[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.15"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim"] [Black "Yan, Ruiyang"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2350"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2206"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [Annotator "WGM Katerina Nemcova"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A14"] [Opening "English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/M34LqfcU"] [Orientation "white"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 d5 4. O-O Be7 5. c4 d4 (5... O-O { A modern and more common response is this variation. }) 6. b4!? Bxb4?? { A big blunder by Ruiyang. After this move, White is completely winning. } (6... O-O { This is again the more common approach. } 7. Bb2 c5! 8. d3 { And we can see a lot of games here including from super-GMs. For example So – Korobov, Bucharest, 2019. }) 7. Qa4+! Nc6 8. Ne5! Rb8!? (8... O-O? 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Qxb4 $18) 9. c5! $18 { A very strong move by Tokhirjonova. White is trying to lure Black's bishop to an undefended square, or otherwise trap the bishop on the queenside. } 9... Nd7 (9... Bxc5? 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Qxc6+ Nd7 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. Qxc5 $18) (9... O-O 10. Nd3! a5 11. a3 $18) 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Nxc6 Nxc5 12. Qd1!? (12. Qxa7! { After this move, the game would be completely over. } 12... Rb7 (12... Qd5 13. Qxb8! $18) 13. Qxb7! Nxb7 14. Nxd8 Nxd8 15. d3 $18) 12... Qd5 13. Nxb8 Bb7 { Ruiyang is trying to create some complications. } 14. f3 O-O 15. Ba3! Bxa3 (15... a5! { This was the only move that would create complications for White. However, it is not so easy to make this move. } 16. Bb2 { Aiming to trap the bishop with a2-a3. } 16... Rxb8 17. a3 Nb3! 18. axb4 Nxa1 19. Bxa1 axb4 20. d3 $18 { This is the best chance for Black. However, White should be able to win with an extra piece. }) 16. Nxa3 Rxb8 17. d3 $18 { And White is completely winning. White is an Exchange up with no weaknesses in her position. Tokhirjonova converted her advantage without much trouble. } 17... Bc6 18. Rb1 Rd8 19. Rb4 h5 20. Qc2 Na6 21. Rc4 Be8 22. Qd2 Qe5 23. Rcc1 Rd5 24. Nc4 Qf5 25. Rf2 Qf6 26. Qb2 Bb5 27. Nd2 Qg5 28. f4 Qe7 29. Nf3 Qd7 30. Rff1 f6 31. a4 Bxa4 32. Qb7 Bb5 33. Qxa7 c6 34. Qa8+ Qd8 35. Qxd8+ Rxd8 36. Ra1 c5 37. Ra5 Rb8 38. Rb1 Nc7 39. Nd2 e5 40. fxe5 fxe5 41. Ne4 Rb6 42. Nxc5 Kf8 43. Nd7+ Bxd7 44. Rxb6 Bg4 45. Rxe5 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0