[Event "2023 U.S. Senior Chess Championship"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.07.25"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Kaidanov, Gregory"] [Black "Dlugy, Maxim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2563"] [BlackElo "2524"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B40"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/ZBuAQUT7/aLi8C6L0"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by IM Sandeep Sethuraman } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. a3!? { Spending a whole tempo to prevent ... Be7-b4 might seem passive, but this is a surprisingly venomous move. } 6... Be7 7. Nxc6 dxc6 (7... bxc6 { is the much more natural capture. } 8. e5 Nd5 9. Qg4 g6 10. Bd2 Rb8 { and Black should be able to easily draw. }) 8. Qxd8+ Bxd8 9. e5 Nd7 (9... Nd5 10. Ne4 O-O 11. c4 { and White has a clear edge in this endgame. The a2-a3 move proves useful yet again. }) 10. f4 f6! { Black has to break the center before White has time to consolidate. } 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. Bd2 O-O 13. O-O-O Nd5 14. g3 h6 15. Re1 Bc7 16. Bg2 (16. Bh3! { was even stronger, targeting the weak e6-pawn which is very difficult to defend. } 16... Re8 17. f5! { Putting on even more pressure! } 17... e5 18. g4 { and even without queens on the board, White can start a potent kingside initiative. }) 16... Bd7 17. Re2 (17. Ne4 b6 18. Nf2! { And the knight is headed to g5 or d3 with the eventual destination of the e5-square. }) 17... Rae8 18. Rhe1 Kf7 19. Nd1! { Kaidanov finds a similar path to the e5-square. } 19... e5 20. Bxd5+? { White should have kept the bishop on the board. } (20. fxe5 Bg4 21. Rf2+ Kg8 22. Bxd5+ cxd5 23. Bc3 { and here, White at least keeps the pawn even if he must give up the two bishops. }) 20... cxd5 21. Bb4 Bg4! { Passive defense won't work here. This is the only way forward. } 22. Rf2 (22. Bxf8 Bxe2 23. Rxe2 Kxf8 24. fxe5 Rxe5 { offered White no advantage. }) 22... exf4 23. Ne3?! { Kaidanov understandably doesn't want to make a draw from his recently amazing position, but it was time to cut his losses. } (23. Ref1 Bxd1 24. Rxf4+ Bxf4+ 25. Rxf4+ Kg8 26. Rxf8+ Rxf8 27. Bxf8 Kxf8 28. Kxd1 { with an easy draw. }) 23... Kg8! { Black hangs everything, but Dlugy has calculated and he is better. } 24. Bxf8 (24. Nxg4 Rxe1+ 25. Bxe1 h5 { and the knight is amusingly trapped. }) 24... Rxe3 (24... fxe3! { would have given excellent winning chances: } 25. Bc5 d4 26. Rg2 Bf3 27. Rgg1 Be5 28. c3 Rc8 29. Bxa7 e2 { and the advanced passers will give Black great odds. }) 25. Bb4 Rxe1+ 26. Bxe1 Bb6 27. Rxf4 Be3+ { The rest is a simple opposite-colored bishop endgame draw. } 28. Bd2 Bxf4 29. Bxf4 Kf7 30. Kd2 Ke6 31. Ke3 h5 32. Kd4 Bd1 33. c3 Bf3 34. Bb8 a6 35. Kc5 Kd7 36. Be5 g6 37. Kb6 Kc8 38. h4 Be4 39. Bf4 Bf3 40. Be5 Be4 41. Bf4 Bf3 42. Be5 Be4 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. } 1/2-1/2