[Event "U.S. Chess Championships 2024"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2024.10.14"] [Round "4"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2689"] [BlackElo "2590"] [Annotator "FM Zoey Tang"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D41"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense"] [StudyName "2024 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship"] [ChapterName "Sevian, Samuel - Yoo, Christopher Woojin"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/K5XjRsoK/He1KiEQJ"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 { The Semi-Tarrasch generally has a drawish reputation at the highest levels, and it's not the most common. Clearly, Sevian was not expecting this, as he spent nine minutes on his next move. } 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. e4 dxe4 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Ng5 Be6 { Following the mainline so far. There's barely any imbalance in the position. } 10. a3 Nc6 11. Bf4 Bb3 12. Ngxe4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Be7 14. Nd2 Be6 (14... Re8! { is a cute option; using tactics to justify positional moves. } 15. Be2 (15. Nxb3 Bg5+ 16. Be3?! Bxe3 17. fxe3 Rxe3+ $15 { [%cal Ge3e1,Ge3b3] }) 15... Ba4 { The point! This is an option now, since if } 16. b3 { Black has } 16... Bf6 17. Rd1 Nd4 { with an edge. }) 15. O-O-O Rc8 { White has no real threat with the discovery. } 16. Kb1 Ke8 17. Bc4 Rd8 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Ne4 Kf7 20. Bd6 Rd7 { Not technically necessary. Better was } (20... Rhf8 { , continuing to improve the pieces, since White doesn't have any real threat. }) 21. Bxe7 Rxe7 { Ceding the d-file is not great, even if it's only temporary. } (21... Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Kxe7 23. Nc5 Rd8 24. Rxd8 Nxd8) 22. Nd6+ Kg6 23. Rc1 Nd4 { Avoiding Nd6xb7 followed by Rc1xc6. } 24. Rc4 (24. Nc8 Rf7 { does not actually win a pawn for White. } { [%cal Gf7f2] }) 24... Nf5? (24... e5 { , though the position after } 25. f4 { does appear somewhat frightening. Luckily, Black has } 25... b5! 26. Rc5 exf4 27. Rd1 Ne6 28. Rxb5 Rd7 { and it should be a simple draw. }) 25. Nc8 { Suddenly, ... Re7-f7 no longer counterattacks the f2-pawn. } 25... Rd7 26. Rhc1? { To be honest, I'm not entirely sure why Sevian didn't play the most obvious 26. Nxa7. He had 20 minutes on his clock, and spent only five to reject the capture. } (26. Nxa7 Rd2 { White's main difficulty is getting the knight back into the game, but being able to give up the extra pawn will always be useful. } 27. Re1 (27. Nb5 Rxf2 28. g4 Ne3 29. Re4 $14 { offers a modest advantage. }) 27... Nd6 28. Rf4 Ra8 29. Rxe6+ Kg5 30. Ra4 b5 31. Ra5 $16) 26... a6 { No more chances materialize for either player. Black guards the e6-pawn quickly, and White can't break through against only one weakness. } 27. Re4 Kf6 28. Nb6 Rd6 29. Nc4 Rc6 30. Rce1 Rd8 31. Na5 Rb6 32. Nc4 Rc6 33. Na5 Rb6 34. g4 Nd4 35. Nc4 Rb5 36. h4 Ke7 37. Rd1 Nc6 38. Rde1 Nd4 39. Rd1 Nc6 40. Rxd8 Nxd8 41. Kc2 Nf7 42. Rd4 Ne5 43. Nxe5 Rxe5 44. Kd3 Re1 45. Rb4 b5 46. a4 Re5 47. axb5 axb5 48. Rd4 Re1 49. Rb4 Re5 50. Rd4 Re1 51. Rb4 Re5 { Draw. } 1/2-1/2