[Event "USCF/WS/23VP07 (USA)"] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2023.05.06"] [White "Irons, Robert"] [Black "Shannon, Paul D."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1913"] [BlackElo "1934"] [Annotator "Irons,Robert"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A05"] [Opening "King's Indian Attack: Spassky Variation"] [StudyName "Check is in the Mail: February 2024"] [ChapterName "Irons, Robert - Shannon, Paul D."] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/xd5iiklO/4YsgtaUk"] [Orientation "white"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 b5 3. Bg2 Bb7 4. d4 e6 5. O-O c5 6. a4 b4 7. c3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Be7 9. Bg5 O-O { An equal but unbalanced position: just what I look for out of an opening. } 10. e3 d6 11. a5! { Artificially isolating Black's b-pawn and making it a target. } 11... Nbd7 12. Nbd2 h6 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. Qa4 Rb8?! (14... Qd7 { forces White's hand. }) 15. Rfc1 Ba6 16. Bf1 Bxf1 17. Kxf1 e5 18. Qc6 exd4?! (18... Re8 19. Kg2 Bf8 { leaves Black better off than the text. }) 19. Nxd4 Rc8?! (19... Nd7 20. Qd5 Ne5 { continues to fight. The text allows White to penetrate on the queenside and advance the a-pawn. }) 20. Qb7 Qd7 21. a6 d5 22. Nc6 Qh3+ 23. Kg1 Bd6 24. Qxa7 { And now the a-pawn is a passer! } 24... Rc7 25. Qb6 Qd7 26. Nd4 Ra8 27. Nb5 Rxc1+ 28. Rxc1 Be5 29. Qb7! Qe8 30. Nf3! Bxb2 { This is the position I was aiming for. White has two different lines that lead to a win. } 31. Nd6 (31. Nc7 { is the other line that wins, but I couldn't calculate it out to the queening of the a-pawn. The text forces the pawn through. }) 31... Qf8 32. Qxa8! Qxa8 33. Rc8+ Qxc8 34. Nxc8 Ne8 35. Ne7+! { 1-0 White wins. } (35. Kf8 Nxd5 { and the passed a-pawn can't be stopped. }) 1-0