1.c4e62.g3d53.Bg2...Akira employs an English-Catalan
approach, not yet committing to the fate of the d2-pawn.3....dxc4Alice seeks
immediate clarification of the central tension, which is one of the several
theoretically sound ideas. Nevertheless, Black has to take care to develop the
queenside properly under the watchful gaze of the g2-bishop.4.Qa4+Nd75.Qxc4a66.Qc2!...Definitely not a beginner-friendly
game as White is bringing the queen out early and moving her twice! However
this is a good prophylactic retreat to avoid ... b7-b5 with tempo. Black needs
to solve the problem of the c8-bishop.6....Ngf67.Nf3Rb88.O-OBd6?!Alice's
last two moves seem a bit disconnected, and it was more consistent to follow
through with the plan of pushing the b-pawn. I forgot where and how exactly I
read this, but someone said it was usually not a good idea to point your
bishop towards an over-protected pawn (like the d6-bishop at g3 here). I'm not
sure how true it is, but here the bishop on d6 is definitely misplaced if
White starts pushing the d- and e- pawns into the center!8...b69.Nd4Ne59.d4O-O10.Rd1...A good move
as Akira was anticipating ... e6-e5.10.e4works too as aftere511.dxe5Nxe512.Nxe5Bxe513.Rd1±, Black is getting pushed back
with tempo.10....b510...Qe7seemed consistent with Alice's
previous setup11.Ne5...11.e4+−11....Bb712.Nc6Bxc613.Qxc6...Alice has solved the problem of the passive light-squared bishop, but at
the cost of queenside weaknesses and leaving the g2-bishop without an
adversary.13....Nd513...Rb6!14.Qc2c5was the last chance for some sort of
breathing room! White is still (permanently) better due to the bishop pair,
but at least Black is getting some pawn breaks in.14.e4N5b615.Nd2e516.Nf3Qe817.b3...A queen is known to be a terrible blockader
as she is vulnerable to attacks, but as we'll see here the c6-queen is
extremely annoying for Black!17....exd418.Nxd4Nc519.Bb2Ne620.Rac1Nxd421.Bxd4Qe722.e5Ba322...Bxe523.Re1f624.Bc5+−23.Qxc7Qxc724.Rxc7...The backwards c-pawn falls and White's advantage is decisive in
many ways, including the difference in activity between the pieces.24....Rfd825.Bf3Nd526.Ra7Nb427.e6fxe628.Rxg7+Kf829.Rxh7Nxa230.Bf6Rxd1+31.Bxd1Kg832.Rg7+Kf833.Bh5An impressively smooth win for Akira over the
very talented IM Alice Lee. I think the opening battle resulted in a position
that Alice was not fully comfortable in and the style of the game allowed
Akira to show off his positional strength.1-0