[Event "NY GM/IM Fall Invitational 2024"] [Date "2024.11.09"] [Round "6"] [White "Hardaway, Brewington"] [Black "Rozman, Levy"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2490"] [BlackElo "2347"] [Annotator "Ostrovskiy, Aleksandr"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A07"] [Opening "King's Indian Attack: Keres Variation"] [StudyName "NYC Norms Fall Invitational 2024"] [ChapterName "Hardaway, Brewington - Rozman, Levy"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/kFed8WH5/33IFXKIa"] [Orientation "white"] { After his fourth-round win over Griffith and a fifth-round draw against yours truly, Brewington could not have expected his next opponent to be ... IM Levy Rozman! That is not just because Rozman is the world famous "GothamChess," but because... he was not in the tournament! A bit of context is in order; the event is a 10-player Round Robin with all players invited and pairings predetermined by the arbiter through a random draw. However after three rounds, one of the players (not for the first time I hear) disappeared in what can be reasonably described as "mysterious circumstances." Of course all players had signed up to the event expecting to play nine rounds and have chances for norms and rating points. International Arbiter Oscar Garcia worked tirelessly to find solutions to the unusual situation and with approval from FIDE was able to substitute in Rozman to participate for the final four games of the event (of which Brewington was notified the previous day). A big "thank you" to both IA Oscar for his efforts and to Rozman for accepting to play on such a short notice. On with the game! } 1. Nf3 { Brewington sticks with the 1. Nf3 which brought him his GM title in round four against IM Griffith! } 1... d5 2. g3 { Another fianchetto from Brewington, although not quite a Catalan. } 2... Bg4 { Rozman takes the opportunity to actively develop his c8-bishop before closing the pawn chain. } 3. Bg2 e6 { [%cal Rc8g4] } 4. O-O Nf6 5. h3 Bh5 6. c4 { White's opening setup has been very flexible, but now we cab see some of the plans at play: by playing h2-h3, White might be interested in some g3-g4 and Nf3-h4 ideas to go after Black's h5-bishop. With c2-c4, White may also try to pressure the center/queenside with Qd1-b3. } { [%cal Rd1b3,Rg2b7] } 6... c6 { [%csl Gb7,Gc6,Gd5,Ge6,Gf7] } 7. d4 Be7 8. Nc3 O-O { Completing development with an extremely solid position, so the onus is on White to prove that there is some pressure. } 9. Ne5 { A real step forward. The main idea is to play g3-g4 and make the h5-bishop uncomfortable. } { [%cal Rg3g4,Rf2f4] } 9... Nfd7 10. Nd3! { A real gambit for White as he is going for the h5-bishop at the cost of the c4 pawn. } 10... dxc4 11. Nf4 Bg6 12. h4! { Black has won a pawn, but White has dreams of a big center with e2-e4. When combined with h4-h5, this will trap the g6-bishop! } { [%cal Rh4h5,Re2e4] } 12... e5! 13. Nxg6 (13. dxe5 Nxe5 { Direct moves won't bother the g6-bishop anymore. } 14. Bh3! { A beautiful prophylactic move for White to prevent ... Bg6-f5 and threaten h4-h5. } { [%cal Rh4h5,Rg6f5] } (14. h5 Bf5 15. e4 Bg4 { is senseless for White now. })) 13... hxg6 14. d5! { Having acquired the bishop pair advantage, White is striving to open the long diagonal to benefit the g2-bishop. } { [%cal Rg2a8] } 14... Nb6 15. a4 a5 { Rozman clings to his extra c4-pawn and carves out the b4-square as an outpost for his pieces in the future. } { [%csl Rb4][%cal Gb6c4] } 16. Be3 Ra6 { Black's pieces don't look very harmonious, but he's nevertheless able to find functional roles with limited space. } 17. dxc6 bxc6 18. Qc2 { White's pieces are very coordinated and it seems like the pressure on Black's position may become very unpleasant, so he changes the character of the game by returning the pawn. } { [%cal Re3b6,Rg2c6,Gf1d1,Ga1c1] } 18... Nd5 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. Rfd1 d4 21. Qxc4 Rb6 22. Bd2 Bb4 { White has won the pawn back but Rozman has been able to fix the pawn structure and achieve a much more "standard" game where his moves are easier to find than before. } 23. e3 { It is logical for White to continue opening up files and diagonals for his pieces. } 23... Qd7 (23... Bxd2 { is preferred by the engine but after } 24. Rxd2 Rb4 25. Qc5 Nd7 26. Qa7 { It's not too obvious to evaluate White's apparent pressure as "harmless." } { [%cal Rd2d8,Ra7a5,Ra7d4,Ra1c1,Rc1d1] }) 24. Bxb4 (24. exd4 { The engine gives a nice edge to White here but it's not obvious to me at all. It turns out to be based on concrete, move-by-move play: } 24... Rc8 25. Qd3 exd4 26. Bf4 { [%cal Rd3d4] } 26... Rd8 27. Qc4! { Threatening Bf4-g5. } { [%csl Gd4][%cal Rc4g8,Rf4g5] } 27... Be7 28. b3 Na6 29. Be3 Rd6 30. Bd2 $16 { And, move by move, White is picking and prodding at Black's position. To me, however, it would seem Black is very close to consolidating on the dark squares by now. } { [%csl Gd4][%cal Rd2a5] }) 24... Rxb4 25. Qc5 Rxa4 26. exd4 Rxd4 27. Re1 f6 28. Rxa5 Rc8 29. Qb6 Nc6 { Finally, the knight enters the game. It seems like there shouldn't be any issues for Black with the powerful centralization and limited material, but the lack of pawns on light squares is going to prove practically troublesome against White's bishop. } 30. Ra6 { It's important to mention the time situation: two minutes for Hardaway and one minute for Rozman! } 30... Nd8 31. Ra7 Qd6 32. Qb3+ { Of course, White keeps the queens on to try to organize threats against the king. } 32... Kh7 33. h5! Qb8 (33... gxh5 { This opens the king to mischief such as } 34. Be4+ { when Black needs to sacrifice on the Exchange on the e4-square to avoid disaster. } { [%cal Rb3f3,Rf3h5] }) 34. hxg6+ Kxg6 35. Qa3 { [%cal Ra3e7,Rg2e4] } 35... Rc7 36. Ra8 Qb6 37. Qe3 Qxb2! { Brave but strong! If there's nothing wrong with taking the pawn then why not; it's free. } 38. Be4+ Kf7 39. Qf3 Rc1 40. Ra7+ Kf8 41. Qh5?? { Going for a brilliant rook sacrifice, but Brewington misses a detail! } 41... Rxe1+ 42. Kg2 { Is it possible to stop Qh5-h8 mate? } { [%cal Rh5h8] } 42... Qb3! { The Queen gets back to cover the back rank, and, all of a sudden, Black is up a rook and a pawn! } { [%cal Gb3g8] } 43. Bf3 Rc1 44. Qg6! { Despite the material disadvantage, Brewington keeps on doing his best to attack and create threats. } { [%cal Rf3h5,Rg6g7] } 44... Qg8?? { Played with one second on the clock! It's good enough not to lose but not to win! } (44... Nf7! { This was key. The knight is known to be an amazing defender of the king! } 45. Bh5 Qd5+ 46. Bf3 e4 47. Bh5 e3+ 48. Bf3 { And now basically every move wins but here's two: } 48... exf2 { [%cal Rf2f1] } (48... Qxf3+ 49. Kxf3 Ne5+) 49. Bxd5 f1=Q+) 45. Bh5 { [%cal Rg6e8] } 45... Qd5+ 46. Bf3 Qg8 { There is nothing better now than to repeat. } (46... Qf7 47. Rxf7+ Nxf7 48. Bh5 Rc7 { This could be tried, but it is still equal. }) 47. Bh5 Qd5+ 48. Bf3 Qg8 { A dramatic finale; Rozman had a chance for a surprise cameo victory after GM-elect Hardaway's rook sacrifice, but ultimately Hardaway's threats were enough to save a deserved draw. } 1/2-1/2