[Event "FIDE Women's World Cup"] [Site "Baku"] [Date "2023.08.02"] [Round "10.30"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Zhao, Xue"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2369"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2457"] [BlackTeam "China"] [Annotator "WGM Katerina Nemcova"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B01"] [Opening "Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation"] [StudyName "2023 World Cup and Women's World Cup"] [ChapterName "Yip, Carissa - Zhao, Xue"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/QLPThvQV/kgZx5o1m"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 a6 6. g3 b5 7. Bg2 Bb7 8. Qe2 Nbd7 9. O-O b4 10. Nd1 e6 11. Ne3 Be7 12. Ne5 Bxg2 13. Nxg2 Nb6 14. Nc6 Qd5 15. Nxe7 Kxe7 16. a3! { A very clever move in this position! Carissa is attacking the weak b4-pawn and wishes to develop her bishop via the very appealing a3-f8 diagonal. } 16... a5 (16... bxa3?? { Trading pawns would be a horrible decision for Black, because after } 17. b3! { , the bishop on c1 will be able to recapture the pawn on the next move and control the important a3-f8 diagonal. Black's position is very difficult afterwards. Strategically speaking, it is lost. } 17... Rhd8 18. Bxa3+ Ke8 19. Rfe1! { There are other good moves; however, this move aims directly at the e-file and wastes no time. White is also not worried about losing the d4-pawn as it will give White even more time to launch a decisive attack. } 19... Qxd4 20. Nf4 { Tactics on e6! } 20... Qd7 21. Nh5 Nxh5 22. Qxh5 { And now we see that Black's pawns have no defenders around. Once one of these kingside pawns falls, the black king will be in immediate danger. } 22... h6 23. Qg4 g6 24. Rad1 Qc6 25. Qh4 $18 { White is threatening checkmate on e7 and then a pawn capture. White is winning here. }) (16... Qb5! { is even better, aiming to trade queens and simplify the position. If White doesn't want to trade, at least the black queen is active and no longer worried about being attack by the knight on g2. } 17. Qf3 (17. Qxb5?! axb5 { and Black is very happy for her control over the a-file. }) 17... a5) 17. Ne3 Qc6 18. Bd2 Nbd5 19. Rfc1 Rhb8 20. Nxd5+ Nxd5 21. Qe4 h6 22. c4 bxc3 23. Rxc3 Qb6 24. Rc2 Rd8 25. Rac1 Rd7 26. Bc3 Rg8 27. Qh4+ f6 28. Be1 Re8 29. Re2 Kf8 30. Rc5 a4 31. Qe4 Kf7 32. Qc2 Qa7 33. Ba5! $14 { Carissa improves her least developed piece and enjoys a positional advantage. However, it is still not easy to find a plan that would guarantee more than a pleasantly positioned pieces. } 33... Nb6 34. Qc3 (34. Bb4!? { After retreating with the bishop, White can silently offer a draw. Black can do hardly anything better than to repeat moves. } 34... Nd5 (34... Qb7?! { When Black tries to simply move around, things can get dangerous pretty fast. } 35. h4!? Kg8 36. Rh5! Rd5 37. Rxh6 gxh6 38. Qg6+ Kh8 39. Qxe8+ Kg7 40. Bf8+ Kh8 41. Be7+ Kh7 42. Qf7+ Kh8 43. Bxf6#) 35. Ba5 Nb6 36. Bb4 Nd5) 34... Ree7 35. Rc2 e5! { Moving rooks to the c-file allowed Xue to equalize by breaking in the center and activating her rooks. } 36. dxe5? (36. Rd2 { Safer was to retreat with the rook and go for trades. }) 36... Rd1+! 37. Kg2 Qa6! { After all, Black's pieces are finding some cooperation! Black queen now threatens to fly over to f1 and attack the white king. } 38. Rd2?? { Grave mistake after which the game is over. } (38. Rc4 { No one likes playing such moves, but it is the best and last resource. Surprisingly, it may still keep position in balance. } 38... Nxc4 39. Qxc4+ Qxc4 40. Rxc4 fxe5 41. Bb4 Red7 42. Bc3 { White is attacking the e5-pawn and targeting another on a4. White's pawn structure is very safe and the dark-squared bishop does a fine job guarding it. Black needs to show some serious skills in transforming the Exchange advantage into a win but most likely, this game would end up in a draw. }) 38... Qf1+! $19 39. Kf3 Qh1+ 40. Kg4 (40. Ke2 Re1+ 41. Kd3 Qe4#) 40... h5+ 41. Kxh5 Rxd2 42. Qxd2 Qf3+ 43. Kh4 g5+ 44. Kh3 Kg6 45. Qc2+ f5 46. Rxc7 Kh5 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1