[Event "75th ch-RUS HL 2022"] [Site "Obninsk RUS"] [Date "2022.06.27"] [Round "2.10"] [White "Ponkratov, P."] [Black "Shuvalova, Polina"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2631"] [BlackElo "2498"] [Annotator "USER"] [Variant "From Position"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [FEN "1q3rk1/3nnpb1/1P2b1pp/3pp3/pP5N/P2P2P1/1BrN1PBP/1R1Q1RK1 b - - 0 23"] [SetUp "1"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/tXaenEL9/Xd2vU3PJ"] [Orientation "black"] [ChapterMode "gamebook"] { After the successful 2019, Polina did continue rising and increasing her rating. By 2022, she was not only a full-fledged IM - but also a player on the verge of the GM title, with the rating revolving around 2500. Along the way, she amassed quite a few scalps - victories over well-known and strong grandmasters. The following victory against the established grandmaster Pavel Ponkratov, played at the Russian Higher league in June 2022 is a nice example. --- By move 23, Polina managed to completely outplay her opponent and obtain a completely winning position. She concluded the game with a nice and elegant final combination. } 23... Rxb2 { A very nice move, luring the rook to the exposed square. } 24. Rxb2 g5 { The point! The knight is forced to go back to f3 when e4 will come with a great effect. } { [%csl Rh4][%cal Gh4f3,Ge5e4] } 25. Nhf3 e4 { This double attack on the knight on f3 and the rook on b2 is the point of the pseudo exchange sacrifice. Now White loses material by force. } { [%cal Re4f3,Rg7b2] } 26. Rc2 exf3 27. Nxf3 Qxb6 { Black has two pieces for the rook and a pawn and all the pieces are quite well-placed, which secures a winning advantage. Polina had no trouble converting her advantage! } 0-1