[Event "2026 National High School K-12 Chess Ch"] [Site "Chicago, United States"] [Date "2026.03.28"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Das, Aditeya"] [Black "Liu, Eric Chang"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2374"] [WhiteTeam "USA"] [BlackElo "2541"] [Annotator "Foisor,Sabina"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [StudyName "2026 NHS Games"] [ChapterName "Das, Aditeya - Liu, Eric Chang"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/wFQ7WeTI/40FY05ff"] [FEN "6k1/R6p/2pB4/6p1/6n1/Pr2P3/3r2P1/2R4K w - - 0 31"] [SetUp "1"] [Orientation "white"] { This was a hard-fought game by both players as they were trying to maintain their 100% score. It is in this moment that White has to find only moves to maintain the balance. Both players have to be careful with back rank mating nets, but White is struggling to find a way to activate the rook on c1. } 31. Bb4 (31. Bg3! { seems to have been a great way for White to save the game. The bishop's placement on g3 would allow the b-file to be opened and in some lines allow White's rook to have the ability to attempt being activated, as the following line shows (the bishop blocked that file in the game): } 31... Rc3 32. Rb1 Rb3 33. Rc1 Nxe3 (33... Rc2 34. Rd1 { and I wasn't able to find a way for Black to further improve here. }) 34. Bh2 { followed by Bh2-g1. }) 31... Rc2 32. Rf1?? (32. Rg1!! { A shocking, study-like move that waits Black's response first before attempting the activation of the rook. } 32... Rxe3 (32... Nxe3 33. Re1 (33. Kh2?? { of course not this, but it is a cute mate, I had to share! } 33... Ng4+ 34. Kh1 Rh3+ 35. gxh3 Rh2#) 33... c5 34. Ba5 Rxa3 (34... Rxg2 35. Rxe3 Rxe3 36. Kxg2 Rxa3 37. Bb6 Rxa7 38. Bxa7 $10) 35. Rc7 $10) 33. Rb1 Rb3 34. Re1 Ne3 35. Re7 Nf5 36. Rd7 Re3 37. Rb1) 32... c5! { Now it is all over! } 33. Ra5 Nxe3 34. Rg1 cxb4 35. Rxg5+ Kf7 36. axb4 Rxb4 37. Rh5 Kg6 38. Rh3 Ng4 39. Rg3 Rbc4 40. Rf1 R2c3 41. Rgf3 Rc1 42. g3 Rxf1+ 43. Rxf1 Rc3 44. Rg1 Rd3 45. Kg2 Rd1 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1