[Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.08"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Black "Yan, Ruiyang"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2363"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2206"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [Annotator "Davis Zong Jr."] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E36"] [Opening "Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation"] [StudyName "2023 U.S. Championships rds 1-9"] [ChapterName "Zatonskih, Anna - Yan, Ruiyang"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/P2tfGCSD"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 O-O 7. Nf3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Bg5 Ba6 10. Qc2 c5 11. dxc5 bxc5 { Excellent theoretical understanding by both players. Zatonskih understands that simple, developing moves will win the advantage due to the bishop pair while Yan plays actively, delaying White's castling as long as possible to utilize the lead in development. } 12. Nd2 (12. Qxc5 { Taking this pawn is extremely risky. } 12... Nbd7 13. Qc6 Nb6 14. Qc3 Rc8 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Qa5 Rc2 $13 { Engine says dead equal, but any human would be scared to death as White here. }) 12... Nbd7 13. e3 Bxf1 14. Nxf1 Qa5+ 15. Nd2 Qb5! { A strong move, preventing castling again. A slow move such as: } (15... Rab8 { would have allowed castling and yielded an advantage for Zatonskih. } 16. O-O Qb5 17. Nc4 $14) 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. Nc4 Rab8 18. O-O Rfd8 19. Rfc1 h6 20. Rab1 Qb3 21. Qxb3 Rxb3 22. Kf1 Rdb8 23. Rc2 Nd5 24. Rd1 Nb6 25. Nd2 Rb5 26. b3 Ra5 27. Ra1 Kf8 28. Ke2 Nd5 29. Rcc1 Rab5 30. Kd1 Ke7 31. Rc4 Nb6 32. Rc2 Nd7 33. Rac1 Ra5 34. a4 Ra6 35. Rc3 Rab6 36. Kc2 Rb4 37. Rd1 Rc8 38. f3 Nb6 39. e4 c4 { Now all the pieces get traded and it's an elementary draw. } 40. Nxc4 Nxc4 41. Rxc4 Rbxc4+ 42. bxc4 Rxc4+ 43. Kb3 Rc7 44. Rd4 Rb7+ 45. Rb4 Rxb4+ 46. Kxb4 Kd6 47. Kb5 Kc7 48. Ka6 Kb8 49. f4 h5 50. g3 g6 51. e5 Ka8 52. Ka5 Kb8 53. Ka6 Ka8 54. Ka5 Kb8 55. Ka6 Ka8 56. Ka5 Kb8 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. } 1/2-1/2