[Event "Open"] [Site "Saint Louis, US"] [Date "2024.03.18"] [Round "54.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [WhiteTeam "USA"] [BlackElo "2657"] [BlackTeam "USA"] [Annotator "jonat"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D01"] [Opening "Rapport-Jobava System"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/R6LLNwTu/Zac7hSxg"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 a6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 b5 6. Ne5 Bb7 7. Nd3 b4 8. Na4 Nbd7 9. Be2 a5 10. O-O Bc6 11. c3 bxc3 12. Nxc3 Bd6 13. Ne5 Bb7 14. Nb5 { Wesley's unorthodox opening has transposed into a rather favorable Queen's Gambit, with Black's light-squared bishop stuck behind a fixed d-pawn and White ready to grab the c-file. } 14... O-O 15. Rc1 Bxe5 16. dxe5 Ne8 17. a4 c6 18. Nd4 c5 19. Nb5 Nc7 20. Nd6 { The price Black had to pay in order to regroup his own pieces. At least the c- and d-pawns cover a lot of squares. } 20... Ba6 21. Bxa6 Nxa6 22. e4 Nb4!? (22... d4 { was a concession, structurally, but would stop White from taking a page out of Robson's book and conducting a swift attack. }) 23. Rc3! c4 24. Rh3 g6 25. exd5 exd5?! (25... Nxd5 { was more practicaly, taking away White's e5-e6 ideas that practically forced Black's follow-ups. }) 26. Qg4 Qe7 (26... Ra7 27. e6 Nf6 28. exf7+ Raxf7 29. Nxf7 Nxg4 30. Nxd8 Rxf4 31. b3 $16) 27. Nf5! Qe6 28. Qh4?! { A bit overeager! Black either missed, or underestimated, Black's defense. } (28. Nh6+ Kg7 29. Qh4 { would be a way to prepare the attack on the h-file while preventing Black's defense. } 29... f5 30. Nxf5+! Rxf5 31. Qxh7+ Kf8 32. Qh8+ Qg8 33. e6! $18 { not an easy move to see far in advance, but a crushing one! }) (28. Rxh7 { is even more straightforward. If Robson missed this when playing his 25th move, it goes to show how, even for the best puzzle solvers in the world, it is always much easier to find the tactical blow for yourself than for your opponent. } 28... Kxh7 (28... Qxf5 29. Qh4 Nxe5 30. Bd2! { Black is powerless to stop White from winning back material (with interest) now that the bishop is not hanging at the end of the variation. } (30. Rh8+ Kg7 31. Qh6+ Kf6 32. Bxe5+!? (32. Rxf8 Rxf8 33. Qxf8?? (33. Bxe5+ $16) 33... Qxf4 { is what White had to avoid. })) 30... Nbd3 31. Rh8+ Kg7 32. Qh6+ Kf6 33. Rxf8 $18) 29. Qh4+ Kg8 30. Ne7+ { wins the queen (and game), as } 30... Kg7 31. Qh6#) 28... h5 29. g4 Nd3 { Black makes use of the disconnection in White's position to create some minor annoyances. } 30. Bh6?! (30. gxh5 gxf5! { blunts White's attack. }) (30. Be3! f6! { keeps the game maximally confusing. } (30... gxf5?? 31. Qxh5 $18)) 30... gxf5! { The bishop is in the way of the queen if White takes on h5, which is why maybe e3 was a better square for the bishop than h6. } 31. Bxf8 (31. Qxh5 Qg6! { Black makes use of the one extra tempo to force a favorable trade. }) 31... fxg4 32. Rg3 Rxf8 33. Qxh5 N7xe5 { White's attack is on its last legs, but if the g-pawn falls, then that changes everything. } 34. f4 Qg6?? (34... Qb6+! 35. Kg2 (35. Kh1 Qg6 36. Qh4 Qe4+ { What a cruel nuance! } 37. Kg1 Nxf4 { is once again winning: } 38. Rxg4+ Nxg4 39. Qxg4+ Ng6 { and White can resign. }) 35... Qxb2+ 36. Kh1 (36. Kg1 Qd4+ 37. Kh1 Qe4+ 38. Kg1 Nxf4 { also wins. }) 36... Nxf4! { ends the game, since } 37. Rxf4 Qc1+ { is winning. }) 35. Qh4 Qe4 (35... Qb6+ 36. Kh1 $18 { is a half-step too slow, as now Black wants to be able to play ... Qg6-e4+ before White can take the e5-knight. }) (35... f6 { was more of a defense, apparently, but Black plays the natural move. } 36. fxe5 Nxe5 37. Rf4 Kf7 { and Black fights on. }) 36. fxe5 Qd4+ 37. Kh1 Qe4+ 38. Rg2 Nxe5 39. Qg5+ Kh7 40. Rf4 { Now, White gets the kingside breakthrough he has fought for all along. } 40... Qe3 41. Qh4+ Kg7 42. Rgxg4+ Ng6 43. Qf6+ Kh7 44. Rxg6 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0