[Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.05"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Black "Eswaran, Ashritha"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2316"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2273"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [Annotator "Davis Zong Jr."] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E00"] [Opening "Catalan Opening"] [StudyName "2023 U.S. Championships rds 1-9"] [ChapterName "Paikidze, Nazi - Eswaran, Ashritha"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/N0HnGc2Q"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Nf3 h6!? { An early surprise from Eswaran. The direct motif behind this pawn push isn't that clear, because White usually doesn't usually play Bc1-g5 against the traditional Catalan structures, but perhaps it was an attempt to leave theory quickly. } 5. Bg2 Bd6 6. Nc3 Nc6 { An interesting setup of the pieces, which justifies the ...h7-h6 move. Bc1-g5 is unplayable, and Black's pieces are more actively placed to support ...d5xc4. } 7. O-O O-O 8. Nb5 (8. b3! { The c4-pawn needed to be supported. } 8... Re8 9. Bb2 dxc4 10. bxc4 e5) 8... dxc4! { An instant equalizer from Eswaran. Paikidze seizes the bishop pair, but Black eventually gains control of the crucial long diagonal. } 9. Qc2 a6 10. Nxd6 cxd6 11. Qxc4 Bd7 12. Bd2 Ne7 13. a4 Bc6 14. Qd3 Be4 15. Qa3 Qd7 16. Bb4 Nf5 17. Rfd1 Rfd8 18. Rac1 Rac8 19. Bc3 b5 20. axb5 Qxb5?! (20... axb5! { Recapturing with the pawn was stronger because it better blunts the light-squared bishop and leaves options of ...b5-b4 open. The c3-bishop is a big disadvantage for the first player. }) 21. Bf1! Qd7 (21... Rc4! { is a move no human would play! Self-pinning looks very unnatural, but it's tactically sound and Black gets good play following ...Rc4-a4. } 22. Nd2 Ra4 23. Qb3 Qxb3 24. Nxb3 Rc8) 22. Nd2 $16 Bb7 23. Ba5 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Rc8 25. Rxc8+ Qxc8 26. Qc3 Qd7 27. e3 Qa4 28. b3 (28. Qc7! { Puts the a6-pawn and b7-bishop in great danger. A sample line goes: } 28... g5 29. Bc3 Qd7 30. Qxd7 Nxd7 31. Bb4 $16 { whereupon the bishop pair gives a close-to-decisive advantage. }) 28... Qa2 29. Qc7 Bd5 30. g4!? { A daring pawn thrust by the first player which turns a likely draw into a three result game. } 30... Nxg4 (30... Nh4! { was much safer for the second player, but the piece-for-pawns sacrifice is hard to resist. } 31. h3 Nf3+ 32. Nxf3 Bxf3) 31. e4 Nxd4? (31... Bxe4! { The razor-sharp position is incredibly difficult to calculate, but taking with the bishop was slightly more precise than with the knight. } 32. Nxe4 Nxd4 33. Bd3 Ne2+ 34. Kf1 Nxh2+ 35. Ke1 Nf3+ $13 { White is faced with a "knightmare," but stays safe by a single thread. }) 32. exd5! Nf3+ 33. Kg2 Nxd2 34. Bd3! f5 (34... Ne4!? { This leads to a long, forcing line with an extra pawn for White. Eswaran likely saw this and wanted to avoid the losing queen ending. } 35. Qc8+ Kh7 36. Bxe4+ f5 37. Bxf5+ exf5 38. Qxf5+ Kg8 39. Qxg4 Qxa5 40. Qe6+ Kh7 41. Qxd6) 35. dxe6 Ne3+ { The second player rips open the cover, but Paikidze demonstrates incredible precision to navigate the deadly queen-and-knight duo. } 36. fxe3 Ne4+ 37. Bc2 Kh7 38. e7 Nc5 39. e8=Q { A second queen appears for Paikidze, but she is not out of the woods yet. } 39... Qxc2+ 40. Kh3! Qd3 41. Kh4! $18 { In a humorous moment, Black runs out of checks against a wide open king! } 41... Qc2 42. Qxd6 f4 43. Qd2 Qf5 44. exf4 Ne4 45. Qxe4! { A great move which seals the deal. White sacrifices one of the queens back to neutralize the mean mating threat of ...g7-g5+. Now, it's a simple endgame with an extra piece, and Paikidze converts. } (45. Qe3?? { A careless move such as this one would lead to checkmate } 45... g5+ 46. fxg5 hxg5+ 47. Kh5 Nf6#) 45... Qxe4 46. Kg3 Qg6+ 47. Kf2 Qh5 48. Ke1 Qf3 49. Bc3 Qh1+ 50. Ke2 Qxh2+ 51. Kd1 Qh1+ 52. Kc2 Qc6 53. Qd3+ Kh8 54. Kb2 Qe6 55. f5 Qb6 56. Qg3 Qa7 57. f6 gxf6 58. Bxf6+ Kh7 59. Qd3+ { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0