[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2023.10.07"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Lee, Alice"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2388"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2372"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [Annotator "percy"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E94"] [Opening "King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/Q3zMf6GZ/zS8unC4F"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O h6 { Another King's Indian surprise I'd prepared. The point of ... h7-h6 is that its a helpful move in many circumstances to avoid some kind of Bc1-g5 (for example, in the exchange KID or in lines with Bc1-e3). Meanwhile, it is tricky for White to find a move here. } 8. d5 { With d4-d5 played, which is a natural reaction, we now do not need to move our knight from c6 because we never played ... Nb8-c6 in the first place! The early d4-d5 avoids the theoretical lines, but now Black is focused on playing on the dark squares on the queenside. } (8. Re1 { This is a popular response, followed by Be2-f1, but even this is not the ideal setup as, in many lines, White's knight wants to jump to e1 to reroute to d3. Again, it's tricky to find a useful move! }) (8. Be3 Ng4 { This is the main point of ... h7-h6! }) 8... a5 9. Ne1 Na6 10. b3 Nc5 11. Qc2 b6 12. Bd2 Nfd7 13. Bg4 { A concession, allowing me to develop initiative on the kingside. But Black is already doing quite well; b3-b4 is hard to prepare as it is always met with the immediate ... a5-a4. Meanwhile Black's play is obvious: ... f7-f5, and the traditional play on the kingside. } (13. a3 a4 14. bxa4 { If White is forced to take, then Black is very happy as the knight can never be dislodged from c5. But the alternative is no better for White: } (14. b4 Nb3 { and now our knight finds its way to the coveted d4 outpost. })) 13... f5 14. exf5 Nf6 15. Bh3 gxf5 { Since the pawn is untouchable, the bishop is extremely awkward on h3. } 16. Qc1 (16. Bxf5 Bxf5 17. Qxf5 Nfe4 { winning a piece. }) 16... Rf7 { Implcitly meeting the threat of taking on h6. } 17. f3 (17. Bxh6 f4 18. Bxg7 Rxg7 19. Bxc8 Qxc8 20. f3 Kf7 { Black is in total control. The g- and h-files are going to face severe pressure soon, there's no way to dislodge the well-placed knight on c5, and the main problem is that White has no space for her pieces to get to active positions. }) (17. f4 { I thought this would be Alice's choice, and my plan was to meet it with: } 17... exf4 18. Rxf4 (18. Bxf4 Nfe4 { Already, White will be losing material: } 19. Nb5 Bxa1 20. Qxa1 Ng5 { and White will either have to allow the pawn structure to be ruined, or give up the dark-squared bishop and allow the re-unification of Black's pawn islands. }) 18... Qe7 { With an excellent e4-square to play against. Though the pawn structure looks less than stellar, Black's pieces are well placed for dynamic attacks; meanwhile, half of White's army is on the back rank. }) 17... Nh7 { With the threat of ... Nh7-g5, White has to take on h6. } 18. Bxh6 f4 19. Bxc8 Qxc8 20. Bxg7 Rxg7 { Here, Black has a clear plan. Get the queen and a rook on the h-file and after h2-h3, play ... Nh7-g5 and plan a sacrifice to break open the kingside. White has to find very precise moves to avoid losing, though the position is already worse. } 21. Qc2 { Preparing to get the knight on e1 exchanged off. } 21... Qh3 22. Kh1 Qh5?! { Losing the thread a bit. } (22... Qh6 23. Nd3 Nxd3 24. Qxd3 Ng5 25. Ne4 (25. Kg1 Kf7 { Followed by ... Ra8-h8, and White has no way to defend the h-pawn in time. }) 25... Rh7 { And the point is that with the queen on h6 instead of h5, there is no Ne4-f6 here. }) 23. Nd3 Nxd3 24. Qxd3 Ng5 (24... Kf7 { This was the only move to keep an advantage, with ... Ra8-h8 and a strong attack to come, for example: } 25. h3 (25. Ne4 Rh8 26. h3 Nf6 27. Nxf6 Qxh3+) 25... Ng5 (25... Rh8 { would also be natural } 26. Ne4 Nf6 27. Nxf6 Qxh3+) 26. Qf5+ Ke7 27. Ne4 Rf8 28. Qg4 Qxg4 29. hxg4 Nxe4 30. fxe4 Rxg4 { The endgame is winning because Black's rooks are too active, while White's king and pawns are weak. } 31. Rae1 Rh8+ 32. Kg1 Rh3 33. Rf2 Kf6 $19) 25. Ne4 { Having played ... Nh7-g5 too quickly, and only now realizing that there was no time for ... Rg7-h7, I decided to just move my knight back. Though I'd be losing a tempo, I thought this would offer the best chances practically; Alice was already low on time, and I wanted the most pieces on the board possible. } 25... Nh7 26. a3 Rg6 { Preparing for a swing over to the h-file. } 27. Ra2 Kh8 28. Kg1 Rag8 { Threatening ... Rg6-h6. } 29. g4 fxg3 30. hxg3 Rh6 31. Rg2 Rf8 32. Kf2 Nf6 { And here is the trick: White's best option is to keep running with the king. But when low on time, and offered an exchange, the instinct is to take it. } 33. Nxf6 Rhxf6 { Already it is very difficult. The point is that Kf2-e2 runs into ... e5-e4. } 34. g4 (34. Ke2 e4 35. Qxe4 Re8) (34. f4 exf4 35. Kg1 { This is the only other line to equality, but it's very difficult to find, especially under time pressure. }) 34... Qh3 35. Rg3?? (35. Kg1 { The only move. } 35... Rxf3 36. Rxf3 Rxf3 37. Qg6 { This also keeps the balance. }) 35... Qh2+ 36. Ke3 (36. Rg2 Rxf3+ 37. Qxf3 Rxf3+ 38. Kxf3 e4+ 39. Kf2 e3+ 40. Kf3 Qh3+ { is the tactical refutation to the Rg2-g3-g2 attempt at a repetition. }) 36... Kg7! { The point is that White's rook is trapped on g3. It's important that the king go to g6, as the rook will soon leave its post on f6, and Black does not want to be left vulnerable to some sort of perpetual with .. .Qd3-g6+. } 37. g5 Rf4 38. Rfg1 (38. Rgg1 Rxf3+ 39. Rxf3 Qxg1+) 38... Rxf3+ 39. Rxf3 Qxg1+ 40. Kd2 Qg2+ 41. Qe2 Qxf3 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1