knight. Black didn't castle because the king is more active on c8 after castling queenside. Also black has plans of a minority attack on the kingside via g5-g4. Most minority attacks are on the queenside, so this is always fun to see.
13.Kf2
Nd5
14.Bd2
g5
The logical progression of black's earlier moves.
15.Be2
f5
16.h4
g4
17.fxg4
fxg4
After the game, Yudasin felt that white is slightly better after g3, due to the 2 bishops advantage and the somewhat weak e6 pawn. I have no reason to argue with him there, but perhaps more logical and stronger is Rhf1 with a slight edge for white.
18.Kg3?
[18.Rhf1
; 18.g3
]
18...Ne7!
Ouch. This move is just annoying, and was overlooked by Yudasin. However Yudasin's position is far from critical. I'd say at best black is only slightly better.
19.h5
Nf5+
20.Kf4
One thing a lot of people say about Grandmasters is that they really know how to use their king. People might stop saying that after this game. Yudasin might as well have put a sign on his head saying "Please checkmate me as violently as possible".
Kh2 was more logical. Yudasin was probably either reeling after overlooking ..Ne7 or overconfident, but either way he panicked too soon.
20...0-0-0
The d8 rook is coming to f8 or d4 and the white king will be caught in the crossfire.
21.Bc3
Rdf8
22.Rac1
White played this so that Nd4xc2 wasnt possible. However black is really domating here.....the g2 pawn is a goner, and black will then have a strong passed g-pawn.
22...g3
Theres no rush to use the discovery as the white king isn't going anywhere.
23.Rhg1
Nh4+
Finally Jay decides to cash in and munch the g-pawn. Notice how he got his g-pawn one square closer before taking action.
24.Ke3
Nxg2+
25.Kd2
Nf4
White is simply busted. Bonin has no trouble finishing off the Grandmaster
26.Be5
g2
27.Bxf4
Rxf4
28.Rce1
Rg3
29.Bd1
Kd7
30.c3
Kd6
Active King! Yudasin has no counterplay, so instead of rushing, Bonin improves his pieces as much as possible. As pointless as it may seem from such a powerful position, little things like this sometimes make the difference. Probably it won't matter here, but it's good to discipline yourself to remain vigilant even when things seem easy.
31.d4
Bb5
32.a4
Rf2+
33.Kc1
Bd3
Yudasin can barely move any pieces now
34.Bb3
Bf5
35.Bc4
Blundering in a hopeless position...
35...Rc2+
36.Kd1
Rxb2
37.Be2
Rxc3
If Rxg2 Ra3 is going to be mate along the back ranks. Yudasin extended his hand and congratulated Jay on a fantastic result. Games like this should be inspiration to lower rated players, as Yudasin clearly made a few very poor decisions. As invinceable as a lot of players may think GM's are, they do make mistakes when put under pressure. Jay's interesting Rg8+g5-g4 idea along with his Ne7 blow, surely helped Yudasin to make some poor choices. 0-1