[Event "13th Cherry Blossom"] [Date "2026.05.23"] [Round "4"] [White "Avila Pavas, Santiago"] [Black "Degenbaev, Aziz"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2504"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackElo "2305"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [Annotator "GM Avila Pavas Santiago"] [GameId "2313046419532557"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B50"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation, with d6"] [StudyName "2026 Memorial Day Weekend Wrap-Up"] [ChapterName "Avila Pavas, Santiago - Degenbaev, Aziz"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/SNrtQXpx/dAEifDk5"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by GM Santiago Avila Pavas. } 1. e4 { First, I need to say that, for this game, I didn’t prepare so much. I was trying to find a line during the game that would be solid and outside of main line theory. I want to say that my opponent is a very tactical player and a very theoretical player, so my first idea was to try to play a game that was kind of solid and aim for a more calm kind of game. } 1... c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 { The reason why that I choose the Delayed Alapin Variation with this move was because my other option to avoid the Open Sicilian was the Rossolimo with 3. Bb5+, but the problem with the Rossolimo is that right now this variation is almost like the principal line in the Sicilian. So I was trying to play something different. Then, if he plays like the game with ... g7-g6 and ... Bf8-g7, I will go with the Rossolimo-esque Bf1-b5 with more of an Alapin structure. } 3... Nf6 4. Be2 g6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Bxd7+ Qxd7 8. Qe2 (8. Re1 O-O 9. d4 cxd4 10. cxd4 d5 11. e5 Ne4 12. h4 $14 (12. Nbd2 Nxd2 13. Bxd2 Nc6 14. Bf4 Rac8 15. Qd2 Nd8 16. Bh6 Ne6 17. h4 Rc7 18. h5 Rfc8 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. h6+ Kg8 21. Rac1 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 23. Qxc1 Qc6 24. Qd2 f6 25. g3 Kf7 26. Kg2 b6 27. b3 a5 28. a4 Qc8 29. Qd3 Qc6 30. Qa6 Nd8 31. exf6 exf6 32. Nh2 Qb7 33. Qd3 Qc8 34. Nf1 Qe6 35. Qb5 Qc6 36. Qa6 Qb7 37. Qe2 Ne6 38. Qd3 Ng5 39. Ne3 Qd7 40. Kf1 Qh3+ 41. Ke2 Qxh6 42. Qb5 Qh5+ 43. Kd3 Ne4 44. f3 Nxg3 45. Qd7+ Kf8 46. Qd8+ Kg7 47. Qc7+ Kg8 48. Qxg3 Qh1 49. Qb8+ Kf7 50. Qb7+ Kf8 51. Qxd5 Qb1+ 52. Kd2 h5 53. Qd8+ Kf7 54. Qc7+ Kg8 55. Qxb6 Kg7 56. Qxa5 Qxb3 57. Qc7+ Kh6 58. a5 h4 59. Ng4+ Kg5 60. Qc3 Qa2+ 61. Ke3 h3 62. Qd2 Qxd2+ 63. Kxd2 Kf4 64. Ke2 f5 65. Nf2 h2 66. a6 g5 67. a7 { 1-0 Nepomniachtchi,I (2770)-Moussard,J (2590) Crunchlab PlayIn Match D1 Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (2.1) })) 8... Nc6 9. d4 O-O { I was a bit surprised by his decision to castle kingside. He was probably thinking about moves like: } (9... d5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Bxd2 $14 { where the game would simplify a lot. I was already thinking about a plan for these kinds of positions, but when my opponent castled, it surprised me because he gave me the center after the move 10. d5. }) (9... cxd4 { was also okay: } 10. cxd4 d5 11. e5 Ne4 12. Nbd2 Nxd2 13. Bxd2 O-O 14. Bc3 f6 15. exf6 exf6 16. Rfe1 $14) 10. d5 { At least now I already have one advantage, which is control of the center, and it gives more space to my pieces in general. So the castling move surprised me a little, but I also do not think it was a bad move. I think it had a deeper idea behind it. } 10... Nb8 11. c4 { I spent quite a long time thinking here. } 11... b5!? { Based on my notes below, I came to the conclusion that 11. ... e6 was better. But I want to point out that 11. ... b5 is not a bad move at all, but rather a move with a deeper idea behind it, such as transposing into a Benko-style position, which is very interesting and aggressive to play. And we should remember that my opponent is a player who likes to play for activity, so this would fit his style very well. } (11... e6 { For example, if my opponent had played a move like ... e7-e6, which is very natural and breaks open the center, then my first thought was to capture on e6. } 12. dxe6 { But after } (12. Nc3 { So instead of dxe6, I was considering more natural moves like 12. Nc3. However, my opponent could then play } 12... exd5 { and the problem with that is that my main idea was } 13. cxd5 { but then there is 13. ... Re8 and the black position becomes quite favorable. } (13. exd5 { And if instead of 13. cxd5 I played 13. exd5, then honestly the position would become very symmetrical and would probably lead to a draw. }) 13... Re8 14. Nd2 Na6 15. a4 Nb4 16. Qd1 Nd3 $15) 12... Qxe6 13. Nc3 Nc6 { , I felt the position could become very equal. }) 12. cxb5 a6 13. bxa6 Nxa6 14. Nc3 Qb7 { Here I have to say that after the move 14. ... Qb7 I spent quite a lot of time trying to find a plan to counter my opponent’s idea. In the end, I came up with the idea of bringing my knight from f3 to the c4 square, then playing a2-a4, placing the rook from a1 to a3, putting a knight on b5, and later playing b3. That was basically my main plan to try to counter my opponent’s attack. We should remember that the Benko Gambit gives a lot of activity, so even though I had an extra pawn, he had almost all of his pieces actively placed. So because of that, I think this plan was quite good for me to shut down his counterplay. } 15. Nd2 Nd7 16. a4 Nb4 17. Nc4 { [%cal Ba1a3,Bc3b5,Bb2b3] } 17... Rfc8 18. Nb5 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qc4 { Avoiding ... c5-c4. } { [%csl Bc4] } 20... f5 { I have to say that this move surprised me a little. I was always focused on my queenside plan, and suddenly, after ... f7-f5, my opponent started attacking on my kingside. So honestly, I did not think deeply enough about this move. My first idea against it was to play 21. f3, but then another idea came to my mind, more related to development, and that is why I played 21. Bd2, which was a bit questionable. } 21. Bd2? (21. f3 fxe4 22. fxe4 Rf8 23. Rxf8+ Rxf8 24. Rb1 $18) 21... fxe4 { And the reason why it is questionable is simply because after } (21... Bxb2 22. Rab1 Bf6 23. exf5 gxf5 24. Bc3 Rf8 $10 { Black was able to recover the pawn without any problems. }) 22. Bxb4 cxb4 23. Qxe4 Rc5 (23... Qb6!? 24. Qxb4 Rc2 25. Rab1 Rf8 26. Qe1 Qc5 { Black has the initiative. }) (23... b3 24. Ra3 Bxb2 25. Rxb3 $16) 24. Rfd1 Qc8?! { I have to say that in this specific position, maybe I was thinking that the position was good for me, but deep down I knew that Black would still have attacking chances. So I was evaluating the position as roughly equal, and I think the best move for him would have been to play 24. ... b3 first instead of 24. ... Qc8. It still would not have been an easy position, but the problem with 24. ... Qc8 is that it gave me enough time and space to play Nb5-d4 and reorganize my pieces. } (24... b3! 25. Ra3 Qc8! 26. Rxb3 Rc4 27. Qe3 Raxa4) 25. Nd4 Rc4 26. b3 Bxd4? (26... Rxd4! { It would have been quite a difficult decision for Black to take first with the rook, because I was always calculating lines like } 27. Rxd4 Qc3 28. Rdd1 Qxb3 29. Rab1 Qxa4 30. Qxb4 Qxb4 31. Rxb4 $10 { But I did not think the position was completely equal. Maybe I felt it was probably equal, but I still believed I had some chances and opportunities to play for a win. That is why I discarded it. So throughout the position, I was mainly thinking about ... Be5xd4 instead. }) 27. Rxd4 Rc1+ 28. Rd1 { The problem with playing 26. ... Bxd4 was that now I simply have an extra pawn in a rook endgame, and Black's king is also exposed. So I have two important advantages: my king is safer, and I also have the passed a-pawn. Because of that, this position is basically a decisive advantage for me. } 28... Rxa1 29. Rxa1 Qc3 30. Rb1 Rf8 31. Qe3 Qc2 32. Rc1 Qb2 33. h4 Rf7 (33... Rxf2 34. Rc8+ Rf8 35. Rxf8+ Kxf8 36. Qf2+ Qxf2+ 37. Kxf2 $18) 34. Rc4 Qb1+ 35. Kh2 Qd1 36. Rd4 Qc2 37. Rxb4 Rxf2 38. Rb8+ Kg7 39. Qxe7+ Rf7 40. Qxd6 Qe4 41. Rb4 Qe1 42. Rf4 Rf5 43. Qc7+ Kh6 44. Rxf5 Qxh4+ 45. Kg1 gxf5 46. Qh2 { I can say that this game was very interesting. I was always trying to counter my opponent’s attacks, while he was constantly trying to find new plans. It became a strategic and tactical battle in the position, and in the end I was able to win, but the game still leaves many interesting possibilities and ideas in the air that make the position very rich to analyze. And I have to say that my opponent is a very theoretical and tactical player, so that is why I decided, as I mentioned in the introduction, to play 3. c3 — aiming for a quieter type of game. But, in the end, it became much more dynamic than I expected. } 1-0