[Event "U.S. Chess Championships 2024"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2024.10.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Black "Lee, Alice"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2312"] [BlackElo "2395"] [Annotator "FM Zoey Tang"] [FEN "r1rq2k1/1b2Bppp/2n1p3/p1pn4/PpN5/2PP1NPP/1P2QPB1/R3R1K1 b - - 0 18"] [Variant "From Position"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/K5XjRsoK/hCvjLG88"] [Orientation "white"] 18... Ncxe7?? { Somehow, this unassuming move that took but 22 seconds to play is a blunder. } (18... Qxe7 { , stopping Nf3-g5, was necessary: } 19. Rac1 Rd8 { and Black is fine. }) 19. Ng5! { A bolt from the blue. There's just no good way to stop Nxf7-Qxe6-Nd6. } 19... Ng6 (19... Qf8 20. Nd6 Rc7 21. Nxb7 Rxb7 22. c4 $18) (19... Ra6 20. Qh5 $18) 20. Nxf7 Qf6 21. Ncd6?? { Played with the last few minutes of White's time, but unfortunately it's not the most accurate choice. } (21. Qxe6! { is winning with a bit of calculation, since after } 21... Qxe6 22. Rxe6 Kxf7 23. Rae1 { there's no way to stop both Nc4-d6+ and Nc4-d6-xb7. } 23... Kf8 24. Nd6 $18) (21. Nfd6 { , claiming the knight was unsafe on f7. } 21... Ndf4 22. gxf4 Bxg2 23. Qxe6+ Qxe6 24. Rxe6 $18) 21... Ndf4! { Counterplay! } 22. gxf4 Bxg2 23. Qg4 (23. f5! { is a difficult move to find in time trouble. White opens the e-file to gain a few tempi. } 23... exf5 24. Nxc8 Rxc8 25. Ng5! $16) 23... Nxf4 24. Nxc8 h5 25. Qg3 h4 26. Qe3? (26. Qg4 Bxh3 27. Qg5 { , despite losing a pawn with tempo, is better. White is able to force a queen trade if needed, important now that her king is so exposed. } 27... Kxf7 28. Nd6+ Ke7 29. Nf5+! Bxf5 30. Qxf4) 26... Rxc8 27. Ne5 Bxh3?! { Certainly the most natural move, but Black had something even stronger. } (27... Qf5! { and Black's threat of ... Nf4-d5 and ... Qf5xh3 is pretty impossible to stop. } 28. c4 Bb7 29. Kh2 Ng2 $19) 28. Kh2 Ng2 29. Ng4?! { Playing this sharp position on increment couldn't have been fun. } (29. Nd7 Qf7 30. Ne5 Qf6 31. Nd7 Qe7 32. Qxh3 Nxe1 33. Rxe1 Qxd7 34. Qxe6+) 29... Bxg4 30. Kxg2 Rf8 { White is technically up material, but Black is obviously the one pushing for the win here. } 31. Rg1 { Preparing a hiding spot for the king on h2. } 31... bxc3 32. bxc3 Qxc3 33. Rac1 Qb2 34. Rxc5 Bf3+?? { Allowing the king to escape. At this point, Lee is also nearing time pressure. } (34... h3+ 35. Kh1 Rxf2! 36. Rxg4 Rf1+ 37. Qg1 Rxg1+ 38. Rxg1 Qe2) 35. Kh3! Bd5 36. Rxd5?? { One last chance. } (36. f4! { White ends up being winning after all! This move prepares Qe3-e5 to finally force a queen trade. } 36... Rf7 37. Qe5 Qb7 38. Rb5 $18) 36... exd5 37. Qe6+ Rf7 38. Qe8+ Rf8 39. Qe6+ Rf7 (39... Kh7 40. Rg5 Rf3+ 41. Kg4 Rf6 42. Rh5+ Rh6 43. Qf5+ Kh8 44. Qf8+) 40. Qe8+ Rf8 41. Qe6+ { Draw. } 1/2-1/2