[Event "2023 U.S. Women's Chess Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, United States"] [Date "2023.10.13"] [Round "8.6"] [White "Pourkashiyan, Atousa"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2305"] [BlackElo "2369"] [Annotator "WGM Sabina Foisor"] [Variant "From Position"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [FEN "4rr1k/1b1nq1bn/p2p2p1/Pp1PpP2/1P5p/5NNP/2B1QPP1/R1B1R1K1 w - - 0 27"] [SetUp "1"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/7JU1bog3"] [Orientation "white"] { Yip came out of the opening in a very bad position, and Pourkashiyan was slowly outplaying her opponent. It is in this position that Atousa erred and gave Carissa a small advantage, but the fight was far from over. } 27. Nf1? (27. f6! { would have been a nice positional idea to sacrifice the pawn while keeping many of Black's pieces restricted as follows: } 27... Bxf6 28. Ne4 Bxd5 29. Qd2 Bc6 (29... Bxe4 30. Bxe4 $18 { [%csl Rd6,Rg6] }) 30. Bb2 { White doesn't have to rush to recapture the lost pawn as Black's pawn structure is so weak (e.g. d6, g6, h4), in addition to the king. Because of this, soon White will be able to not only recoup the pawn, but also take advantage of Black's king by building up an attack. } 30... d5 31. Nxf6 Qxf6 32. Rad1 $18) 27... e4 28. fxg6 Bxa1 29. gxh7? (29. Qd1!?) 29... Bxd5 30. Bg5 Bf6? { This gave White a lot of counterplay } (30... Qg7 31. N3h2 Qxg5 32. Rxa1 Bc4 33. Qd1 d5 $18) 31. Nxh4 Qxh7? { Carissa may have overestimated her advantage. From here on Atousa was able to build sufficient compensation, as she took advantage of Black's uncoordinated pieces and very weak king. } (31... Bf7! 32. Nf5 Qe5 33. Bxf6+ Qxf6 34. N5e3 Ne5 35. Ng4 Nxg4 36. hxg4 d5 $19) 32. Qd2 Bb7 33. Ng3 Rg8? (33... d5 { This has to be played, though it isn't comfortable blocking the light-squared bishop. }) 34. Bxf6+ Nxf6 35. Nhf5 d5 36. Qd4 Re6? 37. Bb3 Rg5?? { This was a huge blunder by Carissa that could have immediately finished the game. Thankfully for her and to the heartbreak of Atousa, the winning move was missed. } 38. Qa7? (38. Rxe4! { Because of too many pins, White is winning. } 38... dxe4 39. Bxe6 $18) 38... Rc6 { The game continues with ups and downs. } 39. Qb8+ Rg8 40. Qe5 Qc7 41. Qd4 Rd8 42. Nh5 Qf7 43. g4 Kh7 44. Nhg3 Bc8 45. Qd2 Qf8 46. Qg5 Kh8 47. Nd4 Rc7 48. Ngf5 Bxf5 49. Qxf5 Rf7 50. Ne6 Qxb4 51. Re3?? { This gives all the advantage away... } (51. Nxd8! { wins again for White } 51... Qxe1+ 52. Kg2 Rf8 53. Ne6 Rf7 54. Ng5 Rf8 55. Qg6 $18 { followed by Ng5-e6 and the mate is very close. }) 51... Rdd7 52. g5 Ne8 53. Qe5+! Ng7 54. Qb8+ (54. Rc3 Kh7 55. Nxg7 Rxg7 56. Qf5+ Kh8 57. Rc8+ $18) 54... Kh7 55. g6+ Kxg6 56. Rg3+ Kf6 57. Ng5? (57. Nxg7 Rxg7 58. Qf4+ Ke6 59. Qh6+ Kf5 60. Qh5+ Ke6 61. Qh6+) 57... Nf5 58. Nh7+?? (58. Nxf7 Nxg3 59. Qf4+ Ke7 60. Qe5+ Kxf7 61. Bxd5+ Rxd5 62. Qxd5+ Kf6 63. fxg3 Qe1+ $19) 58... Rxh7 59. Qf4 Rhg7 60. Bxd5 Rxg3+ { This was a miraculous win for Carissa and heartbreaking loss for Atousa, who has really played a beautiful game. } 0-1