[Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.08"] [Round "4.6"] [White "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"] [Black "Lee, Alice"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2303"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2388"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [Annotator "Davis Zong Jr."] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D12"] [Opening "Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Schallopp Defense"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/YbREMUwR"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. g3 Nbd7 10. Bg2 Bb4 11. Qb3 Qe7 12. a3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Nb6 14. O-O O-O-O $13 { An interesting opening choice. Lee chooses to not only exchange both bishops but also castles queenside, setting the stage for an intense middlegame. } 15. a4 Nc4 16. Ra2 Ng4 17. h3 Nf6 18. a5?! (18. e4! { Ironically, it was better off for Cervantes to not have this pawn! The open dark-squared bishop and a2-rook are more important. } 18... Nxe4 19. Re2) 18... Ne4! { This is a true "knightmare" for Cervantes, a rare situation where the knight pair outshines the bishop pair due to outposts and a closed position. } 19. Ba3?! { The crucial d2-square may come into play later! } 19... Qe6 20. Bc5 Ncd2 21. Qb4 Nxf1 22. Bxf1 Ng5 23. Rb2 Rd7 (23... Nf3+! 24. Kg2 Ne1+ { This knight on the rim is certainly not dim. It forces White's king to a bad spot and can jump back to f3 anytime. } 25. Kh2 Rd7 $19) 24. Bg2 Nxh3+ 25. Kf1 Kb8 26. Qa4 Ng5 27. a6 b5 (27... b6! { The only winning move. The key is to notice that White's main try Bc5xb6 doesn't work, so Black's king is very safe. } 28. Bxb6 axb6 29. Rxb6+ Ka7 30. Qb3 Qe7! 31. Rxc6 Rb8 $19) 28. c4!! { Cervantes finds the only move. Now the whole queenside is destroyed. } 28... dxc4?? { Decisions like these are almost impossible for a human to make correctly because the evaluation of an engine often rests on several only moves. } (28... Ne4! 29. cxb5 cxb5 30. Rxb5+ Kc8 31. Rb2 Rc7! 32. Qb5 Qc6 33. Qb8+ Kd7 34. Qxh8 Qxa6+ { An unnatural recovery, picking up the b2-rook via a subsequent fork. } 35. Kg1 { A perpetual check follows after } (35. Re2 Nd2+ 36. Ke1 Nf3+ 37. Bxf3 Qa1+ 38. Kd2 Qb2+) 35... Qa1+) 29. Bxc6 Kc7 30. Qa5+?? { It seems to force Lee's king into no man land but... } (30. Rxb5!! $18 { The threat of the discovery is deadly: any capture of the bishop is losing. } 30... Qxc6 (30... Kxc6 31. Rb7+ Kd5 32. Rxd7+ $18) 31. Rb7+ Qxb7 32. axb7 Rb8 33. Qa5+ Kxb7 34. Bxa7 $18) 30... Kxc6 (30... Kc8?? { There is no home base to go to - the only way is into the fire. } 31. Qxb5 $18) 31. Qxb5+ Kd5! { Why play normal chess when you can play king of the hill? } 32. Ba3+ Ke4! { A remarkable position. How often does one see a king on e4 in the middlegame? The weak light squares in White's camp now serve as a summer home for Black's monarch. } 33. Qxg5 Qf5!? { A good practical decision. Trading queens enters a clearly winning (albeit harder to win) endgame with much lower risk than a middlegame with an e4 king. } (33... c3 34. Rb4 Rd5 35. Qf4+ Kd3 $19) 34. Qxf5+ Kxf5 $19 { Interestingly, the king walk has helped Lee as the king is already in the center. From here on, Cervantes defends well, creating counterplay using the four-on-two kingside majority, but Lee converts the full point and never lets it slip away, winning on move 81 and after almost five hours. } 35. Bc5 Rh1+ 36. Ke2 Ra1 37. Rc2 Rxa6 38. Rxc4 g5 39. f3 Rb7 40. g4+ Ke6 41. Kd3 g6 42. Rc3 Ra1 43. e4 a5 44. d5+ Kd7 45. Be3 a4 46. Bxg5 a3 47. Bf6 Ra7 48. Rb3 Rf1 49. Ke2 Rh1 50. Rb8 a2 51. Rd8+ Kc7 52. Rf8 Kb6 53. Rb8+ Ka6 54. Ke3 Rb1 55. Rf8 a1=Q 56. Bxa1 Rxa1 57. Kf4 Ra3 58. e5 Kb6 59. e6 fxe6 60. dxe6 Re7 61. Rf6 Kc6 62. Rxg6 Kd6 63. Rg8 Kxe6 64. Rg6+ Kf7 65. Rg5 Kf8 66. Rb5 Rf7+ 67. Kg5 Raxf3 68. Rb8+ Kg7 69. Rb6 R3f6 70. Rb4 Rc7 71. Rb5 Rg6+ 72. Kh5 Kh7 73. g5 Rgc6 74. Rb8 Rc5 75. Rb1 Rg7 76. Rg1 Rg6 77. Rg3 Kg7 78. Kh4 Rb6 79. Kh5 Rd5 80. Rg2 Rh6+ 81. Kg4 Rxg5+! { A nice finishing shot. The same rook duo that started the game finishes it. } 0-1