[Event "U.S. Championships"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.07"] [Round "2"] [White "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Black "Lee, Alice"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2262"] [BlackElo "2388"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "From Position"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [FEN "r4k2/p4pp1/p2pr2p/8/6Pb/4B2P/PPPR1P2/1K3R2 w - - 0 26"] [SetUp "1"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/UObLFxSP"] [Orientation "white"] { This position looks hopeless for Black based solely off of the pawn structure, but oftentimes in practice, these can be annoyingly tricky to convert. Here, Abrahamyan will provide us an excellent example to learn from. } 26. Rfd1 { The first step is to attack the weaknesses. Usually one weakness isn't enough to break down a position fully, but here, luckily there are an abundance to holes to poke at. } 26... Ke7 27. Rd5 { Transferring over to harass the a-pawns. } 27... Rc8 28. Bxa7 { Grabbing a pawn might not be the most accurate move according to the engine, but it keeps it simple. } 28... Bg5 29. Bd4 Rc4 30. b3 Rc6 31. c4 { Now with a Maroczy bind as well, White's position looks impenetrable } 31... f6 (31... Re2 32. Bxg7 Rxf2 { might have been an interesting way to complicate matters, but with some accurate play, White can put away all of Black's counterplay: } 33. Bc3 Ke6 34. Bb4 Be7 35. Rh5 Bf8 36. Rd3 { and we see here another example of the principle of two weaknesses, as now Black's pieces are completely stuck. }) 32. Bc3 Bh4 33. R1d2 Re1+ 34. Kb2 Bg5 35. Rc2 { It looks like Lee is making some headway and this type of thing is what commonly incites unnecessary panic, but the nice thing with such binds is that there is almost always a way to defend. } 35... Rh1 36. Rd3 Bf4 37. Bd2 Be5+ 38. Bc3 Bf4 39. Re2+ Kf7 40. Rf3 { Black's pieces are slowly but surely pushed back. } 40... g5 41. Re4 { White is hinting at a possible Exchange sac, but there's really no need to create complications in such a position. } 41... Rc5 42. b4 f5?? { An attempt at counterplay, but it falls flat to a simple tactical blow. } 43. Rexf4 { and White wins a piece. Abrahamyan makes it look all too easy. } 1-0