I would suggest 7. ... c6 and 8. ... Qc7 instead of 7. ... Qe8

c6 keeps the knight out d5 

Have a look at videochess.net

Menu item: Polar Bear lesson #11 

16. ... Rd8 doesn't look bad to me. With the knight attacking your bishop on e6, you don't want to play Bc8 with your rook still on a8. Even though that bishop should be coming back to e6 in the near future, you want to fight for the open d-file as quickly as possible.

 

Maybe you do want to double on a file that you are going to open with a pawn push, but I feel that your position allows you time to do that.

 

On a second look, the whole operation might be safer with the king on h8 or h7. 

Loomis: Thanks for the comment! I think you're dead on about 19...g5. I did feel like I had to force something, i.e make a commitment. I also like the idea of fighting for the diagonal with Be6. It's more active.

 

Another thing I was thinking about is if it was right to play my a-rook to the d-file, thus making exchanges on this file possible. Maybe I should have tried to double up on the g- or f-file instead. What do you guys think? 

19. ... g5. This is a very tough position, but I don't see the need for black to press anything here. It might be better to play 19. ... h6, then reinstate your bishop on e6. Now that you're fighting for that diagonal instead of letting your opponent have it, you won't have to play Nxb3 later.

 

22. ... e4. This was another opportunity to play Be6. I may  be wrong about this idea, but it's my instinct to fight over this light square diagonal before I start attacking. The attack usually goes better if the opponents counter attacking chances are reduced.

The endgame is still a mistery to me, and I navigate through it like a lost sea captain moving through misty waters with a broken compass and two bottles of rum under his belt. Thanks for the analysis! Your endgame knowledge is scary! I'm going to take a look at the link right away...

The question is, how do you spot moves like 52.Kc2 in a game?  What gave me the idea of repositioning the kings was Dos Hermanas, 2004.

"I miscalculated. I thought I would be able to shoulder the white king away..."

 

The bad news doesn't stop there. What if 52.Kc2! You don't have any great moves. Suppose 52... Kd5 53.Kb3 Kc5 54.f5 Kd5 55.Kxb4 Ke5 56.Kc5 Kxf5 57.Kxd5 Kg5 58.Kxe4 +/-. Theoretically this is a draw, but an accurate defense requires great precision.

 

So you should not have traded into this pawn endgame, but good job and technique holding the draw after your opponent's mistake 52...f5?.