[Event "National Elem. School Championship K-3"] [Site "Baltimore"] [Date "2023.05.13"] [Round "4"] [White "Vivan Mulay"] [Black "Tariq Yue"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1745"] [BlackElo "2041"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A15"] [Opening "English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Old Indian Formation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/OZkFHWFD/mFuP72KW"] [Orientation "white"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. g3 { The fianchetto variation against the King's Indian Defense (KID) is a strong line that stops Black from getting the huge attack that they are so accustomed to in these KID positions. The only drawback is that sometimes White's position becomes overextended. } 3... g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nc3!? { This long delay of d2-d4 is interesting, but it allows a ... c7-c5 or ... e7-e5 push from Black. } 6... e5 7. d3 h6?! { This is a characteristic "soft" move, a move that looks normal enough but doesn't accomplish anything substantial. } 8. Rb1 { Normal, but the preparation wasn't necessary. } (8. b4! { would have taken space on the queenside and given White a nice advantage. Now, } 8... a5 { is usually why this move is premature, but here } 9. b5 Nbd7 10. Rb1 Nc5 { is insufficient. This outpost is known for halting the queenside initiative, but } 11. Ba3 Re8 12. Nd2 { and White's pieces are clearly better poised for the upcoming struggle. }) 8... c6 9. b4 Be6 10. b5! { A multi-purpose move, breaking apart Black's queenside and, more importantly, opening the h1-a8 diagonal so that White's bishop becomes a monster. } 10... Nfd7? { Going backwards is rarely the right choice in the opening, and here it just allows White to activate his pieces. In this case, Black was clearly set on the "thematic" ... f7-f5 plan, but it makes less sense here in a much more dynamic center (which was the point behind White's omitting d2-d4). } (10... Qc7 11. Nd2 { White's bishop opens up, and the pieces transfer to the queenside, but Black still has a solid position. }) 11. Ba3! { Carving out weaknesses in Black's position and choosing a more creative plan of attack. Usually the bishop ends up on e3, but here attacking the d6-pawn is more important. } 11... f5?? { Yue, ever creative, tries to sacrifice the d-pawn hoping to unleash a tactic, but unfortunately it doesn't work. } 12. Qc2?! { White folds to his higher-rated opponent, defending instead of attacking, but he still has a significantly better position. } (12. Bxd6! e4 { was Black's point, but } 13. dxe4 Bxc3 14. e5! { and despite being down a piece Black is positionally lost. The rook is hanging, and Qd1-c1 is a threat, and the center will open up. }) 12... Nf6 13. Nd2? { This is a common move to put pressure on the Black position, but giving up control of the e5-pawn might eventually allow a ... d6-d5 break. } (13. bxc6 bxc6 14. c5! { undermining Black's center, specifically the e5-pawn. } 14... Nd5 15. cxd6 e4 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Nd2 { and White is up a pawn and winning. }) 13... Qc7 14. bxc6 bxc6? { Missing the last opportunity. } (14... Nxc6 15. Nb5 Qd7 16. Nxd6 Rab8 { and at least here Black has come counterplay with ... Nc6-d4. }) 15. Nb5! { Mulay is not fazed by the top seed and is completely winning with this tactic. Moves like ... f7-f5 and ... h7-h6 were simply overextensions, while White was developing his pieces and targeting the weaknesses. } 15... Qd7 16. Nxd6 g5?! { A weird move, Black's initiative is not going anywhere, and his pieces remain on b8 and a8 } 17. Rb7 (17. Nf3 { and White is completely winning here as well. }) 17... Qd8 18. Rfb1 f4 19. N2e4! { Taking advantages of the weaknesses caused by advancing pawns. Black's ... f5-f4 looks intimidating, but White can occupy the center. } 19... fxg3 20. hxg3 Nbd7 21. Nxf6+ Nxf6 22. Bxc6 { Another pawn for the taking and Black's kingside advances have created nothing except more holes and weaknesses. } 22... Ng4 23. Ne4 Rf5 24. Re7 Rc8 25. Re8+! { Winning the queen and the game. The rest is easy. } 25... Qxe8 26. Bxe8 Rxe8 27. Nd6 Rd8 28. Nxf5 Bxf5 29. Qa4 { 1-0 White wins. Black resigned down a queen, and Mulay took down the top seed in the K-3 Championship. } 1-0