TheAlchemist: This was one of the crucial games for Bareev on the way to winning his first big tournament. It was played in the penultimate round.28.Bxa6!? was a corageous decision, giving him a dangerous passed c-Pawn.
From move 34 to move 44 the two Knights do a curious battle over g7 and h7. Both players must have been short on time, so they repeated the position a few times. Bareev eventually chose to continue with 45.Nxd5.
54.Qxf2!? was a controversial decision, going into the Rook endgame, where Bareev is renown for his skill. The alternative 54.Qc6 Re6 55.Qc8 Kg7 56.Ra8 looks good, I don't know why Bareev didn't choose it. Perhaps time trouble, perhaps over-confidence.
Anyway, the resulting endgame generated many heated discussions, the Kasparov club gave a brief anaylsis on 60...Rb2 and concluded that it was winning for White as well.
Shirov joined in the discussion, and started a big dispute with the Kasparov club, as he was convinced Black could draw.
Ok, so much for the "historic" background. I have read some analysis on this endgame by a "third party", and while I must admit I didn't really understand much, it concluded it was a draw with best play.