[Event "U.S. Senior Chess Championship 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.07.08"] [Round "2"] [White "Khmelnitsky, Igor"] [Black "Christiansen, Larry"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2472"] [BlackElo "2577"] [Annotator "Shlyakhtenko,Robert"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B22"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Delayed Alapin Variation"] [StudyName "2022 U.S. Senior and Juniors"] [ChapterName "Khmelnitsky, Igor - Christiansen, Larry"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/cfnNS6tI/ZCU6AfGc"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Na3 a6 7. Nc2 { The knight more often goes to c4. I do not see any particular advantages in the text move. } 7... cxd4 8. Nfxd4 (8. Qxd4!? Nc6 9. Qxd5 Nxd5 { is a typical Alapin endgame with 3 pawns versus 2 on the queenside. White is on the better side of equality, but understandably Khmelnitsky was not in the mood to trade queens just yet. }) 8... e5!? { Christiansen immediately forces matters. } 9. Qe2! Be7 10. Ne3 Qd8 11. Ndf5 O-O 12. Nxe7+ (12. g4!? Nc6 13. Bg2 Be6 14. O-O h6 15. h4 { is a perhaps not-so-ridiculous computer suggestion. }) 12... Qxe7 { White is in possession of the bishop pair, but this matters little as long as the c1-bishop remains inactive. This is the main problem that White needs to solve. } 13. Qf3 Nc6 14. Be2 e4!? { A bit risky without the dark-squared bishop. } (14... Be6 { is inaccurate because of } 15. Nf5! { , and now } 15... Qc5? { fails to } 16. Nxg7! Kxg7 17. Bh6+ Kg6 18. Be3! { and wins. }) (14... Qc5! { avoids this problem. } 15. O-O (15. Nf5? e4) 15... Be6 { , with equality. }) 15. Qg3 Be6 16. O-O Rad8 17. Nc2 Nd5 18. f3?! { This is too early with the queenside still undeveloped. } (18. Rd1 { is preferable. White has various ideas, including Nc6-d4 and a2-a3 followed by c3-c4. }) 18... Bf5 19. f4 { A slight victory for black: he gains a passed pawn and the c1-bishop is further shut in. } 19... Rd6 20. Ne3 Nxe3 21. Bxe3 Rg6 22. Qe1 Rd8 (22... Qe6 { immediately seems more to the point. }) 23. Kh1 h6 24. Qf2 Qe8 25. Rg1 Qe6 { Black creates the positional threat of ...Bf5-g4, as the trade of light-squared bishops is clearly in his favor. } 26. b3?! { White's idea is to meet ...Bf5-g4 with Be2-c4, but the white bishop is not stable on that square. } (26. Raf1! { is correct, preventing ...Bg4. Snatching the pawn is far too dangerous: } 26... Qxa2? 27. g4! Bc8 28. f5 Rf6 29. Qh4! { , with a decisive attack. }) 26... Bg4 27. Bc4 Qc8 28. Rae1 (28. a4? { allows } 28... Na5!) 28... Re8 (28... b5 { is also possible. }) 29. Rgf1 (29. Bb6! { would have retained the balance. It's very important that white prevent ...b7-b5. }) 29... Ne7 30. Bc5 b5! 31. Rxe4 (31. Bxe7 bxc4 32. Bc5 { is better, but Black is clearly the one pressing. }) 31... bxc4 32. Rxe7 Rxe7 33. Bxe7 Qb7! { An well-known truism is that the presence of opposite-colored bishops favors the player with the safer king. This is clearly felt here. } 34. Bh4 { White places the bishop on a passive square in order to protect the g2-point. } (34. Bc5 Bf5! { (threatening ...Rxg2) } 35. Rg1 cxb3 36. axb3 Qxb3 { is also winning for black. }) 34... Bf5 35. Bg3 cxb3 36. axb3 Qxb3 37. Qc5 Qc2 38. Qf2 { Sooner or later, White would lose the c3-pawn anyway. } 38... Qxc3 { White cannot defend his king and prevent the march of Black's a-pawn at the same time. A classic illustration of the principle of two weaknesses. } 39. Re1 Kh7 40. Re5 Rd6 41. h3 Rd2 42. Qe3 Rd3 43. Qc5 Qxc5 44. Rxc5 Bxh3 45. Bf2 Bd7 46. Kh2 Kg6 47. Be1 f6 48. Rc3 Rd1 49. Rg3+ Kf7 50. Re3 Be6 51. Bc3 Rc1 52. Bd2 Ra1 53. Rc3 Ra2 54. Rc7+ Kg8 55. Bc3 Bd5 56. Rd7 Rxg2+ 57. Kh3 Be6+ 58. Kxg2 Bxd7 59. Kf3 Kf7 60. Bb4 g5 { A well-played game by Christiansen, who gave a masterclass in the interplay of different minor pieces. } 0-1