[Event "2023 U.S. Senior Chess Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, United States"] [Date "2023.07.17"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Gurevich, Dmitry"] [Black "Dlugy, Maxim"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2364"] [BlackElo "2524"] [Annotator "WGM Jennifer Yu"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D90"] [Opening "Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation"] [StudyName "2023 National Championships"] [ChapterName "Gurevich, Dmitry - Dlugy, Maxim"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/ZBuAQUT7/cHwL8lui"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by WGM Jennifer Yu } 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Na4 O-O 7. e4 Nb6 8. Be2 Nxa4 9. Qxa4 b6 10. Be3 Bb7 11. Qc2 Nd7 12. O-O c5 13. Rad1 Qc8 14. d5 Ne5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. f4 Bg7 { Gurevich enters the middlegame with a comfortable advantage due to his massive space advantage. His next few moves will be important to prevent Dlugy from chipping away his center. } 17. b3 (17. e5 { is very intuitive, locking in the g7-bishop. } 17... Rd8 18. Bf3 { Black will be quite uncomfortable in his cramped position for the forseeable future. }) 17... e6 18. Bc4 exd5 19. Bxd5 Bxd5 20. Rxd5 Qc7 21. Rfd1 Rad8 { Just like that, Dlugy is ready to liquidate all of the rooks, making Gurevich's massive center feel like a distant memory. } 22. Qc4 Rxd5 23. Rxd5 (23. Qxd5 { is } 23... Bd4! 24. Bxd4 cxd4) 23... Rd8 24. e5 Rxd5 25. Qxd5 Qc8 26. h3 h5 27. Kh2 Bf8 28. a4 Qf5 29. Kg3 Kg7 30. Kf3 Be7 31. Qe4 Qd7 32. Ke2 a6 33. Qd3 Qc6 34. Kf2 b5 35. axb5 axb5 36. Kg3 c4 37. bxc4 bxc4 38. Qc3 h4+ 39. Kf2 Kg8 40. Bd4 Qd5 41. Be3 Bf8 42. Qd4 Qc6 43. Qc3 Be7 44. Bd4 Kf8 45. Qf3 Qc8 46. Qc3 Ke8 47. Qb2 Kd7 48. Qb1 Qc6 49. f5 { In an endgame dominated by manouvering, every pawn push and break is a massive decision. This move complicates the position, demanding accuracy from Gurevich over the next few moves. } (49. Qc2 { Maintaining the same position is simple. }) 49... Qd5 50. e6+? { Giving away this pawn results in a position where Dlugy is allowed to push on forever. Never a pleasant experience for the defender. } (50. Qb6 gxf5 51. Qa7+ Ke8 52. Qb8+ Bd8 53. Bb6 { The exchange on d8 will result in either perpetual check or recovering the pawn. } 53... c3 54. Bxd8 Qxd8 55. Qb5+ Qd7 56. Qb8+ Ke7 57. Qb4+ Ke6 58. Qxc3) 50... fxe6 51. fxe6+ Qxe6 52. Qb5+ Qc6 53. Qxc6+ Kxc6 { Since the pawn islands are so far apart and the h4-pawn is fixed on a dark square, with perfect play this endgame should be drawn. However, in practical play it is not so simple. Dlugy will torture his opponent forever until he catches Gurevich making a mistake. } 54. Kf3? { The king and bishop's defensive structure should be switched: the king should defend against the passed c-pawn while the bishop protects the kingside pawns against the enemy king and keeps an eye on the black pawns. } (54. Ke2 Kd5 55. Bf2 Ke4 56. Kd2 Bb4+ 57. Kc2 g5 58. Bb6) 54... Kd5 (54... Kb5! { The king goes around to support the passed c-pawn. } 55. Ke2 Kb4 56. Kd2 Kb3 $19) 55. Bc3 Bd6?? { This allows White enough time to switch his king over towards the queenside and create a blockade. } (55... g5! { Playing this move before ... Be7-d6 allows Black to be able to transfer his bishop to f4 from d6, where it dominates the position. The threats of ... Bf4-d2 and ... c2-c3 (if the white bishop leaves c3), followed by a king advance will eventually bring Black the full point. }) 56. Bf6 Bg3 57. Ke3 Be1 58. Ke2 Ke6 59. Bd8 Bg3 60. Ke3 Kd5 61. Bf6 Kc5 62. Bc3 Kb5 63. Kd2 Bf4+ 64. Kd1 Kc5 { It is evident how tricky the endgame as the next move — a normal king advance after constant manouvering by both sides — suddenly loses the game. } 65. Ke2?? (65. Be1 g5 66. Bf2+ Kd5 67. Kc2 { As mentioned before, the king needs to blockade the c-pawn. Note that after } 67... Ke4 68. Bb6 Be3 69. Bc7 Bf4 70. Bb6 { , the black king cannot penetrate to attack White's kingside pawns. In the situation of } 70... Be5 { the bishop should move to defend the dark squares from a different diagonal: } 71. Ba5 (71. Bf2?? Bd4 72. Be1 c3 { and White is in zugzwang! }) 71... c3 72. Bb6 Kf4 73. Bf2) 65... Kd5 66. Bf6 Ke4 67. Bc3 Be5 68. Be1 c3 { The c-pawn can't be stopped. } 69. Bxh4 Bf4 70. Bf6 c2 71. Bb2 c1=Q 72. Bxc1 Bxc1 73. g3 Be3 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1