[Event "2026 National Invitational Tournaments"] [Site "Grand Rapids, MI"] [Date "2026.08.05"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Julio A Morella"] [Black "Adamson, Robby"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2297"] [BlackElo "2292"] [Annotator "Foisor,Sabina"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B25"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Closed"] [StudyName "2026 U.S. Open and Invitationals, Pt. 1"] [ChapterName "Julio A Morella - Adamson, Robby"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/GybCbfWL/ZuU2STFj"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 g6 5. d3 Bg7 6. Bg5 Nf6 7. Qc1 h6 8. Bd2 e5 9. Nge2 Be6 10. Nd5 Bxd5 11. exd5 Ne7 12. c4 b5? { [%anno "ChessLifeOnline", chesslifeonline] After a brilliant game in the previous round, the pressure of being the sole leader must have been stressful going into this round for Robby. Playing the same aggressive style against Julio proved to not be in his favor. Instead, I believe that a move such as } (12... h5 { [%anno "ChessLifeOnline", chesslifeonline] , focusing on the kingside, would have been a more suitable approach for this game. Then, } 13. O-O O-O { [%anno "ChessLifeOnline", chesslifeonline] followed by bringing the knight to d4 and focusing on the kingside — instead of trying to complicated matters in a Benko-style position — would be practical. In my opinion, Black does not need to take risks, especially now that the light-squared bishop has been traded and the dark-squared bishop is not opened as it is in the Benko (limiting Black's potential for tactics). } { [%cal Ge7f5,Gf5d4,Gf6h7,Gf7f5] }) 13. cxb5 a6 14. bxa6 Qb6 15. O-O O-O 16. a4 Qxa6 17. Qc4! { [%anno "ChessLifeOnline", chesslifeonline] The right approach to being up a pawn. } 17... Nd7 18. a5 f5 19. Rab1 Rfc8 20. Rfc1 Bf8?! (20... Qxc4 { [%anno "ChessLifeOnline", chesslifeonline] was not really ideal, but necessary! } 21. Rxc4 Rcb8 22. Rcc1 Rb3 { Black has to keep the initiative one way or another. }) 21. Qxa6! { [%anno "ChessLifeOnline", chesslifeonline] This next sequence shows why the trading of queens on c4 was necessary! Now after } 21... Rxa6 22. b4! { [%anno "ChessLifeOnline", chesslifeonline] Black will never get the chance to win back the pawn, and White's play is relatively simple! } 22... cxb4 23. Bxb4 Rxc1+ 24. Rxc1 Nc5 25. Bxc5 dxc5 26. Rxc5 { [%anno "ChessLifeOnline", chesslifeonline] From here, it was just a matter of time until the scoresheets were signed. } 26... Kf7 27. f4 Bg7 28. Kf2 exf4 29. gxf4 Bb2 30. Rb5 Ba3 31. Nd4 Bd6 32. Ne6 Nc8 33. Ke3 Ke8 34. d4 g5 35. fxg5 hxg5 36. Bf1 Ra7 37. Nxg5 Bxh2 38. Rc5 Ne7 39. Bb5+ Kf8 40. a6 Bd6 41. Ne6+ Kg8 42. Bc4 Kf7 43. Ra5 Nc8 44. Nd8+ Ke8 45. Nc6 Ra8 46. Kd3 Kd7 47. Rb5 Bc7 48. Ne5+ Ke7 49. Rb7 Kd8 50. Nf7+ 1-0