[Event "U.S. Championship 2023"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.12"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "From Position"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [FEN "2rr2k1/6pp/p4p2/2p4b/PpR5/1P2RN1P/1P3PP1/6K1 b - - 0 26"] [SetUp "1"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/izHdJTwU"] [Orientation "white"] 26... Bxf3?! { Swiercz goes all in on the idea of penetrating on the second rank with his rooks to win some pawns, but this decision to trade gives away most of his advantage. The bishop was a much better piece than the restricted knight. } (26... Rd1+! 27. Kh2 Bg6 { would have been very strong, with the idea of completely containing the White pieces, especially the knight on f3 that has all its squares taken away by the black pawns. } 28. g4 h6 29. h4 { White is in desperate need of counterplay, and this is his best chance at generating some. } 29... Rb1 { and the pawn seems indefensible for now. } 30. h5 (30. Re2?? Bd3!) 30... Bh7 31. Nh4 Kf7! (31... Rxb2? { would be a huge mistake, because of the unexpected danger surrounding the black king. } 32. Ng6! { A very thematic motif. } 32... Bxg6 33. hxg6 { and Black's rook is not in time to save the day: } 33... Rxf2+ 34. Kg3 Rd2 35. Rxc5! { Despite being down a pawn, White is undoubtedly the one that is pressing here. }) 32. Nf5 Bxf5 33. gxf5 Rxb2 { and Black has very strong winning chances here. }) 27. Rxf3 Rd1+ 28. Kh2 Rd2 29. Rf5! { With this key move, Shankland largely prevents any endgame difficulties that could arise. } (29. g4 Rxb2 30. Kg2 { might be holding, but it will be a very unpleasant journey where Black can take pleasure in his extra pawn and active rook. }) 29... Rxb2 30. Rfxc5 Rxc5 31. Rxc5 Rxf2!? { Swiercz goes for the less obvious capture, but the result would have been very similar either way. } (31... Rxb3 32. Ra5 Rb2 33. Rxa6 Rxf2 { was a best-case scenario this way. }) 32. Ra5 Rb2 33. Rxa6 Rxb3 { and Black has an extra pawn, but this is a very easy draw for a player of Shankland's caliber. The players went on to draw in uneventful fashion. } 1/2-1/2