[Event "2024 Southwest Class"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/1LK2x3ba/dZnbVbhs"] [Date "2024.02.18"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Burke, John"] [Black "Dudin, Gleb"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2582"] [BlackElo "2527"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B67"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/1LK2x3ba/dZnbVbhs"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. Kb1 { About 95% of the games from this position in the Richter-Rauzer continue with 9. f3 or 9. f4. White's choice here is to see whether Black continues with 9. ... Be7, ... Nxd4, or ... b5 before committing his f-pawn. } (9. f4 { has been seen over seven thousand times in the database, while }) (9. f3 { has been a more recent trend, amassing over three thousand hits. } 9... Be7 10. Kb1 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Qc7 12. Qd2 b5 13. h4 h6 14. Be3 h5 15. Bd3 b4 16. Ne2 a5 { would transpose to the game. }) 9... Be7 (9... b5 10. Nxc6 Bxc6 11. f3 { is a nice move-order trick. Black often meets f2-f3 with ... Nc6xd4, and White spends time with Qd2-d4-d2, as in the game. So this is one reason why delaying f2-f3 can buy time. }) 10. f3 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Qc7 12. Qd2 b5 13. h4 h6 14. Be3 h5 15. Bd3 (15. Bg5 { is the other main move here, which has been tried by the likes of Niemann and even Shankland (who has written a Chessable course on this variation for the black pieces!). } 15... b4 16. Ne2 a5 (16... Rb8 17. Nf4 Bb5 18. Rc1 Bxf1 19. Rhxf1 Nd7 20. c4 Nc5 21. Rfd1 Rb6 22. Nd3?! (22. Qd4! Rh7 (22... f6 23. Ng6 Rh7 24. Be3 $16) 23. Bxe7 Kxe7 (23... Qxe7 24. e5! dxe5 25. Qxe5 f6 26. Qd4 $16 { with the point that, as the king is still on e8, Black is unable to play } 26... e5?? { due to } 27. Qd5) 24. g4 $16) 22... a5 23. Nxc5 dxc5 24. e5 Rb7 25. Qe2 f6 26. exf6 gxf6 27. Qxe6 Rb6 28. Bf4 Rxe6 29. Bxc7 { gave Black enough chances to eventually draw the pawn-down endgame in Shankland – Shevchenko, Struga, 2021. }) 17. c4!? e5 18. Ng3 Rd8?! 19. Be2 Be6 20. Nf5 Bxf5 21. exf5 d5?! 22. Bxf6 Bxf6 23. cxd5 O-O 24. d6 Qd7 25. g4 e4 26. Qd5 { with a winning position. Black resigned after only 12 more moves in Niemann – Abdrlauf, Douglas, 2023. }) 15... b4 { The main move, although the alternative has been tried by no less than Vachier-Lagrave (against CLO contributor GM Elshan Moradiabadi, no less). } (15... Rb8 16. Ne2 e5 17. Bg5 b4 18. Rc1 Be6 19. c4 (19. c3! $146 { is the engine's shocking improvement, separating c2-c4 into two moves as to lure the queen away from the defense of the d6-pawn. } 19... Qa5 (19... Nd7?? 20. cxb4) 20. c4! Nd7 21. Bxe7 Kxe7 22. Ng3 g6 23. Nf5+! { when we see the point of provoking ... Qc7-a5: the queen is not as well-placed to anticipate White's attack, and the offer is thus harder to refuse! } 23... gxf5 (23... Kd8!? 24. Rhd1 $16) (23... Kf8?? 24. Nxd6 $16 { is also the point, explaining why Black's king does not have a clear path to safety in this line. }) 24. exf5 Nc5 25. fxe6 Nxe6 26. c5! $16) 19... Nd7! 20. Be3 (20. Bxe7 Kxe7 21. Ng3 g6 { with the point that if White tries the adventurous } 22. Nf5+!? { , Black can say thanks but no thanks: } 22... Kf8 23. Rhf1 Nc5 24. Ne3 a5 $15) 20... Nc5 21. Ng3 g6 22. Nf1 Nxd3 23. Qxd3 f5 24. Nd2 f4 25. Bf2 a5 { when Black is better, although White fought on for a nice draw in 69 moves in Moradiabadi – Vachier-Lagrave, Krasnaya Polyana, 2021. }) 16. Ne2 a5 17. c4 $146 (17. Bg5 { was Jobava's try in a blitz game from this position two years ago. } 17... a4?! { turned out to be a bluff. } 18. Nd4?! { And now Black has an accelerated attack and an initiative. } (18. Qxb4! Rb8 (18... d5 19. Qc3 Qb6 20. exd5 $16) 19. Qd2 Qb6 20. c4 $16) 18... Qb6 19. Be3 Qb7 20. Bg5 O-O 21. g4 hxg4 22. h5 e5?! (22... Qb6 23. Be3 Qa5 $15) 23. Nf5 Bxf5 24. exf5 b3?! 25. cxb3 (25. h6!) 25... axb3 26. a3 e4?? 27. h6! g6 (27... exd3 28. hxg7 $18) 28. Bxf6 Bxf6 29. Bxe4 Qb5 30. fxg6 fxg6 31. Qd5+ Qxd5 32. Bxd5+ Kh7 33. Bxa8 Rxa8 34. Rxd6 { and White won shortly in Jobava – Kollars, Chess.com, 2022. }) 17... e5 18. Ng3 g6 19. Nf1 Be6 20. Rc1 Nd7 21. Bf2 Bf8 22. Ne3 Bh6 23. Be2 Nc5 { The game has been going down a strategic, maneuvering path typical for this variation. Black has surely equalized, as White's pieces are unable to make use of the bind on the backwards d6-pawn. White's king, additionally, could come under fire, while Black's monarch is content in the fixed center. } 24. Rhd1 (24. Rcd1 { is the engine's recommendation: } 24... Ke7 25. Rhf1 { with an attempt to use central files to justify a structural transformation after Ne3-d5+ and proximate equality. }) 24... Ke7?! { A slight imprecision, in that the knight could have been ignored on d5 (and would require several turns of unpinning preparation to get it there) if not for the tempo on the king Black's last move provided as a gift. } (24... Rd8! 25. Qe1 Qb7 26. Rc2 a4 27. Rcd2 (27. Nd5?! b3 $19) 27... Qb6 $17) 25. Nd5+ Bxd5 26. Qxd5 a4! { The Exchange is of no interest to Dudin, and this is more testing as it keeps the pressure on without simplifying the board state. } (26... Bxc1 27. Kxc1 (27. Rxc1 a4 $17) 27... b3 28. a3 a4 $17) 27. Be1 Rhb8 28. Bd2 Bxd2 29. Qxd2 Ne6 30. g3 Qc5 31. Rf1 f6 { Black solidifies his position as both players start to enter time trouble before the second time control. } 32. f4 Rh8 33. f5 gxf5 34. Rxf5 a3 35. b3 Rag8 36. Qd3 Qd4! { The endgame is winning for Black, but keeping queens on will cost White the c3-pawn. } 37. Qc2 Qc3?? { Black must have miscalculated something in time trouble. } (37... Rxg3 $19) 38. Bxh5?? (38. Qxc3! bxc3 39. Rxc3 { Regaining coverage of the weak g3-pawn. } 39... Nd4 40. Rf2 $14 { and, somehow, White has solidified and Black does not have compensation for the pawn. }) 38... Qxc2+ 39. Kxc2 Rxg3 40. Be2 Rxh4 41. Rf2 Nd4+ { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1