[Event "US Open Championships"] [Site "Grand Rapids"] [Date "2023.08.06"] [Round "9"] [White "Jason Liang"] [Black "Aleksey Sorokin"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2594"] [BlackElo "2668"] [Annotator "WGM Tatev Abrahamyan"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A45"] [Opening "Indian Defense"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/bGhelHiK/S8aCCApO"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 { Normally a 1. e4 player, Jason has been dabbling in the London lately with mixed results. I wonder if he expected a peaceful result between Var and Andrew and wanted to keep things under control in his own game, or if he prepared something specific against Aleksey. } 2... d5 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. Nbd2 Nc6 6. c3 Bd6 (6... cxd4 7. exd4 Nh5 8. Be3 Bd6 { was Sorokin's choice in his previous games in this line that I found in the database. }) 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bd3 b6 { So far, we are following standard theory. } 9. e4 (9. Ne5 Bb7 10. f4 Ne7 { has been played hundreds of times. }) 9... Be7 10. e5 Nh5 { The position has transposed to a French structure, with the c1-bishop on g3. With the pawn on b6, Black doesn't have the usual idea of ... Qd8-b6, putting pressure on d4 but he can play for ... a7-a5 followed by .. . Bc8-a6 trying to exchange the light-squared bishops. } 11. Ng5 Bxg5 12. Qxh5 g6 13. Qe2 cxd4 14. h4 { We are still following a theoretical line. White wants to quickly take advantage of the hook on g6 and launch a kingside attack. } 14... Be7 (14... Bh6 { is the most common retreating square for the bishop. } 15. h5 dxc3 16. bxc3 Bg7 17. Nf3 Bd7 18. Kf1 Qc7 19. Qe3 Ne7 20. Rc1 Nf5 21. Bxf5 exf5 22. Kg1 Qc5 23. Qd2 Rfe8 24. Bf4 Rac8 25. Bh6 Bh8 26. Be3 Qe7 27. Bg5 Qf8 28. Bf6 Bg7 29. hxg6 fxg6 30. Ng5 Be6 31. Nxh7 Qa3 32. Qg5 Rxc3 33. Rxc3 Qxc3 34. Bxg7 Qe1+ 35. Kh2 Qxf2 36. Nf6+ { when Black resigned in Demchenko – Frolyanov, Cheliabinsk, 2020. }) (14... Bxd2+ 15. Qxd2 dxc3 16. bxc3 { Interestingly, Andrew Tang has a game in this line with the white pieces! } 16... d4 (16... Ne7 17. h5 Nf5 18. Bxf5 exf5 19. Bh4 $18) 17. c4 Qe7 18. Rb1 (18. h5 Qb4) 18... h5 19. Bf4 { I would prefer to have White here, as I like the attacking prospects the dark-squared bishop promises. }) 15. h5 Kg7 16. Nb3 (16. Bf4 g5 { This is a major defensive resource for Black. } 17. Bg3 dxc3 18. bxc3 Rg8) (16. Nf3 { is a better square for the knight, as it gives White the idea of Nf3-h2-g4. }) 16... dxc3 17. bxc3 Bd7 18. Rd1 Rc8 19. O-O { It seems counterintuitive to me to all of a sudden to castle after spending so many moves trying to open the h file and giving up a pawn in order to do so } (19. Qd2 { asking Black to make a decision on the kingside. } 19... g5 (19... Rh8 20. h6+ Kf8 21. O-O { at least now the rook is stuck on h8 }) 20. Bb1 { with the idea of Qd2-3. White can claim long term compensation for the pawn due to the permanently weakened black king. }) 19... a5 20. Nd4 Nxd4 21. cxd4 { Again, we are back to a French structure. Even with the extra pawn, it is not always easy for Black to claim an advantage as the pawn won't go far anytime soon. White still has some play on the kingside with ideas such as Bg3-f4 and Qe2-e3. } 21... b5!? 22. Bxb5 { Capturing the pawn is understandable but gives up the important c4-square. With the bishop on g3, the a5-pawn won't become a weakness. } 22... Bxb5 23. Qxb5 Rc4 24. Bf4 { White starts losing the thread of the game. These structures are quite dangerous for White strategically, as the d4-pawn is quite weak. } (24. Qb3 a4 25. Qd3 { White has to sit tight }) 24... Bg5 25. Bxg5 Qxg5 26. Qxa5 Qxh5 { All the minor pieces have come off the board and Black has exchanged his a-pawn for the h-pawn. How to evaluate this position? At first glance, it feels as though the passed a-pawn is quite dangerous. However, White will have difficulties defending the d4-pawn and surprisingly, his king will also come after fire once Black moves the queen and starts pushing the h-pawn. Therefore, Black has a big advantage here. It was a big mistake for White to trade both bishops and allow Black's major pieces to activate like this. } 27. Qa7 Qf5 28. a4 h5 29. Ra1 Rfc8 30. Ra3 (30. a5 { Let's examine what happens if White keeps pushing the pawn: } 30... Qg5 31. a6 h4 32. Qb7 h3 33. g3 Qg4 34. Ra3 Qe4 35. f3 h2+! 36. Kh1 Qe2 37. Qb1 Rc2 { with checkmate! }) 30... Rc1 { White's king is too weak, as the queen is stranded on the other side of the board. } 31. Ra1 Rxa1 32. Rxa1 Rc2 (32... Qg5 { taking advantage of the awkward placement of the queen, while simultaneously threatening ... Rc8-c1 and ... h5-h4. } 33. a5 h4 { Again, the white king finds himself in trouble. }) 33. Rf1 Ra2 34. a5 h4 35. Qe7 Qf4 (35... Rxa5 36. Qxh4 Ra4! { Threatening ... Qf5xe5! } 37. Re1 g5 { Once the d4-pawn falls, the e5-pawn will be next. }) 36. Qb4 Qg5 37. Qc3 Qf4 38. Qb4 g5 39. Qc3 Qf5 40. Kh2 g4 { The players have reached time control. White must be happy by the fact that the queen has returned home, where she can keep an eye on the a5-pawn and the kingside. } 41. Kg1 Qe4 42. Re1 Qf4 43. Rf1 Qf5 { Putting White in sort of a zugzwang, as the rook cannot move and the queen doesn't have too many options without hanging the a-pawn. } 44. Qe1 (44. Qc7 { is the engine's preferred choice. } 44... h3 45. Qc3 { is cold-blooded, but without more pieces on the board, the king can survive this pawn storm. }) 44... Qe4 (44... Qc2 45. Qb4 h3 { Once the white queen is no longer on the third rank, this ... h4-h3 move becomes annoying to deal with. }) 45. Qc1 { White is looking for active counterplay. } (45. Qxe4 { Jason must have been scared to enter this endgame: } 45... dxe4 46. Re1 Kg6 (46... g3 47. fxg3 hxg3 48. Kf1 { picking up the pawns. }) 47. g3! { An important move! } (47. Rxe4 Kf5 48. Re1 Rxa5 { This is what Jason must have been afraid of, as the black king is annoyingly active and the d4-pawn is very weak. }) 47... h3 48. Rxe4 Kh5 49. Rf4 Rxa5 50. Rxf7 Ra1+ 51. Kh2 Rd1 52. f3 Rd2+ 53. Kg1 gxf3 54. Rxf3 Kg4 55. Rf6) 45... h3 46. Qg5+ Qg6 47. Qd8 (47. Qxg6+ Kxg6 { is the worse version of the endgame for White, as there is no e4-pawn to play against. } 48. gxh3 gxh3 49. Kh2 Kf5 { The a5-pawn will fall, and so will the d4-pawn. } 50. Kxh3 Rxa5 51. Kg3 Ke4 $19) 47... hxg2 48. Kxg2 Qe4+ 49. Kg1 Qf4 50. Qh4 Rxa5 { Black is now winning as all the pawns are falling. } 51. Re1 Ra3 52. Re3 Rxe3 53. fxe3 Qxe3+ 54. Kg2 Qh3+ { Simplifying into a winning king-and-pawn endgame. } 55. Qxh3 gxh3+ 56. Kxh3 f6 57. exf6+ Kxf6 58. Kg4 e5 59. dxe5+ Kxe5 60. Kf3 Kd4 { Congratulations to Aleksey Sorokin on defending his title! } 0-1