[Event "G12 Rapid"] [Site "Durres, AL"] [Date "2024.04.26"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Nguyen Minh Chi"] [Black "Paragua, Megan Althea"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1920"] [WhiteTeam "VIE"] [BlackElo "1964"] [BlackTeam "USA"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B40"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: French Variation, Normal"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessLifeOnline"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/scakJfH7/5yUdKWAE"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. Nb3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc3 a6 9. a4 Qc7 10. Be3 b6 11. f4 d6 12. g4 Nd7 (12... d5!? { Black was primed for this thematic counter-strike in the center, but opening up the b1-h7 diagonal is not without its risks: } 13. g5 (13. e5 Nd7 14. g5 g6 $10) 13... Nxe4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Bxe4 Rb8 16. Bxh7+ Kxh7 17. Qh5+ Kg8 18. Rf3 e5 19. f5 $13) 13. g5 Nc5 14. Nxc5 dxc5 15. Qh5 f6?! (15... g6 { is more in the spirit of Black's opening. } 16. Qh6 Nd4! { keeps the rook from activating via the f3-square and proves quite resilient. } 17. f5 Rd8 18. fxg6 fxg6 19. Rf2 Bf8 { and White's pieces begin shrinking } 20. Qh4 Bg7 { as Black's continue to grow } 21. Raf1 Bb7 $15 { and grow! }) 16. gxf6?! (16. g6! { was better, keeping Black's pieces from regrouping after ... g7-g6. } 16... hxg6 17. Qxg6 Bd8 18. Rf3 Qf7 19. Qg2 Nd4 20. Rh3 $16) 16... Bxf6?! (16... Rxf6! { at least makes White choose between e4-e5 and f4-f5, rather than continue to fight for both. } 17. e5 (17. f5 Ne5 $10 { keeps the balance as Black centralizes another of her pieces. }) 17... Rh6 18. Qf3 Bb7 19. Be4 Rf8 20. Qg2 (20. f5? Rg6+! 21. Kh1 Rxf5! 22. Bxf5 Nxe5 $19 { shows the power of Black's long-range pieces. })) 17. e5 g6! 18. Qg4 (18. Qh6 Bd8 19. Ne4 { The point is that, with the queen in Black's business like this, the threat of f4-f5 is very much alive, for instance after } 19... Nb4? (19... Qg7 20. Qxg7+ Kxg7 21. Nd6 Bd7 22. Be4 Rb8 $16 { is Black's best bet, but White's pieces are clearly superior. }) 20. f5! $18 { was an idea for White here. The a2-g8 diagonal is prime for attack, as is the g-file, and White's dark-squared bishop can also enjoy the elongated c1-h6 diagonal. }) 18... Bg7 19. Ne4 Nb4 20. Ng5?! { It is worth appreciating that f4-f5 was never on the menu for White both because ... Nc6xe5 came with tempo on the queen and either pawn capture on f5 also hit the queen. Thus, the g4-square was an awkward one for White, and likely the reason why Black was able to turn the tables here. } 20... Nxd3 21. cxd3!! Rf5! { Throughout this event, Paragua showed a great grasp of changing dynamics. The f5-square was covered by the bishop, so if she can trade of that bishop, then she can fix the square. Simple chess, but elegant. } 22. Qh4 Bf8 23. Ne4 Be7 24. Qg4 Qc6 25. Ng3?! (25. Qg2 { was more cautious: } 25... Bb7 26. Nf6+ { eliminating the mate threat before it caused any actual problems. } 26... Bxf6 27. Qxc6 Bxc6 28. exf6 Rd8 29. Ra3 a5 $17 { and Black is for choice but the game is not over, especially if White can get some rooks off. }) 25... Bb7 26. Nxf5?? { This ends the game tactically. } 26... exf5 27. Qh3 Bh4! { Likely the move White missed. Now, ... Qc6-h1 is a mate threat! } 28. Rf3 Qxf3 29. Qxf3 Bxf3 $19 { Black has emerged up a full piece. } 30. Bf2 Be7 31. d4 Rd8 32. dxc5 bxc5 33. Be3 Rd1+ 34. Rxd1 Bxd1 35. a5 Kf7 36. Kf2 Ke6 37. Ke1 Ba4 38. Kd2 h6 39. Ke2 Bc6 40. Bd2 g5 41. Kd3 Bb5+ 42. Kc3 gxf4 43. Bxf4 Bg5 44. Bg3 Be3 45. Bh4 f4 46. Kc2 f3 47. Kd1 f2 48. Bxf2 Bxf2 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1