[Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.17"] [Round "11.4"] [White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2592"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2742"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [Annotator "FM Davis Zong Jr"] [Variant "From Position"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [FEN "r1br2k1/2q4p/p1pp1np1/2Pn1p2/N2NpP2/1P2P1P1/P5BP/R1QR2K1 b - - 0 22"] [SetUp "1"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/Q3zMf6GZ/DvklU1jY"] [Orientation "white"] 22... Ng4 { After a mutual kingside fianchetto, dark-squared bishops were traded and the position looks pretty closed. How does Mishra change the pawn structure in his favor? } 23. Nb6! { This changes the structure of the game! By effectively trading the c5- and c6-pawns, White gets a remarkable outpost on d4 and a much better pawn structure s well as superior minor pieces. } 23... Nxb6 24. cxb6 Qxb6 25. h3 Nf6?! (25... c5! { An essential move. Aronian couldn't let White plant a knight on d4 because the bishop would be permanently bad. } 26. hxg4 cxd4 27. Rxd4 d5 28. Qd2 $14) 26. Qxc6 Qxc6 27. Nxc6 $16 { This pawn structure is great for White because the d4-knight neutralizes the pawn majority and the bishop, while the queenside majority will create a passed pawn. White squeezes this endgame really nicely, patiently improving pieces and not giving any chances. } 27... Rd7 28. Rac1 Bb7 29. Na5 d5 30. Bf1 Kf7 31. b4 Rg8 32. Kf2 g5 33. a3 gxf4 34. gxf4 Rg6 35. Nb3 Rh6 36. Nd4 Rh5 37. Rc5 Ng8 38. Rdc1 Ne7 39. a4 Rh6 40. a5 Kf8 41. b5 axb5 42. Bxb5 Rdd6 43. Rc7 Ba6 44. Bxa6 Rxa6 45. Rb1 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0