[Event "Cairns Cup"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.06.09"] [Round "6"] [White "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Black "Krush, Irina"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2523"] [BlackElo "2436"] [Annotator "Lang,JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B53"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Chekhover Variation"] [StudyName "2023 Cairns Cup"] [ChapterName "Kosteniuk , Alexandra - Krush, Irina"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/sLZyX0Nq/T7H4QGrY"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qd3 Nf6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Be2 Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. Nd5 Bg4 10. c3 Nd7 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bh4 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 g5 14. Bg3 e6 15. Ne3 Nce5 16. Bxe5 Nxe5 17. Qh5 Qb6 18. Rab1 Qc6 19. h4 Qxe4 20. hxg5 hxg5 21. Qxg5 d5 { The opening has gone well for both players. Kosteniuk avoided theory with an uncommon fourth move against Krush's Sicilian, and has some reasonable attacking chances. But Krush has objectively equalized, has a lovely control of the center, and has already exchanged two sets of minor pieces. Both players got what they wanted! } 22. Rbd1 Rad8 23. Bh5 d4 24. cxd4 Rxd4 25. b3 a5 26. Rxd4 Qxd4 27. Rd1 Qc5 28. Qg3 Qb6 29. Qh4 Qb4 30. Qxb4 axb4 { Conventional wisdom says the trade of queens favors Black in the Sicilian. But here, there is no white c-pawn, so the c-file might not be as useful as normal. And while Black certainly gets play against the weak a2-pawn, is a2 really weaker than b4? White is certainly no worse here. } 31. Nc2 Rc8 (31... Ra8 32. Nxb4 Bf8 33. Nd3 Nxd3 34. Rxd3 Rxa2 35. Rd7 { is likely what Krush wanted to avoid. Opposite-colored bishop endings with a pair of heavy pieces still on the board can get very dangerous. } 35... Bc5! { But Black is in no danger. } 36. Bxf7+ (36. Rxf7 b6 37. g3 e5 38. Rf5 Rb2 { should also hold. }) 36... Kf8 37. Bxe6 Rxf2 38. Kh2 { is likely drawn. }) 32. Nxb4 Bh6 33. g3 Rc1 34. f4 Rxd1+ 35. Bxd1 { Without the knights, this should be an easy draw for Black. But there are knights. } 35... Nd7 (35... Bf8 { So, let's get rid of them if we can! } 36. Nc2 Nd3 37. a3 e5!! { Black has the better knight and every trade of pawns gets her closer to the draw. } 38. Be2 Nc1 39. Bc4 exf4 40. gxf4 b5! { Taking on b5 increases Black's drawing chances after she takes on b3, but if the bishop stays on the a2-g8 diagonal, Black gets ... Nc1-e2+ and picks up the f4-pawn. This equalizes. }) 36. Nd3 Bg7 37. Bf3 b6 38. b4 Bc3 39. Bc6 Nf6 40. Kf2 Kf8 41. Kf3 Ke7 42. a3 Kd6 43. Ba4 Nd5 44. g4 Nc7 45. g5 b5 46. Bd1 Ne8 47. Ke4 Ke7 48. Ne5 Bb2 49. a4 Nd6+ 50. Kf3 bxa4 51. Bxa4 f6 52. Nc6+ Kf7 53. Kg4 fxg5 54. fxg5 Nc4? (54... Kf8 55. Kh5 Bc1 { seemed to be necessary, tying White's king down to the g5-pawn unless White wants to risk over-extension with g5-g6. }) 55. Kh5 Ne5 56. Nxe5+ Bxe5 { Ordinarily speaking, the trade of knights is a dream for Black. But, here, White's king is already ready to walk the g-pawn up the board while Black's king is unable to catch the b-pawn after her bishop sacs for the g-pawn. } 57. b5! { White's pawns are too far apart for Black's bishop to stop both, and Black's pawn is not advanced enough to create counterplay. } 57... Bd4 58. Bb3 Be3 59. Kh6 Ke7 60. Kg6 e5 61. Kf5 e4 62. Bc2 Kf7 63. Bxe4 Ke7 64. Bd3 Bd4 65. Ke4 Bc3 66. Kd5 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0