[Event "U.S. Girls Chess Championship 2023"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.07.24"] [Round "8"] [White "Lee, Alice"] [Black "Mou, Iris"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2393"] [BlackElo "2214"] [Annotator "Davis Zong Jr"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D32"] [Opening "Tarrasch Defense: Schara Gambit"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/ZBuAQUT7/iPHkQZlh"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by Davis Zong Jr } 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 cxd4 5. Qxd4 Nc6 6. Qd1 exd5 7. e3 { Objectively not the best choice, as Black's isolated queen's pawn is quite strong here. } (7. Qxd5 { was an option for White, but Black has compensation for the pawn and can gain a few tempi on White's queen: } 7... Bd6 8. Nf3 Nf6 9. Qd1 O-O 10. g3) 7... Nf6 8. Nf3 Bb4 9. Bd2 O-O 10. Be2 Ne4 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Nd4?! { This gives Black a slight chance to press for an advantage. } (12. Bxb4 Nxb4 13. Qxd8 Rxd8 14. Nd4 $10) 12... Bxd2+ 13. Qxd2 Nxd4?! { This liquidates to a draw. } (13... Qg5! 14. Nxc6 bxc6 { White can't castle because of Black's threat of 15. ... Bh3. } 15. Kf1 Rd8 $17 { White will try to play on the kingside with h2-h4-h5, but the lack of castling will always be a minus in the long run as the d-file is already open for Black's pieces. }) 14. Qxd4 Qxd4 15. exd4 $10 Be6 16. b3 Rac8 17. Kd2 Rfd8 18. Ke3 Rc3+ 19. Kd2 Rcc8 20. Ke3 Rc3+ 21. Kd2 Rcc8 22. Ke3 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. } 1/2-1/2