[Event "NY GM/IM Fall Invitational 2024"] [Date "2024.11.08"] [Round "4"] [White "Hardaway, Brewington"] [Black "Griffith, Kyron"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2490"] [BlackElo "2407"] [Annotator "Ostrovskiy, Aleksandr"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E05"] [Opening "Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Classical Line"] [StudyName "NYC Norms Fall Invitational 2024"] [ChapterName "Hardaway, Brewington - Griffith, Kyron"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/kFed8WH5/HYdlkX8E"] [Orientation "white"] { The fourth-round matchup between IM Brewington Hardaway and IM Kyron Griffith featured two seasoned "heroes" of the previous NYC Norm events: frequent readers may remember that Griffith achieved his second GM norm at the Labor Day Invitational; while the very talented Hardaway had achieved his first two IM norms and his second GM norm at previous tournaments. Going into the battle, Griffith was on a very solid three draws while Hardaway was on a two-game win streak to setup a historic game: a win would give him enough rating points to take his live FIDE rating to 2500.4 and secure the GM title. } 1. Nf3 { To my memory the young Brewington was a through and through 1. e4 player but the road to GM involves testing yourself (and opponents!) in all sort of different styles and battlegrounds. } 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. d4 { With a small detour, we have arrived at an extremely well known main line of the venerable Catalan Opening. } 6... dxc4 7. Qa4 (7. Qc2 { White generally prefers 7. Qc2, when the main line goes } 7... a6 { although } (7... b5!? { is a more dynamic option for Black that Hardaway's 7. Qa4 may have been seeking to avoid. }) 8. a4 { White did not have this option in the game: } { [%cal Rb7b5] } 8... Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 { Black is extremely solid and has developed the miserable c8-bishop, but White has a bit more space and easier development. The struggle is just commencing. }) 7... a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 { Black has solved the problem of developing the passive light-squared bishop. Now, if he also manages to develop with, say, ... Nb8-d7 and ... Ra8-c8 and then break with ... c7-c5, there will be no issues at all! } { [%cal Gb8d7,Gc7c5,Ga8c8] } 10. Bd2 h6!? { A useful waiting move for Black to create luft and avoid any jumps to the g5-square for White's pieces. } (10... Nbd7?! 11. Ba5! { Now we see White's idea to prevent ... c7-c5: } 11... Rc8 12. Nbd2 Qe8 13. b4! $16 { Now Black is saddled with a backwards c-pawn and has no easy pawn breaks. } { [%cal Rc7c5] }) 11. Rd1 (11. Ba5?! { would be pointless now due to } 11... Nc6 $15 { [%cal Rc6a5,Rc6d4] }) 11... Bd6 12. Bf4 { Griffith's unusual approach with ... h7-h6 clearly took Hardaway out of preparation as he spent 20 minutes on his decision. The d2-bishop drastically switches tasks to make sure Black will not break with ... e6-e5 any time soon. } { [%cal Re6e5] } 12... Bxf4 13. gxf4 { White reasons the doubled f-pawns aren't seriously weakening his king at all while grabbing some extra central control. It's not an unusual transformation for the opening. } 13... Nbd7 14. Nbd2 Rc8 15. Nb3 { [%cal Rb3a5,Rb3c5] } 15... Qe7 16. Rac1 Be4 17. Qd2 Rfd8 (17... c5!! { Of course this pawn break is generally Black's big goal in the structure to induce exchanges and get rid of weaknesses but I was a bit confused to see the engine offer it as the top choice.... } 18. dxc5 Nxc5 19. Qb4 { Very scary but... } { [%cal Rb4e7] } 19... a5!! { with one of the points being } 20. Qxa5? (20. Nxa5 Nd5 { [%cal Rd5b4,Rd5f4] } 21. Qd2 Qf6 22. e3 Nd3 $44) (20. Qxb5 Nxb3 21. Qxb3 Bd5 $44) 20... Bc2! { there were other moves too but this one is best and makes the entire line hilarious } 21. Rxc2? Nxb3 { [%cal Rb3a5,Rc8c2] }) (17... Kh8!? { I was having a little bit of fun in analysis and seeing how smart/ stupid this move might be; I've definitely seen this idea before in the Catalan! Black has a caveman like approach with ... Rf8-g8 and ... g7-g5 cooking up... I know at least one person who would definitely play this plan. } { [%cal Rf8g8,Rg7g5] }) 18. Qa5 { Putting pressure on Black's backwards pawns. } { [%cal Ra5a6,Rc1c7] } 18... Nd5 19. e3 Qb4 { Trying to remove the troublesome queen. } (19... Kh8!? { [%cal Gg7g5,Yd8g8] }) 20. a3!? (20. Qxb4 Nxb4 { This trades on Black's terms and gives them unnecessary activity. } { [%cal Rb4d3,Rb4a2] }) 20... Qxb3 { Putting White's concept to the test. } (20... Qxa5 21. Nxa5 { This looks terrible, as White as invading on the vulnerable c-file, but it is neutralized tactically after: } { [%cal Ra5c6] } 21... c5! { Although there are some forks on the b7-square they don't work, for example } 22. Nb7 (22. dxc5 Rxc5 23. Nb7 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Nxf4! { [%cal Rf4e2,Re4b7] }) 22... Nxf4! 23. Nxd8 Ne2+ 24. Kf1 Nxc1 25. Rxc1 c4! { A nice detail, the d8-knight is trapped so there is no reason to give up the c5-pawn. } 26. Nxe6 fxe6 { Black has no problems at all }) 21. Nd2 { [%cal Rd2b3,Rd2e4] } 21... Qxb2 22. Bxe4 { White has lost a pawn but gained the bishop advantage and the queen is now very precariously placed on the b2-square. } 22... b4 { The only move to excavate her majesty. } 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. axb4 Nb6 { Black's pawn structure is suboptimal and the b2-queen is strange, but White's king may start to miss its pawn cover in the near future. } { [%cal Gd8d6,Gd6g6,Rb6c4,Rb2f2] } 25. Rb1 { Hardaway decides to win the a6-pawn but allows the queen to get back into the game. However if he was to play the best move/idea in the position we would hear the faint noise of "the procedure" starting thousands of miles off into the distance. } (25. Kg2! Rd6 26. h4! Rg6+ 27. Kf3! { The amazing suggestion of my ChatGPT; the King is perfectly safe on f3 and even defends the f2 pawn! The b2-queen doesn't have a good way to join the fun either. }) 25... Qc2 26. Qxa6 Ra8 27. Qf1 Rd6 { All of Black's pieces are finding great roles while White's extra pawn is not felt at all yet. } { [%cal Rd6g6,Ra8a2] } 28. Rbc1 Rg6+ 29. Kh1 Qf5 30. Qe2 Ra2 31. Qf3 Qd3?? (31... Nc4! { This would crown Black's initiative by setting up the combo that Griffith was aiming for. White walks a tightrope not to lose on the spot: } 32. Nxc4 Rxf2! 33. e4! (33. Qxf2 Qe4+ { the point } { [%csl Rh1] }) 33... Qe6! 34. f5 (34. exd5 Qe7 $19 { [%cal Re7e4,Re4h1] }) 34... Qe7 35. fxg6 Rxf3 36. Ne5 Rf2 37. gxf7+ Rxf7 38. Nxf7 Qxe4+ 39. Kg1 Qg4+ 40. Kh1 Qf3+ 41. Kg1 Qxf7 $17 { When it comes to the queen versus two rooks endgame, the queen will often have the advantage when there are: 1. An open opponent's king 2. Unprotected targets. So, here White is trying to survive. }) 32. Nc4!! { After the game Griffith lamented, "I checked every Knight move...except this one!" } (32. Nb1 Rxf2 { or a different knight move is what Griffith was aiming for. }) 32... dxc4 (32... Rxf2 { now doesn't work due to } 33. Rxd3 Rxf3 34. Ne5 $18 { [%cal Re5f3,Re5g6] }) 33. Rxd3 cxd3 $18 { Now White has a decisive material advantage but Black will pin all his hopes on the passed d3-pawn and relatively active pieces: never give up! } 34. f5 Rd6 35. Rd1 Nc4 36. Kg2 (36. Rxd3! { A ruthless engine win goes: } 36... Ne5 { Of course the players likely stopped looking past this point but ... } 37. dxe5! Rxd3 38. e6 Rd8 39. e7 Re8 40. Qd5 { [%cal Rd5a2,Rd5d8] } 40... Raa8 41. Qd7 $18 { Black's rooks are paralyzed and the pawns will win. } { [%cal Ge3e4,Ge4e5,Ge5e6] }) 36... d2 37. Qe4 Rda6 38. b5 Ra8 39. Qd3 Nb2 40. Qxd2 Nxd1 41. Qxd1 { Now that the pesky d-pawn is gone, queen-and-two-pawns versus two rooks is a nice material edge for sure but things turn out not to be so simple. } 41... Rb2 42. Qf3 Rb8 43. Qc6 R2xb5 44. Qxc7 R5b7 45. Qe5 f6 46. Qe6+ Kh7 47. e4 { White is pinning hopes on pushing the pawns down. Both players are under five minutes. } 47... Rd8 48. d5 Rbd7 { It looks like White should be able to eventually push f2-f4 and e4-e5 of sorts but it turns out to be a beautiful fortress for Black due to the concrete specifics of the present piece/pawn placements: } 49. Kf3 Rd6! 50. Qf7 R6d7! { Chasing the White queen away...but away from what exactly? } 51. Qg6+ Kh8 52. Ke3 Re7 (52... Rxd5!! { We'll see this idea in just a moment again and I'll explain then. }) 53. Kf4 Red7 54. f3 Re7? (54... Rxd5!! { This is what we had to chase White's queen away from: the d5-pawn!! } 55. exd5 Rxd5 { Because of White's pawn structure there seem to be no viable pawn breaks, so this is a fortress! Black also has enough resources to deal with White's king invasions, for example: } 56. Ke4 (56. Qf7 Rd8 57. Kg4 { [%cal Rg4h5,Rh5g6] } 57... Rd2 58. h4 Rg2+ 59. Kh5 Rg1 { And White can't advance the king. }) 56... Rd8 57. Qf7 Rd1! { It's vital to keep the rook on the d-file here. White cannot make any progress! } { [%cal Rd1d8] } (57... Ra8?? 58. Qd7 $18 { and White's king will get in. } { [%cal Ge4d5,Gd5e6,Ge6f7] })) 55. Qg1 Kh7 56. Qc5 Red7 { Now Black doesn't get a chance to sacrifice on d5 anymore! I asked Kyron if he considered the idea and rejected it, but unfortunately for him it was not something he thought of. "If I had seen it then I would've played it!".... well we'll be keeping an eye on his fortresses going forward and I'll take the "over." } 57. Ke3 { The right plan, but the wrong way! } (57. Kg4 { As happened later in the game, the king is much safer here once the pawns start advancing and Black tries to check from the side. } 57... Ra8 58. Qc6 Rad8 59. f4 Rd6 60. Qc5 R6d7 61. Kf3 { Now the King comes over to support the e5-square. Black can't leave the d-file with the rooks as White will push e4-e5. } { [%cal Gf3e3,Ge3d4,Re4e5] }) 57... Ra8 58. Kf4 (58. f4 Rda7 $132 { [%cal Ra7a3] } 59. Kf3 Ra1 { [%cal Ra8a3] }) 58... Rad8 (58... Rda7 { was a better try to shoot for activity: } 59. Kg4 Ra1 { Black is getting a lot of play against White's king. One fun/random line is: } 60. d6 Rd1 61. f4 Ra2 62. e5 Rd3 { [%csl Rg4] } 63. h4 Rg2+ 64. Kh5 fxe5 65. fxe5 Rh3 { [%cal Rg2g5] } 66. Qc1 Rf3 (66... Rg5+?? 67. Qxg5 hxg5 68. d7 Rd3 69. e6 $18) 67. Qb1 Rh3 68. Qc1 Rf3) 59. Qb5 Ra7 60. Qb6 Rad7 (60... Rda8! { It was necessary to keep the rooks ready for counterplay but clearly Black had elected for a defensive setup with rooks on the d-file. }) 61. Kg3?? Rd6?? (61... Rxd5!! 62. exd5 Rxd5 { Again! }) 62. Qc5 R6d7 63. Kg4 Rd6 64. Kg3 R6d7 65. Kf2 { Lots of back and forth as Hardaway is looking for the best setup while gaining 30 seconds on the clock before selecting his breakthrough. Griffith just sticks to his setup in the meantime asking for proof of progress. } 65... Rd6 (65... Ra8!) 66. Ke3 Ra6 67. Qe7 Rda8 { With Ke3-d4 coming and f3-f4 with e4-e5 in the cards, Griffith switches to the "active defense" plan, but it was too late. } 68. d6! { The only winning move. Black will not be in time to get a rook behind the d-pawn. } (68. Kf4?? R6a7! { Chasing the queen away from the ideal e7-square with the following idea: } 69. Qe6 Ra1 $132 70. d6 { This is now ineffective due to } 70... Rd1 71. d7 Rd8 { [%csl Rd7] }) 68... Ra3+ 69. Kf4 Rb8 70. d7 Raa8 71. Kg4 Rf8 72. f4 { Now the pawns are rolling! } 72... Kh8 73. e5 fxe5 74. fxe5 Rfb8 75. Kh5 Kh7 76. f6 Rg8 77. Kg4 Kg6 78. fxg7 Rgb8 79. Qf6+ Kh7 80. Kh5 Kg8 81. Kg6 { A tremendous fight by both players and a fascinating endgame. With the victory secured we can upgrade Brewington to GM-elect Brewington Hardaway with his GM title a formality to be approved at the next FIDE Chess Congress. Congratulations! } 1-0