[Event "Women"] [Site "Saint Louis, US"] [Date "2024.03.12"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Black "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2348"] [WhiteTeam "USA"] [BlackElo "2319"] [BlackTeam "USA"] [Annotator "Lang,JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A53"] [Opening "Old Indian Defense"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/R6LLNwTu/hxkOKqaJ"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. Be3 g6 6. f3 Bg7 7. d5 Nh5!? { Black has employed a relatively rare move order in the King's Indian Defense. The main lines involve Black's knight going from b8 to c6 and e7, and playing this way allows White to achieve a lovely setup with f2-f3 and no worries of a well-timed ... c7-c5 with a "good Benoni" structure. } 8. Nge2 f5 9. Qd2 f4 { Black reasons that, since White wants to play on the queenside, she will castle kingside eventually, so this is not premature. } 10. Bf2 O-O 11. Nc1 a5 12. Be2 $146 Nc5 { Black has achieved a relatively normal King's Indian, but of course the engines like White. Best is } 13. g4!? (13. Nd3 b6 14. O-O-O! { using the fact that Black has committed to ... a7-a5 (as she often must to keep a knight on c5, which is a side effect of playing ... Nbd7) to reason that there are fewer chances of ... b5 breaks. The king is safe here, and ... a5-a4-a3 can even be met with b2-b3 or b2-b4 and nothing to worry about! }) 13... Nf6?! (13... fxg3 14. hxg3 Bf6! $13 { is rather inventive. The dark-squared bishop gets out from behind the e5-pawn, White's counterpart is tied down to defending the g3 pawn, and castling kingside is no longer an obvious or safe plan for White. But if she castles queenside, Black can play on the open kingside! }) 14. h4 h5 15. g5 Nfd7 16. b3 Qe7 17. Rb1 c6 18. O-O $16 { After allowing White to shut the kingside down with 13. ... Nf6?!, White is firmly in control. This would be around the period that GM Yasser Seirawan, commentating online for SLCC, admitted that, while he usually disagrees with the modern engines' disgust for Black's positions in the King's Indian, even he must confess this looks hopeless. } 18... Rf7 19. Rd1 Bf8 20. a3 { Both players are already under 30 minutes on the clock. This is especially significant as the time control for the classical games is 90+30 for the whole game, not 90 minutes for the first 40 moves! } 20... cxd5 21. cxd5 Qd8 22. b4 axb4 23. axb4 Na6 24. Nb5 Be7 25. Nb3 Nf8 26. Rdc1 Nh7 { White has improved her position on the queenside, gripping the c-file while rendering Black's control of the open a-file immaterial. The best thing to do here is, probably, nothing. } 27. Na7!? { White embarks on an unnecessarily forcing plan. Even worse, she spent four minutes on this move and is now down to ten on the clock (Black still has 20). } (27. Kg2 Bxg5 { is never going to be enough, but this must be what worried White! } (27... Bd7 { is not to be taken seriously. The b5-knight is nice, but owning the bishop pair is nice, too. } 28. Ra1 Bxb5 29. Bxb5 Kg7 30. Be2 { threatening b4-b5 } 30... Nc7 31. Rxa8 Nxa8 32. b5 $18 { and Black is running out of ways to avoid making a dubious sac on g5. }) (27... Qd7 28. Rh1 { is not necessary but shuts down any dreams of ... Qd7-h3+. } 28... Kg7 29. Qc3 $18) 28. hxg5 Nxg5 (28... Qxg5+ 29. Kh1 Bh3 30. Rg1 { and now what? }) 29. Bh4 Bh3+ 30. Kh1! (30. Kh2?? Nxf3+ 31. Bxf3 Qxh4 $13) 30... Nxf3 31. Bxd8 Nxd2 32. Nxd2 Rxd8 $18) 27... Bxg5 (27... Bg4!? { was another testing sac. } 28. fxg4 f3! 29. Bxa6 Nxg5! { is the idea. White is better after } 30. hxg5 Bxg5 31. Be3 Bxe3+ 32. Qxe3 bxa6 33. Rc2! { but not } (33. Nc6?? Qh4! 34. Rc2 Raf8 35. Qf2 Qh3! { and White is up two pieces and barely saving the draw (!!). } 36. Nc5!! { All other moves lose. } (36. Rc3 Rf4 $19) (36. gxh5 Rf4 $19) 36... dxc5 (36... Rf4 37. Ne7+ Kh7 38. Qh2 Qxg4+ 39. Kf2 Rxe4! 40. Nxe4 Qxe4 { with no way to avoid a perpetual. }) 37. Nxe5 Rf4 38. bxc5 { has temporarily stopped ... Rf4xg4+. } 38... Rxe4 39. Re1 Re2 40. Rexe2 fxe2 41. Qxe2 Qg3+ { but Black still draws! }) 33... Raxa7 34. gxh5 { and Black doesn't have enough for the piece. }) 28. Nxc8 Bxh4 29. Bxh4 Qxh4 30. Bxa6? { Another incorrect trade that took a long time to work out. White now has four minutes to Black's 17! Of course, this position is much, much less intuitive and flexible than her position back on move 27 (hence why the committal move was a mistake). } (30. Nxd6! { this was the only move, and likely what White spent her time calculating. } 30... Qg3+ (30... Rf6 31. Nc4 { will be similar, as Black has nothing better than } 31... Qg3+ 32. Kf1 $18) 31. Kf1 Rf6 32. Nc4 $18 { Black's attack is not as scary as it looks. Queen checks allow White's queen to take shelter on the queenside. The g-pawn needs a lot of time to lurch up the board, and the e5-pawn is already vulnerable for Black. } 32... Qh3+ 33. Ke1 Qh1+ 34. Bf1 Qxf3 35. b5! Qxe4+ 36. Qe2! Qxe2+ 37. Bxe2 Nb4 38. d6 $18) 30... Rxa6 (30... Ng5!? { was also interesting and no worse. } 31. Qg2 Rxa6 32. Ra1 Rxa1 33. Rxa1 Rc7 $13) 31. Qg2 Qd8 32. Rc3 g5 33. Rbc1 g4 34. Nd2? { With the position slipping away, Zatonskih spends a minute here and gives Black the initiative, to go along with her 15-to-three minute time advantage! } (34. Qh2 { is perhaps best: } 34... gxf3 35. Qxh5 Rg7+ 36. Kf1 Qg5 37. Qxg5 Nxg5 38. Nd2 Rh7 { when Black has compensation for the piece but White is not lost. } 39. Kg1) (34. Kf1 { is also logical, getting the king off the g-file before it opens, but White's follow-up is by no means obvious. } 34... Nf6 35. b5! { This is the resource that keeps White alive, as we will see. } 35... Ra3 36. b6 Rg7 37. Nd2 { is better now, with the point that } 37... Ra2 38. Rc7! { removes the g7-rook. Hence the point of the rather subtle 35. b5!. }) 34... Ra2 35. fxg4 Rg7!? { Paikidze is taking care not to lose her significant (12-to-two) edge on the clock, and is avoiding needlessly calculating forcing variations from positions where she has simple moves like this. With more time, she'd surely liked to have investigated } (35... f3! { and probably played it after realizing that } 36. Qf2 (36. Qh2 f2+ 37. Kf1 Rxd2 $19 { regains the piece at no cost! }) 36... hxg4 { is hopeless for White, as nothing stops the g-pawn, e.g. } 37. Kf1 g3 $19) 36. Kf1? (36. Nxd6! { was more testing. } 36... Qxd6 37. Rc8+ Nf8 38. g5! Qxb4 39. R1c2 Rxc2 40. Rxc2 $17 { and okay White's in a worse endgame but it is not lost. }) 36... Nf6? (36... hxg4! $19 { is simply too strong. }) 37. Ke1? (37. g5! Ng4 { More likely, White assessed this position as crushing for Black, missing a key resource. } (37... Nxe4?? { possibly, White missed the response here. } 38. Ne7+! (38. Nxe4 { but this is good, too. }) 38... Rxe7 39. Qxe4 $18 Rxd2?? 40. Rc8) 38. Ke2!! { Getting out of the way of ... Ng4-e3+ ideas, but also defending the knight and moving the king away from open lines. } 38... Ne3 39. Ne7+! { Now, the fun begins. Buckle up! } 39... Qxe7 40. Rc8+ Kf7 (40... Kh7?? 41. g6+ Rxg6 42. Rh8+! Kxh8 43. Qxg6 $18) 41. Qh3! Rxg5 { The engine is "giving zeroes" and suggests the following as a "clarifying" sequence: } 42. Rg1! Nf5 43. Rxg5 Qxg5 44. Qxf5+ Qxf5 45. exf5 h4 46. Kd3) 37... hxg4 38. Qg1 Ne8 { Black can sense that the position is critical, and is now down to six minutes after calculating on each of the last three turns. Zatonskih has been playing her moves on the increment and still has one minute and 40 seconds. } (38... Rxd2! 39. Kxd2 (39. Nxd6 Qxd6 40. Rc8+ { goes nowhere. }) 39... Nxe4+ $19 40. Kd3 Nxc3 41. Rxc3 { Presumably, Black was hesitant to trade off pieces, particularly the knight she spent so much time reintroducing into the game. She's still down a piece, but, looking at this without the pressure of actually playing the game, that piece is not going to be able to stop Black's connected passers! } 41... f3 { Attempts to blockade the pawn are doomed to fail, which is unsurprising since heavy pieces make notoriously bad blockaders. } (41... e4+!? 42. Kxe4 g3 43. Qg2 Qf6 $19) 42. Qg3 Qf6! 43. Ke3 Qg5+ 44. Kd3 Rf7 $19) 39. Kd1 Qh4 40. Nb6 Nf6?! { Time update: White has one minute, Black three. } (40... g3 { crushes. White has no time for } 41. Rc8?? { But nothing else works. } (41. Rf3?? Qh2 $19) (41. R1c2 Qh2! { is clever. } 42. Nf3 Ra1+ 43. Rc1 Qb2 $19) 41... Qg4+ 42. Ke1 f3 $19) 41. Nbc4? (41. Rc8+ { Now, there was time to create some confusion here. } 41... Kh7 42. R8c2 $132 Ra3 43. Rc3 { It is hard for Black to make progress, in contrast to the above variations with Black's pawn already on g3 and the ... Qh4-h2 resources effectively ending the game! }) 41... g3! 42. Nf3 Qh5 43. Nd2 Ng4?! { Again, Black elects to play natural moves in a position that has to be favorable, rather than simplify down to an endgame. } (43... Rxd2+! 44. Kxd2 Nxe4+ 45. Ke1 Nxc3 46. Rxc3 e4 $19 { But, of course, the pawns are more than enough compensation for the piece here, and White lacks the central control required to force a perpetual check. }) 44. Rc8+? (44. R1c2! Ra1+ (44... Ra6 { is perhaps best, defending the d6-pawn and being patient. It's hard to continue as White, but at least Black's pawns are blockaded by a knight. } 45. Rc1 $15) 45. Rc1 Ra2 46. R1c2 { and it's unclear how Black plans to avoid a repetition. } 46... Ne3+?! (46... Ra4 47. Ke2! { The king is out of Black's various lines of immediate attacks, and White now threatens Qg1-a7-b8 to back up Rc3-c8+. } 47... Ne3! { is necessary prophylaxis against White's plan. } (47... Rxb4? { shows the resourcefulness of White's previous move: } 48. Rc8+ Kf7 (48... Kh7 49. Qa7 Nh2 50. Qb8)) 48. Rc8+ Kh7 49. Rc1 g2 50. Rd8 Ra2 51. Rcc8 { and Black has a bail-out draw, but nothing more: } 51... Rxd2+ 52. Kxd2 Nf1+ 53. Ke2 Ng3+ 54. Kf2 Nxe4+ 55. Ke2 Ng3+) 47. Rxe3! Ra1+ 48. Rc1 Rxc1+ 49. Kxc1 fxe3 50. Qxe3 g2 51. Ng1 $15 { should be easier to hold, even if White has to part with a knight! }) 44... Kh7! (44... Kf7?? { was the right defense in so many variations, but here } 45. Qb6 { allows White to go on the offensive without a meaningful attack against her king to worry about. }) 45. R1c7 { White has no meaningful threats, and Black ends the game convincingly with: } 45... Nf2+ 46. Ke2 Rxd2+ { With three minutes still on her clock, Black is now firmly winning. Zatonskih is back up to two minutes, but it's too late. } 47. Kxd2 Qxf3 { With the queen blocked off from the b6-square, there is no threat stopping Black from grabbing the piece. } 48. Kc2 Qxe4+ 49. Kb3 Qxd5+ 50. Ka3 Qh1 { Finally, Black finds an endgame she is confident the (four!) connected passers can win. } 51. Rc1 Qxg1 52. Rxg1 f3 53. Rc2 e4 54. Kb3 d5 55. Rd2 Rg5 56. Rc2 Kg6 57. Kc3 Nh3 58. Rh1 g2 { Truly a spectacular finish. } 0-1