[Event "National Elementary School Championship"] [Site "Baltimore"] [Date "2023.05.13"] [White "Rohan Lee"] [Black "Aditeya Das"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1714"] [BlackElo "2146"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B99"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Main Line"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/OZkFHWFD/JVycOYTR"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 { On the top board yesterday, we saw a Sicilian Dragon, and here Das opts for the Najdorf, the most popular Sicilian. } 6. Bg5 { Lee, not afraid, goes for the classical main line, one of the most combative options. } (6. Be3 { Is another critical line that almost always leads to huge opposite-sides castling attacks with f2-f3 and g2-g4 coming from White. }) (6. Be2 { is the "quiet" line, in quotes because no Najdorf can truly be quiet, but here much of White's play is focused on provoking weaknesses in the center and on the queenside, instead of starting huge kingside initiatives that are so typical of the Sicilian. }) (6. Bc4 { Is the Sozin Attack, popularized by both Sozin and Fischer. The point is to control the d5-square and put pressure on f7, but the bishop does sometimes fall prey to a ... b7-b5 attack and end up misplaced. }) 6... e6 7. f4 Be7 { Das goes for a classical line, just developing his pieces logically. } (7... Qb6!? { is the poisoned pawn variation that was once so popular at the top levels. } 8. Qd2! { White has to be willing to part with pawns in exchange for piece play, and Black must in turn take the pawn in order to have any chances. } 8... Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. e5! { When you are ahead this much in development, you have to strike, and what better way to do so than by ripping apart the center? Both sides find themselves in a dynamically equal position with great winning chances. }) 8. Qf3 Nbd7!? { Not the most popular line, but Black is developing another piece and there can't be anything particularly wrong with it. } (8... Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. g4! { is the main line. White starts a huge kingside initiative, and it is strong even though Black hasn't castled yet. }) 9. O-O-O (9. Bc4! { is the way to attempt to exploit Black's move order. The queen is not yet patrolling the c-file, and this allows White to play for some tricks on the e6-square. For instance, now } 9... Qc7?! 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Nxe6 { is powerful for White, with three pieces for the pawn after Ne6xg7+ and Black's king stranded in the center. }) 9... Qc7 10. Bd3 { The second-most popular continuation, and one that avoids decades of theory after 10. g4. } (10. g4 b5 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. g5 Nd7 13. f5!? { The other "poisoned pawn" line in the 6. Bg5 Najdorf! This position has been reached over 2,600 times in the database. } 13... Bxg5+ { is playable, but White will win the pawn back after } (13... O-O!? { is the modern approach, after decades of being neglected for reasons that should be obvious. And yet, according to the computer, White does not have a sufficient attack, and Black should be fine with great chances on the queenside. }) 14. Kb1 Ne5 15. Qh5 Qd8 16. Nxe6 { with a sharp game. }) 10... b5 11. Rhe1 { Even if it is not the main line, the players are still well inside theory, with over 150 games in this exact position, and they are following Spassky – Fischer from the World Championship in 1972. } 11... Bb7 12. Qg3 O-O-O 13. Bxb5! { By now the players should be out of theory (unless they've done their homework on the 1972 match), so Lee going for this against a huge rating favorite is a testament to his fighting spirit and bravery. All the pieces are poised for a sacrifice like this, and this is what the Najdorf is all about. } (13. e5?! { looks tempting with the queen on g3, but it's a bit premature. } 13... dxe5 14. fxe5 Nxe5! { Black must meet the initiative head-on to equalize. } 15. Bxb5! { White isn't one to be bullied into submission, and the position is equal despite the flying pieces. } 15... Ng6 16. Qxc7+ Kxc7 17. Bf1 $10) (13. Bxf6 { was Spassky's choice. (Editor's note: I'm going to include this game because it is such an enchanting example of the massive complexities of this opening) } 13... Nxf6 14. Qxg7 Rdf8 15. Qg3 b4 16. Na4 Rhg8 17. Qf2 Nd7 18. Kb1 Kb8 19. c3 Nc5 20. Bc2 bxc3 21. Nxc3 Bf6 22. g3 h5 23. e5 dxe5 24. fxe5 Bh8 25. Nf3 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 { Until now, Spassky has played an essentially perfect game even according to today's computers, who argue that Black does not have adequate compensation for the pawn. } 27. Ng5 (27. Qe2 Bxf3 28. Qxf3 Bxe5 29. Rd1 { is the computer's line, arguing that White should have a favorable minor piece ending. }) 27... Bxe5 28. Qxf7 Rd7 29. Qxh5 Bxc3 30. bxc3 Qb6+ 31. Kc1? (31. Ka1!! Qa5 32. Qh8+! Ka7 33. Rb1 { is the only way for White to generate sufficient counterplay to stay in the game. }) 31... Qa5 32. Qh8+ Ka7 33. a4 Nd3+ 34. Bxd3 Rxd3 35. Kc2 Rd5 36. Re4 Rd8 37. Qg7 Qf5 38. Kb3 Qd5+? (38... Rd1!) (38... Rd2!) 39. Ka3 Qd2 40. Rb4 Qc1+ 41. Rb2 Qa1+ 42. Ra2 Qc1+ 43. Rb2 Qa1+ { and the players agreed to a draw in Spassky – Fischer, Reykjavik, 1972. }) 13... axb5 14. e5? { Too fancy, there was no reason not to take the free pawn with tempo. } (14. Ndxb5 Qb8 15. e5! { Only now this break works. } 15... dxe5 16. fxe5 { White is down a piece for two pawns, but Black's king is wide open, and all of White's pieces are on their perfect squares. } 16... h6 17. exf6 Qxg3 18. hxg3 Nxf6 19. Bf4 $16 { And White ends up in an endgame with three connected passers on the queenside and a stable edge to go with them. }) 14... dxe5 15. fxe5 b4! { Das shows his class, removing one of White's active pieces and temporarily ignoring the threat on the f6-knight. Black has completely equalized. } 16. Ncb5 (16. exf6?? { would have failed to } 16... Qxg3 17. hxg3 gxf6 { when White has two hanging pieces, so Black will be up a piece in the resulting endgame. }) 16... Qa5 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Rhg8? { Natural, but it's a mistake because it fails tactically. } (18... e5! { was a necessity. After } 19. Qb3 Kb8 20. Qxf7 Bc5 21. Bg3 { , White is able to hold all of his pieces and thus is also able to hold equality. }) 19. Qe3?? (19. Nf5!! { An amazing blow that would have ended the game immediately. (Editor's note: dedicated readers might remember that Sethuraman found a similar Nf5!! in yesterday's Sicilian. This is a theme worth learning for anybody who plays the Open Sicilian with either color!) } 19... Rxg3?? (19... exf5 20. Rxe7!! { Who needs a queen to win the game? Another sacrifice and White is winning. } 20... Rxg3 (20... Qxb5 21. Rexd7!! { A perfect example of overloading. The d8-rook and the g8-rook are both overloaded. } 21... Qxd7 22. Rxd7 Rxg3 23. Rc7+ Kb8 24. Rc4+ Ka7 25. Bxg3 { The endgame with tripled pawns for Black is dead lost. }) 21. Nd6+ Kb8 22. Nc4+ { and White wins back the queen. }) 20. Nxe7#) 19... e5 { A move late, but still effective. } (19... Qxa2! { was even better. } 20. Qa3!! { The only move. The f4-bishop is the source of so many rich tactical resources. } 20... Qxa3 (20... bxa3 21. Na7#) 21. bxa3 Ne5 { and Black is still for choice, up a pawn with a better position. }) 20. Qd3?? { Hanging the a-pawn again. } (20. Qb3 Kb8 21. Qxf7 { Is dynamically equal. }) 20... Nc5?? { Both players refuse to believe that the a2-pawn is hanging. } (20... Qxa2 { would be completely winning for Black. } 21. Nf5 Bc5) 21. Qf5+ Rd7?? { Missing a huge tactic. } (21... Nd7 { would have maintained equality. }) 22. Bxe5?? { Right idea, wrong execution. The bishop on f4 was actually much more important than the rook in this position because it was cutting off the black king. } (22. Rxe5! fxe5 23. Qxe5 { And Black cannot stop all of the mating threats. }) 22... fxe5?? { Missing a shot of his own } (22... b3!! { was necessary to stay in the game. } 23. cxb3 Rg5 { and White's bishop will drop. }) (22... Rg5? { Without the inclusion of b2-b3, this doesn't work because of the crazy } 23. Bc7!! Qxb5 24. Nxb5 Rxf5 25. Rxe7! { And through some insane tactics, White keeps a material advantage. }) 23. Rxe5 Kd8?? (23... b3! { was the last chance. } 24. cxb3 Rg5 { but now White has a countershot with } 25. Rxc5+! Bxc5 26. Qxg5 $18) 24. Rxe7 Kxe7 25. Qxc5+ { And the rest is a matter of technique. } 25... Kd8 26. Nb3 Rxd1+ 27. Kxd1 Qa6 28. Qc7+ Ke8 29. Nd6+ { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0