[Event "American Cup 2023 Women's Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, United States"] [Date "2023.03.27"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Lee, Alice"] [Black "Krush, Irina"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2362"] [BlackElo "2432"] [Annotator "Lang,JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E11"] [Opening "Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/DZGTvv5d/xGKRLKUC"] [Orientation "white"] { [%evp 0,95,28,28,24,9,9,9,43,43,48,30,26,13,0,8,18,19,13,18,18,18,13,11,24,2, 20,0,2,-16,-2,-14,-16,-13,-5,6,24,25,38,29,33,43,51,16,24,25,90,102,118,50,209, 236,301,353,399,330,328,403,397,351,351,351,356,330,343,219,219,227,256,252, 252,222,261,258,266,271,266,246,247,247,247,252,251,246,246,253,248,238,244, 247,247,249,280,263,263,281,292,304] } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 (4. Nbd2 { attempts to win the bishop pair and is also an option, but Black also has the option } 4... O-O 5. a3 Be7 { , which can lead to complications. }) (4. Nc3 { transposes to the Nimzo-Indian Defense (3. Nc4 Bb4 4. Nf3), but one of the main reasons of 3. Nf3 is to prevent the Nimzo-Indian. }) 4... Bxd2+ { Black can also defend the bishop without trading it, but it is reasonable that Krush traded the bishops, especially in a game where she only needs a draw. } (4... a5) (4... Qe7) (4... c5) 5. Qxd2 d5 6. cxd5?! { I think Lee should keep the tension in the center with } (6. e3 { because Black's bishop still needs to find a place to develop, and White can play for a space advantage. }) 6... exd5 7. Nc3 Bf5?! { This move is slightly inaccurate because it gives White a short-term opportunity to gain space. } (7... c6 8. e3 Bf5) 8. e3?! (8. Qf4! { White gains a tempo by attacking the bishop, and gains space by playing h2-h3 and g3-g4. } 8... g6 9. e3 Nbd7 10. h3 (10. Nb5 { is also possible, but Black can equalize with the concrete line } 10... O-O 11. Qxc7 Qxc7 12. Nxc7 Rac8 13. Nb5 { wins a pawn, but Black probably has enough counterplay with an active rook } 13... Rc2 14. Nd6 Rxb2 15. Nxf5 gxf5 16. Bd3 Ne4) 10... c6 11. g4 Be6 12. Bd3 $14 { Both sides will probably castle on the queenside, and Black's bishop is not useful at the moment. }) 8... O-O 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 c6 { This is a Carlsbad pawn structure with both pairs of bishops traded, so Black does not have any potential space disadvantage. } 11. O-O a5 12. Na4 (12. a3 { If White tries a minority attack on the queenside, Black can easily react by playing } 12... Nbd7 13. b4 b5! { when White does not have enough pieces to take advantage of the weak c6-pawn, and Black is going to move ...Nd7-b6-c4 quickly. For example, after } 14. Ne2 Nb6 15. Ne5 Qc7 16. Rfc1 Nc4 $15 { White cannot win the pawn, and Black has an advantage because of White's passive position. }) 12... Ne4 13. Rac1 (13. Ne5 f6 14. Nf3 Nd7) 13... Nd7 14. Nc5 Ndxc5 15. dxc5 Qe7 16. Nd4 { White is holding onto the c5-pawn through pinning the knight after Qa3, and if Black takes the pawn, she will have to give up the c6-pawn by playing ...b7-b6 to save the knight. } 16... a4 { I think this move is played slightly too early and Black should wait until White defends the pawn to play ...a5-a4. White cannot make progress without defending the c5-pawn. } (16... g6 17. Qc2 (17. Qa3 { is the other way to defend the c5-pawn, but White is not making progress on the queenside. } 17... h5 $15) 17... a4 { Any attempted pawn break from White will be met with Black's rooks taking the open file. } 18. b3 axb3 19. axb3 Ra3 { White does not have time to fight for the open a-file because she needs to keep the c5-pawn defended. } 20. b4 Rfa8 $15) 17. f3 Nxc5?! { Krush ends up exchanging a pair of pawns, but she creates an isolated pawn that could lead to a long-term disadvantage. Black does not have any weaknesses, so her position is completely okay if she does not take the pawn. White's knight may move to d6, but Black should not worry too much about it because the knight is not very useful there. } (17... Nf6 { is also good for Black. } 18. Nf5 Qe6 19. Nd6 Rfb8 { White's pieces are too far away to create an advantage with the knight on d6. }) (17... Ng5 { [%csl Gg6][%cal Gg7g6] } 18. Nf5 { Otherwise Black plays ...g7-g6 and White does not have squares to move her pieces to. } 18... Qe6 (18... Qf6 19. Nd6 Ne6 (19... Qxb2) 20. Qc3 Qxc3 21. Rxc3 Rfd8)) 18. Qa3 b6 { This is the only move because Black cannot keep the pawn while defending the knight. } (18... Ra5? { Black cannot hold onto the pawn because she would lose her knight. } 19. Rc3 Rc8 20. b4 $18) 19. Nxc6 Qf6 20. Nb4?! (20. Nd4 { prevents Black from playing . ..d5-d4 and leaves the d-pawn "isolated" instead of "active." }) 20... Rad8 (20... d4 21. Nd5 Qd6 (21... Qd8 22. Nxb6 (22. e4 f5 23. Nxb6 Qxb6 24. Qxc5 Qxc5 25. Rxc5 fxe4 26. fxe4 d3 27. Rd1) 22... Qxb6 23. Qxc5 Qxc5 24. Rxc5 dxe3) 22. e4 f5 23. Rfd1 fxe4 24. fxe4) 21. Rfd1 (21. Rcd1 Qg5 (21... d4 22. exd4 { Black cannot take the pawn because after } 22... Rxd4 { , White has } 23. Nd5 Qe5 24. Ne7+ Kh8 (24... Qxe7 25. Rxd4) 25. Nc6 (25. Qc3 { also wins material. }) 25... Rxd1 26. Nxe5 $18) 22. Rd4 $14 { Black has an isolated pawn and might lose the pawn for compensation. }) 21... d4! 22. e4 (22. exd4 { does not win a pawn due to Black giving check as a resource. } 22... Rxd4 23. Nd5 Qe5 24. Ne7+ Kh8 25. Nc6 Rxd1+ { Now Black takes the rook with check, which is why White should have played 21. Rcd1 (there is no check). }) 22... Rd6?! (22... d3! { Krush needs to activate her pawn further in order to gain space for her queen. } 23. Qc3 (23. Nxd3 Nxd3 24. Rxd3 Rxd3 25. Qxd3 Qxb2) 23... Qxc3 24. Rxc3 f5 25. exf5 Rxf5 { White cannot win the pawn and Black's pieces are too active for White to gain an advantage. }) 23. Nd5 Qg5 24. Nxb6! { Lee takes the material and now it is up to Krush to prove compensation for the pawn. It turns out that she does not have concrete counterplay, and should search for the best position to defend down a pawn. } 24... Nxe4?? { This move loses a knight due to two pieces being under attack after White's next move. } (24... Rg6 25. g3 (25. Rc2? { Protecting the pawn with the rook loses material after } 25... d3 26. Rxd3 { as White has to give up the exchange because the b6-knight and c2-rook cannot be simultaneously protected. } (26. Rf2 Rxb6) 26... Nxd3 27. Nd5 f5 28. Qxd3 fxe4 $17 { Although the material is equal, there are open files for Black's rooks and White's king could soon be in danger. }) 25... Nxe4 (25... Rxb6 26. Rxc5 Qe3+ 27. Qxe3 dxe3 28. Rc2 f5 29. exf5 Rxf5 30. Kg2 { Black may have enough counterplay for a draw, but this position is very hard to evaluate during a game, especially when there are no concrete resources for Black while being down a pawn. }) 26. Nd7 Rd8 27. fxe4 Rxd7 28. Rc5 Qd8 29. Rdc1 { It looks like Black cannot prevent the threat of 30. Rc8, but Black has the resource } 29... Qf8! 30. Qxa4 (30. Rc8 Rd8 31. Qxf8+ Rxf8 32. R8c4 Rb6 33. Rxd4 Rxb2 34. Rxa4 Re8 { Black has enough counterplay for the pawn, and it is not difficult to hold a draw from here. }) 30... Rgd6 { Black is down a pawn, but still has chances to hold a draw due to a passed pawn and White's weakened king. }) (24... Rxb6 25. Rxc5 Qe3+ 26. Qxe3 dxe3 27. Rc2) 25. Nc8 $18 { I think that Krush did not see this move, as she spent 22 out of the remaining 31 minutes on the next move. Black cannot defend the rook and knight simultaneously, so she will have to lose one of them. } 25... d3?! { Rook moves do not save the knight. } (25... Rg6 26. Ne7+ $18) (25... Rdd8 26. Ne7+ Kh8 27. fxe4 $18) 26. fxe4 $18 { White is up a knight without any compensation for Black. } 26... Rd7 27. Qc5 Qd8 28. Nb6 Rd4 29. Nd5 Rxe4 30. Rxd3 Rfe8 31. Rdd1 Qh4 32. Qf2 { White loses a pawn from this exchange, but it could make the winning task simpler without queens. } 32... Qxf2+ 33. Kxf2 Re2+ 34. Kf3 Rxb2 35. Re1 Rd8 36. Re2 Rb5 37. Ne7+ Kf8 38. Rc8 Rxc8 39. Nxc8 Rf5+ 40. Ke4 g6 41. Nd6 Rf1 42. Kd4 f5 43. Nc4 Kg7 44. Kd3 f4 45. Ke4 Kf6 46. Nd2 Rh1 47. Nf3 g5 48. Re1 { Black now has to trade rooks down a knight, so Krush resigned. } 1-0