[Event "The American Cup 2025"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2025.03.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Lee, Alice"] [Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2386"] [BlackElo "2310"] [Annotator "Luka Budisavljevic"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E94"] [Opening "King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Glek Defense"] [StudyName "2025 American Cup"] [ChapterName "Lee, Alice - Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/BAeuvodV/tNx8ji8b"] [Orientation "white"] { In order to get to the Grand Final, IM Alice Lee, the biggest American female prodigy, has shown extremely mature play, which propelled her to beat GM Irina Krush in the previous round. However, the first game of the Champions Final impressed me even more, as it showed deep understanding and remarkable creativity. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 { Tatev opted for the ultra-fighting King's Indian Defense, and Alice went for one of the main lines } 6... Na6 7. O-O e5 8. Be3 Qe7 { The trendiest and the most flexible move in the position. } 9. Qc2 Nb4 10. Qd2 c5 11. d5 Ng4 12. Bg5 f6 13. Bh4 Nh6 14. a3 Na6 { The position is locked, and White has an edge mostly due to her space advantage and more active pieces. However, it can be quite challenging to break through in such positions, as it is hard to open up the position. Alice found a brilliant move that perfectly displays her level of play and confidence! } 15. Ng5!! { What a remarkable move. It sacrifices the knight, prepares to sacrifice a pawn with Ng5-e6, and paralyzes Black's pieces. } 15... Qe8 { Alternatives: } (15... Nc7!? { attempts to stop Ng5-e6, but now we can proceed with } 16. b4 { opening up the queenside. Note that it would be a mistake for Black to play }) (15... fxg5?? { due to } 16. Bxg5 Qf7 17. Bxh6 $18) 16. Ne6! { Alice proceeds with the plan, as she sacrifices a pawn to open up the position and permanently weaken Black's light squares. } 16... Bxe6 17. dxe6 Qxe6 18. Rfd1 Nf7 19. Nd5 { The fruits of the pawn sacrifice are already visible. White's queen and rook are putting pressure along the d-file, while the knight found a new home on d5, which is the best possible square on the board. Additionally, Black's pieces remain extremely passive. It is amazing to see someone this young play with such a level of understanding! } 19... Nd8 20. b4 { Increasing the pressure. } 20... Qf7 21. b5 Nb8 22. Ne3?! { Probably the only mistake Alice had in the game, as she rushed to regain the pawn, which is a human thing to do. However, paralyzing Black's pieces instead would have been even more powerful. } (22. Bg4! $18 { and Black is virtually stalemated, as her knights can't move due to White's Nd5-c7 ideas. }) 22... Nd7 (22... Ne6 { was the best, but not easy to find unless you see the continuation: } 23. Qxd6 h5! { stopping Be2-g4 ideas and putting White's bishop in danger. } (23... Nc6 { doesn't work yet due to } 24. bxc6 Rad8 25. Bg4 Rxd6 26. Rxd6 Nd4 27. Rd7 Qe8 28. c7 $18 { because, while being materially down, White is winning due to her tremendous passed pawn and her piece activity. }) 24. f3 Nc6!! 25. bxc6 Rad8 { an the queen is trapped on d6. }) 23. Qxd6 Nb6 24. a4! { When the position is as dominant as this one, it is crucial not to let foot off the gas, as otherwise Black might be able to find a way to try to consolidate. In this game, Alice did a wonderful job of constantly improving her position and making her opponent's life hard. } 24... Ne6 25. Bg4! { The only move keeping her advantage. } 25... Rfe8 (25... Nd4 { is Black's idea, but it doesn't work anymore due to } 26. Rxd4 exd4 27. Be6 $18) 26. a5! { Maintaining the initiative! } 26... Bf8 27. Qd2 Rad8 28. Bxe6! { Another precise move from White, recognizing that Black's knight was going to be extremely strong on the d4-square. } 28... Qxe6 29. Qe2 Nd7 30. a6 b6 31. Rd5 Be7 32. Rad1 Nf8 33. Qf3 Kg7 34. Ng4 { White has maximized the activity of all her pieces, and Black finally collapses under the pressure. } 34... Rc8 35. Rd6! Qf7 (35... Bxd6 36. Bxf6+ Kg8 37. Nh6#) 36. Rxf6! Qxc4 37. Nxe5 { Black resigned due to the abundance of threats. So far, this was the best game of the tournament, as it had all the elements of a masterpiece, such as creative sacrifices, deep strategic ideas, and a great display of how to maintain and increase the initiative. All American chess fans should be excited as we have yet to see the best of Alice, and she is already showing that she is not just the future, but also the present of American chess! } 1-0