[Event "ch-USA w 2022"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/dfRDZs7P/24C4hCHg"]
[Date "2022.10.19"]
[Round "13.2"]
[White "Cervantes, Thalia"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2272"]
[BlackElo "2297"]
[Annotator "Solon,Nate"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "E17"]
[Opening "Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Kramnik Variation"]
[Source "https://lichess.org/study/dfRDZs7P/24C4hCHg"]
[Orientation "white"]
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1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 a5 { White's most obvious move, 8.Nc3,
would be met by 8...Ne4 when the trade of knights would favor Black, so both
sides are looking for useful waiting moves. } 8. Bg5 Ne4 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nfd2 f5 11. Nxe4 fxe4 12. Nc3 d5 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Qb3?! { Tempting, but it would
have been better to break in the center immediately with } (14. f3 { when
White's lead in development gives her an edge. But doesn't 14.Qb3 win a pawn
based on the dual threats of Nc3xd5 and Nc3xe4? }) 14... Qb4! { Nope, Black
answers both threats with a queen trade. } 15. Red1 Na6 16. Rac1? { White
isn't afraid of taking on doubled pawns, but perhaps she should be, because
they turn out to be weak. It wasn't too late to simply step back with } (16. Qc2 { with a balanced game. }) 16... Qxb3! 17. axb3 Rad8 18. Nb5 c6 19. Nc3 Nb4 20. Na4 { The point of this and White's previous knight maneuver is to soften up
the dark squares, and if Black had to play ...b7-b5 it would work out quite
well, but Jennifer had other plans. } 20... Ba6! { A key counterattacking move. } (20... b5 21. Nc5 { would be fine for White. }) 21. Bf1 (21. Nxb6 Bxe2 { isn't any
better as Black's pieces will flood in through the d3 square. }) 21... Rb8 { With the in-between move 20...Ba6, Black bought time to defend the pawn and
keep control of the dark squares. } 22. Kg2 g5 23. e3 { An unhappy decision as
now the light squares will be terminally weak, but White's alternatives
weren't too rosy either. For example, } (23. f3 e3 { leaves the bishop horribly
stuck on f1. }) 23... Bd3? { This unexpectedly gives White a glimmer of hope.
Simpler was } (23... Bxf1+) 24. Rd2? (24. Bxd3! Nxd3 25. Rxc6 Rxf2+ 26. Kg1 { Understandably, both players assumed White couldn't allow the rook intrusion
on f2, but there's no mate and White has lots of counterplay on the queenside. }) 24... Rf6 { Now Jennifer is back in the driver's seat. } 25. Kg1 Kf7! { The start of a very sage maneuver: the king heads over to defend the queenside
pawns, freeing up the rook and knight for aggressive action. } 26. Bxd3 Nxd3 27. Rf1 Rf3 28. Rc2 Nb4 29. Rd2 Ke7 30. Rc1 Kd6 31. Rf1 Kc7 32. Nc3 Rbf8 33. Ne2 h5 34. Kg2 c5 35. h4 { Opening up the kingside just makes Black's job easier, but
the position was already very bad. } 35... gxh4 36. gxh4 Rg8+ 37. Ng3 Rg4 38. Rh1 Kd6 39. dxc5+ bxc5 40. Ra1 Nc6 41. Rc1 d4 42. exd4 (42. Rc3! { The computer
points out this curious defensive resource, which would have made Black sweat
a little more to find a breakthrough. }) 42... cxd4 43. Rc4 d3 { Now the pawns
are just rolling. } 44. Ra4 Ne5 45. Rxa5 Ng6! { A nice move to keep complete
control. The knight is coming in via f4 or h4. } 46. Ra6+ Kc7 47. Ra4 Nxh4+ 48. Kh3 Nf5 49. Rc4+ Kd6 50. Kh2 Nxg3 51. fxg3 Kd5 52. Ra4 Rgxg3 53. Ra5+ Kd4 54. Rxh5 Ke3 55. Rd1 Ke2 56. Ra1 d2 57. Rh4 e3 { White resigned because the pawns
are touching down. A brilliant strategic win by Jennifer Yu. } 0-1