[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.12"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2372"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2303"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [Annotator "WGM Katerina Nemcova"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B56"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Kupreichik Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/K82D4Voh"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bd7 { I am not familiar with this move, but Cervantes must have an idea of avoiding certain lines or transposing into her favorite sidelines. She has only played this move several times in here career, including a previous in a previous round of this tournament. } 6. f3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. g4!? { Carissa is wishing to quickly create an attack on the kingside, delaying other logical moves such as Qd1-d2 with the idea to long castle. } 8... Nxd4? { A big strategic mistake. This trade allows Yip to activate her queen into the center (without losing any tempi with the queen) and to quickly castle. Additionally, it brings little relief to the Black's position. } 9. Qxd4! $18 { White's advantage is so big now that the computer already evaluates the position as winning. From a practical perspective, the position may not be winning yet, but White is enjoying a very serious advantage. } 9... Bc6 10. O-O-O b5 11. g5! Nd7 12. Kb1 { This is a typical move in the Sicilian. White is hiding her king away from the c-file and ready to defend the a2-pawn. One can hardly go wrong with such a move in the Sicilian. } (12. h4!? { White may also march with this pawn forward to get more space on the kingside and to advance the pawn all the way to h6-square, if possible. }) 12... e6 13. f4!? { Yip is choosing to push the f-pawn to control the e5-square and gain space. } (13. h4!? { This still remains as the alternative idea in the position: to march ahead. } 13... Qa5 14. h5 Rc8 15. h6 Rg8 16. hxg7 Rxg7 17. a3 $18 { With White having many ways to improve her pieces (e.g., Rh1-h6, or Nc3-e2-d4 transfer) while Black does not have anything. }) 13... Qa5 14. Bh3 b4 15. Nd5! { This is a very nice and bold move by Yip. White is happy to sacrifice her knight so the e-file can be opened and the black king under direct attack. structures. } 15... Nc5 (15... exd5!? { Although Black is losing after this move as well, sometimes it may be better to take risks than wait for slow death. In this position, Yip would need to find the best moves to prove her sacrifice. } 16. exd5 Bb5 17. Rhe1 Kd8 18. Bd2?! { In a post-game analysis, Yip suggested this move which seems to be an inaccuracy, allowing Black to get back into the game. } 18... Qb6! 19. Qxb4 (19. Qxb6+? Nxb6 $19 { and Black is winning. }) 19... a5! 20. Qe4 Nc5! 21. Qf3 $14 Kc7 { with the position becoming more and more unclear. }) 16. Nxb4 $18 { White has many ways of winning this game. Once the h-rook joins other pieces in the center, Black's position will become completely hopeless. } 16... Bxe4 17. Rhe1 Rb8 18. Bd2 Qb5 19. Bf1 Qb7 20. Nxa6 Nxa6 21. Rxe4 Nc5 22. Re3 Be7 { Nobody likes to give up pawns, however Cervantes felt that she needs to develop her pieces even if it means losing one. } 23. Qxg7 Kd7 24. Bc1 d5 25. Bh3!? Rbf8 26. Qe5 Ke8 27. f5! Bxg5 28. Rc3 Nd7 29. Qe2 Bxc1 30. Kxc1 e5 31. Rcd3 f6 32. Rxd5 Rf7 33. Qh5 Kf8 34. Bf1 Qa7 35. Qh6+ { Yip is going for the checkmate. } (35. Qxf7+ { A lot of moves win in this position. } 35... Kxf7 36. Rxd7+ Qxd7 37. Rxd7+ $18) 35... Kg8 36. Bc4 (36. Rxd7 Rxd7 37. Bc4+ Rf7 38. Rd8#) 36... Nf8 37. Rd8 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0