[Event "U.S. National Invitational Tournaments"]
[Site "Grand Rapids"]
[Date "2023.08.01"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Feng, Eric Z"]
[Black "Hardaway, Brewington"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2199"]
[BlackElo "2432"]
[Annotator "IM Sandeep Sethuraman"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "A50"]
[Opening "Mexican Defense"]
[Source "https://lichess.org/study/w2guu0Vb/p8qSp7dn"]
[Orientation "white"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 { The Two Knights' Tango shows that Hardaway wants an
original game. } 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 g6 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bc4 Nb6 7. Bb5 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. O-O Qd6 10. b3 Bf5 (10... e5! { was the best way to equalize
immediately. } 11. d5 e4! { The bishop is opened } 12. Nxe4 Qxd5 13. Qxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Nd4 Nf4 { and White is not better. }) 11. Bb2 Rad8 12. Qe2 a6 13. Bxc6 Qxc6 14. Rac1 Qd6?! (14... Bg4! { was the way to keep pressure on
the center. }) 15. Rfd1 c6 16. Nd2 h5 17. h3 Nd5 18. e4 Nxc3 (18... Nf4! { was also a good try: } 19. Qf3 Be6 20. e5 Qxd4 21. Na4 Nxh3+ 22. gxh3 Qh4 { would have been an interesting position to see on the board. }) 19. Bxc3 Bc8 20. Nc4 Qf4 21. d5 cxd5 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. exd5 Qg5 24. Qe5+ Qxe5 25. Nxe5 { Now
after the dust has cleared, Black is at least equal and Hardaway will be
looking to outplay Feng in this endgame to claim a share of first. } 25... Kf6 26. Nc4 b5 27. Ne3 Rd6 28. a4? { Not a mistake in itself, but the start of a bad plan.
If the black pieces activate, it won't be good for White, so he can't waste
time with moves like this. } 28... Bd7 29. a5 Rc8 30. b4 Rxc1 31. Rxc1 e6 32. dxe6 Bxe6 { Now the power of the bishop is shown. } 33. Kf1 Rd4 34. Rb1 (34. Rc6! { was the last chance at counterplay }) 34... Ke5 35. Ke2 f5 36. Nc2 Bc4+ 37. Ke1 Re4+ { Black is completely winning. The contrast in piece quality is clear. } 38. Kd1 Re2 39. Ne3 Bd3 40. Rc1 Rxf2 41. Rc5+ Kd4 42. Nd5 f4 43. Ke1 Rf1+ 44. Kd2 Bc4 45. Ne7 Rf2+ 46. Kd1 Kd3 47. Kc1 Rxg2 48. Nd5 Rg1+ 49. Kb2 f3 { Hardaway
shows beautiful technique to claim a win. } 0-1