[Event "Import"] [Site "https://lichess.org/bKE5HHRM"] [Date "2021.11.18"] [White "Karl Tolentino"] [Black "Nathan Gan"] [Result "1-0"] [TimeControl "-"] [Termination "Normal"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D37"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/axel_muller"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/KdCUQWjQ/YhJTP5M0"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nh5 { The old adage of the bishop pair advantage is a bit overrated, in my opinion. Not a mistake quite yet but its important to understand where Black's play comes from. } 7. Be5 { I like this move for White. I was privy to the receiving end of this maneuver vs another master Sam Gabriel on the Black side vs a London set up years ago. White's bishop dominates the offside knight, and for black to justify his previous play, he has to weaken his kingside structure with f6. Seems like a reasonable price for the bishop pair, though it would be a level trade. } 7... Nd7 { Black wants the whole cake, planning to take the bishop pair without spoiling his structure. Ambitious, though this fails for tactical reasons. White now wins a pawn and the rest of the game is centered around translating that pawn advantage to a full point. } (7... f6) 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Nxd5 Nxe5 10. dxe5 c6 11. Nxe7+ Qxe7 12. Be2 g6 13. h3 Be6 14. O-O Ng7 15. Qc2 Bd5 16. e4 Be6 17. Rfd1 Rfd8 18. a3 Rac8 19. Rac1 Nh5 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. Qc5 { Right idea, wrong execution on my part. White wants to trade things off to make the extra pawn count, but trading queens off this way gives black too much activity, and the engine shows that Black now has a chance to take White's weak e5 pawn. There was no need to allow this- and contesting the open d-file with Rd1 was more accurate. } 21... Qxc5 22. Rxc5 Nf4 23. Kf1 Kf8 24. Rc2 Bb3 { Black misses their last chance to equalize. Instead he can activate his king and prepare to clear the g6 square for his knight via h6, g5, then Ng6, scooping up the extra pawn and white's only claim to an advantage. } (24... Ke7 25. Rd2 Rxd2 26. Nxd2 h6 27. h4 g5 28. hxg5 hxg5 29. f3) 25. Rd2 Rxd2 26. Nxd2 Be6 27. h4 Ke7 28. f3 h5 29. Kf2 Nxe2 30. Kxe2 b5 31. b4 a6 32. Ke3 Kd7 33. Kd4 Kc7 34. Kc5 Bd7 35. Nb3 Be8 36. Nd4 Bd7 37. f4 Be8 38. f5 Bd7 39. e6 fxe6 40. fxg6 Be8 41. Nxe6+ Kd7 42. g7 Bf7 43. Ng5 Bg8 44. e5 { 1-0 Black resigns. } 1-0