[Event "U.S. Chess Championship - Women"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2024.10.11"] [Round "01"] [White "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Black "Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2314"] [BlackElo "2374"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D45"] [Opening "Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation"] [StudyName "2024 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship"] [ChapterName "Paikidze, Nazi - Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/K5XjRsoK/YSRvqxFs"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessLifeOnline"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 { [%clk 1:30:56] } 1... d5 { [%clk 1:30:37] } 2. c4 { [%clk 1:31:20] } 2... c6 { [%clk 1:30:52] } 3. Nf3 { [%clk 1:31:44] } 3... Nf6 { [%clk 1:31:10] } 4. e3 { [%clk 1:32:08] } 4... a6 { [%clk 1:31:23] } 5. Nc3 { [%clk 1:30:30] } 5... e6 { [%clk 1:31:21] } 6. c5 { [%clk 1:26:56] } 6... b6 { [%clk 1:28:44] } 7. cxb6 { [%clk 1:26:04] } 7... Qxb6 { [%clk 1:27:06] } 8. Bd3 { [%clk 1:23:36] } 8... Nbd7 { [%clk 1:26:22] } 9. O-O { [%clk 1:15:14] } 9... c5 { [%clk 1:23:38] } 10. Na4 { [%clk 1:14:03] } 10... Qa7 { [%clk 1:23:05] } 11. b3 { [%clk 1:11:56] } 11... cxd4 { [%clk 1:03:24] } 12. exd4 { [%clk 1:07:01] } 12... Bd6 { [%clk 1:03:32] } 13. Bb2 { [%clk 1:06:06] } 13... O-O { [%clk 1:00:18] } 14. Rc1 $146 { [%clk 1:04:56] } 14... Ne4 { [%clk 0:52:31] } 15. Bxe4 { [%clk 0:53:06] } 15... dxe4 { [%clk 0:52:48] } 16. Ne5 { [%clk 0:53:10] } 16... Nf6 { [%clk 0:44:43] } 17. Qe2 { [%clk 0:42:31] } 17... a5 { [%clk 0:37:38] } 18. Nc5 { [%clk 0:37:16] } 18... Bb7 { [%clk 0:36:16] } 19. Nc4 { [%clk 0:30:02] } 19... Bf4 { [%clk 0:34:37] } 20. Rce1 { [%clk 0:28:20] } 20... Bd5 { White's pieces are struggling to justify their placement, and it's only a matter of time before Black's blockade against the isolated d-pawn tips the scales in her favor. } { [%clk 0:29:57] } 21. Nd2?! { [%clk 0:19:23] } (21. Bc1 { might have been best, pushing Black's bishop back while re-routing her own bishop to a more active diagonal. } 21... Bc7 22. Bg5 $10) 21... Qb8 { Black's initiative begins in earnest. } { [%clk 0:27:18] } 22. g3 { [%clk 0:16:19] } 22... Bxd2! { It's always difficult to part with a pair of bishops, but this is the first of several well-justified trades of a bishop for a knight we'll see today. } { [%clk 0:25:30] } 23. Qxd2 { [%clk 0:16:47] } 23... Rd8 { White has one fewer piece to play around her isolated d-pawn, and with her dark-squared bishop and rooks currently locked out of play, nobody can really coordinate with her c5-knight. As such, Black is already a bit better. } { [%clk 0:24:00] } 24. Rc1 { [%clk 0:13:36] } 24... h5 { [%clk 0:22:02] } 25. Qg5?! { [%clk 0:12:52] } (25. Rc2 h4 26. Qg5 a4 27. Bc1! { is a nice way to activate White's worst piece, giving her slightly more chances than in the game. }) 25... a4! { [%clk 0:20:38] } 26. Rfe1 { [%clk 0:11:58] } 26... axb3 { [%clk 0:20:20] } 27. a3 { [%clk 0:11:40] } (27. axb3 Ra2 { was equally grim. }) 27... Ra7 { [%clk 0:17:04] } 28. h3 { [%clk 0:11:25] } 28... Qa8 { Cool maneuvering from Black, improving her pieces incrementally and observing that White does not have obvious ways of doing the same. } { [%clk 0:16:41] } 29. Rc3 { [%clk 0:10:01] } 29... Ra5 { [%clk 0:12:52] } 30. g4 { [%clk 0:10:00] } 30... Bc6!? { [%clk 0:06:44] } (30... Nh7 31. Qxh5 Rc8 32. g5 Nf8 33. Rec1 Rc6 $17 { was apparently the best defense, but none of this is readily obvious. }) 31. Qh4 { [%clk 0:08:24] } 31... Rd5 { [%clk 0:05:30] } 32. Rxb3 { [%clk 0:06:05] } 32... Qd8 { [%clk 0:04:18] } 33. Qg3 { [%clk 0:06:06] } 33... Ra8 { [%clk 0:04:26] } 34. Qf4?! { [%clk 0:03:27] } (34. Nxe4 Nxe4 35. Rxe4 h4 36. Qd3 Qd7 { is still better for Black, but it's less obvious what she can do to prove it. }) 34... hxg4 { [%clk 0:03:49] } 35. Nxe4? { [%clk 0:02:09] } (35. hxg4 Nxg4 { Threats of ... Rd5-g5 leave the knight immune, but } 36. Nxe4 Qh4 37. Qg3 { is more resilient than what was played in the game. }) 35... Rf5 { [%clk 0:03:29] } 36. Nxf6+ { [%clk 0:02:21] } 36... Qxf6?! { Approaching the time control and low on the clock, Black misses a more immediate winning plan. } { [%clk 0:03:37] } (36... Rxf6! 37. Qg3 (37. Qe5 { anticipates ... Qd8-d5, but only for one turn. } 37... Rf5 $19 { and Black's queen is getting to her preferred outpost. }) 37... Qd5 $19 { This is where the queen wanted to be! }) 37. Qg3 { [%clk 0:02:14] } 37... Bd5 { [%clk 0:03:40] } 38. hxg4 { [%clk 0:02:17] } 38... Rf4 { [%clk 0:02:58] } 39. Rbe3? { [%clk 0:01:06] } (39. Bc1! { White's last chance was to re-route her bishop at all costs. } 39... Rxf2!? (39... Rxd4? { allows a draw with } 40. Rb8+ Rxb8 41. Qxb8+ Kh7 42. Qh2+ Kg8 43. Qb8+ $10) (39... Rxg4! { is maybe a bit better than 39. ... Rxf2 } 40. Qxg4 Bxb3 41. Re3 { as Black managed to keep queens on. But after } 41... Bd5 42. Rg3 { White has something resembling an ounce of counterplay on the dark squares. } 42... Rc8 43. Bd2 Rc2 44. Qf4 Qxf4 45. Bxf4 f6 $17 { This is probably the best Black could ask for in terms of winning chances. White's king is still weak and all three of White's pawns are potential targets. Still...if the rooks come off, that's that. }) 40. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 41. Kxf2 Bxb3 $15 { brings us much closer to a drawn opposite-colored bishops endgame! }) 39... Qg5! { [%clk 0:02:03] } 40. Re5 { [%clk 0:01:09] } (40. f3? Bxf3 $19 { wins the queen, essentially. }) 40... Qxg4 { [%clk 0:02:05] } 41. Bc1 { [%clk 0:20:27] } 41... Rxd4 { [%clk 0:28:56] } 42. Bb2 { [%clk 0:15:20] } 42... Qh4! { Black is only up one pawn, but with queens coming off and all four rooks staying on, the severity of Black's pressure against White's king is still decisive. } { [%clk 0:26:44] } 43. Qxh4 { [%clk 0:11:36] } 43... Rxh4 { [%clk 0:27:02] } 44. f3 { [%clk 0:11:53] } 44... Bxf3 $19 { After having to part with a second pawn, the win becomes, as they say, a matter of technique: } { [%clk 0:26:46] } 45. Rb5 { [%clk 0:11:03] } 45... Rd8 { [%clk 0:25:32] } 46. Kf2 { [%clk 0:07:19] } 46... Bc6 { [%clk 0:25:52] } 47. Rb6 { [%clk 0:05:34] } 47... Rf4+ { [%clk 0:25:33] } 48. Kg3 { [%clk 0:05:46] } 48... Rc4 { [%clk 0:25:20] } 49. Re3 { [%clk 0:05:21] } 49... Rd2 { [%clk 0:25:02] } 50. Kh3 { [%clk 0:05:05] } 50... Kh7 { [%clk 0:22:18] } 51. Rg3 { [%clk 0:04:40] } 51... e5 { [%clk 0:22:34] } 52. Re3 { [%clk 0:03:30] } 52... g5 { [%clk 0:21:44] } 53. Rxc6 { [%clk 0:02:29] } 53... Rxc6 { [%clk 0:22:12] } 54. Bxe5 { [%clk 0:02:55] } 54... f5 { [%clk 0:22:24] } 55. Bc3 { [%clk 0:02:25] } 55... Rh6+ { 0-1 Black wins. } { [%clk 0:22:42] } 0-1