[Event "Queen City of the Prairie"] [Date "2024.07.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Deviprasath, Sharvesh"] [Black "Mynala, Rahul"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2540"] [BlackElo "1978"] [Annotator "Alexey Root"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A01"] [Opening "Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation"] [StudyName "2024 Queen City of the Prairie"] [ChapterName "Deviprasath, Sharvesh - Mynala, Rahul"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/85WB8FDR/BEqP0gSM"] [Orientation "white"] 1. b3 { Larsen's Opening, sometimes known as the "b3 Cowboy Opening" and thus appropriate for playing in Cowtown. } 1... d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. c4 c5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Be2 Nc6 8. O-O O-O 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Be6 11. Nc3 Rc8 12. Rc1 Bd6 13. Na4 Qe7 14. Nxc6 Rxc6 15. Qd4 Rxc1 16. Rxc1 b6 17. Nc3 Ba3 18. Bxa3 Qxa3 19. Rc2 Qe7 20. Bf3 Rd8 21. Nb5 Ne8 22. Qf4 Qd7 23. Nd4 (23. Be2! { keeps Black's queen tied to the defense of the a7-pawn. Moving the pawn allows more of White's pieces to menace Black's a- and b-pawns, for example: } 23... a6 (23... a5 24. Qd4 Rb8) 24. Nd4 b5 25. Rc6) 23... Rc8 24. Rxc8 Qxc8 25. g4 h6 26. h4 Qd8 27. g5 hxg5 28. hxg5 Qd6 29. Qh4 (29. Nxe6 Qxe6 30. Qb8 Qd7 31. Qa8 { keeps pressure on Black's a- and d-pawns. The text move leaves White with a minimal advantage, according to Stockfish 16. }) 29... g6 30. Qh2 Qxh2+ 31. Kxh2 Nd6?? (31... Nc7 32. Kg3 Kg7 { And, unlike in the game, White's king won't penetrate the center and win the d-pawn. }) 32. Kg3 a5 33. Kf4 Nb7 34. Ke5 Nc5 35. Kd6 a4 36. Bxd5 Bxd5 37. Kxd5 Nd3 38. f4 axb3 39. axb3 { To assess who is better in an endgame where each side has one knight and multiple pawns, pretend the knights have disappeared. Then ask yourself who is better in the imagined king-and-pawn endgame. In the present game, White is clearly better, as the white king will capture the b-pawn soon. Then White will have an outside passed pawn. } 39... Kg7 40. Kc6 f6 41. gxf6+ Kxf6 42. Kxb6 g5 43. fxg5+ Kxg5 44. Kc6 Kf6 45. Kd5 Nb4+ 46. Kc4 Na6 47. b4 Ke5 48. b5 Nb8 49. Kc5 Ke4 50. Nc2 Nd7+ 51. Kc6 Ne5+ 52. Kc7 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0