[Event "Cairns Cup"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.06.10"] [Round "7"] [White "Dzagnidze, Nana"] [Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2510"] [WhiteTeam "Georgia"] [BlackElo "2523"] [BlackTeam "Switzerland"] [Annotator "WGM Begim Tokhirjonova"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A50"] [Opening "Indian Defense: Normal Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/sLZyX0Nq/eKcM95AQ"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by WGM Begim Tokhirjonova } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Bf4 { A small surprise by Nana. She has never played this move order before. Still, for this game, she wanted to avoid massive theory against Alexandra, known for her solid openings as Black, and get some playable position. Alexandra once faced this move over an online game where she reacted 3. ... c5 followed by ... d7-d6. } 3... c5 (3... d5 { leads to a totally different pawn structure and White has some options, such as 4. e3 or 4. cxd5, when 4. ... Nxd5 5.Bg3 leads to exciting variations. }) 4. d5 b5 { Alexandra chose an aggressive and immediate attack on White's central pawns. This ... b7-b5 is a typical idea to challenge White's center in such structures. } 5. Nf3 { We are now in more familiar terriory for Nana. She had this position against GM Anna Muzychuk in 2014 which ended with Nana's victory. } (5. dxe6 { White can get greedy and take the pawn on b5; however, it costs them the center and gives Black considerably straightforward development of the pieces. } 5... fxe6 6. cxb5 Qa5+ (6... d5 7. e3 a6!? 8. bxa6 Nbd7 9. Nf3 Qb6) 7. Nc3 a6 8. bxa6 Be7 { with easy play for Black. }) 5... Bb7?! 6. e4!? { It makes little sense to give away a central pawn in this situation. It would be suitable for White to consider taking the pawn, but at least she could have played 6. Nc3 to keep the tension in the center as she previously did against Muzychuk. I have a feeling that Nana messed up the ideas or underestimated her position after Black's ... Bf8-d6. } (6. dxe6 { Now White is developed better, and Black's bishop on b7 is unable to recapture on e6. White could have taken this pawn; it does not seem like Black has enough compensation for it here. } 6... fxe6 7. cxb5 Qa5+ 8. Nc3 a6 9. bxa6 Nxa6 10. e3 Nb4 11. a4 Nfd5 12. Bb5 $16) 6... Nxe4 7. Bd3 Bd6! { Developing with a tempo. } 8. Be3 Nf6 { The knight returned to its position and, at the same time, increased the pressure on White's center. } 9. Nc3 exd5 (9... bxc4 { I think it would be better to get rid of White's center and keep the pressure on the d5-pawn. } 10. Bxc4 O-O 11. O-O Na6 12. Nb5 Bb8 13. d6 Nd5 { It gives me the impression that Alexandra was not sure about this position. However, it is a risky position for White because it is challenging for White to defend their pawn on d6. Despite the fact it seems excellent on that square, it still can be a weakness soon. } 14. Bd2 Nb6 (14... Qb6 15. Ne5 Bxd6 16. Nxd7 Qc6 17. Nxd6 Qxd7 18. Nxb7 Qxb7 19. Qb3 Qb6) 15. Bd3 g6 $13) 10. Nxb5 { I am not a big fan of exchanging a b5-pawn for the d5-pawn. Center and central pawns should be appreciated more than b-pawns in such positions. } (10. cxd5 { is better, keeping the central pawn alive and putting more problems to Black. It also gives White more control over their position. If they do not have their center, White's strategy fails. } 10... Nxd5? (10... b4 11. Nb5 $16) (10... c4 11. Bc2 Na6 (11... a6 12. Bg5 Bb4 13. O-O d6 14. Nd4 $16) 12. Nxb5 { can't take yet because of } (12. O-O O-O 13. Nxb5 Bc5 $13) 12... Qa5+ 13. Nc3 Nb4 $15) 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Be2 $18) 10... Be7 11. Bf4 O-O 12. Bc7 (12. Nc7 { I think Nana's idea was to play this move; however, she totally missed ... Nf6-h5 and only realized it when she got to this position. } 12... Nh5 13. Qd2 dxc4 14. Bxc4 Nxf4 15. Qxf4 d5 { [%cal Re7d6] } 16. Rd1 Bd6 $17) 12... Qe8 (12... Qc8 { was the more energetic move, now threatening to play ... a7-a6. } 13. Bd6 Bxd6 14. Nxd6 Qc6 15. Nxb7 Re8+ 16. Kf1 Qxb7 $17) 13. Be2?! { This move does not make much sense because it gives Black more time to capture another central pawn. } (13. cxd5!? { The chance to fight for the center! } 13... c4 (13... Bd8+ 14. Be2 Bxd5 15. O-O) 14. Bxc4 { does not work because of a cute move: } (14. Be2 Bb4+ 15. Kf1 Bxd5 16. Bg3 Na6 $15 { if black is this precise then they have a good position }) 14... a6 15. Nbd4 Bd6+ $19) 13... d6? { She is returning the favor. Again, it is hard to understand the logic behind the pawn giveaways in this game. This move was a product of overthinking rather than making a logical move. Alexandra is an excellent chess player who knows that ... d5xc4 is good for her. Maybe she wanted to get something even better during the game or did not realize how good her position was. } (13... dxc4 { Whenever you have a chance to grab a pawn, just do it! } 14. Bxc4 (14. O-O d5 $19) 14... a6 $19) 14. Bxd6 (14. Nxd6? Qd7) 14... Qd8 (14... a6? 15. Nc7 Qd8 16. Bxe7 $16) 15. Bg3 Nc6 (15... a6 { and Black suddenly does not have much after } 16. Nc7 Ra7 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. cxd5 Bxd5) 16. cxd5 Nxd5 17. O-O a6 18. Na3 Ndb4 (18... Nb6 { It is hard to make such a move because after 19. Qxd8, 19. ... Bxd8 seems weird, but it is preventing White's knight from taking complete control over the c4-square. Also, Black does not want to exchange the queens with such passive pieces. } 19. Qxd8 Bxd8 $13) 19. Nc4 { The d6- and b6- squares are under control and the c5-pawn is blocked. This is a comfy position for White. } { [%csl Rb6,Rd6] } 19... Nd4 { Black's attempt to avoid prolonged positional torture, forcing some exchanges in the process. } (19... Qxd1 20. Rfxd1 Rad8 21. Nd6 Ba8 22. Nf5 $14 { is very unpleasant position to play with Black. White's advantage is stable and long-term. }) 20. Nxd4 cxd4 21. a3 d3 (21... Nc6 22. Bd3 g6 23. Re1 $16) 22. Bf3 (22. axb4 dxe2 23. Qxe2 Bxb4) 22... Bxf3 23. Qxf3 Qd4 (23... Qd5 24. Qxd5 Nxd5 25. Rad1 Rfc8 26. Rxd3 Rxc4 27. Rxd5 $16) 24. Na5 Nc2 25. Nc6 Qd7 26. Rad1 Nd4 27. Nxe7+ Qxe7 28. Qxd3 { Eventually, the pawn is lost, and now Black is forced to exchange more. } 28... Ne2+ (28... Rfd8 29. Kh1 Ne6 30. Qe2 $16) 29. Kh1 Nxg3+ 30. hxg3 { Now Black has an excellent chance to save the game because they have only one weakness, which happens to be holding back two white pawns. } (30. fxg3 { Unusual but the right move to make in this position. White has to create one more weakness (at least) besides the a6-pawn in Black's position, which could be the f7-pawn! }) 30... a5 31. Rfe1 Qc5 { Now it is hard to find how to develop the game for white. Rd1-d2 would be a good move to try slowly improving the position. } 32. Qd4? { Offering a rook endgame where usually such positions are studied well until the end and end with a draw most of the time. It is practically not a good decision for either player to take their chances in the rook endgame. } 32... Qh5+ (32... Qxd4 { would have given great chances to make a draw. However, Alexandra wanted to keep the queen because, in my opinion, she decided that it was almost impossible for White to make any progress in this position. } 33. Rxd4 Rfb8 34. Re2 g6) 33. Kg1 Rfe8 34. b4 axb4 35. axb4 h6 36. Rxe8+ { It is good to exchange one pair of rooks and keep the other on the board. Because, in this case, the rook can support the past pawn and also cuts off all the counterplay Black could have had with two pair of rooks. } 36... Rxe8 37. Qd3 Re2 38. Rb1 { pawn is unstoppable! } 38... Qe5 39. b5 Re1+ 40. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 41. Qf1 Qb4 42. Qe2 Kf8 43. Qe5 f6 44. Qb8+ Ke7 45. Qc7+ Ke6 46. b6 Qd4 47. Kh2 Qd7 48. Qb8 Qb5 49. g4 Qc5 50. b7 Kd7 51. Qg3 { It was an important victory for Nana. After losing three games in a row, she bounced back by beating one of the tournament's leaders in a highly turbulent game. } 1-0