[Event "2025 British Championship"] [Date "2025.08.12"] [Round "9.21"] [White "Sivanandan, Bodhana"] [Black "Wells, Peter K"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2216"] [BlackElo "2339"] [Variant "Standard"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [ECO "B51"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Moscow Variation"] [StudyName "Weekend of the 10-Year-Old Girls"] [ChapterName "Sivanandan, Bodhana - Wells, Peter K"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/gc1m6asD/ziXCpsFd"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O Nf6 5. Re1 a6 6. Bf1 b6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bb7 9. f3 { White opts for a Maroczy Bind set-up, keeping the option of c2-c4 open. } 9... e6 { Black plays his part, transposing into a Hedgehog setup. } 10. c4 Be7 11. Nc3 Rc8 { This move is fine, but, by castling first, we'll find a wider array of games in the database. } (11... O-O 12. Be3 Rc8 13. Rc1 Qc7 14. Qd2 { has been tried, when } 14... Qb8 15. Kh1 Rfe8 16. a3 Bd8 17. Bg1 h5 18. b3 Ne5?! { ran into } 19. f4 Ned7 20. b4 Qa8 21. Bd3 Be7 22. h3 { when White had a space advantage with no obvious weak points and went on to win in 65 moves in Svidler – Topalov, Baku 2015. }) 12. Be3 O-O 13. Rc1 Re8 14. Qd2 Qc7 15. Red1 Qb8 16. Na4 Bd8!? { The maneuver ... Be7-d8-c7 is thematic, and ... d6-d5 will be stronger after Black points this battery against the h2-square. But here, it risks leaving the kingside vulnerable. Black does overprotect the b6-pawn, but a ... d6-d5 break can counteract that pressure. } (16... d5! { Whenever White lessens their control over the d5-square, evaluating the ... d6-d5 break is the most important task for a Hedgehog player. The engine insists it works, but it would require some superhuman calculation. } 17. cxd5 Rxc1 18. Qxc1 exd5 19. Nf5 { Notwithstanding the fact that Black would have had to evaluate 17. exd5 and 18. Rxc1 already, this is the key moment. } 19... Bf8 { Both this and 19. ... dxe4 are equal, apparently. But Black's task requires some serious defensive acumen: } (19... dxe4 { appears to clarify the position in favor of White's bishop pair after } 20. Nxb6 Nxb6 21. Nxe7+ Rxe7 22. Bxb6 Re8 $13 { but the soon-to-be-open e-file and pressure against White's kingside should compensate for White's bishop pair on the open board. The logical alternative to 16. ... d5 would be }) 20. Nxb6 Nxb6 21. Bxb6 dxe4 22. Qg5 { is as far as Black would have to look to conclude that White has the initiative. There is a defense, but it would require nerves of steel: } 22... exf3! 23. Nh6+ Kh8 24. Nxf7+ Kg8 25. Nh6+ Kh8 { Material is still equal, and if White doesn't want to repeat moves, then } 26. Bd4 { looks dangerous, and it is -- unless Black comes up with } 26... Bd5! { when the position levels out with } 27. Bxf6 gxf6 28. Qxd5 Qb6+ 29. Kh1 fxg2+ 30. Qxg2 Bxh6 { Again, this entire variation was included to show how narrow Black's path was after committing to ... d6-d5 all the way back on move 16. }) (16... Bf8 { , protecting the g7-square while also opening up the e-file to prepare an eventual ... d6-d5. White can attack b6 with } 17. Nb3 { , which is likely what provoked Black's 16. ... Bd8 in the game. But once again, there is a more active "defense" of the b6-pawn: } 17... d5! 18. exd5 { Not 18. cxd5 b5! when White's attack loses the point. } 18... Bd6! { Clever! Provoking another weakening move before the thematic ... b7-b5. } 19. g3 b5! $132 { Compared to the 16. ... d5 lines, these positions are much easier to evaluate, and so there is less need to calculate this line fully. Black's bishop pair remains fearsome. }) 17. Kh1 Bc7 (17... d5! { The break is even more logical now that Nd4-f5 doesn't come with tempo on the dark-squared bishop. Black should be able to equalize with } 18. cxd5 Rxc1 19. Qxc1 exd5 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Bg1 Bf6 { with equal chances on the open board. }) 18. g3?! { Overestimating Black's threat. } (18. b4 { was the way to shut down Black's counterplay, as } 18... d5 19. c5! { comes with the threat of c5-c6, giving White time to address the threat to the e4-pawn later. }) 18... Ne5 19. Bg2!? (19. Kg2 { was safer, keeping the bishop on the c4-square. }) 19... d5! { Black's patience is rewarded, and White's center totally crumbles. Given the sharp nature of this game, it's not surprising that both players have used close to 45 minutes of their starting 90. With a 30-second increment and a 30-minute bonus on move 40, this seems like good clock management for now, but as things get even sharper, Black might regret taking as long as he has to reach this position. } 20. cxd5 exd5 21. exd5 Nxd5 22. Bg1 Qa8 { Black has a healthy plus, with both bishops scoping out White's king. Wells' advantage only grows in the next few moves. } 23. b3 h5 24. Nf5 Nxf3 25. Qf2 Nf6? { Black unnecessarily weakens the b6-pawn and spends five minutes doing it. Now, White has 18 minutes to reach move 40; Black, only 13. Instead, } (25... Ne5! { leaves Black with a dominant position. }) 26. Rxc7?? { After a 12-minute think, White overlooks a clever resource, missing that } (26. Nxb6! { left Black without an obvious follow-up, and } 26... Bxb6 27. Qxb6 Rxc1 28. Rxc1 Bd5 { allows } 29. Qa7! { forcing a trade of queens after which White is no worse. Black can't avoid the trade with } 29... Qd8 { because of } 30. Bb6) 26... Rxc7 27. Nxb6 Qb8 28. Bxf3 Rc2! { White missed the power of this intermezzo. The immediate } (28... Ne4 { allows } 29. Qg2 Rc2 30. Qxc2 Nxg3+ 31. hxg3 Bxf3+ 32. Kh2 Re2+ { when Black should be better but it's still unclear. }) 29. Qf1 { Not } (29. Qxc2 Bxf3+ { winning. }) 29... Ne4 { With the proper move order, White never had a chance to capture the c2-rook. } 30. Nd5 { Clogging the long diagonal. } 30... Nd2? { Now, both players are under five minutes. To Bodhana's credit, the position is still sharp enough that Black only had one move to keep the advantage, which was } (30... Qe5! { Now White has no good way to defend the d5-knight, but moving it allows ... Ne4-f2+ followed by ... Bb7xf3+. If } 31. Nfe3 { then } 31... Rd2! { wins, with ... Rd2xd5 coming after White's rook moves, but } 32. Rxd2 { loses to } 32... Nxd2 33. Qf2 Nxf3 34. Qxf3 Ba8 { followed by piling up on the knight: } (34... Rd8? 35. Nf6+) 35. h4 Rd8 36. Qf5 Rxd5 37. Qxe5 Rxe5+) 31. Qd3 { Active defense from White! } 31... Nxf3 { Wells is now down to a minute, and essentially plays the rest of the game on the increment. } 32. Qxc2 Qe5 { The right idea, but now White has enough resources to maintain equality. } 33. Nfe3 Nd4 34. Qg2 Ba8 35. Bf2 Rd8 { Black has kept up pressure on the knight, but it was not fatal. } 36. h3?! { White misses a surprisingly active defensive resource, and now is also living off the increment for the next four moves. } (36. Re1! { was a very clever resource, as } 36... Bxd5?? 37. Nxd5 Qxd5 { runs into } 38. Re8+ { when Black does not lose the queen thanks to } 38... Kh7 { but does lose a knight after } 39. Rxd8 Qxd8 40. Qe4+ { when Black can resign! }) 36... Rxd5 { The final turning point. } 37. Nc4?? (37. Nxd5 { was more stubborn: } 37... Bxd5 38. Rxd4 Bxg2+ 39. Kxg2 { and White only has two pieces for the queen, but Black's work is far from trivial. }) 37... Nf3! 38. Rf1 { The queen is untouchable! } (38. Nxe5?? Rxd1+ 39. Bg1 Rxg1+ 40. Qxg1 Nxe5+! (40... Nxg1+ { is only a draw, but now }) 41. Kh2 Nf3+ { puts Black a piece up! }) 38... Qe6 39. Nb6 { Again, to her credit, Bodhana has boxed her opponent into a corner where the path to keeping the advantage is razor-thin. } 39... Nd2?? { Conceding the e1-square turns out to be a massive mistake. } (39... Bc6 { This, or 39. ... Bb7, were the only ways to keep a winning edge. }) 40. Re1 { On the last move of the first time control, Black has only 30 seconds on the clock to accept that there is nothing better than allowing White to equalize. } 40... Qc6?? { The losing move. But Black had nothing after either } (40... Qf5 { or }) (40... Ne4 { when even } 41. Kg1 { keeps things balanced. But after the text move, Black resigned upon realizing that he allowed }) 41. Nxd5 { Black resigned before White could finish the attack with this combination. } 41... Qxd5 42. Re8+ { wins the a8-bishop with the queen serving as a second attacker via X-ray. } 1-0