16....Nfxe4??Black can't resist, but this gives away all of his advantage
and then some.16...h6was calm, cool, collected, and most importantly
good.17.Ng3Qb518.Rf3Be7and Black's huge space advantage guarantees
him a stable edge if he can fend off White's kingside attack.17.dxe4?!...This is how White continued, and White is still much better.17.b4!!This brilliant move was extremely difficult to spot. Who would think that,
with all of these hanging pieces, the best move would be to put a pawn en
prise. However, this is a deflection tactic that wins the game.Qxb418.Bxe4Nxe419.dxe4Now there's no discovery and White is up a clean piece for two
pawns.17.Bxe4??Without the inclusion of b2-b4, this move fails
miserably.Nxe418.dxe4d3+and Black wins back his knight while White is
sadly overextended.17....d318.Be3dxe219.Qxe2The two bishops
eventually decided the game in the favor of the 2023 National Middle School
Runner-Up!1-0