[Event "U.S. Open Championship and Tournament of State Champions 2024"] [Site "Norfolk, Virginia"] [Date "2024.08.01"] [Round "11"] [White "Zhou, Jianchao"] [Black "Adewumi, Tanitoluwa"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2663"] [BlackElo "2448"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] [Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A08"] [Opening "King's Indian Attack: Sicilian Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/hE6CNQRX/M4uC81Lm"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by IM Sandeep Sethuraman } 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O g6 5. c4 d4 (5... Bg7 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 O-O 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Nc6 { is a very solid line where Black should be able to equalize but has no chances to play for anything more. }) 6. d3 (6. b4!? { is the critical move. } 6... cxb4 7. a3 bxa3 8. d3 Bg7 9. Bxa3 { with a reverse Benko. }) 6... Bg7 7. a3 O-O 8. b4 Re8 (8... a5! { is the unintuitive best move. } 9. b5 (9. bxc5 Nfd7) 9... Ra7 10. Nbd2 b6 11. Re1 Nbd7 { and Black's pieces will position themselves very nicely. }) 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 10. Nb3 e5 11. bxc5 Qc7 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. Nfd2! { A thematic, but important, maneuver that allows White to retain the initiative and keep the extra pawn for the time being. } (14. a4 Bd7 15. a5 { was the other choice. } 15... a6 16. Nfd2 { and now the b7- and a6-pawns become permanent weaknesses. }) 14... Bd7 15. Ne4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 f5! { Adewumi correctly opts for an active defense, making use of the white pieces being tied down to the queenside. } 17. Bd5+ Kh7 18. Nd2 (18. a4 a5 19. Qd2 Bc6 20. Rfb1 { was another viable option. }) 18... Qxc5 (18... Rab8 19. Rb1 Bf8 { would have been slightly more accurate, picking up the c-pawn without losing one in return. }) 19. Bxb7 Rab8 20. Bd5 Bf8 (20... Rb2! 21. Qc1 Reb8 22. Rb1 Rxb1 23. Nxb1 a5 { was almost equalizing. }) 21. Qc2 Qa5 22. Rfb1 Ba4 23. Qa2! { A seemingly strange square for the queen, but this shows a lot of foresight that reveals itself soon. } 23... Qc3 24. c5! { And the attack on the weakened black king begins. } 24... Bxc5? { It is tempting to remove the dangerous passer, but this fails tactically. } (24... Rxb1+ 25. Rxb1 Qxc5 26. Bg8+ Kh8 27. Bf7 Re7 28. Bxg6 { was unfortunately the lesser evil, although it's hard to imagine many defensive chances here either. }) 25. Bf7 Rxb1+ (25... Rf8 26. Qe6 { and the pawn is indefensible. }) 26. Rxb1 Re7 27. Rb8 { The e7-rook covers the e6-square, but it can't cover the back rank simultaneously. } 27... h5 28. Bxg6+! { Finishing with style. } 28... Kxg6 29. Qg8+ Rg7 30. Qe6+ Kh7 31. Qxf5+ Rg6 32. Qf7+ Kh6 33. Rh8+ Kg5 34. Ne4+ Kg4 35. Qxg6+ Kh3 36. Rxh5# { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0