[Event "Open"] [Site "Samarkand, Uzbekistan"] [Date "2025.09.13"] [Round "9"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Woodward, Andy"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [WhiteTeam "USA"] [BlackElo "2557"] [BlackTeam "USA"] [Board "22"] [Annotator "Andy"] [GameId "2222764149933269"] [WhiteClock "0:21:52"] [BlackClock "0:14:59"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E29"] [Opening "Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation"] [StudyName "2025 FIDE Grand Swiss"] [ChapterName "Aronian, Levon - Woodward, Andy"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/V6oU1CPk/JkJdwQfX"] [Orientation "white"] { [Annotations by GM Andy Woodward (!!!!)] As one could expect, seeing that I was paired in Round 9 with black versus Aronian in an open tournament was, on one hand, nerve-wracking, but, on the other hand, thrilling. I knew I had to rest well and fight my hardest. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 { The Nimzo-Indian defence. I had only played the Nimzo in two classical games prior to this, so I am still relatively learning the opening and ideas. } 4. e3 O-O 5. a3!? { A slightly dubious line, but great for a fighting game. I could not fully recall the lines that I had analyzed prior to the tournament and chose to play according to the typical setup. } 5... Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5!? { The more straightforward approach is to play } (6... d6 7. Bd3 e5 8. e4 exd4 9. cxd4 Nxe4 10. Ne2 Re8 11. O-O d5 { with dynamic equality. }) 7. Bd3 Nc6 { I only remembered that I was supposed to meet 8. Ne2 with b6. } 8. Rb1!? (8. Ne2 b6! 9. e4 Ne8 10. O-O Ba6 { transposing to the famous "Hubner variation". }) 8... b6 9. e4 d6 10. Ne2 Ba6?! { Slightly inaccurate and it shows that I did not have much in the way of understanding these structures. It was important to start with } (10... h6! { , preventing Bc1-g5, then continuing on with the typical plans of targeting White's queenside via ... Bc8-a6 and ... Nc6-a5. } 11. f4 Ba6 12. O-O Na5 13. f5!? cxd4! 14. cxd4 e5!) 11. Bg5! e5? { A step in the wrong direction. It was better to play } (11... h6! { and, only after, } 12. Bh4 { , now play } 12... e5! { when White no longer has the retreat of Bg5-c1. }) 12. d5! Na5 13. h4? { The right idea with the wrong execution. Here, it was better to play a less committal move (13. Ng3!) with the same ideas but more flexibility. } (13. Ng3! h6 14. Bc1! Bxc4 15. Bxc4 Nxc4 16. Qe2 Na5 17. O-O $16 { At only the cost of a pawn, White gets a huge initiative and great squares for all of his pieces. }) 13... h6! 14. Bc1 Nh5! { The engine claims 14. ... Nxc4 is just as good, but I believe this move was by far the best. It is a very rare idea in these positions, but the idea is simple. White wants to go Ne2-g3 followed by a quick kingside attack. Therefore, I need to prevent it as soon as possible. } (14... Bxc4!? 15. Bxc4 (15. Ng3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Qd7!) 15... Nxc4 16. Qd3 Na5 17. Ng3 Qd7! 18. Nf5 Kh7! 19. h5 c4 20. Qg3 Rg8 21. Qf3 Nb3! 22. Be3 Nc5! { and Black is somehow fine. }) 15. g4 Nf4! 16. Nxf4 exf4 17. g5? { [#] Aronian played this move in under 30 seconds, implying that he thought it was good for him. At first glance, it seems so: Black has no dark-squared bishop and his king is getting blasted open. On the contrary, White's king is the one in danger after Black's reply. } (17. Bxf4 { This was a bit slow, but still the best. After } 17... Qf6 18. Qd2 Bxc4 19. g5 hxg5 20. hxg5 Qg6 21. f3 Rae8 { the position is dynamically equal with chances for both sides. I prefer Black here. }) 17... f5!! { Probably the move he missed. White's king is very unstable and Black's pieces are all getting developed with tempo. } 18. gxh6 (18. exf5 { fails to } 18... Qe8+ 19. Kf1 Bxc4 $19 { when, with all of White's pawns hanging and threats such as ... Qe8-e4 and ... Qe4xf5 looming, White's position is losing. }) 18... Qf6?! { Unfortunately, this allows White one more chance to survive after 19. hxg7! } (18... fxe4! { This was more precise, but I didn't calculate it as much simply because 18. ... Qf6 was simpler and safer. } 19. Qg4 (19. hxg7 Rf7! 20. Qh5 Rxg7 21. Bxe4 Nxc4! $19) 19... Qf6 $19) 19. e5?? { Probably just an oversight. } (19. hxg7! Rf7 20. Kd2!! { The idea both of us missed. White's king is running towards the queenside while Black has to act fast to justify his reckless play. Fortunately, after } 20... fxe4 21. Bxe4 Rxg7! 22. Kc2 Re8! 23. Re1 Qxh4 24. Qf3 Nxc4! 25. Kb3 Rf8! $17 { Black is still able to maintain an advantage, but this is not where they want the position to go considering the starting point. }) 19... Qxe5+ 20. Kf1 Bxc4 $19 21. Rg1 Qe4! { Probably the move that White missed. Black uses a cross-pin to win material and trap White's king in an unsafe place. } 22. Bxc4 Nxc4 23. Qe2!? { A very sneaky defensive try from White. At first, I trusted him and didn't bother to calculate the variations surrounding capturing the hanging rook on b1. Then, after about ten minutes of thought spent considering other options, I realized nothing looked great. So I was forced to calculate the capture. } 23... Qxb1! (23... Ne3+!? 24. fxe3 Qxb1 25. Kf2 Rae8 { This was the simple option. To be honest, it was probably better than what I chose, but after spending lots of my time and calculating every variation to a win after 23. ... Qxb1, I could not bother playing 23. ... Ne3+ instead. }) 24. Qe6+ Rf7! { Other moves get mated. } (24... Kh7 25. Qg6+ Kh8 26. Qxg7#) (24... Kh8 25. hxg7+ Kh7 26. gxf8=N+ Rxf8 27. Qg6+ Kh8 28. Qg7#) 25. Rxg7+ Kh8 26. Rxf7 { One of two testing options. } (26. Qxf7!? { This is what I spent most of my time calculating before playing 23. ... Qxb1. } 26... Qxc1+ 27. Kg2 f3+! 28. Kh2!? { The most testing. } (28. Kg3 Qxh6! 29. Rg6 (29. Rg5 Rf8 $19) 29... Qxg6+! 30. Qxg6 Rg8 $19 { White's queen is pinned and Black remains up a piece. }) (28. Kxf3? Ne5+ $19 { Black picks up the queen. }) 28... Qxh6! { The only move. } (28... Qf4+?? 29. Kh3 Qxh6 30. Rg6! { And now White is winning because after } 30... Qf8 31. Qe6! Ne5 32. Rg5!! $18 { , Black can't stop White's mating threat of Rg5-h5 followed by Qe6-h6. } 32... Re8 33. Rh5+ Kg7 34. Qh6+ Kf7 (34... Kg8 35. Qh7#) 35. Qh7+ $18 { [%cal Gh5f5] }) 29. Rg6 (29. Rg5 Qxh4+ $19) 29... Qf8! 30. Qe6 Ne5! 31. Rg5 (31. Rh6+ Kg7 32. Rh5 Qf6! { Using the trick that White can't play Rh5-h7+ due to 33. ... Kxh7 34. Qxf6 Ng4+ winning the back the queen and ending the game. } 33. Rg5+ Ng6 $19) 31... Ng4+! { White's king has no good squares. Black is just in time to put up a stable defense and win the game. } 32. Kh3 (32. Kg3 Nf6! 33. Rxf5 Qg8+ $19) 32... Qe8! { Simplest. } 33. Qxf5 (33. Qxd6 Nxf2+ 34. Kh2 Ng4+ 35. Kh3 Qf7 $19) 33... Nxf2+ 34. Kh2 (34. Kg3 Ne4+ $19) 34... Qe5+ $19) 26... Qxc1+ 27. Kg2 f3+! { Probably the move that he missed. After other king moves, White is getting mated. Otherwise, Black is simply winning by checks. The rest was a matter of technique. } 28. Kxf3 Qxc3+ 29. Kf4 Rg8 30. Rg7 Qe5+ 31. Kg5 f4+ 32. Kg4 Qxe6+ 33. dxe6 Rxg7+ 34. hxg7+ Kxg7 { Down a piece, White had nothing better than to resign. A very lucky and instructive game for me that boosted my confidence a ton. } 0-1