[Event "U.S. Girls Chess Championship 2023"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.07.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Tang, Zoey"] [Black "Mangalam, Shreya"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2290"] [BlackElo "1972"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] [Annotator "Shlyakhtenko,Robert"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D31"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined: Charousek Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/ZBuAQUT7/rH2JDwPs"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by IM Robert Shylakhtenko } 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Nge2!? { A trendy way to handle this variation. White tries to take advantage of the early bishop sortie to f5. } (7. g4 { is the most popular move. }) 7... Nd7 8. h4 (8. Ng3 Bg6 9. h4 { gives Black the extra option of } 9... Bxh4 { and the usual tactics do not work for White. }) 8... h5 (8... Bxh4? { Here, this runs into } 9. Qb3! b6 (9... Nb6 10. a4! { with unpleasant pressure }) 10. Rxh4! Qxh4 11. Nxd5 cxd5 12. Qxd5 Qd8 13. Qxf5 { and White is dominating despite the Exchange deficit, in view of his central pawn mass and potential play on the light squares. }) 9. Ng3 Bg6 (9... Bg4 { is the alternative. Now } 10. Be2!? Bxe2 11. Qxe2 g6 12. e4 Ngf6 13. O-O-O { was slightly better for White in Dragun – Narayanan, Chicago, 2022. }) 10. Bd3 Bxd3 (10... Bxh4 11. Bxg6 fxg6 12. Qc2 Nf8 13. e4 { is unpleasant for for a human to handle. Understandably, Black did not wish to ruin her pawn structure in such a way. }) (10... Nf8!? { deserved serious consideration, however. }) 11. Qxd3 g6 (11... Ngf6 { allows White to trade off the important e7-bishop with } 12. Nf5) 12. e4! { White has a slight lead in development and rushes to exploit this. Now Black must be careful. } 12... dxe4? { A mistake made by several strong players, showing that the position is not easy for Black to handle. With this move, Black contradicts the essential principle that opening the position helps the player who has a development advanage. } (12... Ngf6 13. e5!? { was played by Duda against Harikrishna. Black must find the counterintuitive } 13... Ng8! (13... Ng4? { runs into } 14. Qd2! Bxh4 15. Nce2 { and the knight risks being trapped after f2-f3. }) (13... Nh7? { it turns out that the knight is simply worse here than on g8. }) 14. e6 Nf8 15. exf7+ Kxf7 16. Be5 Rh7 $13 { and Black is in time to meet White's attacking tries. Crucially, the g8-knight can redeploy to h6, where it impedes the pawn break f4-f5. }) (12... Nb6 { is another, probably safer, option. }) 13. Ngxe4 Ndf6? { Breaking another important principle: the player behind in development should avoid trading her already-developed pieces. } (13... Ngf6 { allows } 14. Nd6+!) (13... Nb6 14. O-O Nf6 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 { was a better try. White is able to prevent castling with the pretty move } 16. Bh6!! { , but her attack is slower than in the game. } (16. Rfe1+ Kf8 { is not so clear; the king can potentially find a safe haven on g7. })) 14. O-O Nxe4 15. Nxe4 Nf6 16. Nxf6+ Bxf6 { Mangalam must have been counting on this position; indeed, if given a single tempo, Black will castle and obtain excellent chances. However, White found a star move. } 17. Qa3! { The speed with which Black's position has collapsed is remarkable. With no chance of bringing her king to safety, Black is simply lost. } 17... Be7 18. Rfe1 f6 (18... Kf8 19. Rxe7! Qxe7 20. Bd6 { is the key point. }) 19. Bd6 Rh7 20. Re6 Rc8 (20... Kd7 21. Rae1 Bf8 { holds only temporarily. Of the many possible continuations, the strongest is } 22. d5! { , continuing to open the position. }) 21. Rae1 Rc7 22. Bxc7 Qxc7 23. Qd3 { The rest is simple. } 23... Rg7 24. Rxf6 Qa5 25. Rfe6 Kd8 26. Qe3 Bb4 27. Re5 Qxa2 28. Re8+ Kd7 29. Rb8! Rg8 30. Rxb7+ Kc8 31. Rxb4 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0