[Event "U.S. National Grade Championships 2023"] [Site "Orlando"] [Date "2023.12.15"] [Round "2"] [White "Pressman, Daniel"] [Black "Huston, Gus"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1665"] [BlackElo "2428"] [Annotator "Lang,JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D01"] [Opening "Rapport-Jobava System"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/6xQz7aU5/Q7vByTYH"] [Orientation "white"] { Game of the day. Annotations by JJ Lang } 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 Bg7 5. h4 h5 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Be2 (7. Qd2!? { is the more enterprising approach. White's early h2-h4 signals a willingness to long-castle, so who cares about kingside pawn structure, anyways? We'll let GM Arjun Erigaisi show us some of the details in this crushing win over MVL from last year's World Rapid Championship. } 7... Bxf3 8. gxf3 c6 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. e4 e6 11. Rg1 Nb6 12. Kb1 O-O 13. Bg5 Qc7 14. Bd3 Nc4 15. Bxc4 dxc4 16. f4 Kh7 17. f3?! (17. Qe2 b5 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. e5 Be7 20. Ne4 $16) 17... b5 18. Qg2 Qd7 19. Qh3 b4 20. Na4 Ng8 21. Nc5 Qc8 22. e5?! (22. f5! exf5 23. exf5 Qxf5 24. Qxf5 gxf5 25. d5! cxd5 26. Rxd5 Nh6 27. Na6 $14) 22... a5 23. Qf1 c3 24. bxc3 Nh6 25. Bxh6 Bxh6 26. c4 Bxf4 27. Ne4 c5? 28. Qd3 Qc7 29. Nf6+ Kh8 30. Qe4 Bh6 31. dxc5 Rad8 32. c6 Bg7 33. Nd7 $18 { and White went on to move 30 moves later in Erigaisi – Vachier-Lagravem, World Rapid Ch, Almaty, 2022 (9). }) 7... O-O 8. Ne5 Bxe2 9. Qxe2 c5 10. f3 $146 (10. O-O-O { is more common. } 10... Nc6 11. dxc5 Qa5 12. Qb5 Qxb5 13. Nxb5 Ne4 14. Nd3 b6?! (14... a6 15. Nc7 Rad8 16. f3 Nf6 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. Bxe5 e6 $16) 15. Nc7 Rad8 16. f3 Nxc5 17. Nxc5 bxc5 18. Rxd5 Rxd5 19. Nxd5 e6 20. Nc7 Rb8 21. c3 Ne5 22. Rd1 Nc4? (22... c4 23. Bxe5 Bxe5 24. Na6 Rc8 25. Rd7 $16) 23. Nxe6! Rxb2 24. Rd8+ Kh7 25. Ng5+ { and Black resigned in Nyzhnyk – Ramer, Cherry Hill, 2021. }) 10... Nc6 11. Qd2 Rc8 12. O-O-O Qa5 13. Kb1 cxd4 14. exd4 Rfd8 15. Ne2!? { White is not afraid to trade queens against his internationally renowned opponent. Respect! That said, the moves h2-h4, long-castling, and especially f2-f3 signaled a willingness to play for a kingside attack, so, why not be consistent? } (15. g4! b5 16. Bh6 b4 17. Bxg7! Kxg7 (17... bxc3?? 18. Qh6 $18) 18. Ne2 { looks like a better position for White: Black's king is weakened, ideas of opening up the kingside are in the air, the queen is not coordinated with any of Black's potential attackers. Nobody is saying it will be easy, but White's moves look more straightforward. For instance: } 18... Qc7 19. Rhg1 hxg4 20. Nxg4 (20. fxg4? Nxe5 21. dxe5 Ne4 $17) 20... Rh8 21. Nxf6 exf6 22. Ng3 $14 { and White is still the one pressing. That said, these aren't amazing positions for White, either, so White should be applauded for taking the pragmatic choice. }) 15... Qxd2 16. Rxd2 Ne8 17. c3 Nd6 18. Nxc6 bxc6 19. Nc1 Nc4 20. Re2 e6?! (20... c5! { is more consistent, allowing White's rook to penetrate, but after } 21. Rxe7 cxd4 22. cxd4 Bxd4 23. Nd3 Kf8 24. Rhe1 { Black should be happy with the chances he has. For instance } 24... a5 25. Rb7 Bf6) 21. Nd3! { White smells a weak square and pacifies Black's position. } 21... Kf8 22. g4 Ke7 23. g5?! { No need to remove the tension this early. } (23. Nc5! $16 { and what is even Black's next move? This seems like a non-committal move with no risk. }) 23... Nd6 24. Bxd6+ Kxd6 25. f4 a5 26. Nc5 Rb8 27. Kc2 Bf8 28. a3 Rb6 29. b4 Ra8 30. Kb3 Kc7 31. Ra2 Bxc5 32. dxc5 { It is hard to find a fault with either player's moves here, and the trade into the rook endgame is logical from each side's point of view. } 32... a4+ 33. Kc2 Rbb8 34. Kd3 Rf8 35. Re2 Rae8 36. Rhh2?! { The first move I don't fully understand. Previously, Black has been trying (and failing) to open a file to activate his rooks, while White has been playing "prevent-defense" with the space advantage making it easier to shuffle. } (36. Rhe1 { stops ... f7-f6. After } 36... Kd7 { The e-pawn is defended, making ...f7-f6 playable, but Black's king is further from possible queenside weaknesses, so White can open up the position with } 37. c4 f6 38. cxd5 cxd5 39. gxf6 Rxf6 40. Ke3 $14 { and look to push on the queenside. }) 36... f6 37. Rhf2 fxg5 38. fxg5 Kd7 39. c4 { The right idea, for sure. White's ability to keep his higher-rated opponent from liberating his rooks is remarkable. } 39... dxc4+ 40. Kxc4 e5? 41. Kd3 (41. Rd2+! Ke7 { allows the queenside pawns to decide matters in an incredibly rich, concrete endgame. } (41... Kc7 42. Kd3! { and White's king centralizes and carves out a path for the rooks to occupy the weak squares on the sixth rank. } 42... Rf4 (42... e4+ 43. Ke3) (42... Kd7 43. Ke4+ Ke6 44. Rd6+??) 43. Rxf4 exf4 44. Re2 $18) 42. Rf6 Rxf6 43. gxf6+ Kxf6 44. Rd6+ { with the point that } 44... Kf5 (44... Re6 { loses, not to the trade of rooks on e6, but the more immediate "quiet killer:" } 45. b5! Kf7 (45... e4 46. b6 e3 47. b7 (47. Rxe6+ Kxe6 48. Kd3 $18 { also wins, of course. }) 47... e2 48. Rxe6+ Kxe6 49. b8=Q e1=Q 50. Qe8+) 46. Rxe6 Kxe6 47. b6 $18) 45. Rxc6 $18) 41... Ke6? (41... Rd8 42. Ke4 Ke6 { is less decisive than when White's rook still controlled the d-file. } 43. Ke3 $16) 42. Ke4 { With no secondary time control, White is down to 2 minutes compared to Black's 12. } (42. Ke3! { An important nuance: } 42... Rd8 { there is no check when a rook lands on d4 or f4 now. } 43. Rxf8 Rxf8 44. Rd2 $18 { without .. .Rf8-f4+, Black is busted. } 44... Rf4 45. Rd6+ Kf5 46. Rf6+ (46. Rxc6 { also wins }) 46... Kg4 47. Rxg6 Kxh4 48. Rxc6 Kxg5 49. Rc8 $18) 42... Rd8 43. Rxf8? (43. Ke3 { is the most pressing idea. } 43... Ke7 44. Rd2 { and Black is still in some danger. } 44... Rxf2 45. Rxf2 Rd4 46. Rf6 Rxh4 47. Rxg6 Kd7 48. Rh6 $16) 43... Rxf8 44. Rd2 Rf4+ { Again, every tempo matters. With the king on e3, White plays Rd2-d6+ and wins in the above variation after 42. Ke3. } 45. Ke3 Rxh4 46. Rd6+ Kf5 47. Rxc6 Rh3+! { The only move that keeps things equal. } (47... Kxg5 48. Rd6 Rh3+ 49. Kd2! Rxa3 50. c6 { and the rook is not able to catch the pawn. }) 48. Kd2 Rxa3 49. Ra6 (49. Rf6+ Ke4! { is the key point. } (49... Kxg5?? 50. Rf1 $18 { and neither Black's king nor rook can catch the c-pawn. }) 50. c6 Rd3+ 51. Kc2 Rd4 52. Kc3 Kd5 { And, only now, does Black's rook get back in time to chase down the c-pawn! } 53. b5 Rc4+) 49... h4 50. c6 Ke6?? (50... Ra2+ 51. Kc3 Ra3+ { held the draw, as White cannot advance the king with } 52. Kc4?? { due to the familiar skewering idea of } (52. Kc2 Ra2+ 53. Kc1 Ra3 54. Kc2 Ra2+) (52. Kb2?? Rb3+ 53. Kc2 Rxb4 $19) 52... Ra1! { when the c-pawn is stuck and Black can advance on both flanks. } 53. b5 h3 $19) 51. b5! { Now that the c-pawn is defended and the b-pawn has crossed the midline, White's pawns are far more dangerous. } 51... Kd6 (51... Ra2+ 52. Kc3 Ra3+ 53. Kb4 { A square that was not previously available! } 53... Ra1 54. c7+ Kd7 55. Rc6 $18) 52. Ra7 Rb3 { The critical moment. White underestimates the power of his own pawns. } 53. Rxa4? { White used 21 of his remaining 56 seconds on this move. With more time, he might have made a different decision. } (53. Rd7+! Ke6 (53... Kc5 54. c7 $18) 54. Rd8 Rxb5 55. c7 Rc5 56. c8=Q+ Rxc8 57. Rxc8 { Perhaps White did not trust his rooks power to chase down all the pawns here, but after } 57... Kf5 58. Rc4 Kxg5 59. Rxa4 h3 60. Ke3 $18 { the king is close enough to all of them and the king cannot advance past the midline. }) 53... Rxb5 54. Rxh4 Rb2+ 55. Ke3?! { White used 28 of his remaining 35 seconds here, in a position where the win has already escaped him but every move draws. A faster decision here might have led to a better one two moves later. } 55... Rg2 56. Rc4 Kc7 { So close to the draw, White misevaluates the pawn endgame that results after: } 57. Ke4?? { The losing move was played instantly, but with only seven seconds remaining for the game, it's not like there was an option to slow down. } (57. Rc5 Rxg5 58. Ke4) 57... Rg4+ 58. Kxe5 { A last-ditch chance. } (58. Kd5 Rxc4 59. Kxc4 Kxc6 60. Kd3 Kd5 61. Ke3 e4 { and Black wins: } 62. Kf2 Ke5 63. Ke2 Kf4! 64. Kf2 Kxg5 65. Ke3 Kf5 $19) 58... Rxc4 59. Kf6 { But White can't even win the g-pawn after } 59... Rxc6+ { and Huston escapes! } 60. Kg7 Kd7 61. Kf7 Rd6 62. Kg7 Ke7 63. Kh7 Kf7 64. Kh6 Rd4 65. Kh7 Rh4# { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1