[Event "All Girls Nationals 2024 U14"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/nuHDZ5nX/ctDpn1qb"] [Round "5"] [White "Nandini Prakash"] [Black "Lisa Sun"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1921"] [BlackElo "1814"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C54"] [Opening "Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo"] [UTCDate "2024.04.17"] [UTCTime "18:28:23"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/nuHDZ5nX/ctDpn1qb"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 d5 7. Bb3 dxe4 8. dxe4 Re8 9. O-O Bg4 10. Qe2 Qe7 11. a4 a5 12. Nc4 Rad8 13. Bc2 h6 14. Ne3 Bh5 15. Nf5 { White has achieved a slightly easier position to play, despite the engine insisting on objective equality, due to her strong knight on f5. Black can play for ... Nc6-e7, but still has to untangle her pieces correctly. } 15... Qf8?! { The beginning of overly cautious play from Black that allows White to take over the game. This is a common problem when faced with attacking pieces: the queen "feels" defensive on f8, covering g7, as the knight "feels" aggressive on f5. But there is no substitute for calculation! } (15... Qe6 { and does White have anything with a sac on g7 or h6? No! } 16. h3 Ne7 17. g4 Nxg4! 18. hxg4 Bxg4 { when Black's queen is clearly better situated on e6 than she would have been on f8. For instance, White's best resource in the lines after ... Qf8 is } 19. Ne3? { , but now Black can calmly develop with } (19. Kg2 Qf6 20. Nxe7+ Rxe7 21. Be3 Re6) 19... Ng6 $36 $40 { as the bishop is already guarded. }) 16. h3 Ne7 17. g4 Nxf5? (17... Nxg4 18. hxg4 Bxg4 19. Ne3 { is what Black wanted to avoid. And, indeed, this does allow White to keep her extra piece: } 19... Bh5 20. Kg2 Ng6 21. Nf5 $16) 18. exf5 Nxg4 (18... e4 19. Nd4 $16) 19. hxg4 Bxg4 { Perhaps Black did not realize that White had a way to prevent ... e5-e4 while gaining a tempo on the hanging bishop? } 20. Qe4! (20. Be4 { is less aggressive but also effective. }) 20... h5 21. Ng5 Qd6 22. Bb3 Rd7 23. Kh2?! (23. f6! { was simplest. A multi-purpose move, making the threat on the weak h7-square while simultaneously "chucking" a weak f-pawn. } 23... Qxf6 (23... g6?? 24. Qxg6+ { is worth mentioning. } 24... Kf8 25. Qg7#) 24. Qh7+ Kf8 25. Ne4! $18 { with threats of Bc1-g5. I wonder whether White only calculated the inferior 25. Qh8+, rather than "stepping on the brake" here and playing a less forcing, but more dominant, move. }) 23... Qf6! (23... Qa6!? { was also a reasonable chance. The rook is hard to defend, as } 24. Be3 Bxe3 25. Qxe3 { has loosened the defense of the f5-pawn: } (25. fxe3? Qf6 $10) 25... Qf6 $16) 24. Bc2 { White has to pull back some of her pressure, but at least she still has an extra piece. } 24... g6?? { This just allows trades into a winning endgame. } (24... Red8 { would ask her how she planned to continue. Best, by far, is } 25. Nf3 $16 { with Kh2-g2 and Nf3-h2 to follow. }) 25. fxg6 fxg6 26. Qxg6+ Qxg6 27. Bxg6 { White is simply up a piece, and manages to survive Black's remaining threats on her loose pieces. } 27... Rf8 28. Ne4 Bb6 29. f3 Kg7 30. Bg5 Rxf3 31. Rxf3 Bxf3 32. Rf1 Be2 33. Rf6 c6 34. Bh6+ Kxh6 35. Be8+ Kg7 36. Rg6+ Kf8 37. Bxd7 Bd3 38. Bf5 1-0