[Event "Women's Candidates"] [Site "Toronto"] [Date "2024.04.13"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Koneru, Humpy"] [Black "Vaishali, Rameshbabu"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2546"] [WhiteTeam "IND"] [BlackElo "2475"] [BlackTeam "IND"] [Annotator "GM Eugene Perelshteyn"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D81"] [Opening "Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation, Accelerated Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/Mez4h4WA/yBQiAFdH"] [Orientation "white"] { [Annotations by GM Eugene Perelshteyn] This was a great opening prep by Humpy, who is much more experienced than the young Vaishali. Black got into trouble quickly in a Grünfeld line that was popular a few decades ago. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Qb3 dxc4 5. Qxc4 Bg7 6. e4 O-O 7. Bf4!? { A rare move that doesn't promise White much, but clearly caught Vaishali by surprise. } 7... c6 { A bit passive, but playable. } (7... Nc6! { is the best antidote, with the idea of } 8. d5 e5! 9. Be3 Nd4! $17 { and Black is clearly better. }) 8. Nf3 Bg4 9. Be2 Nfd7 { Continuing with a passive setup, Black is at risk of getting squeezed due to White having a massive center. } (9... b5 10. Qd3 (10. Qb3 a5) 10... c5! { is more in the spirit of the line! }) 10. Rd1 Na6 11. O-O Bxf3? { This move, with the idea ... e7-e5 doesn't work out for Black. } (11... Qa5 { is probably a better try. }) 12. Bxf3 e5 13. dxe5 Qe8 14. e6! { An instructive pawn sacrifice! Perhaps Vaishali underestimated this well-known idea. } 14... Nb6 (14... fxe6 15. Bg4 { and the e6-pawn falls, with tactics on the d7-knight. }) 15. Qb3 Nc5? { This leads to an Exchange sac, but objectively it's not sound. } (15... Qxe6 16. Qxe6 fxe6 17. Bd6 $16 { would lead to a clear edge for White, but Black can still defend in this endgame. }) 16. Qc2 Nxe6 17. Bd6 Nd4 18. Qd3 $16 { White has a stable edge as she can take on f8 at any point. } 18... Nd7 19. Qe3 c5 20. Be2 Qe6 21. Bxf8 Rxf8 22. b3 a6 23. Bc4 Qe7 { White should be technically winning but some work is still required as the knight on d4 is quite annoying. } 24. Ne2 b5 25. Bd3 Nb6 26. b4!? { An interesting idea to enter a long, forcing line that leads to an endgame. } (26. Kh1 Rd8 27. f4 { perhaps is a more calm approach as Black is having a hard time stopping White's expansion. }) 26... Na4 27. bxc5 Qxc5 28. Rc1 Nxe2+ 29. Bxe2 Qxe3 30. fxe3 { This is the position Humpy was aiming for. However, with the knight coming to c3 and bishop blockaded, it's not a trivial win, even though the engine gives White a big plus. } 30... Nc3 31. Rc2 Be5 32. Rd2 (32. Rfc1 Rc8 33. Rd1! { was a more clever way to activate the other rook, leaving the c2-rook defending the second rank. }) 32... Rc8 { Black has achieved a fortress-like setup. } 33. Bd1 Rc7 34. Rd8+ Kg7 35. Re8 Bd6 36. Bb3 Bc5 37. Rf3? { This logical move throws away all of the edge! } (37. e5 Bxe3+ 38. Kh1 a5 39. e6! { is the way to go, weaving a mating net around Black's king. }) 37... a5 38. Kf1 a4 39. Bd5 b4 40. Ra8 Bd6 41. Ra6 Be5 42. g4 Bxh2 43. Raf6 Nxd5 44. exd5 Rb7 { Now it's White who has to be careful as Black is pushing the queenside pawns! } 45. Kg2 Be5 46. Ra6 b3 47. axb3 axb3 { Run Forrest, Run! } 48. Rf1 b2 49. Rb1 { Just in time! The game is still even. } 49... Kf8 50. Kf3 Ke7 51. g5 Rb4 52. Ra7+ Ke8 53. e4 Kf8 54. Ra3 Kg7 55. Rd3 Rc4? { The losing move as now White's d-pawn decides the fate of this game. } (55... Kf8) 56. d6! Rc8 57. Rd5 Bc3 58. e5 { White's made a serious improvement with pawns on d6 and e5. } 58... Kf8 59. Ke4 Ra8 60. Kd3 Ra3 61. Kc2 Ke8 62. Rd3 { And just like that, Black is lost. } 62... Bb4 63. Rxb2 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0