[Event "Cairns Cup 2024"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2024.06.13"] [Round "3"] [White "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Black "Dzagnidze, Nana"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2501"] [BlackElo "2506"] [Annotator "WGM Tatev Abrahamyan"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B47"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Bastrikov Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/oG53fNqo/pphJy5ZY"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Qd3!? Nxd4 { This is Black's attempt to punish White for wasting a tempo with her previous move, but generally the queen is quite happy on d4 in the Taimanov. } (6... a6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Qg3 { This is the main idea behind White's 6. Qd3. The endgame can be annoying for Black as White has the simple idea of the kingside expansion with g3-g4-g5. } 8... Qxg3 9. hxg3 d5 10. g4 Nf6 11. g5 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Rh4 $14 { with an advantage in Tari – Drygalov, St. Petersburg, 2018. }) (6... Nf6 7. Ndb5 Qb8 8. Qg3 { White still goes for this queen maneuver. } 8... d6 9. Be3 a6 10. Nd4 { Transposing to a curious Scheveningen where White's queen happens to be on g3. }) 7. Qxd4 a6 8. Be3 b5 9. a4 { As White is not committed to queenside castling yet, she uses the flexibility to play on the queenside. } 9... b4 10. Na2 Nf6?! { Black shouldn't give up this pawn. } (10... Rb8 11. Qa7!? { White can continue trying to prove something on the queenside. } 11... Qxa7 12. Bxa7 Ra8 13. Bd4 Nf6 14. f3 $14 { Less accurate is }) (10... a5 { as it leaves a big hole on b5. } 11. c3 bxc3 12. Nxc3 { Followed by Nc3-b5. }) (10... Qxc2 11. Nxb4 Qc7 12. Nd3 { This is similar to the game, but White maintains the advantage and the initiative, as her queenside pawns can start moving quickly and she will get an additional tempo with Ra1-c1 in the future. The black queen doesn't have a safe home. }) 11. Nxb4 Bb7 12. f3 { This safe move also happens to be a novelty in this already rare position. } (12. e5 Bxb4+ 13. Qxb4 Nd5 14. Qd4 Qxc2 15. Bd3 Nxe3 16. Qxe3 Qc6 { and a draw was agreed in Spyropoulos – Banikas, Paleochora, 2020. }) 12... a5 { Not all tempo moves are good tempos. This only helps White to bring the knight home from the awkward b4-square where it was loose. } (12... d5 { Black should just play normally. White has a lot of work ahead to convert the pawn advantage. There is some compensation for Black on the queenside with the open files. In this variation, she gets to finish her development and quickly castle. } 13. e5 Nd7 14. Nd3 Be7 (14... Qxc2? { Grabbing the pawn is still bad: } 15. Rc1 Qb3 16. Rc3 Qa2 { Again, the queen stays out of the game. } 17. Be2 $18) 15. c3 O-O) 13. Nd3 Qxc2 { Understandably, Black didn't want to stay down a pawn out of the opening. } 14. Rc1 Qb3 15. Rc3 Bb4 { The only move. } (15... Qa2 16. Nc1 Qa1 17. Bb5 { This looks hopeless for Black as the queen will remain out of the game. }) 16. Nxb4 Qxb4 17. Bb5! Qxd4 (17... Qxb2?? 18. Rc8+ Rxc8 19. Qxb2 $18) (17... O-O 18. Qxb4 axb4 19. Rb3 { Winning the pawn }) 18. Bxd4 { White has a devastating advantage. She has the more active pieces, the bishop pair and a two-versus-one pawn advantage on the queenside, which will allow her to quickly create a passed pawn that will march down the board with the assistance of the bishop pair. From here on, Alexandra played extremely accurately to convert the advantage without any issues. } 18... O-O 19. Kd2 d6 (19... Rfc8 { Black can't challenge the c-file: } 20. Rxc8+ Bxc8 (20... Rxc8 21. Rc1 { White is happy to trade all the rooks, as that will mean that the a-pawn falls. } 21... Rxc1 22. Kxc1 $18 { There is no way for Black to deal with Bd4-c3 or Bd4-b6. }) 21. Rc1) 20. Rc7 Rfb8 (20... Rab8 21. Ba7 $18) 21. Rhc1 e5 22. Bc3 h6 23. Ke3 { Changing gears and going after the d6-pawn. } 23... d5 24. Bxe5 dxe4 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. fxe4 { White is now up a pawn yet the fact that Black can't move any of her pieces is her biggest problem. } 26... Bc8 27. Rf1 Ba6 28. Rf5! { Kosteniuk shows good technique by keeping control of the position. } (28. Rxf6 Bxb5 29. axb5 Rxb5 30. Rfxf7 Rxb2 { This still should be winning for White, but now the black pieces are active. }) 28... Rb6 29. Rc6 Rxc6 30. Bxc6 Rb8 31. Bb5 Rb6 32. Rc5 Re6 33. Bc6 { The bishop is headed to a better square. } 33... Bf1 34. g3 Kg7 35. Bd5 Rb6 36. b3 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0