[Event "U.S. National Invitational Tournaments"] [Site "Grand Rapids"] [Date "2023.07.29"] [Round "1.7"] [White "Lilly, Bryan"] [Black "Kraai, Jesse"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2119"] [BlackElo "2452"] [Annotator "Lang,JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C00"] [Opening "French Defense: King's Indian Attack"] [StudyName "National Invitationals"] [ChapterName "Lilly, Bryan - Kraai, Jesse (Irwin)"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/w2guu0Vb/zKWcAjfY"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Ngf3 Nc6 5. e5 Nd7 6. d4 f6 7. exf6 Qxf6 8. Nb3 Bd6 9. Bg5 Qf7 10. Qd2 O-O 11. O-O-O a5 12. Kb1 a4 13. Nc1 Nb6 $146 (13... a3 { has been played three times previously, and is the strongest choice according to the engine. That said, Kraai's decision to play flexibly and ask his opponent more abstract questions is one of the things that makes him such a revered chess instructor and player. }) 14. Bb5 Na5!? { But now maybe it was time to calculate a bit more, as if White can achieve Nc1-d3-e5, it will be harder for Black to rely on a "slow roll" on the queenside. } (14... Nc4! 15. Bxc4 dxc4 16. a3 b5 $17) 15. Rhe1?! (15. Nd3 Nac4 16. Qe1 Bd7 17. Bxc4 dxc4 18. Nde5 { gives White some nice counterplay thanks to the grip on the e5-square. }) 15... Bd7 16. Bxd7 Qxd7 17. Qe2 Rae8 18. Nd3 Qb5 19. Bc1 Nbc4 20. Nde5? (20. Ka1! { Shockingly, White is not so horribly off here. Black is never pushing ... a4-a3, White controls the e5-square, there is still a chance of expanding on the kingside, and overall there's just a lot of fight left in this position. }) 20... Bb4! { This is the move that White overlooked. Now, with another attacker ready to undermine White's dark squares, it is too late to argue that the control of the center will amount to anything tangible. } 21. Qd3 (21. Rh1 { was out of the question: } 21... Bc3 $19) 21... Bxe1 22. Rxe1 Nd6 23. Qxb5 Nxb5 { Black is happy to win the Exchange and then win the "exchange" of queens. } 24. Nd7 Rxf3 25. gxf3 { Don't mistake this for an act of kindness: Kraai may have returned the Exchange, but only to achieve a much clearer endgame to play thanks to all of White's vulnerable pawns. } 25... Nxd4 { Starting with the d4-pawn. } 26. Rg1 Rd8 27. Ne5 Nac6 28. Bf4 Rf8 29. Nd3 Ne2 30. Rg4 Nxf4 31. Nxf4 Ne5 { And moving on to the f3-pawn. } 32. Nxe6 Nxg4 33. Nxf8 { And so on. } 33... Nxh2 34. Ne6 c6 35. Kc1 Nxf3 36. Nd8 h5 37. Kd1 h4 38. Ke2 Nd4+ 39. Kf1 Nxc2 40. Nxb7 Nb4 41. Nc5 Nxa2 42. Nxa4 Nb4 43. Kg2 Kf7 44. Kh3 Nd3 45. Kxh4 Nxf2 46. b4 Nd3 47. b5 cxb5 48. Nc3 b4 49. Nxd5 Ke6 50. Ne3 b3 51. Nc4 b2 52. Nd2 Kd5 53. Kg5 Ne5 54. Kf5 Nc4 55. Nb1 Kd4 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1