[Event "The American Cup 2025"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2025.03.24"] [Round "9"] [White "Antipov, Mikhail Al."] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2579"] [BlackElo "2838"] [Annotator "Luka Budisavljevic"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C55"] [Opening "Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening"] [StudyName "2025 American Cup"] [ChapterName "Antipov, Mikhal Al. – Nakamura, Hikaru"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/BAeuvodV/MeYXhTSY"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. a4 O-O 6. Nc3 d6 7. a5 Be6 8. a6 b6 9. Nd5 Qc8 10. c3 Bd8 11. O-O Rb8 12. Re1 h6 13. d4 Bg4 14. Bb5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Ne7 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. h3 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Ng6 19. Qh5 Kh7 20. Bd3 f5 21. f3 Qd7 22. g4 e4 23. fxe4 Ne5 24. Be2 Qd6 25. gxf5 c6 26. Kg2 Bc7 27. Bf4 cxd5 28. Rad1 Qe7 29. Rxd5 Rbd8 30. Red1 Rxd5 31. Rxd5 Nf7 32. Qg6+ Kh8 33. Qe6 Qh4 34. Bxc7 Ng5 35. Qd6? { Now, Black has counterplay and it is all but simple to find the best way to defend and win the game. } (35. Qe7! { would win on the spot, as the queen attacks the rook and also crucially protects the e4-pawn, which will limit Black's attack and provide White's king with a safe passage to safety. } 35... Qxh3+ 36. Kf2 Qh4+ 37. Ke3 Qh3+ 38. Kd2 $18) 35... Qxh3+ 36. Kg1 Qe3+ 37. Kf1 Qh3+ 38. Ke1 Qh1+ 39. Bf1 Re8 40. Rd4 (40. Qc6!! { was shockingly winning, but playing such a move in a blitz game tends to result in a fair play report. } 40... Rxe4+ (40... Nf3+ { also looks scary, as White has to find } 41. Kf2 Qh4+ 42. Bg3 Qxe4 43. Qxe8+ Qxe8) 41. Kd2) 40... Nxe4 41. Qg6 Nf6+ 42. Kf2 Ne4+ 43. Ke1 Nf6+ 44. Kf2 Ne4+ 45. Rxe4 { A brave, but necessary, choice to keep the game going. Antipov needs a win for a share of the first-place tie, while Hikaru would be satisfied with a draw. } 45... Qxe4 46. Bd6 Qe3+ 47. Kg2 Qe4+ 48. Kh2 (48. Kg1 { is a way to try to win, as Black doesn't have an easy way of activating the rook. Again, it is hard to find with seconds on the clock. }) 48... Qh4+ 49. Kg1 Re4! 50. Bg2 Qe1+ 51. Bf1 Qh4 52. Bg3 Rg4 { Now it is Antipov who has to find a clever way to save the draw! } 53. Kf2?? (53. Qe8+ Kh7 54. Qg6+! { leads to draw as Black has to go back } 54... Kh8 (54... Rxg6?? 55. fxg6+ Kxg6 56. Bxh4 $18)) 53... Qxg3+ { Antipov resigned, and Hikaru energetically exclaimed: "Finally!," showing how seriously he took the event and how relieved he was. Truly an amazing performance as he unified the American Cup and American Cup Blitz titles. } 0-1