[Event "U.S. Championship 2023"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.12"] [Round "6"] [White "Eswaran, Ashritha"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2273"] [BlackElo "2372"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B06"] [Opening "Modern Defense: Pseudo-Austrian Attack"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/WXHtPKTD"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. f4 a6 5. Nf3 b5!? { This hypermodern defense is a bold choice, but not too easy to beat. It's actually a nice option to play in games that you want to win, and Yip shows why here. } 6. Bd3 Bb7 7. e5!? { A bit strange to move the same pawn twice like this with no attack on an f6-knight, but there's an idea. } 7... c5!? { trying to break the center immediately } (7... Nh6 { was a more measured approach. }) 8. dxc5 dxe5 9. O-O? { Out of theory, Eswaran goes for a seemingly safe move that might allow her to build an initiative, but there was no reason to not keep the pawn. } (9. fxe5 Nd7 10. Be4 Bxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Qxd1+ 13. Kxd1 Bxe5 14. c3! { and White will have a very annoying passed pawn. }) 9... exf4 10. Bxf4 Nf6 11. Qe2 Nc6 12. Ne5? { White needs to prioritize defending her c5-pawn while Black completes development. There is no time for this. } (12. Rad1 Qc8 13. Qf2 O-O 14. h3 { and the position is holding for now. }) 12... O-O 13. Kh1 Qc8 14. Nxc6 Qxc6 { Now the c5-pawn becomes impossible to defend. } 15. Rae1 (15. b4? e5! { would be very strong with ...e5-e4 being a threat as well. } 16. Bxe5 Rae8 { and the bishop will fall. }) 15... Rae8 (15... Qxc5 16. Qxe7 Qc6! { was also very strong with a rook appearing on the e-file next. }) 16. Ne4 Nd7 (16... Nd5 17. Bd2 f5 18. Ng5 e5! { was even more accurate with the central pawn storm ready to steamroll anything in its way. }) 17. a4 bxa4 18. Qf2 Rc8 19. c3 Kh8! { No taking the bait just yet. Yip is getting ready for an ...f7-f5 push. } (19... Nxc5 20. Nxc5 Qxc5 21. Qxc5 Rxc5 22. Rxe7 { and suddenly this endgame becomes very difficult to win despite the extra pawn. }) 20. Bb1 f5 21. Ng5 e5! { White's pieces are forced back, along with her hopes of counterplay. } 22. Bc1 (22. Qh4?? { is never an option: } 22... Qxg2#) 22... Nxc5 23. Ba2?! { Trying to create some counterplay against the black king, but that's too far gone by this point. To be fair, nothing else offered much more resistance. } (23. Be3 Ne6! { and Black will maintain her extra central pawn and a huge advantage. }) 23... Nd3 24. Qg3 Nxe1 25. Rxe1 h6 26. Ne6 Kh7! { Prioritizing king safety over material is often a good idea, especially in completely winning positions like this. } (26... Rf6 27. Rxe5 { would be slightly annoying, but } 27... Re8 { and the pieces are immobilized. }) 27. Qh3 f4 28. Bb1 (28. Ng5+ { didn't offer anything better: } 28... Kh8 29. Nf7+ Rxf7 30. Bxf7 Rf8 { and with ...f4-f3 coming next, White is again completely lost. }) 28... Rf6 29. Ng5+ Kh8 30. Ne4 Rff8 31. Qg4 Rcd8 32. h4 Bc8! { A strong rerouting to counter the white bishop and completely shut down any ideas of counterplay along the diagonal. } 33. Qf3 Bf5 34. Kh2 h5 35. g3 Bg4 36. Qf2 fxg3+ 37. Qxg3 Rf3 { The black pieces break through and the game is all but over. } 38. Qg1 Rdf8 39. Bg5 Qb5 40. b4 axb3 41. Qa7 Qd7! { Perhaps not the most accurate,at least according to the engine, but in these positions, playing it safe always reduces the risk of potential game-changing blunders, and this is the path to take. } 42. Qxd7 Bxd7 43. Rd1 Bg4 { Up an Exchange, Yip has no problems with the conversion. } 44. Rd6 Rf1 45. Bd3 Rd1 46. Bd2 b2 47. Rb6 Bf5 48. Rxb2 Bxe4 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1