[Event "U.S. National Grade Championships 2023"] [Site "Orlando"] [Date "2023.12.15"] [Round "1"] [White "Lamine A Gordon"] [Black "Reiss, Aiden"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1348"] [BlackElo "2135"] [Annotator "Lang,JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A45"] [Opening "Trompowsky Attack"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/6xQz7aU5/LG3rKHjA"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 c5 3. Bxf6 gxf6 4. e3 f5 5. c3 Qc7 6. Ne2 d6 7. g3 b6 8. Bg2 Bb7 9. d5 e5 10. c4 a6 11. Nbc3 Bc8 12. O-O Nd7 13. f4 e4 14. Qa4 Qd8 15. Bh3 Qf6 16. Rab1 h5 17. Qc6 Rb8 18. b4 h4 { Another example of strong players making strong moves, but the reality not being so simple. In the game, White allows Black's queen to reach the h-file, Black's h-pawn to trade off on g3, and the queen-rook-battery to decide matters. But was this attacking plan really unstoppable? No! White's resources here are incredibly complicated and rich, and mostly shown for entertainment (cool queen sacs!) and inspiration (if White has some of these options at their disposal, have you really looked at ALL of your options when you think you're in danger after 30 seconds?). But the point is clear: if your opponent has an active plan, take your time, be creative, and look for active ideas of your own. } 19. Kg2?! (19. bxc5! dxc5 { Black is relying on the fact that 20. Qxf6 Nxf6 is fine, since the knight is unpinned when the queen moves. But this overlooks the dazzling } (19... bxc5?? 20. Rxb8 $18 { is an obvious non-starter. }) 20. Nxe4!! { , planning to meet 20. ...fxe4 with the intermediate check 21. Bxd7+, after which the king is truly hanging on h6. } 20... Qxc6 { is the critical line, as after } (20... Qg6 21. Ng5 $16 { is very strong, although the engine finds the absolutely bullying move } (21. Bxf5!! Qxf5 22. Rxb6 Ra8 23. Rxa6!! (23. Qxa8?! Nxb6 24. Qc6+ Bd7 25. Qxb6 Qxe4 { is a bit less clear, but still favors White. } 26. Qb8+ Ke7 27. d6+ Ke6 28. f5+ Kf6 29. Qd8+ Kg7 30. Qg5+ Kh7 31. Nc3 $16) 23... Rb8 (23... Rh6 24. d6 $18) 24. Rb6 Ra8 25. d6 $18)) (20... fxe4 21. Bxd7+ Ke7 22. Qxf6+ Kxf6 23. Bxc8 Rxc8 24. Rxb6+ { Black is not queen down, at least, but the position is in shambles. }) 21. dxc6 fxe4 { , White is probably better or at least fine after 22. cxd7+, but the decisive move is: } 22. Rfd1!! $18 { when any knight is met by c6-c7 forking the b8-rook and d8-square. Additionally, if Black does not move the knight, then c6xd7 is not just "probably fine" but decisively winning, since the d-pawn is safely defended on the seventh rank. }) (19. Nxe4 { first can transpose }) 19... Qg6 20. Qc7?! (20. bxc5! { This is less spectacular, but the point is that if Black recaptures with the d-pawn, White trades queen before the mating attack materializes. Instead, if Black tries to thwart this with } 20... Bb7 { then at least the bishop is misplaced away from the attacking diagonals, and the b6-pawn is weaker after } 21. Qa4 { although the engine is having fun with } (21. Nd4!? Bxc6 22. Bxf5! { when the queen has no good moves. } 22... Qh5? (22... Bb5!! { is the only move that keeps Black alive. } 23. Bxg6 Bxc4 24. Bf5 Bxf1+ 25. Kxf1 Nxc5 26. Nc6 Rb7 27. g4 $16) 23. dxc6 Nf6 24. c7 $18)) 20... Qh5 21. Rf2? (21. Ng1 { is sad but probably best. } 21... hxg3 22. hxg3 { At least Black's attack has king of died out, and White still has ideas of b4xc5. If Black plays } 22... cxb4 { which is probably best, then even after } 23. Rxb4 { the threat of Rb4xb6 is alive, as the knight is tied to the rook and the rook is tied to the bishop. White is not out of the game. } 23... Be7 24. Rxb6 Rxb6 25. Qxc8+ Bd8 { That said, it requires understanding that the quee is not trapped: } 26. Nxe4! $13) 21... hxg3 22. Nxg3 Qxh3+ { If we just looked at the game moves without variations, and the difference in player ratings, it would be easy to conclude that this breakthrough was inevitable. But hopefully the above variations show us how far from the truth that was. } 23. Kg1 Be7 24. bxc5 dxc5 25. d6 Bd8 26. Qc6 Bb7 27. Qa4 Rc8 28. Qb3 Nf6 29. Rd1 Kf8 30. d7 Rc6 31. a4 Ng4 32. Re2 Nxh2 33. Rg2 Rg6 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1