[Event "U.S. Championships"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.07"] [Round "2"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2372"] [BlackElo "2294"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B12"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Short Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/9Fbeive7"] [Orientation "white"] { These two competitors have played out many battles for first and second at the U.S. Junior Girls' as well as previous U.S. Women's Championships. } 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7!? { Black takes a very measured approach to the development, choosing to place the pieces on the right squares instead of simply developing. } (5... c5 { is far and away the main line with over 3,000 games played by masters. }) 6. O-O h6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 { This is a common idea to discourage the eventual ...c6-c5 push that always happens in these positions. } 8... g5!? { A very unorthodox style of play. Don't try this at home kids! } 9. Ne1 Bg7?! { A bit too slow. The g5-pawn needs support from the rook on g8. This move goes against Black's larger plans. } 10. f4! { It seems counterintuitive to push pawns in front of the king, but this pawn push intends to make an inroads to the black king. } 10... gxf4 11. Nd3! { very accurate. The knight is the best piece to recapture with. } 11... Ng6 12. Nxf4 Nxf4 13. Bxf4 Qe7 14. Qd2 Nf8 15. c4 dxc4 16. Na5! { Another very accurate move. The knight capturing on c4 is very important because it's a direct inroads to the d6-square and the black king. } 16... O-O-O (16... Ng6 { a very difficult decision to make, but this offered better drawing chances. } 17. Nxc4 Nxf4 18. Nd6+ Qxd6 { The queen sacrifice is a necessary evil to maintain the integrity of the position. } 19. exd6 Nxe2+ 20. Qxe2 Bxd4+ { Black has only two bishops and a pawn for the queen, but she does also have the ability to blockade the position. }) 17. Nxc4 Kb8 18. Nd6 Ng6 19. Bg3 Ka8 { There's a clear quality difference in both sides' pieces. Yip's knight on d6 is a true monster and cuts the board in half. } 20. Bd3 (20. Nxf5? { would give away a large chunk of the advantage } 20... exf5 21. Rxf5 Nxe5! { and now it's a mess. } 22. Rd1 Rxd4? { doesn't work just yet but shows that Black is getting back into the game. } 23. Qxd4 Nf3+ 24. Bxf3 Bxd4+ 25. Rxd4) 20... Rxd6?! { a desperate try, but the alternatives didn't offer much solace. } (20... Qd7 21. Rad1 { and the f5 point will fall. With the bishop pair to go with an extra pawn, White should have no problems converting this }) 21. exd6 Bxd4+ 22. Kh1 Qf6 23. Bxf5 exf5 24. Rad1 c5 25. Bf2 (25. b4! { would have been an instructive way to remove the blockade of the d-file, but everything is equally winning here. }) 25... Qxd6 26. Bxd4 cxd4 27. Qxd4 Qxd4 28. Rxd4 f4 29. Rfd1 Kb8 30. Rd8+ Rxd8 31. Rxd8+ Kc7 { With the rooks off the board, the endgame conversion is trivial. Yip shows no hesitation. } 32. Rd5 Ne7 33. Rh5 Kd6 34. Rxh6+ { Creating a passed pawn. } 34... Ke5 35. Rh5+ Nf5 36. Kg1 Ke4 37. Rh3 Nd6 38. Rc3 a5 39. a4 Kd4 40. Rc7 Kd5 41. Kf2 b6 42. Kf3 Nc4 43. Rxc4 { A nice touch to force a resignation. } 1-0