CHESSBOOK REVIEWS

Latest book reviews of 1 May 2020

Wilhelminalaan 33 

7261 BP RUURLO 

The Netherlands.
           John Elburg


                                                      Chess Books
 
Hein Donner: The Biography by Alexander Münninghoff
2020
New in Chess
http://www.newinchess.com/
272  pages
Price € 24.95
ISBN 978-90-5691-892-7



Hein Donner 1927 – 1988 was a chess phenomenon and had more admires than Euwe and Timman together,so I am super pleased to announce this updated and expanded English translation of Alexander Münninghoff’s 1994 Dutch edition of Hein Donner 1927-1988,Uitgeverij  Scheffers 1994.
In no way this work can be compared with the original Dutch edition, because a interesting number of details as Harry Mulishch’s Heinweh interview by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam from Matten 3,2008 has been added.
Extra game analyses and research has been done by the well known game expert Maarten de Zeeuw.
The story goes that Donner did not even had a chess board and pieces in his own home.
After Alexander Münninghoff: Donner was a chess player of a type that has disappeared from the playing halls of this century.
As he explains: In my opinion,the current top players, and also those a little bit lower on the list, have started to identify dangerously closely to the calculating monsters they let loose on there concoctions after every game.
Donner had a unconventional lifestyle who saw no use in working and enjoyed sleeping out until three o’clock in the afternoon.
Donner became later a chess columnist and writer,and was famous for his outspoken and often outrageous columns about subjects such as women  and chess.
So as: The difference between the sexes is remarkable in chess, but not any more so, to my mind, than in any other field of cultural activity. Women cannot play chess, but they cannot paint either, or write, or philosophize. In fact, women have never thought or made anything worth considering.
Hein Donner was a very strong grandmaster and  in 1962 he won the25th Hoogovens chess tournament,ahead of ten grandmasters,even before players as David Bronstein.
Alexander Münninghoff writes:Donner’s greates chess archievement looks liks an accumulation of big lucky breaks,but of course that would sell him short,much too short.
Donner belonged to the few happy ones that have claimed a win against the greatest player of all time,the legendary Bobby Fischer:
Fischer,Robert James - Donner,Jan Hein [B19]
Varna ol (Men) final Varna (6), 1962
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 e6 10.Bf4 Qa5+ 11.Bd2 Qc7 12.c4 Ngf6 13.Bc3 a5 14.0-0 Bd6 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Qxe4 0-0 17.d5 Rfe8 18.dxc6 bxc6 19.Rad1 Bf8 20.Nd4 Ra6 21.Nf5 Nc5 22.Qe3 Na4 23.Be5 Qa7 24.Nxh6+ gxh6 25.Rd4 f5 26.Rfd1 Nc5 27.Rd8 Qf7 28.Rxe8 Qxe8 29.Bd4 Ne4 30.f3 e5 31.fxe4 exd4 32.Qg3+ Bg7 33.exf5 Qe3+ 34.Qxe3 dxe3 35.Rd8+ Kf7 36.Rd7+ Kf6 37.g4 Bf8 38.Kg2 Bc5 39.Rh7 Ke5 40.Kf3 Kd4 41.Rxh6 Rb6 42.b3 a4 43.Re6 axb3 44.axb3 Kd3 45.g5 0-1,all pleasantly well analysed by Maarten de Zeeuw.
After suffering from a stroke at the age of 56,Donner lives his final years in a nursing home,however he kept typing with one finger,and won the Dutch most prestigious literary awards.Na mijn dood geschreven de Henriëtte Roland Holst prijs.
My name is J. H. Donner, 'Hein' for friends. 'Jan-Hein' was an unseemly joke of malicious sport journalists, but that's not my name, it never was and it never will be.
Conclusion: Outstanding read!

The Complete Chess Swindler: How to Save Points from Lost Positions
by David Smerdon
2020
New in Chess
http://www.newinchess.com/
359  pages
Price € 24.95
ISBN 978-90-5691-911-5



The Australian Grandmaster David Smerdon covers in this 360 page heavy weight the techniques of swindling in chess,to be a good Swindler you need to be good at tactics,but as we can learn in this book there are important techniques,that can be learned.
The main secret is probably not to play as a engine but try to stay optimistic and try to play as for example like ,IM Manuel Bosboom who became famous for, banging down move after moves,as if each one is the brilliancy of the year,no matter how many queens he is short.
The most famous Swindler in chess history was certainley the great US master Frank Marshall,please see his game against AJ McClure where he made a draw with two rooks down!
Did McClure not read Marshall’s Chess Swindles 1914?Other wise he would have been warned!
But it is also true that Marshall often played out truly hopeless positions.
A important tip from Smerdon is study your endgames and in chapter 15,our author has listed the most important endgames to know for the Swindler.
Creativity is,above all,about searching for the unexpected and Smerdon suggests:When the chips are down and you have nothing to lose,start looking around for moves that you would never normally consider,because chances are that your opponent isn’t considering them either.
One of the greatest Swindlers of modern time was Tony Miles as we can see in the following example:
Bouaziz,Slim - Miles,Anthony John (2560) [B42]
Interzonal-11a Riga (6), 11.09.1979
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.0-0 d6 7.c4 Be7 8.Nc3 0-0 9.Be3 Nbd7 10.f3 Re8 11.Qd2 Bf8 12.Rfd1 b6 13.Bf1 Bb7 14.Rac1 Rc8 15.Qf2 Qc7 16.b3 Qb8 17.Rc2 Ba8 18.Kh1 Rcd8 19.Bc1 Ne5 20.Bb2 d5 21.cxd5 exd5 22.exd5 b5 23.Nf5 b4 24.Na4 Bxd5 25.Rcd2 Qc7 26.Ne3 Qa7 27.Bd4 Qb7 28.Bxe5 Rxe5 29.Bc4 Rh5 30.Nxd5 Nxd5 31.g4 Re5 32.Nb6 Nxb6 33.Rxd8 h5 34.h3 Nxc4 35.bxc4 Qe7 36.R8d2 Re3 37.Rc2 Qe5 38.Rd5 Qa1+ 39.Kg2 Re1 40.c5 Rh1 41.c6 h4 42.Rcd2 Rc1 43.Rc2 Qb1 44.Rdd2 Rh1 45.c7 Rxh3 46.Kxh3 Qh1+ 47.Qh2 Qxf3+ 48.Kxh4 Be7+ 49.g5 Bxg5+ [49...Bxg5+ 50.Kxg5 f6+ 51.Kh4 g5#] 0-1.
Tony Miles was not only one of Britain’s best players,but also one of the most creative geniuses.
Included are the chapters What is swindles?,The Psychology of swindles,The swindler's toolbox,Core Skills,Swindles in Practice and at last a lot of exercises and excellent
explanations,to see if you have understood the secrets of play!
Conclusion: Exciting till the end!

RandSpringer Quixotische Schacheröffnungen Band 1 by Rainer Schlenker
2019
www.schachtherapeut.de
156 pages
Price €14,80
ISBN 978-3-947648-15-3

RandSpringer Quixotische Schacheröffnungen Band 2 by Rainer Schlenker
2019
www.schachtherapeut.de
146 pages
Price €14,80
ISBN 978-3-947648-17-37



It is a great pleasure for me to announce these two lovely made books from the legendary gambit expert Rainer Schlenker,who some older gambit lovers will remember from his  obscure chess magazine Randspringer,that was published in the middle of the 1990s.
These two eye catching books with beautiful included drawings from  Fränk Stiefel are a gift for every chess lover.
First of all nearly all material that I found in this book  was for me new,and part one is even good for 23 brand new openings lines and part two holds 15
different ones.All lines in these  two books are really unorthodox  and can be in no way compared with
 for example a gambit work as Timing Wild Openings from John Watson and Eric Schiller,no our gambit professor Rainer Schlenker digs deeper and no line
on the board is crazy enough for him!
Ever heard of the  Everheard of the Eselohr Defence? 1.e4 h6 2.f4 c5 3.Nf3 g5!? 4.fxg5 hxg5 5.Nxg5 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.d3 Bg7 8.0-0 a6 9.Nxf7?
Bd4+ 10.Kh1 Rxh2+0-1,Benzing – Schlenker Blitz Schwenningen 2010.
Or Tübinger variante Orang Utan where our gambit professor is not shy to play with black  the moves 1.b4 Nh6!? 2.Bb2 Rg8!?.
In edition two I found lines as the Syrian opening:1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 f5,Grobs Attack 1.g4,and even
more serious line as 1.a3, and two Knights defence with: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6
 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nd4 9.Bxd5+ Kd6
10.Qf7 c6 11.Ne4# 1-0,Schlenker- Kramer,Café Häring Schwenningen 2015.Hope to visit Café Häring one day!
These book are perfect to outplay your opponent but there are  lines
as the Balashnikow Gambit 1.c4 b5 that will not stand up against latest engine play but who
cares,these two RandSpringer books are really  great fun  to have!
Conclusion: Overloaded with exciting lines!  
                                                                                                           Chess DVD's    

Mastering the Sicilian Najdorf
by  Yannick Pelletier
2020
http://www.chessbase.com
E-Mail info@chessbase.com
Price Euro 29.90
Windows 7 or higher
Minimum: Dual Core, 2 GB RAM, DirectX11, graphics card with 256 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, Windows Media Player 9, ChessBase 14/Fritz 16 or included Reader and internet access for program activation. Recommended: PC Intel i5 (Quadcore), 4 GB RAM, Windows 10, DirectX11, graphics card with 512 MB RAM or more, 100% DirectX10-compatible sound card, Windows Media Player 11, DVD-ROM drive and internet access for program activation.
MacOSX  only available as download! Minimum: MacOS "Yosemite" 10.10

The strong Swiss Grandmaster Yannick Pelletier provides the user of this DVD with a impressive made over 7 hours coverage of the Sicilan Najdorf, holding highly instructive video files from Theory, Structure and even thematic games, Repertoire training, Practice positions, and even an extra Bonus with model games, repertoire plus analysis.
And of course a lot extra exercises to see if you have understood the ambitious lessons of our master of attack.
And that is not all included is also a heavy loaded database from 256 entries, and where many these entries cover excellent annotations.
The index holds: Introduction
1. Structure and thematic games
2. Byrne-Fischer (6.Bc4)
3. Anand-Kasparov (6.Be2)
4. Mamedyarov-Gelfand (6.Bc4)
5. Alekseev-Dominguez (6.g3)
6. Carlsen-Vachier-Lagrave (6.f3 English attack)
7. Anand-Sadler (6.Be3 English attack)
8. Georgiadis-Mamedyarov (6.Be2)
9. Tari-Ding (6.Be2)
10. Petrovic-Tringov (6.f4)
11. Dolmatov-Ribli (6.f4)
12. Kagan-Polugaevsky (6.g3)
13. Shirov-Anand (6.Bg5)
14. Theory
15. 6.g3
16. 6.f3 - English attack
17. 6.Be3
18. 6.Bc4
19. 6.f4
20. 6.Be2
21. 6.Bg5
22. 6.h3
23. Alternatives plus exercies.
24. Conclusion:One of those super made ChessBase DVD's

The White Sniper by  Charlie Storey
2020
http://www.chessbase.com
E-Mail info@chessbase.com
Price Euro 29.90
Windows 7 or higher
Minimum: Dual Core, 2 GB RAM, DirectX11, graphics card with 256 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, Windows Media Player 9, ChessBase 14/Fritz 16 or included Reader and internet access for program activation. Recommended: PC Intel i5 (Quadcore), 4 GB RAM, Windows 10, DirectX11, graphics card with 512 MB RAM or more, 100% DirectX10-compatible sound card, Windows Media Player 11, DVD-ROM drive and internet access for program activation.
MacOSX  only available as download! Minimum: MacOS "Yosemite" 10.10

The pure white Sniper runs with the moves 1.g3 d5 2.Bg2 e5 3.c4 d4 4.d3,and the user of this DVD is proved by Fide master Charlie Storey, with a time less openings repertoire, where it is even possible to play the Sniper  as a Reversed Classical Dragon.1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5.Everheard heard of the Chinese Dragon? This and a lot more is well covered with interactive video entertainment and more.
Video running time is nearly 7 hours and to be honest I am very impressed by this DVD!
Index holds:
Introduction
The pure White Sniper
The pure White Sniper 1: Greedy centre undermined
The pure White Sniper 2: Greedy centre undermined
The pure White Sniper 3: Dealing with Harry the h-pawn
The reversed Sicilian
Play an Accelerated Dragon with an extra tempo.
Play a Closed Sicilian with an extra tempo.
Closed Sicilian: Neutralise Blacks aggressive Bc5 Sicilian.
Beat the annoying c3 Sicilian with an extra tempo.
c3 Sicilian with Nf6: Transpose in to a favourable Reversed Pirc with an extra tempo.
All other setups
King's Indian Defence: Use the Rb1 plan to confuse your KID opponents.
Is the Dutch refuted? Pretty sure the Dutch is dead!
Sniper vs Sniper 5.Nf3: Micro advantage for white.
Sniper vs Sniper 5.d3: Micro advantage for white.
1...b6. Head for a Maroczy Bind
Queen's Gambit Accepted: Sacrifice your white c-pawn and let the pieces increase in activity.
Slav Gambit Accepted: Send your Knight to a5 and watch black crack!
Queen's Gambit Declined 1: Put your pawn on b3.
Queen's Gambit Declined 2: Put your pawn on b3.
1...Nc6: Play a White Dragon and use your extra tempo for a quick a3/b4 queen side space advantage plus a  of exercises!
Conclusion: Impressive made!    

The Benko Gambit Explained by  Erwin l'Ami
2020
http://www.chessbase.com
E-Mail info@chessbase.com
Price Euro 29.90
Windows 7 or higher
Minimum: Dual Core, 2 GB RAM, DirectX11, graphics card with 256 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, Windows Media Player 9, ChessBase 14/Fritz 16 or included Reader and internet access for program activation. Recommended: PC Intel i5 (Quadcore), 4 GB RAM, Windows 10, DirectX11, graphics card with 512 MB RAM or more, 100% DirectX10-compatible sound card, Windows Media Player 11, DVD-ROM drive and internet access for program activation.
MacOSX  only available as download! Minimum: MacOS "Yosemite" 10.10


Grandmaster Erwin l'Ami does not only explain in a impressive 6 hours and 30 minutes all strategies
and ideas of the Benko Gambit but there is also an, excellent theoretical coverage of this exciting opening that appeal to all who like to take initiative in the opening.
Included is a repertoire training, practice positions, sidelines, alternatives and of course important headlines, where I found nine heavy loaded video files!
The index runs as follow:
Introduction
1. Sidelines with an early Nf3
2. 2.Nf3 Jakovenko-Goganov
3. 3.Nf3 Matlakov-Giri
4. 3.d5 b5 4th move alternatives
5. Sidelines 4th move Carlsen-Ivanchuk
6. 4.a4 Jussupow-Chekhov
7. 4.Bg5 Ivanisevic-Vuckovic
8. 4.Nd2 Kramnik-Leko
9. 4.f3 Anand-Adams
10. 4.Qc2 Dreev-Ivanisevic
11. 4.Nf3 Korchnoi-Topalov
12. 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5th move alternatives
13. 5.f3 Lahlum-Bus
14. 5.e3 Adhiban-Ramirez
15. 5.Nc3 Selivestrov-Dobrov
16. 5.b6 Karpov-Christiansen
17. 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 Bxa6 Main Line
18. 6.Nc3 g6 7.f4 Murey-Hodgson
19. 6.Nc3 g6 7.d6 Nielsen-Plachetka
20. 5...g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.e4 Demuth-Giri
21. 5...Bxa6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Nf3 d6 8.g3 Bg7 Van Wely-Carlsen
22. 5...Bxa6 6.Nc3 g6 7.e4 Bxf1 8.Kxf1 d6 9.g4 Seirawan-Belotti
23. 5...Bxa6 6.Nc3 g6 7.e4 Bxf1 8.Kxf1 d6 9.f4 Gelfand-Carlsen
24. 5...Bxa6 6.Nc3 g6 7.e4 Bxf1 8.Kxf1 d6 9.Nge2 Bg7 10.h3 Shulman-Khalifman
25. 5...Bxa6 6.Nc3 g6 7.e4 Bxf1 8.Kxf1 d6 9.Nge2 Ng7 10.g3 Korchnoi-Borik
26. 5...Bxa6 6.Nc3 g6 7.e4 Bxf1 8.Kxf1 d6 9.Nf3 Karpov-Georgiev
27. Tactics & Strategy plus a lot of extra exercises.
Included is also a extra database from around 320 entries where many of these games are heavy analysed.
Conclusion: This is top class material and important reference material on the Benko!   
  
ChessBase Magazine issue 194 Extra
April  2020
ChessBase
 http://www.chessbase.com
E-Mail info@chessbase.com
ISSN 1432-8992
Euro 12,99
System requirements:
Minimum: Pentium III 1 GHz, 1 GB RAM, Windows Vista, XP (Service Pack 3), DirectX9 graphic card with 256 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, Windows Media Player 9, ChessBase 12/Fritz 13 or included Reader and internet connection for program activation. Recommended: PC Intel Core i7, 2.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, DirectX10 graphic card (or compatible) with 512 MB RAM or better, 10

This overloaded ChessBase magazine does not only hold some smashing video material from Mihail Marin,Adrian Mikhalchishin and Georgious Souleidis where I must say that the contribution from Marin,in the line 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Nf3 Qa5 9.Qd2 Nc6 and the recommendation 10.a3 is more than interesting.
The main file is good for 33948 entries, and all played between 27/12 2019 and 16/02 2020,and the extra included Lucky bag games are a truly gift from the chess gods: Sunilduth Lyna,Narayanan (2637) - Kobo,Ori (2445) [B07]
Gibraltar Masters 18th Caleta (4.16), 24.01.2020
[Sunilduth Lyna,Narayanan ]
This game was played in the 4th round of the Gibraltar Masters. My opponent, though rated a mere 2445, is a grandmaster from Israel and had in the previous round played a good game against my compatriot Karthikeyan Murali. So I was a bit cautious not to underestimate him 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bf4!? An interesting setup which is getting popular nowadays. The ideas are similar to that of 4.î?§e3. 4...Bg7 5.Qd2 c6 6.Bh6 Bxh6 7.Qxh6 e5 8.Nf3 Qe7 9.dxe5!? This positon was somewhat fresh to me. There are many possible ways in which White could continue, but to put a brake on my opponent's possible preparation I played this move. [9.Bc4 Nbd7 10.0-0 b5 11.Bb3 exd4 12.Nxd4 Bb7] 9...dxe5 10.Bc4 b5 11.Bb3 Nbd7 12.a3 [12.0-0 Nc5 13.h3 a5 14.a3 Nh5 15.Ne2 f6 Even though computers kind of slighty prefer White's position I kind of seriously doubt it since Black is very solid.] 12...Nc5 13.Ba2 Be6! Of course Black should exchange the dangerous white î?§ pointing toward the weak f7 square 14.Bxe6 Nxe6 15.Nxe5 Nd4 16.0-0-0 [16.Nxc6!? is an interesting alternative undertaking some risks to exploit the bad position of Black's king and the disconnected rooks, but objective Black is fine after a series of accurate moves. 16...Nxc6 17.0-0-0 Ne5 (17...Qe5 18.f4 Ng8 19.Qh4 Qc5 20.f5 Qe7 21.Qh3f) 18.Rhe1 Nfg4 19.Qf4 0-0! The most logical move keeping the king in safety! (19...Rc8 20.Rd5! Rxc3 (20...Rc5 21.f3 g5 22.Qf5 Nh6 23.Qh3 Rc6 24.Qh5± Black still has problems to solve) 21.bxc3 Qxa3+ 22.Kd1 0-0 23.h3) 20.Nd5 Qh4 21.f3 (21.h3 Qxf2 22.hxg4 Qxf4+ 23.Nxf4 Nxg4) 21...Qxh2 22.fxg4 Qxf4+ 23.Nxf4 Nxg4] 16...Qxe5 17.f4 Qc5 18.Qg5 Till here and some small lines from here I calculated before playing î?¨xe5!? 18...Nxe4! [18...Qxg5 19.fxg5 Nxc2 20.gxf6 Ne3 21.Rd6 Rc8 22.e5 Nc4 23.Rd4 0-0 24.Re1² Rfe8 (24...Rcd8 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.b3 Nxa3 27.e6 fxe6 28.Rxe6 Kf7 29.Rxc6 Rd4 30.Ra6 b4 31.Rxa7+ Kxf6 32.Ra4) 25.e6! Rxe6 26.Rxe6 fxe6 27.Rd7 Rf8 28.Ne4 and the white pieces are better coordinated though it would be not clear if it will be enough for a win. Still White will be pushing a bit!] 19.Rhe1 [19.Rde1 would have been more accurate in my opinion since it eliminates a defence which was possible in the game continuation 19...0-0 20.Rxe4 Qxg5 21.fxg5 Rad8 22.Rhe1² with a risk free edge] 19...Qxg5 20.fxg5 Ne6 21.Nxe4 [#] 21...Ke7? [21...Rd8! Exchanging one rook reduces White's pressure on Black, which is very important since all White's possible ideas are connected with keeping both the rooks. 22.h4 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 h6 24.gxh6 Rxh6 25.Nd6+ Kf8 26.g3 a6=;
21...h6? 22.Nd6+ Ke7 23.Nxf7 Kxf7 24.Rd7+ Ke8 25.Rb7+-] 22.Rd3 Rad8 23.Rf3! Rd5 [At least now Black should have tried to free the position a bit rather than sitting and defending. That kind of strategy basically backfires since White has too many ideas. But now the cost is that of a pawn in order to free the position. 23...h6! 24.h4 Rd5 25.Ref1 Rf5! Again the typical concept we saw including the exchange of one rook! 26.Rxf5 gxf5 27.Rxf5 hxg5 28.Nxg5 Nxg5 29.hxg5 Rh1+ 30.Kd2 Rh2 31.Rf2 Rh5 32.Rf6 Rxg5 33.Rxc6 Rxg2+ 34.Kc3 f5= Clearly difficult to evaluate this position for humans but still a better version than the game!] 24.Ref1 Nd8 25.h4 Rd4 [Now 25...h6 is tactically possible too, but still leaves a lot of positional weaknesses in Black's position. 26.gxh6 f5! (26...Rxh6 27.Nf6) 27.Ng5 Rxh6 28.Re3+ Kd7 29.Nf3²] 26.Re3 Kf8 27.c3 Rd7 28.Nf6 Re7 29.Rd3 Kg7 30.h5 gxh5 31.Nxh5+ Kg6 32.Nf4+ Kg7 33.Rd6! This move I saw when I played 27.c3 33...Ne6 34.Rxc6 Nxf4 35.Rxf4 Rb8 36.Rd6 Rbb7 37.Rf5 Re1+ 38.Rd1 Re4 39.Rd4 Re2 40.Rd2 Just to make it to the 40th move in order to convert the advantage in the most effective manner. 40...Re3 41.Rdd5 a6 42.Kc2 Rg3 43.Rf2± Already Black's position was difficult to defend but he should have restrained from playing his next move since it breaks his structure completely 43...a5?! 44.a4 bxa4 45.Rxa5 Rg4 46.Ra6 Re7 47.Kb1 Rd7 48.Ka2 Re7 49.Rb6 [49.Ka3 Re1] 49...Rxg5 50.Ka3 Ra7 51.Rb4 Rga5 52.Rff4 Rg5 53.Rxa4 Rxa4+ 54.Rxa4 Rxg2 Here I was pretty much sure the endgame was winning for me 55.b4 Kf6 56.b5 Ke5 57.b6 Rg8 58.Kb4 f5 59.Kb5 f4 60.b7 f3 61.Ra2 Ke4 62.c4 Rg2 63.Ra1! Good technique and much more practical than trying to assess whether [63.b8Q Rxa2 is also winning.] 63...Rb2+ 64.Kc6 f2 65.Kc7 h5 66.c5 Kf3 67.b8Q Rxb8 68.Kxb8 Kg2 69.c6 1-0.
Conclusion: This is must have chess material!