[Event "USCF/WS/22VP10 (USA)"] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2022.08.31"] [White "Brink, Eric"] [Black "McCaffery, Michael"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Irons,Robert"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D67"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Main Line"] [StudyName "Check is in the Mail: November 2023"] [ChapterName "Brink, Eric - McCaffery, Michael"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/MPKW9q1w/ZCgtLGmp"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. Nf3 Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 c6 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Rc1 b5? $16 { After this the ... c6-c5 break becomes irrelevant. Black gets to play it on move 23, only to resign on move 27. Instead either } (11... Nxc3 12. Rxc3 e5 $14 { or }) (11... b6 12. Nxd5 exd5 13. Be2 $14 { are playable. }) 12. Nxd5 exd5 13. Bd3 Bb7 14. Qc2 g6 15. a3 Rac8 16. b4 a5 17. bxa5 Qxa3 18. Ra1 Qd6 19. Qb2? $14 (19. a6! Ba8 20. Rfc1 $16 { is better than the text. }) 19... Nf6?! $16 (19... Rc7 20. Ne1 Ra8 21. Nc2 Bc8 $14 { White is slightly better, but Black is still in the game. }) 20. a6 Ba8 21. Rfc1 Ne4 22. Qc2 f5 23. Ne5 c5 24. Bxb5 cxd4? { This just makes it easier for White. } 25. Qxc8! Rxc8 26. Rxc8+ Kg7 27. exd4 { All of White's pieces are actively placed, while Black can only be proud of the knight, and the black bishop is toast any time White wants it. Oh, and let's not forget the passed a-pawn. } 1-0