[Event "U.S. Senior Women's Chess Championship"] [Site "Berkeley"] [Date "2023.11.03"] [Round "1"] [White "Dimitrijevic, Vesna"] [Black "Belakovskaia, Anjelina"] [Result "0-1"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B10"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessLifeOnline"] [StudyName "2023 U.S. Senior Women's Championship"] [ChapterName "Dimitrijevic, Vesna - Belakovskaia, Anjelina"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/vcXH3769/uLIijTeM"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by JJ Lang. The top seed was in strong form as Black, navigating some serious challenges in an innovative opening. } 1. e4 c6 2. f4!? { An uncommon weapon against the Caro-Kann. White managed to get a version of the Advanced Variation that avoids theory, although Black was presumably also happy with her structure. The f4-pawn might be a hook for ...g7-g5 ideas, given the closed center. } 2... d5 3. e5 h5 4. d4 Bf5 5. Nf3 e6 6. c3 Nd7 7. Na3 b5 8. Nc2 Nb6 9. Ne3 Nh6 10. Ng5 g6 11. b3 { A bit slow. Black is happy letting the board lock up, so White should be looking for energy. If she is not committed to c3-c4 yet, playing for a kingside expansion is more consistent. } (11. h3! Be7 12. g4 Bxg5 { to prepare ...Bf5-e4 } 13. fxg5 Be4 14. Bg2 Bxg2 15. Nxg2 Ng8 $14 { when White has pleasant choices including pushing h3-h4, capturing on h5 before h3-h4, and even castling kingside (!!). The point is that the half-open f-file will be easier to play with than the half-open h-file Black will likely earn, and the chronic weaknesses on the dark squares should give White lots to play with. }) 11... Be7 12. Be2 a5 13. h3 { Thanks to energetic play from Belakovskaia, Black is now ready to meet any sort of g2-g4 idea with her own expansion on the queenside. } 13... a4! 14. Bd2 { A very tense position, when it's time to start making decisions about which pieces to keep on the board. } (14. g4?! Bxg5 15. fxg5 Be4 { It's worth noting that the bishop was better on f1, as Bf1-g2 is a nice resource. Additionally, after Ne3xg2, there is no ...Qd8-h4+ threat. Instead, here, Black might be able to sac the knight on h6 and play with fast pawns: } 16. Rf1 hxg4! 17. gxh6 Qh4+ 18. Kd2 gxh3 $17) 14... Bxg5 15. Nxf5?! (15. fxg5! Qxg5 { Intuitively, there should be a way to exploit the queen's placement across White's dark-squared bishop's diagonal. But even though there is no tactic here, White can continue to play for pressure with } 16. O-O! { renewing the threat of Ne3xf5. } 16... Qh4 17. Nxf5 Nxf5 18. Bd3 { and the space advantage, combined with the bishop pair against the knight pair, definitely compensates for the pawn. If anything, the half-open f-file gives more breathing room for White's long-ranged pieces. }) 15... Bh4+ 16. Nxh4 Qxh4+ 17. Kf1 Nf5 { White has managed to get a "two bishops versus two knights" position, but with her king on f1 and the weak g3-square, Black's pieces enjoy superior coordination. } 18. Bd3 (18. Kg1!? Ng3 19. b4!? { might have been White's best practical chance, parting with the Exchange but locking up Black's queenside pawns in the process. Now, one well-timed break in the center could unleash a monstrous bishop pair. It's not great, but it's an idea! } (19. Rh2? axb3 20. a3 (20. axb3?? Rxa1 21. Qxa1 Nxe2+ $19) 20... b2 $19)) 18... Ng3+ 19. Kg1 Nxh1 20. Kxh1 axb3 21. axb3 Rxa1 22. Qxa1 { Now, Black is winning. Her pieces have room to play with, she has already traded off her "redundant" rook, and White's bishop pair is safely locked down. } 22... O-O 23. Kh2 Ra8 24. Qb1 Kg7 25. g3 Qe7 26. Bc1 c5 27. dxc5 Qxc5 28. Qc2 b4 29. Qe2 Qxc3 30. Be3 Qxb3 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1