[Event "2023 National High School Championships"] [Site "Washington D.C."] [Date "2023.04.01"] [White "Donald Johnson"] [Black "Jason Wang"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2274"] [BlackElo "2502"] [Annotator "Lang,JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B48"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Bastrikov Variation, English Attack"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/gWVmQS5K/p6oLcl6l"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by JJ Lang } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3 Ne5 8. Qg3 h5 9. h4 Nf6 10. O-O-O d6 11. Kb1 b5 $146 { White's 9. h4 is a playable, but not particularly popular continuation, and by 11. Kb1 we are in almost uncharted territory. Wang responds by developing normally, and allowing White to overestimate his position. } 12. Bxb5+?! (12. a3 Rb8 { would be a typical Taimanov position. } 13. Be2 b4 14. axb4 Rxb4 15. Nb3 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Rxe4 17. Rhe1 { is an interesting idea, where White argues that the half-open e-file provides compensation, considering Black's slow development. }) 12... axb5 13. Ndxb5 Qb8 14. Bf4 Bd7? { Now, White's attack appears justified. Black has too many weaknesses, and the poor dark-squared bishop cannot continue to defend all of them. } (14... Ra5! { not an easy move to find! The rook x-ray defends the e5-knight. } 15. Nxd6+ Bxd6 16. Qxg7 Rh7 17. Qxf6 Be7 18. Bxe5 Qxe5 19. Qf3 $17) 15. Nxd6+ Bxd6 16. Rxd6! Qxd6 17. Bxe5 Qe7 18. Bd6 Qd8 19. e5! { A strong move, and the only way to keep the advantage. } (19. Qxg7?? Rg8 20. Qh6 Bc6 $19) 19... Bc6 20. exf6?! (20. Qxg7 Rg8 21. exf6! { was the continuation White had to find. } 21... Rxg7 22. fxg7 Kd7 23. Bf8! Qxf8 24. gxf8=N+ Rxf8 25. Rd1+ $18) 20... Qxf6 21. Be5 Qg6 22. Qxg6 fxg6 { After the dust settles, White still has enough pawns to claim a significant advantage. } 23. f3 Kf7 24. Rd1 Ra5 25. f4? { Missing a simplification tactic that lets Black in the game. } 25... g5 (25... Rxe5! { was also interesting. } 26. fxe5 g5! 27. g3 gxh4 28. gxh4 g5!! $14) 26. hxg5 Rxe5 27. fxe5 Bxg2 28. g6+ Ke7 { In endgames, the quality (here: speed) of the pawns can matter more than the quantity. } 29. Rd2 Bc6 30. Ne2 h4 31. Nf4 h3 32. Rh2 Rf8! { In White's rush to corral the h-pawn, he not only failed to advance his queenside army, but also left himself vulnerable to back-rank issues in the process. } 33. Rxh3 Rxf4 34. b3 Rg4 35. c4 Rxg6 { Black was able to convert smoothly from here. } 36. b4 Rg2 37. Rc3 Be4+ 38. Ka1 g5 39. a4 Rc2 40. Rg3 Rxc4 41. Rxg5 Rxb4 42. Rg7+ Kd8 43. Ra7 Bb7 44. Ka2 Kc8 45. Ka3 Re4 46. Ra5 Bd5 47. Rb5 Bc6 48. Rc5 Rxa4+ 49. Kb3 Ra6 50. Kc3 Kd7 51. Kd4 Ra4+ 52. Kd3 Rb4 53. Ra5 Ra4 54. Rc5 Rb4 55. Ra5 Rb5 56. Ra7+ Bb7 57. Kc4 Kc6 58. Kd4 Rd5+ 59. Kc4 Rxe5 60. Ra1 Re4+ 61. Kd3 Rh4 62. Ke3 Kd6 63. Ra5 e5 64. Rb5 Bc6 65. Rb4 Rxb4 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1