[Event "Tata Steel Chess 2023 Challengers"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands"] [Date "2023.01.17"] [Round "4.7"] [White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Black "L'Ami, Erwin"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2559"] [BlackElo "2627"] [Annotator "Lang,JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E04"] [Opening "Catalan Opening: Open Defense"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/gbi5O625/2SGMuQ9d"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. dxc5 Qa5 { Black deviates from the main line. } (8... Bxc5 9. Qxc4 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Rd1 Rc8 12. e4 $14) 9. Qxa5 { White more often elects to keep queens on, but Mishra seemed to appreciate the advantages of White's position here. } 9... Nxa5 10. Bd2 Nc6 11. Na3 Bxc5 12. Nxc4 Nd5 13. a3 Be7 14. b4 O-O?! { This firmly passes the initiative to White. } (14... b5 { Black had to make this committal decision. Even here, White has a number of ways to play. } 15. e4! (15. Na5!? Nxa5 16. bxa5 Rc8 17. Ne5 Bd6 18. Nd3 $14) 15... bxc4 16. exd5 exd5 17. b5 Nd8 18. Nd4 $14) 15. b5 Nb8 16. a4 a6 17. b6 Rc8 18. Rfc1 Nc6 19. a5 f6 20. e4 Ndb4 21. e5! { Excellent play from White, absolutely suffocating his opponent. } 21... Nd5 22. Nd6 Bxd6 23. exd6 Rd8 24. Ne1?! { This is a logical follow-up, as the c5-square is now vacant, and Nf3-e1-d3-c5 would target both of Black's weakest pawns. } (24. Be3 Nxe3 (24... Be8 25. Nd2 { But the d2-square was an even more deadly stopping point for the knight, on the way to c5 now via e4. } 25... Ndb4 26. Ne4 $16) 25. fxe3 Be8 26. Nd4 Rxd6 27. Nxc6 Bxc6 28. Bxc6 bxc6 29. Rd1! $16) 24... Be8 25. Nd3 Rxd6? (25... Nd4!? 26. Nc5! Ne2+ 27. Kf1 Nxc1 28. Bxc1 Bb5+ 29. Kg1 Rab8 30. Nxe6 Rxd6 31. Ba3 Rd7 32. h4 $14) 26. Nc5 Nd8 27. Ne4?! (27. Rd1! { An incredibly instructive moment: White eschews concrete variations to simply target more of Black's weaknesses. } 27... Rc8 (27... Rc6?? 28. Nxe6 Nxe6 29. Bxd5 $18) 28. Bb4!) 27... Rc6 28. Nc3? { After a long forcing sequence, White trades off some of his best pieces and allows Black to recoup the sacrificed material with a preferable position. From here, Black puts on a clinic, never allowing White to get back into the game. } (28. Nc5 Bf7 29. Ra4 Rac8 30. Rac4 Be8 31. h4 $16) 28... Nxc3 29. Bxc6 Ne2+ 30. Kf1 Nxc6 31. Kxe2 Nd4+ 32. Ke3 Nb3 33. Bb4 Nxa1 34. Rxa1 Rc8 $17 35. Ra3 Rc4 36. Bd2 Bc6 37. f3 Rc5 38. Rd3 Kf7 39. Rd8 Rb5 40. f4 h6 41. Bc3 Rb1 42. Rd6 Ke7 43. Rd4 g5 44. Rc4 Kf7 45. Rd4 Rf1 46. Bb4 Kg6 47. Be7 Bd5 48. Bf8 Re1+ 49. Kd3 Rh1 50. fxg5 hxg5 51. h4 Rh3 52. Bd6 Bc6 53. Kd2 e5 54. Rc4 Bd5 55. Rc5 Be4 56. Bxe5 gxh4 57. Bc7 f5 58. gxh4 Rd3+ 59. Ke2 Kh5 60. Re5 Kxh4 61. Re8 Ra3 62. Re5 Kg4 63. Bd6 Ra4 64. Kf2 Bc6 65. Rc5 Be4 66. Re5 f4 67. Re7 Bd5 68. Bc7 Rxa5 69. Rg7+ Kf5 70. Rh7 Ra2+ 71. Ke1 f3 72. Rh5+ Ke4 73. Re5+ Kd4 74. Rf5 Ke3 75. Bf4+ Ke4 76. Re5+ Kd4 77. Bg3 f2+ { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1