[Event "FIDE Grand Swiss 2023"] [Site "Douglas"] [Date "2023.11.01"] [Round "7.6"] [White "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Black "Yu, Yangyi"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2669"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B32"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Kalashnikov Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/uDXLUcuQ/nUC86ax4"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 { The Kalashnikov is a great surprise weapon, avoiding Sveshnikov theory by delaying deployment of Black's kingside knight. } 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 { As is often the case in a Sicilian when Black delays or omits ...Ng8-f6, White is in time to play c2-c4 and achieve a "Maroczy Bind" structure before having to defend the e4-pawn with Nb1-c3. } 6... g6!? { Rather rare compared to the "normal" plan of ...Bf8-e7. After all, the d6-pawn is backwards, but as long as the bishop stays on d6, it is surprisingly difficult to win. } 7. Bd3 Nf6 8. O-O Bg7 9. Be2 { White offers to trade the e-pawn for the d-pawn. } 9... O-O!? { A very deep temporary pawn sac that White is better off declining. } (9... Nxe4 10. Bf3 a6! (10... Nf6? 11. Nxd6+! Kf8 $16 { White would be thrilled to make this trade of center pawns, with a safe king tucked away and pressure against Black's misplaced monarch ensuring a lasting advantage. }) 11. Bxe4 axb5 12. cxb5 Nd4 13. Nc3 $14) 10. N1c3 (10. Nxd6 { Black's idea is to play ...Nc6-d4, kick White's d6-knight back to b5, provoke an exchange on d4, and regain ground in the center from there. } 10... Be6 11. Nc3 Nd4 12. Ndb5 a6 13. Na3! (13. Nxd4?! exd4 14. Na4 Nxe4 $15) 13... Rc8 $14 { with lasting pressure against White's fixed center providing some compensation for the d6-pawn. }) 10... Be6 11. Be3 { Logical, considering Black's plan of meeting Nb5xd6 with ...Nc6-d4. } 11... a6 12. Nxd6 Nd4 13. c5! { The only move to play for a win. } (13. Bxd4?! exd4 14. Qxd4 Nxe4! 15. Qxe4 Qxd6) 13... Nd7 14. b4 { The first significant moment. Clearly, Black is trying to argue that White's queenside is overextended. So, do we play ...b7-b6 or ...a6-a5 to prove our point? } 14... b6? { This move is too slow. To understand why, remember that, even though the center is fixed, the kingside is not. Thus, Black does not have "all the time in the world" to chip away at the big enemy center. } (14... a5 { was appropriately urgent. } 15. Nxb7 { leads to a sort of equality that is clearly a three-result position. Now of course } (15. f4? { fails to } 15... axb4! $17) 15... Qb8 16. b5! Qxb7 17. c6 Qc7 18. Na4!! (18. cxd7 Qxc3 $19) 18... Nb6 19. Nxb6 Qxb6 20. a4) 15. Na4? (15. f4! { was crushing. Black's grip on the dark squares is now under serious threat. } 15... Nxe2+ (15... bxc5 { addresses the dark squares, but not the light squares! } 16. f5! cxb4 17. fxe6 bxc3 18. exd7 $18) 16. Nxe2 exf4 17. Nxf4 bxc5 18. bxc5 { when taking the Exchange is clearly suicidal (albeit no worse than other options): } 18... Bxa1 19. Qxa1 Qe7 20. Bd4 $16 { when White's grip on the dark squares should prove fatal. }) 15... a5! 16. Bxd4 (16. f4? { is a totally different story now without White's knight on c3, as } 16... Nxe2+ { forces } 17. Qxe2 { which means now } 17... exf4 18. Bxf4 Bxa1 { requires White to play } 19. Rxa1 { with horrible coordination and problems to solve after } 19... axb4 $19) 16... exd4 17. Bb5 axb4 18. Bxd7 Qxd7! (18... Bxd7 { Black correctly assessed that there was no time to be greedy. The rook is superfluous on the a-file, and Black's weak pawns give White an edge. } 19. Nxb6 Ra3 20. Qb1 $16) 19. Nxb6 Qc6 20. Nxa8 Qxc5? { This move will likely transpose to the below variation, but it gave White one fantastic resource that he also missed. } (20... Rxa8! { There is no comfortable way for White to go after the b4-pawn without dropping the a2-pawn, and it is also difficult to defend the c5-pawn while being mindful of ...d4-d3. } 21. f4 d3 22. e5 Qxc5+ 23. Kh1 Qd4 24. Nb5 Qc4 { might be White's best play, but there may be nothing better than repetition. } 25. Nd6 Qd4 (25... Qc2 { although Black would be well within his rights to play for a win here! })) 21. e5?! (21. Ne8!! { There have already been a number of deep, intuitive ideas and sharp calculations in the first 20 moves, but this is truly spectacular. White's point would be that, without a knight on d6, White is in time to play Ra1-c1 and Na8-c7 (with temp on the rook) and trade into a much cleaner position up an Exchange. } 21... Rxe8 22. Rc1 Qe5 23. Nc7 Rd8 24. Nxe6 Qxe6 25. Qb3 $16) (21. Rc1?! Qxd6 22. Nc7 Bxa2 $15 { explains the need for a rook on e8 for the Ra1-c1 and Na8-c7 plan to work. }) 21... Bxe5 22. Ne4 Qa5 23. Rc1 Qxa8 24. Nc5 Qxa2 { As nice as it would be to maintain the bishop pair for the Exchange, the b-pawn is now a serious threat. } 25. Qe1! { This is a very nice move that the engine does not consider any better than the immediate 25. Nxe6, but it illustrates the way that strong players think. Most of us would be grabbing the light-squared bishop by now, but Bacrot's point is that, if he can find any improving moves with tempo against Black's other weaknesses, there is no hurry to snap off the bishop. } 25... Bf4 26. Nxe6 fxe6?! (26... Qxe6 27. Qxe6 fxe6 28. Rc4) 27. Rd1 { It's a small thing, but now this move comes with tempo against the d4-pawn thanks to the inclusion of White's 25th move. } 27... Qc4?! (27... Qd5! { Black understandably did not want to part with the b-pawn, but after } 28. Qxb4 d3 29. g3 Bh6 { the bishop remains monstrous, ideas of ... e6-e5-e4-e3 lurk, and White's rooks will struggle to coordinate. }) 28. Qe4! e5 { Black's greed allowed him to keep his pawns, but at the expense of his bishop's mobility. This, in turn, makes it easier for White's rooks to activate. } 29. g3 Bh6 30. Qxe5?! { reanimating Black's bishop. } (30. Ra1! Qf7 (30... b3 31. Ra7 Qe6 32. Rb7 Bg7 33. Rb1 $16)) 30... d3 31. Qd6 d2 32. f4 Bg7 33. Rxd2 b3 34. Qd5+ Qxd5 35. Rxd5 { White should, in theory, be happy to simplify into a pure Exchange-up ending, but the b-pawn is still a nuisance and Black's bishop is as good as it could possibly be. But, again, it is Black who has a difficult decision to make: put the rook behind the pawn, or push it to the seventh rank? } 35... b2 (35... Rb8!! 36. Rfd1 Rb4 { and how does White make progress? }) 36. Rfd1 Bf6 (36... Rb8?? 37. Rd8+ { As is often the case, the "rook pair" is redundant, and the Exchange-up side is happy to trade off rooks to showcase the rook's dominance over the bishop. This shows why Black was too hasty with ...b3-b2: if Black had one more move, he could lift the rook off the back row before White forced the fatal trade. }) 37. Rb5 Rc8 38. Kf2 Rc1 39. Ke2 Rc2+ 40. Rd2 Rc1 41. Rd1 Rc2+ { The players have reached the time control, and White decides reasonably to play on. } 42. Ke3 Rc1 43. Kd2 Rc7 (43... Bd4!? 44. Rb3 (44. Rxc1?? Be3+ $19) 44... Bc3+! 45. Ke2 Bf6) 44. g4 { Black is "frozen," so White is in time to make progress. This is why the ingenious ... Bf6-d4, pushing White's king back to e2, was cleaner. } 44... h6!? { Black begins a dubious strategy of fixing pawns on dark squares. } (44... h5! 45. g5 (45. gxh5 { White could win the pawn with } 45... gxh5 46. Rg1+! { An important intermezzo, getting the rook off the d-file with tempo. } (46. Rxh5?? Rd7+ 47. Kc2 Rxd1 $19) 46... Kf7 47. Rxh5 { but the engine (surprisingly) insists that this is still drawn after many moves, including } 47... Rc4 { when, as I understand it, f4-f5 would keep White's board cut in two, while Rh5-f5 would keep both rooks tied to defense. On one hand, it's hard to believe Black can hold this, let alone that a human could calculate out to here. But, on the other hand, we know that the bishop does not want to be tied down by pawns on its own color, and can "work backwards" from ...h7-h5 to justifying it. }) 45... Bd4 46. Rb3 Bg7) 45. Rb6 g5 46. f5 { The h6-pawn is weak and the bishop will have a harder time staying still now. White must be happy about these developments. } 46... Bd4 47. Rb3 Kf7 (47... h5! { Again, solve the problems! } 48. h3 (48. gxh5 Kg7) 48... Bg7 $14) 48. h3 (48. Re1 { would be more proactive, meeting } 48... h5 49. h3 Bg7 { with } 50. Re6 $16) 48... h5? 49. gxh5? (49. Re1 { was again the win. } 49... hxg4 50. hxg4 Ra7 51. Re6! $18 { with the idea of building a mating net if Black's rook ever tries to reach a1. }) 49... Kf6? (49... Kg7! { Another instructive point: with the bishop guarding the f6-square, Black's king is better off chasing down "stragglers" on the h-file! } 50. Rf1 Kh6! 51. f6 Rf7) 50. Rf1 Be5 (50... Rh7 { Clearly, the rook is not in time to play "dog-catcher" on the h-file: } 51. Kd3 Be5 (51... Ba7 52. Rxb2 $18) 52. Rb6+ Kg7 53. Rb7+ $18) 51. Rb6+ Kf7 52. Rd1? (52. h6 { was best. Not only does the advanced pawn keep Black's bishop and king honest, but, in one plausible continuation, Black is unable to promote the b-pawn due to a "ladder mate!" } 52... Bd4 53. Rb8 Rc1 54. Ke2 Be5 55. Rb7+ Kg8 56. f6 Bxf6 57. Rxf6 b1=Q 58. Rg7+ Kh8 59. Rf8#) 52... Bd4 53. Rb3 Kf6?! (53... Kg7 { was again the right path. }) 54. Rf1 Be5 55. Rb6+ Kf7 56. h6! { White has now figured out why the rook is better off on the f-file than the d-file! } 56... Bf4+ (56... Rc1 57. Rd1 Bd4 58. Rb8 Be3+ 59. Ke2 $18) 57. Ke2 Rc2+ 58. Kd3 Rc1 59. Ke2 Rc2+ 60. Kd3 Rd2+ 61. Kc3 Rh2 62. Rb7+ Kf6 63. Rf3 Be5+ 64. Kd3 g4 (64... Rh1 65. h7 $18) 65. h7 Kg5 66. f6! Bxf6 67. Rb5+! (67. Rxf6?? { would be an easy mistake to make in blitz, but Black now has three (!) draws. Just, none of them are 67. ... Kxf6??. } 67... Rxh3+ (67... b1=Q+ { also works: } 68. Rxb1 Rxh3+ 69. Ke4 Kxf6) (67... b1=B+ { But, come on, this is the coolest! } 68. Kd4 Bxh7 69. Rff7 (69. Rxh7 Kxf6 70. Ke3) 69... Bg6 70. Rg7 Rd2+ 71. Ke3 Rd3+ 72. Ke2 Rxh3) 68. Ke4 Kxf6 { is the most obvious. }) 67... Be5 68. Rxe5+ Kg6 69. Rb5 { and Black resigns. } (69. h8=N+!! { The engine is a cruel, cruel beast, and announces a mate-in-11 from here. } 69... Kh6 70. Rf6+ Kg7 71. Rf7+ Kh6 72. Re6+ Kh5 73. Rh7+ Kg5 74. Rg6+ Kf4 75. Rxg4+ Ke5 76. Rh5+ Kf6 77. Rg6+ Ke7 78. Rh7+ Kf8 79. Rf7+ Ke8 80. Rg8#) 1-0