[Event "SouthWest Class Champs"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/1LK2x3ba/qfWzKBeo"] [Date "2024.02.17"] [Round "4"] [White "Adewumi, Tanitoluwa"] [Black "Koustav, Chatterjee"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2280"] [BlackElo "2546"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C50"] [Opening "Italian Game: Giuoco Piano"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/1LK2x3ba/qfWzKBeo"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a5 7. Re1 O-O 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Ba7 11. Nbd2 Nh7 12. Nf1 h5 13. h4 g4 14. N3h2 { Long gone are the days of "don't push pawns in front of your king after castling," particularly in the Italian opening. Black's position is perfectly fine here. The slightly lapse in king safety is compensated for by a space advantage, and the bishops are both menacing from the edge. } 14... Kg7?! (14... Qf6 15. Ne3 Ne7 { is a strong way to preserve the balance, getting the queen into the game before repositioning the queenside knight and covering the d5-square. } 16. Nd5 (16. d4 exd4 17. cxd4 Bxd4 $15) 16... Nxd5 17. Bxd5 a4 18. a3 Be6) 15. Ne3 Bxe3 (15... Be6 16. Nhf1 Ne7 { is more passive with the queen still on d8. For instance: } 17. d4 exd4 18. cxd4 Ng6 19. d5! Bd7 20. Bd3! Nxh4 21. e5 $16 { with serious attacking chances for the h-pawn. }) 16. Rxe3 f5 17. exf5 Ne7 { This must have been White's plan: re-routing the knight to f5 with tempo on the e3-rook. } 18. d4 Nxf5 19. dxe5! { Yes! Tani was ready for this, and is happy with his bishop pair on the open board against Black's exposed king. Who needs two rooks, anyways? This is the computer's preferred way of handling the position, as well, and White is objectively better. } 19... Nxe3 20. fxe3 Qe7 21. Qd4! { Simple chess: the player better equipped to centralize their pieces on an open board controls the game. } 21... dxe5 22. Bxe5+ Kg6 23. Nf1 Bf5 24. e4! Be6 25. Bxe6 (25. Bd3?? { There's no reason to keep the bishop pair if it's just a liability. } 25... Rad8 26. Qe3 Bc4 $17) 25... Qxe6 26. Bxc7 { Black neutralized the bishop pair, but at the cost of a c-pawn and pressure on White's h-pawn. White retains a big advantage. } 26... Rfc8 27. Bf4 Rc4 28. Qf2 Nf6 29. Nd2 Rc6?! (29... Nxe4 30. Qe3 $16 { White regains his material here and keeps a pleasant edge. This position is better for Black than the text move, but practically speaking, it's resigning one's self for having to hold a balanced and clearly worse endgame. }) 30. e5 { But now White controls the center and the knight will enter the game shortly. } 30... Nd5 31. Bg5 Rcc8 (31... Qxe5 32. Rf1 Nf6 33. Nc4 Qe6 34. Qc2+ $18) 32. Re1 Rf8 33. Qd4 Rf5 34. Nc4 Raf8 35. Nd6 { With the e-pawn gripping the center and cutting the board in two, White's pieces are far stronger than Black's regardless of material value. Now, he regains the material, too, keeping up the hunt against Black's king. } 35... Rxg5 36. hxg5 Nf4 37. Qe4+ Kxg5 38. Qxb7 Kh4 39. Ne4 { Black has seen enough. If 39. ... g3, then 40. Nd2! and Qb7-f3+ bring the game into the second time control with ease. } 1-0