[Event "Vegas Chess Festival 2024"] [Site "Las Vegas"] [Date "2024.06.06"] [Round "2"] [White "Li, Eric"] [Black "Tin, Jingyao"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2351"] [BlackElo "2570"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D30"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined"] [StudyName "2024 National Open"] [ChapterName "Li, Eric - Tin, Jingyao"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/dEPIOQ6M/TleJnIfJ"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 a6 { This strange-looking move is actually common theory. The idea is that Black wants to prepare a... b7-b5 that can prove to be very useful. } 4. Bg5 (4. Nc3 { After this, for example, the intent behind 3. ... a6 becomes clear: } 4... dxc4 5. a4 Nc6 6. e3 Na5) (4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. e3 { is probably the main line at this point. }) 4... Be7 5. Bxe7 Qxe7 6. Nbd2 { Now with the bishops off the board, White can usually press a bit trying to take control of the center and with a favorable structure. } 6... Nf6 7. g3 O-O 8. Bg2 b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Rc1 { So far, we're still following previous games, and Black wants to get in a ... c7-c5 break or simply stay solid, while White will simply develop and maybe look to push e2-e4. } 10... Rc8 (10... c5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Qb3 Qc7 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Qa3 { looks fairly unpleasant for Black. }) 11. Qb3 Nbd7 12. Ne5! { An important move to prevent Black from breaking out. } (12. Rfd1 { Playing slowly would relinquish White's hold on the position. } 12... c5! 13. cxd5 Bxd5 14. Qa3 Qe8 { and Black has solved his problems. }) 12... Nxe5?! { The position was already getting quite unpleasant, but Black had to stay solid. } (12... a5! { is the computer's suggestion. Now, } 13. cxd5 a4 14. Qd3 exd5 { and Black has at least gained some counterplay. }) 13. dxe5 Nd7 (13... Ne4?! { might have been Tin's original plan, but after } 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. c5! { , White is better due to shutting down Black's pawns and fixing them on weak squares. } 15... Bd5 16. Qe3 bxc5 17. b3 { Black is temporarily up a pawn but both c5 and e4 will soon fall. }) 14. cxd5 Nc5 15. Qa3 exd5 16. Nb3! { An important move to keep control of the initiative. } (16. f4! { was also strong with the plan of Nd2-b3 next. } 16... Re8 17. Nb3 Nxb3 18. Qxb3 Rad8 19. a4 { and it's clear White will subject Black to a long grind. }) 16... Qxe5 17. Nxc5 bxc5 18. Qxc5 Qxe2 { Now Black has taken a pawn in exchange for his positional woes, and Li must be precise to keep his advantage. } 19. Rfe1 Qh5 (19... Qd2 { might have offered more resistance: } 20. Rcd1 Qh6 21. Re7 Qf6 22. b3 g6 23. Rxc7 Kg7 { and Black lives to fight another day. }) 20. Re7 h6! { The back rank is an issue for Tin, and this move is one of the only ways to survive. } (20... a5? { for example, would fail to } 21. Qb5 Ba6 22. Qc6 h6 23. Bxd5) 21. Rce1! { Correctly resisting the temptation to go pawn-grabbing. } (21. Rxc7 Rxc7 22. Qxc7 Rc8 23. Qf4 Qe2 { and Black has completely equalized. }) 21... Rab8 22. Rxc7 Rf8 23. Qd4 a5 24. h4! { Slow moves like these are the things that separate good games from perfect ones. Black simply has no useful moves. } 24... Ba8 25. a3? { Li finally slips after a perfect game up to now, rushing to prevent ... Rb8-b4. } (25. Ra7 Rb4 { looks like Black is gaining counterplay, but after } 26. Qc5 Rxb2 27. Qxf8+! { ends the game immediately. }) 25... Qg6! { Tin recognizes that his only chance is to bring back the queen. The tempo was vital. } 26. Ra7 Qb6!? { As is common for objectively worse positions, Tin is now nearing time pressure and opts to simplify. } (26... Qc2! { was more accurate } 27. Rxa5 Qxb2 28. Qxb2 Rxb2 29. Bxd5 Bxd5 30. Rxd5 Rfb8! { and the a3-pawn is stopped dead in its tracks. }) 27. Qxb6 Rxb6 28. Rxa5? { Getting too greedy. } (28. Re2! { Keeping as many pawns as possible is important when you're trying to win an endgame. } 28... Rb5 29. Rc2 Bb7 30. h5! { Again, Black is running out of useful moves. }) 28... Rxb2 29. Bxd5 Bxd5 30. Rxd5 Ra8 31. Re7 g6 32. Rdd7 Rf8 33. a4 Rb6 34. Ra7 Rf6 35. Re2 Rc8 36. Ra2 Rfc6 37. a5 Rc2 38. Ra4 R8c4 39. Rxc4 Rxc4 40. Kg2 Ra4 { Now we've reached the classic drawn endgame, but as this will show, it's not as easy to hold as it seems. } 41. Kf3 Kg7 42. a6 Ra3+? (42... g5! { is the strongest, but also quite hard to find. Trading the pawns allows Tin to start his counter-push on the kingside as soon as possible, once the white king travels to assist the a-pawn. }) 43. Ke4 Ra2 44. f4 Ra3 45. Kd5! { Li correctly leaves behind the pawns, assessing that he's fast enough. } 45... h5 46. Kc6 Kf6 (46... Rxg3 47. Rc7 Ra3 48. Kb7 { doesn't help. }) 47. Kb5 Rb3+ 48. Ka4 Rxg3 49. Rc7 Rg1 50. Rc3 Ra1+ 51. Ra3! { The game is all but over. } 51... Rd1 52. a7 Rd8 53. Kb5 Ra8 54. Kc6 Kf5 55. Kb7 Re8 56. a8=Q Rxa8 57. Rxa8 Kg4 58. Ra5! { Everything was winning, but this makes it as easy as possible. } 58... f6 (58... Kxh4 59. Rg5 { and the black pawns are stopped in their tracks. }) 59. Ra6 Kxh4 60. Rxf6 Kg4 61. Kc6 h4 62. Kd5 h3 63. Ke5 g5 64. Rg6 h2 65. Rxg5+ Kh4 66. Rg8 { Black resigned. } 1-0