[Event "US Open"] [Site "Rancho Mirage"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "7"] [White "IM Viktor Matviishen"] [Black "GM Vladimir Akopian"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2716"] [Annotator "JJ Lang"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A61"] [Opening "Benoni Defense"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/FRzmURsX/ltvnW9Pe"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. Bf4 Bg7 8. e3 O-O 9. h3 Na6 10. Bxa6 bxa6 { A trendy line that has been played recently by GM Andrey Esipenko as white. Historically, White avoids the capture on a6 because Black hopes that the half-open b-file compensates for the doubled a-pawns, and that the b4 square will be useful for the rook. More recently,White has begun to challenge this wisdom. } 11. Rc1 Rb8 12. b3 a5 13. O-O Ba6 14. Re1 Re8 15. Bh2 Rb4 16. Nd2 Nd7 17. a3?! (17. Bxd6 { While Black appeared to have tactics after } 17... Bxc3 18. Rxc3 Qf6 { White retains an advantage after } 19. Rxc5! Qxd6 (19... Nxc5 { but after accepting the sacrifice, things are murkier } 20. Bxc5 Rb5 21. Bxa7) 20. Rc6 Qxd5 21. Rxa6) 17... Rb7 18. Bxd6 { I am not sure what the inclusion of the last pair of moves did to make this variation better for White. The rook has a new target on b3, and now Bd6xc5 does not come with tempo. } 18... Bxc3 { Compared to a Sicilian Dragon, Black is often quite willing to trade off this piece. But the kingside weaknesses can still be exploited, as happens later in this game. } 19. Rxc3 Qf6 20. Rxc5 Qxd6 21. Rc6 Qxd5 22. Rxa6 Nb8 23. Rf6 Rd7 24. Re2 Qc5 25. Rf4 Red8 26. Rc4 Qxa3 27. Qc2 Qa1+ 28. Kh2 Na6 29. Nf3 Nb4 30. Qe4 { While the a5 pawn helps the knight outpost on b4, Black's lack of central control makes it difficult to do anything with the doubled rooks. } 30... Rd1?! 31. Nd4 Rh1+ 32. Kg3 Qg1 33. Nf3! { A picturesque position. Black has infiltrated with a queen and rook, but White is perfectly safe and sets his sights on Black's king. } 33... Qa1 34. Qe7 Rf8 35. Rd2 Rd1 36. Rxd1 Qxd1 37. Nd4?! (37. Ne5 Qd8 { is what White presumably intended to avoid, but after } 38. Qxa7 Nd5 39. Qd4 { Black is not in the clear just yet, and White has a pawn to boot. }) 37... Qf1 38. Qf6 Nd5 39. Qe5 Nb4 40. Qxa5 Nd3 41. Qd2 Ne1 42. f3 Nd3 43. Nc6 a5 44. Rc3 Nb4 45. Ne7+ { And that's all she wrote. } 45... Kg7 46. Qd4+ f6 47. Rc7 Rf7 48. Qd7 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0