[Event "US Open Championships"] [Site "Grand Rapids"] [Date "2023.08.05"] [Round "7"] [White "Bryce Tiglon"] [Black "Aleksey Sorokin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2506"] [BlackElo "2668"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B33"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation, Chelyabinsk Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/bGhelHiK/uLdBkw1i"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 { The Sveshnikov: a line that experienced a huge surge in popularity after Carlsen put it to good use in his match against Caruana. } 7... a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 Rb8!? { Sorokin deviates from the mainlines. This is still theory, but now there are the inklings of an original game. Black has the advantage of two bishops, but White has control over the center. } 12. Nc2 Bg5 13. a4!? { Tiglon ignores Black's ... Ra8-b8, and decides to open the queenside anyway. This is a very common motif in the Sveshnikov where Black weakens the queenside with an early ... b7-b5. } 13... bxa4 14. Ncb4 Nxb4 15. Nxb4 Bd7! { Realizing that the a4-pawn is more important than a6. This is because the a4-pawn fixes a weakness for White on b2, while the a6-pawn is just a weakness. } 16. Bxa6 Qa5! { Giving up another pawn. } (16... Qb6?! { would defend the d6-pawn, but would leave the a4-pawn hanging. } 17. Rxa4! Bxa4 18. Qxa4+ Kf8 19. Bc4 { and White's hold on the light squares more than makes up for the Exchange. }) 17. Qxd6 Rb6 18. Qd3 { The position is completely equal, and the players agreed to a draw to preserve their tournament chances. } 1/2-1/2