[Event "13th World Teams Pool B"] [Site "Jerusalem ISR"] [Date "2022.11.20"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Akobian, V."] [Black "Gumularz, Szymon"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2591"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2561"] [BlackTeam "Poland"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D35"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Positional Variation"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessLifeOnline"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/rflcZzaJ/i4dGsItS"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Qc2 Re8 10. Nf3 Ne4 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. O-O Nd7 13. Rab1 Ndf6 14. b4 { In a still-familiar position, White embarks on the well-trodden 'minority attack' plan in the Queen's Gambit. The hope is that, while Black's three-versus-two on the queenside could be an endgame advantage, a one-versus-zero is just called an isolated pawn. } 14... Nxc3 15. Qxc3 Ne4 16. Qc2 Nd6 { Black's knight is often well-placed on the d6-square in these structures. It eyes the b5-square while still making it difficult for White to push e3-e4. } 17. a4 Be6 (17... a5 { The immediate disruptive move is also good. } 18. b5? cxb5 19. axb5? { This is precisely what White wants to avoid: there is no pressure on Black's backwards b7-pawn, and the passed a-pawn is a potential advantage. }) 18. Rfc1 Rac8 19. Ne5 a6 20. Qc5 Qd8 21. h3 f6 22. Ng6 Qd7 23. Qc2 Bf5 24. Bxf5 Nxf5 25. Nf4 Nd6 26. Qd3 Qf7 27. Ne2 { Until now, Black has defended admirably. There is no threat of pushing b4-b5. } 27... b5? (27... Kh8 28. Nc3 f5 29. b5 { This is what Black wanted to prevent, but now there is a chance to create complications on the other side of the board in the form of } 29... f4! $13) 28. Ra1! { Astute! White's rooks will have more activity now. } 28... Nc4 29. Qc2 Qe7 30. Qc3 Rb8 31. Nf4 a5 32. Nd3 axb4 33. Nxb4 Qd6 34. axb5 { For all the talk about youth, Akobian shows the value of experience. He understood that, eventually, the queenside would dissolve, and so his 28. Ra1 would be a strength rather than a concession. } 34... Rxb5 (34... cxb5? 35. Ra6! Qd7 36. Rc6 Rbc8 37. Rc5! { This brilliant maneuver turns Black's isolated d5-pawn into a target by opening the d-file after the exchange of rooks. }) 35. Na6 f5 36. Nc5 Rb2 37. Nd3 Rb7 38. Rab1 Rf7 39. Rb3 g5 40. Nb2 Nxb2 41. Rxb2 Rf6 42. Rb6 Ree6? (42... f4 { Will this 'work'? Maybe not! Is activity always preferable to passive defense? Yes. } 43. Qxc6 Qxc6 44. Rbxc6 Rxc6 45. Rxc6 fxe3 46. fxe3 Rxe3 47. Rxh6 Rd3 48. Rg6+ Kf7 49. Rxg5 Rxd4 { A tablebase draw. }) 43. Qb3 Qd7 44. Rb7 Qd6 45. Ra1! Re7 46. Rxe7 Qxe7 47. Qb6 Qe6 48. Qc7 Rf7 (48... f4 { The simplifications are winning for white after } 49. Ra7 Rf7 50. Qxf7+ Qxf7 51. Rxf7 Kxf7 52. exf4 gxf4 53. g4!! (53. Kf1 Ke6 54. Ke2 Kd6 55. Kf3 { This is also winning. }) 53... fxg3 54. fxg3 Ke6 55. g4 $18) 49. Ra8+ Kg7 50. Qd8 Kg6 51. Qg8+ Kh5 52. Rf8 Re7 53. Qxe6 Rxe6 54. Rxf5 Kg6 55. g4 Re8 56. Re5 Rxe5 57. dxe5 Kf7 58. f4 Ke6 59. Kf2 gxf4 60. exf4 d4 61. h4 c5 62. h5 c4 63. Ke2 Kd5 64. g5 d3+ 65. Kd2 Kd4 66. e6 c3+ 67. Kd1 d2 68. Kc2 { Black resigns as } 68... Ke3 69. e7 Ke2 { is one tempo too slow. } 70. e8=Q+ 1-0