[Event "FIDE World Senior Team Championship"] [Site "Krakow"] [Date "2024.07.04"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Adams, Michael"] [Black "Belakovskaia, Anjelina"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2672"] [WhiteTeam "England 1"] [BlackElo "2171"] [BlackTeam "USA Women"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C84"] [Opening "Ruy Lopez: Closed, Martinez Variation"] [StudyName "2024 World Senior Team Championships"] [ChapterName "Adams, Michael - Belakovskaia, Anjelina"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/tbFVUhfT/dRRols7l"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 Rb8 9. c3 O-O 10. Nbd2 d5 11. axb5 axb5 12. Re1 Bb7 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Ne4 Nf6 (14... b4 { is thematic, and perhaps more accurate. } 15. Qe2 h6 16. Bd2 bxc3 17. bxc3 Nf6 { with good play on the a-, b-, and d-files to compensate for White's impending kingside play. }) 15. Qe2 Ra8?! (15... Nxe4 16. dxe4 b4 17. Rd1 { may have troubled Black, with pressure on the d-file, but even the passive-looking } 17... Bd6 { leaves Black with a decent position and opportunities to improve on the queenside. }) 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 { Black's idea to create problems along the open long diagonal is very logical. This position is very textbook "Mickey," though, in the sense that he has allowed Black to make hard choices on how to navigate the position. The idea Black came up with looks too concrete to force any advantage in such a level position, and now Adams plays more natural moves to fortify his center. } 17. Bg5! Nxe4 (17... Nd7 18. Bxe7 Nxe7 19. Neg5 { allows White to attack the kingside and the e-pawn. }) 18. dxe4 Bxg5 19. Nxg5 { So much for the open diagonal! It's instructive to see how Adams refuted Black's strategic plan. } 19... Nd8 (19... h6 20. Nxf7 Rxf7 21. Qxb5 { is also winning, with the second pawn tipping the material scales in White's favor. }) 20. h3 (20. Qxb5 { I'm not sure what was wrong with this pawn! } 20... Ba6 21. Qxe5) 20... c5!? (20... Qa6! { was Black's most testing defense, intending } 21. Qh5 Qg6 { when } 22. Qxg6 hxg6 23. Ra1 Re8 { gets close to untangling. White must be very accurate to keep an edge. } 24. Ra5! (24. Ra7 Re7! 25. Kf1 (25. Ra5! { again is the best try. } 25... c6 26. c4 $14) 25... Kf8 { equalizes. }) 24... c6 25. c4 bxc4 26. Bxc4 Kf8 27. Nf3 { turning pressure to the e-pawn! } 27... f6 28. Nh4 { keeps Black's kingside miserable. The worst part about this variation is that, for most players, we could shrug and say, "but White would never find all of these moves." But, in this case, he really might have! Still, it's instructive to see how much harder White would have to work after the queen trade. }) 21. Qxb5 h6 { Energetic defense from Black. Opening up the center by exchanging e-pawns should favor White due to the superior development, but it still creates a lot of uncertainty in a position that White would prefer to keep under control. } 22. Nf3 Bxe4 23. Re3!? { Whether this is an error or a practical decision is a matter of great debate. } (23. Nxe5! { was accurate. But the player with the advantage wants to avoid sharp lines that require calculation. Indeed, this has always been one of the biggest points of praise and critique of Adams' style, so it's unsurprising to see him eschew this move here. } 23... Bxg2 { and now Black has serious counterplay via mate threats on the g2-square after ... Bg2-h3, so why would White allow this? Well, here's two reasons: } 24. Qd3! { is the strongest move. Black's bishop has nowhere meaningful to go, but the knight and rook are frozen until the bishop moves! } (24. Ng6 { is also charming. After } 24... Bxh3 25. Bd5! { , the mate threat is taken care of, and White again wins material. }) 24... Qb7 25. Nd7! { wins material. These are not impossible moves to find, but players who are too eager to rush into calculating such variations tend to waste lots of time and energy on calculation in positions where such resources are not there or not necessary. Adams determines that he still has an advantage without capturing the e5-pawn. While his task will be more arduous in terms of game length and conversion, he might never have to work as hard as he would to find these resources. }) 23... Ne6 (23... Bxf3 24. Rxf3 Qb7 { was Black's best try. } 25. Qa4 (25. Qxb7?! Nxb7 26. Re3 Re8 27. Ba4 Re7) 25... Qc6 { allows White to keep queens on with } 26. Qg4 { but at least the g6-square is now covered, so Black can untangle with } 26... g6 { and make White prove that the static plusses are sufficient to convert. }) 24. Bxe6 Bxf3 25. Rxf3 fxe6 26. Rxf8+ Qxf8 { Black's pawns are too weak to hold this endgame. } 27. b4 { The principle of two weaknesses! By creating an outside passed pawn, White now dares Black to both guard the b-pawn and the two weak e-pawns. } 27... cxb4 28. cxb4 Qd6 29. Qc5 Qd1+ 30. Kh2 { The b-pawn is fatal, and trading queens won't change that. } 30... Qd4 31. Qxd4 exd4 32. Kg3 Kf7 33. f4 g5 34. fxg5 hxg5 35. Kf3 e5 36. Ke4 Ke6 37. g3! { A precise end to a well-played game. Belakovskaia certainly held her own against a legendary GM! } 1-0