[Event "U.S. Championship 2023"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.12"] [Round "6"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2667"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C47"] [Opening "Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation Accepted"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/jjQ9Jv4D"] [Orientation "white"] { A battle of youngsters, or can they really be considered youngsters with a 14-year-old in the section? Whatever the case, both players showed their class in this game. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4!? { Formerly a very popular opening at the top level that has since died down in popularity because of White's inability to gain a tangible advantage in recent games. } 4... exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O d5! { By far the most popular move and for good reason. Niemann utilizes his doubled pawns to take control of the center and immediately begin a push to equalize } 9. exd5 Bg4 (9... cxd5 10. Bg5 c6 11. Qf3 Bd6 { is the main line, and there's really nothing wrong with this either. At this level it's mainly just personal preference and the mood of the players that day. }) 10. f3 Bh5 11. dxc6 (11. Bg5!? { is another way to try for more. } 11... Qd6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. dxc6 (13. Ne4 Qxb2 14. dxc6!? { is perhaps the most testing line, with only one game played so far; a victory for GM Yu Yangyi over GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. }) 13... Bxc3 14. bxc3 Qxc3 15. Qe1 Qxc6 16. Be4 Qb6+ { and Black has equalized completely. }) 11... Qd4+ 12. Kh1 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qxc3 14. Rb1 (14. Bf4 Qxc6 { and White has the bishop pair, but there is a lack of targets within the Black camp, so it will be very difficult to make anything of it. }) 14... Bg6! { When the opponent has the bishop pair it's a good idea to trade one off; they diminish greatly in value when there aren't two of them patrolling each set of squares and complementing each other perfectly. } 15. Rb3 Qxc6 16. Bb2 Rad8 17. Qa1 Bxd3 18. cxd3 Rfe8 { Now with Black's pieces fully developed, it will be very difficult for White to gain any sort of advantage with his fianchettoed bishop. } 19. Rc1 Qa6 20. Ra3 Qb6 21. Rb3 Qf2!? { Niemann isn't particularly happy to repeat, instead going for a slightly more messy position where he hopes to outplay Xiong. A very strong trait in a chess player and one that served the current World Champion very well in his final game of the match! } 22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. Rb2 (23. Qxf6?? { is obviously a huge blunder: } 23... Re1+ 24. Rxe1 Qxe1#) 23... Qh4 24. Qb1 Re3 25. Rb4 { White must untangle quickly or he runs the risk of being tied down completely. } 25... Qf2 26. Rb2 Qh4 27. Rb4 Qf2 28. Rb2 Re2! { Again Niemann refused an offer to repeat! Complete confidence and a huge determination to win. } 29. Rxe2 Qxe2 30. h3 Qxd3 31. Qxd3 Rxd3 32. Rxc7 { But now this game is very dry. It is important to note that in these endgames, the pawns on the f-file are not as weak as they seem, in fact, sometimes these can be beneficial, especially when dealing with a four-versus-three majority. } 32... Ra3 33. Rc2 Kg7 34. Kh2 f5 35. Kg3 Ra4 36. f4 Kg6 37. Rc6+ Kg7 38. Rc2 Kg6 39. Rc6+ Kg7 40. Rc2 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. No mistakes by either player leads to a well fought draw at the 40th move } 1/2-1/2