[Event "22N16"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/5lK7nI0w/wcjhW1F7"] [Date "2023.07.13"] [White "Kuspa, Joe"] [Black "Babcock, Thomas"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2124"] [BlackElo "2102"] [Annotator "Joe Kuspa"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B46"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation"] [StudyName "Check is in the Mail: September 2023"] [ChapterName "Kuspa, Joe - Babcock, Thomas"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/5lK7nI0w/wcjhW1F7"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 Qc7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Be3 Bb4 9. Na4 O-O 10. c4 Bd6?! (10... Be7 $14 { is better than the text. }) 11. g3! $16 { "A pawn sacrifice (that is recovered later) to take the initiative on Black's tardy devlopment." } 11... Nxe4 12. c5 Be7 13. Bf3 Nf6 14. Rc1 Ne8? $18 (14... Re8 { to clear the f8-square for the bishop looks better. }) 15. Nb6 Rb8 16. Bf4 Ne5!? (16... e5 17. Nd5 Qd8 18. Nxc6 dxc6 19. Bxe5 cxd5 (19... Ra8 20. Nb6 Ra7 21. Bb8 $18 (21. Qxd8 Bxd8 22. Nxc8 Ra8 23. Nd6 Nxd6 24. cxd6 $18 { White is clearly winning. })) 20. Bxb8 Bh3 21. Be5 Bxf1 22. Kxf1 Nf6 $18 { is in White's favor but it's still a fight. }) 17. Re1 f6 18. Nc4 Ra8 19. Nxe5 fxe5 20. Bxe5 { "The pawn has been recovered with Black being increasingly cramped for space." } 20... Qd8 (20... Qa5 21. a3 Bxc5? 22. b4 $18) 21. Be4 g6 (21... Nf6 22. Bb1 $18 (22. Bg2! { looks even better. })) (21... Bg5?! 22. Qh5 { "Threatens mate if any mistakes" }) (21... Bxc5? 22. Rxc5 d6 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Nxe6 { "White is winning" }) 22. Qd3 Ng7 { "White's mating threats begin to show up in the following analysis" } (22... Nf6 23. Bxg6 hxg6 24. Qxg6+ Kh8 25. Re4 Rf7 26. Rh4+ Rh7 27. Qxh7#) (22... Kf7 23. Nf3 (23. Re3 Bf6 24. Rf3 $18) 23... Bf6 24. Rc4 Ng7 25. Bd6 $18) (22... d6? 23. cxd6 Bxd6 24. Bxg6! $18) 23. Nf3 Rf7 (23... Nf5?! 24. g4 Nh4 25. Nxh4 Bxh4 26. Bxg6! $18) 24. Bd6 Bf6 (24... Bxd6 25. cxd6 Qf6 26. b4 $18) 25. Ne5 Bxe5 26. Bxe5 Qf8 27. Qd2 Ne8 { "I looked at the following for Black:" } (27... Nf5 28. b4 Ne7 29. Bc3 Nc6 $18) (27... b4 28. Nf6 $18) 28. b4 { "I liked this move a lot. It begins the series of moves for the mating threat on the a1-h8 diagonal." } 28... Ng7 (28... Nf6 29. Bg2 Ng4 30. Bf4 g5 31. Bd6 Qg7 32. h3 Nf6 (32... Rxf2 33. Re2 Rxe2 34. Qxe2 Qd4+ 35. Kh1 Ne3 36. Qh5! $18) 33. Be5 { "White looks to be winning." }) 29. Bb2 Rb8 (29... Nf5 30. Qc3 Ng7 31. h4 d5 32. cxd6 Qxd6 33. Rcd1 $18) 30. Qd4 { "Black is so constricted that there's not much to work with." Indeed! And notice that Back's light-squared bishop never made it into the game. } 1-0