[Event "U.S. Junior & Senior Championships 2026 | Junior Girls"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2026.07.15"] [Round "06"] [White "Tang, Zoey"] [Black "Atwell, Rose"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2332"] [BlackElo "2386"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D25"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation"] [StudyName "2026 U.S. Invitationals Rds 1-6"] [ChapterName "Tang, Zoey - Atwell, Rose"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/xf9VUyof/dPk4Fzu2"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessLifeOnline"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 { [%clk 1:30:57] } 1... d5 { [%clk 1:30:52] } 2. c4 { [%clk 1:31:23] } 2... dxc4 { [%clk 1:31:16] } 3. Nf3 { [%clk 1:31:49] } 3... Nf6 { [%clk 1:31:40] } 4. e3 { [%clk 1:32:16] } 4... b5 { Black tries to throw a sideline at her opponent to take her out of preparation. } { [%clk 1:31:59] } 5. a4 { [%clk 1:30:17] } 5... b4 { [%clk 1:31:46] } (5... c6 { Black can try to hold onto the pawn, but } 6. axb5 cxb5 7. Nc3 Qb6 8. b3! { is the path to a healthy advantage for White. }) 6. Bxc4 { [%clk 1:28:50] } 6... e6 { [%clk 1:32:08] } 7. Qe2 { [%clk 1:23:15] } 7... Bb7 { [%clk 1:28:42] } 8. Nbd2 { [%clk 1:22:43] } 8... Be7 { [%clk 1:26:27] } 9. b3 $146 { Apparently, this brings Black much closer to equalizing. But it brings the game into more familiar Queen's Gambit Accepted territory. } { [%clk 1:19:00] } (9. e4 { is very tempting and rather strong. } 9... O-O 10. O-O c5 11. e5 { is logical, and it turns out the queen is safe on e4 after } 11... Nd5 12. Qe4 (12. Nb3 { Note that, in this line, this move allows } 12... Nb6! $10) 12... Qc7 13. a5 Nd7 14. Re1 $14) (9. a5 { is also nice. White threatens a5-a6 if Black develops the b8-knight, effectively provoking } 9... a6 { and now } 10. O-O O-O 11. e4 c5 12. e5 { is even stronger. } 12... Nd5 13. Nb3 { Without ... Nd5-b6 available, Black's knight cannot improve from the d5-square. } 13... Nd7 14. Bd3 $16 { White kicks off a healthy kingside attack! }) 9... O-O { [%clk 1:24:46] } 10. Bb2 { [%clk 1:19:27] } 10... c5 { [%clk 1:23:17] } 11. O-O { [%clk 1:12:49] } 11... Nbd7 { [%clk 1:23:23] } 12. Ba6 { [%clk 1:07:53] } 12... Bxa6 { [%clk 1:18:21] } 13. Qxa6 { [%clk 1:08:16] } 13... cxd4 { [%clk 1:15:34] } 14. Nxd4 { [%clk 1:07:16] } 14... Nc5 { [%clk 1:14:28] } 15. Qe2 { [%clk 1:06:45] } 15... Rc8 { [%clk 1:07:16] } 16. Rac1 { [%clk 1:00:59] } 16... Nd5?! { The first new move of the game, although both players have been out of book for a while. This is, apparently, an inaccuracy. } { [%clk 0:57:05] } (16... Qd7 17. Rc2 (17. Qb5 Rfd8 18. Rc2 e5 19. Qxd7 Nfxd7 { This is the most consistent capture. }) 17... e5 { Black wants to be able to expand in the center before White fully dominates the c-file. Now, White's knight is deprived of the f5-square thanks to the placement of Black's queen. }) 17. Rc2 { [%clk 0:54:40] } 17... Qd7 { Black is playing for ... e6-e5, but with a one-turn deficit. } { [%clk 0:51:06] } (17... e5?! 18. Nf5 $16) 18. Rfc1 { [%clk 0:50:08] } (18. Qb5! Rfd8 { Without a knight on f6, Black's pieces will be uncoordinated after a recapture on d7: } 19. Rfc1 a6 20. Qxd7 Rxd7 21. Ne4 $14) 18... e5 { Black seizes her chance. } { [%clk 0:43:50] } 19. N4f3 { [%clk 0:50:04] } (19. Qb5!? { was still worth considering. }) 19... f6 { [%clk 0:43:52] } 20. g3 { [%clk 0:40:20] } 20... a5 { Black's position has improved over the last few turns. Her knights are great, the queenside is stabilized, fixing White's backwards b-pawn. White's rooks aren't threatening much on the c-file, either. } { [%clk 0:31:18] } 21. e4?! { [%clk 0:29:10] } (21. Qc4 { is the engine's suggestion, giving lots of lines where players repeat moves. }) 21... Nb6 { [%clk 0:31:14] } 22. Nc4 { [%clk 0:29:01] } 22... Qe6?! { [%clk 0:20:24] } (22... Nxc4 23. Qxc4+ Kh8 24. Kg2 Rb8! { Breaking the quasi-pin to prepare ... Qd7-d3. } 25. Rd2 Qb7 $17 { Black has tons of pressure against White's weakest pawns. }) 23. Nxb6 { [%clk 0:21:29] } 23... Qxb6 { [%clk 0:20:47] } 24. Nh4 { [%clk 0:15:13] } 24... g6 { [%clk 0:18:03] } 25. Ng2 { [%clk 0:12:01] } 25... Qe6 { [%clk 0:15:30] } 26. Ne3!? { White chooses activity over material. } { [%clk 0:08:34] } (26. Qf3 Kg7 $15) 26... Nxb3 { [%clk 0:12:08] } 27. Rxc8 { [%clk 0:08:51] } 27... Rxc8 { [%clk 0:12:08] } 28. Rxc8+ { [%clk 0:09:13] } 28... Qxc8 { [%clk 0:13:03] } 29. Nd5 { [%clk 0:08:01] } 29... Bd8 { [%clk 0:09:34] } (29... Kf8 { Black doesn't need to keep her bad bishop. } 30. Bxe5!? { has to be calculated, but } 30... fxe5 31. Qf3+ Kg7! 32. Qxb3 Bc5 $15 { returns material and allows Black to begin pressuring the dark squares. }) 30. Qd3 { [%clk 0:04:40] } 30... Nc5?! { [%clk 0:08:43] } (30... Nd4 31. Bxd4 exd4 32. Qxd4 b3 { was the way to maintain equality by leveraging counterplay: } 33. Nxf6+ Bxf6 34. Qxf6 Qb7 $10) 31. Qc4 { [%clk 0:05:05] } 31... Kh8?? { Now, Black's position collapses. } { [%clk 0:06:02] } (31... Kg7 32. Bc1 b3 33. Ba3 b2 34. Bxb2 Qb7! { With no danger of being mated, Black has this resource now. } 35. Bc1 Ne6 36. Be3 Kf7 $16 { White is still on the hunt, but it's far from game over. }) 32. Bc1! $18 { White threatens Bc1-e3 and Black can't do anything to stop it! } { [%clk 0:05:08] } 32... b3 { [%clk 0:05:22] } 33. Ba3 { [%clk 0:05:04] } 33... b2 { [%clk 0:02:42] } 34. Bxb2 { [%clk 0:05:19] } 34... Qc6 { [%clk 0:00:38] } (34... Qb7 35. Qxc5 Qxb2 36. Qf8# { is one line that Black could have avoided with 31. ... Kg7. }) 35. Ba3 { [%clk 0:05:30] } 35... Qxa4 { [%clk 0:00:37] } 36. Qxc5 { With her extra piece, White went on to win. } { [%clk 0:05:48] } 36... Qe8 { [%clk 0:00:53] } 37. Qf8+ { [%clk 0:05:14] } 37... Qxf8 { [%clk 0:01:21] } 38. Bxf8 { [%clk 0:05:37] } 38... a4 { [%clk 0:00:36] } 39. Nc3 { [%clk 0:05:51] } 39... Kg8 { [%clk 0:00:49] } 40. Bc5 { [%clk 0:06:11] } 40... Kf7 { [%clk 0:00:42] } 41. Nxa4 { [%clk 0:06:34] } 41... h5 { [%clk 0:28:51] } 42. Nc3 { [%clk 0:33:37] } 42... Ke6 { [%clk 0:28:21] } 43. Nd5 { [%clk 0:33:00] } 43... Ba5 { [%clk 0:27:09] } 44. f3 { [%clk 0:32:49] } 44... Be1 { [%clk 0:26:02] } 45. Bb4 { [%clk 0:33:01] } 45... Bxb4 { [%clk 0:26:22] } 46. Nxb4 { [%clk 0:33:27] } 46... Kd6 { [%clk 0:26:32] } 47. Kf2 { [%clk 0:33:45] } 47... Ke6 { [%clk 0:26:57] } 48. Ke3 { [%clk 0:34:07] } 48... Kd6 { [%clk 0:27:20] } 49. f4 { [%clk 0:33:58] } 49... exf4+ { [%clk 0:27:20] } 50. gxf4 { [%clk 0:34:21] } 50... Ke6 { [%clk 0:27:20] } 51. Nd3 { [%clk 0:34:26] } 51... Kd6 { [%clk 0:27:20] } 52. Kd4 { [%clk 0:34:44] } 52... Ke6 { [%clk 0:27:44] } 53. Nc5+ { [%clk 0:35:00] } 53... Kd6 { [%clk 0:28:11] } 54. e5+ { [%clk 0:35:23] } 54... Ke7 { [%clk 0:28:31] } 55. Kd5 { [%clk 0:35:23] } 55... h4 { [%clk 0:28:06] } 56. Ne4 { 1-0 White wins. } { [%clk 0:35:19] } 1-0