[Event "U.S. Senior Chess Ch"] [Date "2022.07.07"] [Round "1"] [White "Akopian, Vladimir"] [Black "Novikov, Igor"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2620"] [BlackElo "2547"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] [Annotator "Shlyakhtenko,Robert"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B90"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, English Attack, with f3"] [StudyName "2022 U.S. Senior and Juniors"] [ChapterName "Akopian, Vladimir - Novikov, Igor"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/cfnNS6tI/M1yaVgWk"] [Orientation "white"] { [%evp 0,92,19,38,40,41,66,73,60,33,26,26,60,50,61,35,91,43,65,55,-1,0,-3,-3, 43,22,27,-29,90,73,114,112,112,114,114,114,47,104,153,127,140,118,104,114,106, 109,109,131,125,141,120,107,106,106,112,89,104,65,97,51,67,60,59,24,43,65,79,0, 0,41,41,53,41,41,44,46,21,48,68,58,58,-90,-88,-470,-583,-584,-584,-589,-605, -749,-840,-1394,-1450,-29987,-29988] } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. g4 h6 10. O-O-O b4 11. Nce2 Qc7 12. h4 d5 13. Bh3!? { A side-move which worked perfectly for White in this game. Akopian had plenty of experience in this position, trying several different lines -- but not this one. } 13... Ne5 (13... Nb6 { is a better move, mainly because it avoids the pin with Be3-f4. }) 14. Bf4! Bd6 { Giving up a pawn, but trusting in the solidity of Black's position. } (14... dxe4 15. g5 Nd5 16. Bxe5 Qxe5 { gives White some tempting options, such as } 17. g6!? { , intending } 17... fxg6? 18. fxe4 Qxe4 19. Nxe6! Bxe6 20. Rhe1 { , winning. }) 15. Bxe5 Bxe5 16. g5 Nh5 17. exd5 Nf4 18. dxe6 fxe6 19. gxh6 Rxh6 { Black's king is statically weak and White's extra pawn should tell in the long-run. However, Black has such strong centralization (e.g., the e5-bishop) that the conversion is not at all easy. For the moment, he manages to defend all his weak points. What should White's winning plan be? His most promising pawn break is f3-f4-f5, but to achieve this he needs to lift the blockade on the f4-square. In my opinion, this is where he should concentrate his efforts. } 20. Bg4 (20. Kb1 { Perhaps White should not fear the capture of the h3-bishop. } 20... Nxh3 (20... Rb8 21. Nc6!) 21. Rxh3 { and black cannot defend against the threat of f4. }) 20... Rb8 21. Kb1 Rb6 22. Nxf4 Bxf4 23. Qd3 Kf7 24. h5 Rf6 25. Rhe1 { A natural move, but not incisive enough. } (25. h6! { was a real opportunity. After } 25... Rxh6 26. Rxh6 Bxh6 27. Bh5+ Kg8 28. Qg6 Qd8 { it takes some time to appreciate the strength of } 29. Rd3! { , threatening various knight discoveries and leaving Black defenseless. } 29... Qe7 (29... Qf8 30. Nf5!) (29... Qg5 30. Qe8+ Kh7 31. f4!) 30. f4! { So that the bishop defends the d1-square. } (30. Nf5?? exf5 31. Qxb6 Qe1+) 30... Bxf4 31. Nf5 exf5 32. Qxb6 { and wins. }) 25... Rd6 26. Qe2 Bg3 27. Rg1 Bf4 28. Nb3 Bb7 29. Rxd6 Qxd6 30. Rd1 Bd5 { Somehow Black has been able to coordinate his pieces and one feels that white's advantage has decreased, particularly after the trade of rooks. } 31. Nd4 (31. Nd2 { it was also possible to transfer the knight to e4, but winning the opposite-colored bishops position after } 31... a5 32. Ne4 Qe5 33. Qd3 Bxe4 34. fxe4 Kg8 { will not be simple. }) 31... Qb6 32. Qd3 a5 33. a4 (33. Ne2 { was possible at various points, with the ideas of f4 and f5. Here it is not so effective, in view of } 33... Bc7 34. f4 Qc6 35. f5 exf5 36. Bxf5 Bc4!) 33... bxa3 34. Qxa3 Qb4 { Obviously, the queen trade would be in Black's favor since his king is weaker. } 35. Qd3 Be5 36. Qe3 Bf4?! { Giving White some chances -- Black "forces" White to invade with his queen. } (36... Bd6 { was an improvement. } 37. Qe2 { can be met most simply with } 37... Bc4) 37. Qe2 a4 38. Qa6 e5!? { A loosening move in mutual time-trouble that gives white one last opportunity. However, it's difficult to criticize this move, since it is the one that won the game! } (38... Bc7 { is an interesting computer suggestion, trying to prevent the white queen from invading further. } 39. Qc8 (39. Qa7 Qa5! { is the main point. }) 39... Qc4 { Now the play is basically forced: } 40. b3 axb3 41. cxb3 Qc3 42. Qd7+ Kg8 43. h6! Rxh6 44. Bf5! exf5 45. Qxd5+ Kh8 46. Nb5 Qa5 47. Nxc7 Qxc7 48. Qxf5 { and Black has a long defensive task ahead. }) 39. Qa7+ (39. Qb5 Qxb5 40. Nxb5 Bc6 41. Nc3 { was quite good too. The d5-bishop cemented Black's position, and now that this foundation has been lost, his defense is much more difficult. }) 39... Kg8 40. Nf5? { An unfortunate time-pressure mistake. } (40. Qd7! { was very strong, attacking the now-undefended bishop. }) 40... Rf7! { Suddenly the rook is transferred to the queenside, and now Black's attack is the more menacing one! } 41. Qf2? (41. Qa6! { was the only possible try. } 41... Rb7 42. b3! axb3 43. c4! Qxc4! (43... Qc3? { allows white to hold, by a miracle: } 44. Qa8+ Kh7 45. Nd4! exd4 46. Bf5+ g6 47. cxd5 Rc7 48. hxg6+ Kg7 49. Rh1 Bh6 50. d6 b2 51. dxc7 Qc1+ 52. Ka2 b1=Q+ 53. Bxb1 Qd2+ 54. Ka3 Qc3+ { and...perpetual check (the white king cannot run to a4 in view of ...Qa1+)! }) 44. Qxc4 Bxc4 45. Nd6 Be2 46. Re1 Bd3+ 47. Kb2 Rb6 48. Ne4 { and white may still draw. }) 41... a3! { Now it's over. An incredible turnaround, showing the value of patient defense. } 42. c3 Qb3 43. Rxd5 Qxd5 44. Qc2 axb2 45. Nh4 Ra7 46. c4 Ra1+ { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1