[Event "2023 U.S. Senior Chess Championship"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.07.25"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Novikov, Igor"] [Black "Benjamin, Joel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2527"] [BlackElo "2500"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D37"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation"] [StudyName "2023 National Championships"] [ChapterName "Novikov, Igor - Benjamin, Joel"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/ZBuAQUT7/NTwVl5Tg"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by IM Sandeep Sethuraman } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 a6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Be6 { A recently trendy line. Black plays a provocative ... a7-a6 move with the intention of expanding on the queenside with ... b7-b5. } 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Qb3 Ra7 9. g3 Qd8 10. Bg2 Be7 11. O-O Nd7 12. Ne1!? { An interesting maneuver to the d3-square, but perhaps a bit slow. } (12. Rfe1 c6 13. Qc2 O-O 14. e4 { was an interesting way to change the tempo of the game. } 14... dxe4 15. Qxe4 Ra8 16. Rad1 { and White has activated all of his pieces. }) 12... c6 13. Nd3 O-O 14. e3 Bd6 15. Rac1 Re8 16. Na4?! { White's main plan is to attack on the queenside, but here there simply aren't any clear targets. } (16. Rfe1 g6 17. Qc2 Bf5 18. e4 { and White should be able to equalize. }) 16... Nf6 17. Rfe1 Bf5 18. Nac5 Re7 19. a3 (19. f3!? { The other plan in this Queen's Gambit Declined structure. } 19... a5 20. Nf2 { White must devote everything to pushing e3-e4. } 20... h6 21. a3 Bg6 22. Re2 { and Black is still slightly better, but at least there is a clear plan. }) 19... h5! { A typical GM move, taking more space on the kingside, hinting at a possible ... h5-h4-h3, and putting one more thing on White's plate. } 20. h4 Qc7 21. Nf4 Ra8 { The rook has done its job defending the b-pawn, and now it's time to rejoin the game. } 22. Ncd3 Rae8 23. Qd1 { The white pieces begin to return for an unpleasant task. The two bishops display their power even in this relatively closed position. } 23... Bxd3 24. Qxd3 Bxf4 25. gxf4 { In the span of just two moves, both bishops have disappeared, but the advantage has transformed. The white pawn structure is very difficult to maintain, and the knight can dance around the weak squares. } 25... Re6 26. Bh3 Ng4 27. Bxg4 (27. f3?? Rxe3) 27... hxg4 28. Kg2 Re4 29. Rh1 R8e6 30. b4 Qe7 31. Qd1?? { Novikov finally cracks under the pressure of all of Black's major pieces. } (31. Rcg1 f5 32. Qb1 { and with some careful shuffling, White should be able to make a relatively straightforward draw. }) 31... g3! { Breaking through White's defenses. } 32. f5 Rh6 33. fxg3 Rxe3 34. Qg4 Re4 35. Qf3 Rf6 (35... g5! { was winning for Black. } 36. fxg6 Rxg6 37. Rcf1 Re3 { and the g3-pawn will drop with decisive effect. }) 36. Rcf1 g6 37. g4 gxf5 38. gxf5 Rxd4 39. Re1 Re4? { Trading into a pawn-up endgame, but White can hold this. } 40. Rxe4 Qxe4 41. Qxe4 dxe4 42. Rf1 Rd6 (42... e3 43. Rf4! { is likely what Benjamin missed. White can corral the e3-pawn without giving up f5. }) 43. Rf4 Kg7 44. Rxe4 Kf6 45. h5 Rd2+ 46. Kg3 Rd3+ 47. Kg2 Rd5 48. h6 Rxf5 49. Rh4 Rg5+ 50. Kf3 Rg8 { The Rook gets back just in time for Black to clinch the half-point! } 51. Rf4+ Kg6 52. Rg4+ Kh7 53. Rf4 Kxh6 (53... Rf8 54. Rf6 { and Black can't make any progress. }) 54. Rxf7 Rg7 55. Rf8 Re7 56. Rg8 Kh7 57. Rg3 Re5 58. Kf4 Rb5 59. Ke4 a5 60. bxa5 Rxa5 61. Rb3 b5 { With the Black king so far away this is an easy draw, and Novikov shows no hesitation in making it. } 62. Rc3 Kg7 63. Rxc6 Rxa3 64. Rb6 Rb3 65. Kd4 Kf7 66. Kc5 Ke7 67. Rxb5 Rxb5+ 68. Kxb5 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. } 1/2-1/2