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This is the only move. 45 Kc2 Qc3+ 46 Kd1 Nf2 mate would be extremely
harsh, and 45 Ke1 Qf2+ 46 Kd1 Qxd4+ 47 Ke1 Qg1+ 48 Bf1 Qf2+ wins for Black.
But after 45 Kd1 Black would play 45 ... Nc3+ with a repetition. An absolutely
amazing end to the game. Benjamin's 38 ... Rxa2+ was completely sound. In a
way, deFirmian was lucky, as it is unlikely that he "saw" 38 ... Rxa2+ at all,
and who knows, it might have been mate! Had deFirmian not been in extreme time
pressure, he would have played 38 Rxc1 with the advantage. After a brilliant
defense, deFirmian let the game get out of control during moves 35-40. A nice
game by Benjamin, whose enterprising play got him a nice-looking attack,
although deFirmian was able to consolidate.
Draw agreed.
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