[Event "American Cup Elim"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.03.18"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Robson, R."] [Black "So, W."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2696"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2024.03.14"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "4"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1533"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.03.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.03.25"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,59,24,17,28,3,4,4,28,21,30,30,19,-6,5,12,37,32,43,43,39,39,36,0,3,6,0,0,-9,15,4,4,33,45,16,5,0,-34,-39,-54,-2,-45,-1,20,17,18,36,222,247,247,247,115,353,353,539,691,1049,1382,29983,29984,29985,29986] Robson didn't win this match, but he came close thanks to this spectacular win.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Be7 8. Nf3 c5 9. O-O a6 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. Qe2 b5 12. Ba2 Bb7 13. e4 Qc7 14. e5 Nfd7 15. Bf4 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Nc6 17. Ne4 Ndxe5 18. Qh5 $146 (18. Qg3 Bd4 19. Nf6+ Kh8 20. Bb1 gxf6 21. Qh4 f5 22. Qf6+ {½-½ Almeida,R (2342)-Gonzalez,B (2341) BRA Cup27 final email ICCF email 2016}) 18... Bd4 19. Rad1 {According to the engine, Black is fine, but it's a scary-looking position. In a classical game So would probably figure everything out; in rapid, it proved too difficult.} Rfd8 $2 (19... Qa7 $11) (19... Qb6 $11) 20. Rd3 $1 $18 {The rook will slide across to h3, and already Black is defenseless.} Qe7 21. Rh3 h6 22. Bg5 $1 {Not only driving the queen away, but (in some lines) gaining access to the f6 square.} Qe8 (22... hxg5 $4 23. Qh8#) (22... f6 $2 23. Nxf6+ $1 gxf6 24. Bxh6 Ra7 25. Rg3+ $18) 23. Bxh6 Ng6 24. Bg5 {Threatening mate in three with 25.Qh7+, 26.Qh8+, and 27.Rxh8#.} f6 25. Re1 $1 {Threatening 26.Nxf6+ followed by 27.Rxe6.} Ra7 26. Nxf6+ Bxf6 27. Rxe6 {As advertised. Sometimes a threat can be obvious, and yet there's still no good way to deal with it.} Qf7 28. Rxf6 $1 (28. Bxf6 gxf6 29. Re8+ $1 {was another winner.}) 28... gxf6 29. Qxg6+ Kf8 30. Rh8+ (30. Rh8+ Ke7 31. Qxf7+ Kd6 32. Rxd8+ Nxd8 33. Bf4+ Kc6 34. Qxa7 $18 (34. Qd5+ Kb6 35. Qxd8+ Kc6 36. Bd5+ Kc5 37. Be3# {mates a move faster, for those who care about such things.})) 1-0 [Event "American Cup Elim"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.03.18"] [Round "4.4"] [White "So, W."] [Black "Robson, R."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A08"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2696"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2024.03.14"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "4"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1533"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.03.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.03.25"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,69,27,19,32,-12,7,-3,15,1,50,8,20,-6,-6,-26,-10,-37,-11,-21,-18,-10,-14,-70,-81,-7,-8,-3,23,31,26,42,32,32,33,28,72,77,151,140,139,139,170,127,109,115,124,114,105,70,70,89,160,147,147,171,180,180,209,139,290,290,427,633,671,748,894,938,896,622,628,667] So needed this win to equalize the match and force a blitz playoff; any other result would have allowed Robson a rematch against Aronian.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O g6 5. d3 Bg7 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. e4 O-O 8. Re1 b6 9. c3 dxe4 10. dxe4 Ng4 11. e5 Rb8 12. e6 f5 $2 (12... fxe6 $1 $11 {isn't nearly as bad as it looks. Black maintains good piece activity, and there's potential pressure down the f-file as well. The position is equal, believe it or not.}) 13. Ng5 $16 Nce5 14. h3 Nh6 15. Ndf3 Nd3 16. Bf4 $1 (16. Qe2 $3 Nxe1 17. Nxe1 $16 {/+- and now 18.Bf4 is even stronger than in the game version.}) 16... Nxf4 17. gxf4 Bb7 $2 (17... Qc7 {had to be played, with a poor but defensible position after} 18. Ne5 Bxe5 19. Rxe5 Kg7 $1 $16 {, looking to bring the knight back into the game via ...Ng8.}) 18. Qd7 $1 $18 {Now Black gets the Cask of Amontillado treatment.} Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Bf6 20. Rad1 b5 21. Qxa7 Qb6 22. Rd7 Qxa7 23. Rxa7 b4 24. c4 b3 25. a4 Bxb2 {Black has no piece that can control the b1 square anytime soon, so his b-pawn is all bark and no bite.} 26. Rxe7 Bf6 27. Rd7 b2 28. Rb1 Rfd8 29. a5 Rxd7 30. exd7 Rb3 31. Bd5+ Kh8 32. a6 Ra3 {Finally threatening to contest the b1 square with ...Ra1, but that won't do him any good without the b-pawn.} 33. Rxb2 $1 Rxa6 34. Rb8+ Kg7 35. Ne6+ {After this, So won the blitz playoff to earn a match with Aronian.} (35. Ne6+ Rxe6 (35... Kf7 36. Rf8+ Ke7 37. d8=Q#) 36. Bxe6 Nf7 37. Bxf7 Kxf7 38. d8=Q Bxd8 39. Rxd8 {requires no comment.}) 1-0 [Event "American Cup Champ"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.03.21"] [Round "4.4"] [White "So, W."] [Black "Aronian, L."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2024.03.12"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "4"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1533"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.03.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.03.25"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,72,24,29,27,6,6,11,20,-8,13,20,20,-94,-74,-82,107,116,116,94,86,86,159,28,236,127,255,228,297,242,234,141,207,171,144,77,77,39,67,40,71,32,89,63,132,49,80,75,174,63,74,66,71,64,66,-1,18,0,86,10,12,7,30,2,22,22,19,0,35,-542,-544,-734,-734,-1082,-556] After three draws, Aronian's win in this rapid game ended the match and the tournament in his favor.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. e4 c5 $5 {/?!} (5... d5 {is the top move.} 6. e5 Ne4 7. Bd3 c5 8. Nf3 (8. Nge2 {generally transposes.}) 8... cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nd7 10. Bf4 {has been played many, many times, with lots of draws in recent games (including many So games, even one against Aronian). I don't know if So had something special in mind, or was happy to make a draw and move on to the blitz playoff. Whatever the case, Aronian decided to play something riskier, and it paid off.}) 6. e5 cxd4 7. a3 Ba5 8. exf6 dxc3 9. b4 Bc7 10. fxg7 Re8 11. Nf3 $6 $146 (11. Bd3 $1 f5 12. Qxc3 $16 {is the right way, with a definite White advantage.} d5 13. Nf3 d4 14. Qb3 Nc6 15. c5 Kxg7 16. O-O e5 17. Bg5 Qd7 18. b5 Nd8 19. Bc4 e4 20. Bd2 exf3 21. Qxf3 Qe7 22. Rae1 Be6 23. Re2 Qf7 24. Rfe1 Rc8 25. h4 h6 26. Bb3 Bb8 27. Bb4 b6 28. c6 a5 29. bxa6 Rxc6 30. Qd3 Kh7 31. g3 b5 32. Ba5 Bc7 33. Bxc7 Rxc7 34. Qxd4 {1-0 Giacchetti,C (2373)-Ribelles Sala,M (1774) Champion's League 2021/C6 email ICCF email}) 11... d5 $6 (11... Qf6 $11) 12. Qxc3 $6 (12. Ng5 $1 f5 13. Qxc3 $16) 12... e5 $11 13. cxd5 e4 14. Nd4 Be5 (14... Nd7 $142) 15. Bb2 (15. Be3 $142) 15... Nd7 16. Bb5 a6 (16... Qb6 $142) 17. Bxd7 $2 (17. Ba4 $1 $14) 17... Bxd7 $17 {/-+ Despite his two extra pawns, White is in trouble. Black's bishop pair matters, ...Rc8 is coming, White's king is unsafe and even his two extra pawns look prone to disappear.} 18. O-O Qh4 $2 (18... Bb5 $1 {was better, with follow-ups like ...Bd3 and/or ...Qxd5 in the offing.}) 19. g3 Qh3 20. f4 $1 $11 Bf6 21. Qe3 $6 (21. Rae1 $142 $11) 21... Bg4 (21... Ba4 $1) 22. Rf2 Rad8 23. Nb3 Rxd5 24. Re1 $1 Bxb2 (24... Rd3 $2 25. Qxd3 $1 {is the point of 24.Re1.} exd3 26. Rxe8+ Kxg7 27. Bxf6+ Kxf6 28. f5 $1 $16) (24... Bd7 $1) 25. Rxb2 Qh6 26. Rd2 $11 Qd6 27. Rxd5 Qxd5 28. Nd2 Bf5 29. Nf1 Bh3 30. Nd2 Re6 {Again, Aronian is not satisfied with a draw, and keeps pushing. Sometimes that's a good way to lose; this time, it paid off.} 31. Rc1 Kxg7 32. Rc5 Qd3 33. Rg5+ Kf8 34. Qc5+ $4 {Now it's So who is too optimistic. White is pursuing an attack that isn't really there, and it's his king who will pay the bill.} (34. Kf2 $11) (34. Qxd3 exd3 35. Re5 $11) 34... Rd6 $19 {There's no check on c8, thanks to Black's sneaky bishop. Meanwhile, what is White to do? The knight is hanging, and it can't move due to 35...Qf1#.} 35. Rh5 Qxd2 36. Rxh3 b6 {Once Black's rook is unpinned, it will join the attack against White's king, which will quickly prove fatal.} (36... b6 37. Qc8+ (37. Qf2 e3 38. Qxd2 exd2 $19) 37... Rd8 38. Qf5 Qe1+ 39. Kg2 Rd2#) 0-1 [Event "American Cup Champ w"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.03.16"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Lee, Alice"] [Black "Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E12"] [WhiteElo "2356"] [BlackElo "2365"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2024.03.12"] [EventType "k.o."] {Lee had won both games on day 1, and needed only a draw from this game or (if she lost this one) from game 4 to advance.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 {It's not quite as bad as playing the Exchange French with White or the Berlin with Black, but it's a tough opening to choose when one is in a must-win situation.} 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 Be7 $6 (5... d5 {is rightly the main choice, fighting for the center.}) (5... Ne4 {is a moderately popular alternative, fighting for the center without blocking the Bb7's diagonal.}) 6. d5 $14 {/? This is the problem. White gets the center and kills the b7-bishop at the same time. It's not quite as bad as you might think - Black can still dance around White's massive center with most of her pieces - but it's certainly not good.} O-O 7. e4 d6 8. Bd3 {The most common move, chosen in hundreds of games.} (8. Be2 {may be a little better, keeping intact the queen's protection of the d-pawn. But there's nothing really wrong with 8.Bd3.}) 8... a5 $2 {A luxury Black cannot afford. Black's prep in this game is inexplicably terrible, as Lee had played 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 earlier in the event. Even if Lee normally meets the Queen's Indian with 4.g3 (I don't know if she does; this is just a hypothetical) the Petrosian System with 4.a3 is such an important alternative that one can't play the QI without some familiarity with it.} ({Black should hit White's center immediately. If White is allowed to finish developing without anything "interesting" transpiring on the board, Black will get flattened like Wil E. Coyote...which is exactly what happens.} 8... exd5 9. exd5 c6 $14) 9. Nd4 $16 {/+-} Qd7 $146 10. Bc2 $1 {A nice move, intending to activate the bishop on a4. The c6 square is just one more problem for Black.} c5 $6 {This neutralizes the Ba4 idea to some extent, but it comes at the cost of making White's d5 pawn secure for eternity.} 11. Ndb5 $18 exd5 12. exd5 Ng4 {Trying to give her pieces a little scope - the knight goes to e5 (but for how long?), the bishop (hopefully) goes to f6, etc.} 13. Bf4 Ne5 14. O-O f5 (14... Nxc4 $2 15. Qd3 {wins the knight, thanks to the threat of 16.Qxh7#.}) 15. Re1 Ng6 {So much for the knight on e5. Black's pieces may be going backwards, but not White's.} (15... Bf6 {would complete the mini-plan mentioned on move 12, but there's a problem:} 16. Nxd6 $1 Qxd6 17. Bxf5 {White will regain the piece shortly, e.g.} Nbd7 (17... Ba6 18. Be6+ Kh8 19. Ne4 Qc7 20. d6 Qd8 21. Nxf6 gxf6 (21... Qxf6 22. Bxe5 Qxf2+ (22... Qxe6 23. Bxg7+ Kxg7 24. Rxe6 $18) 23. Kh1 $18) 22. Rxe5 fxe5 23. Bxe5+ Rf6 24. Qf3 Nd7 25. Bxd7 $18) 18. Nb5 Qe7 19. Bxd7 Qxd7 20. Bxe5 $18) (15... Nxc4 16. Qe2 Ne5 17. Nxd6 Bxd6 18. Bxe5 Re8 19. f4 $18 {is a very different sort of line, but it's still terrible for Black.}) 16. Qd2 Qd8 {This looks useful, clearing d7 for the knight and supporting an idea like ...Nxf4 followed by ...Bg5. It's a nice daydream; now for reality:} 17. Rxe7 $1 Nxe7 18. Nxd6 Ba6 19. Re1 {Black is rapidly reaching a point where she won't be able to make any moves that won't lose material.} Ra7 20. Ndb5 {With a sneaky idea.} Rd7 21. Bc7 $1 {Very nice!} Rxc7 (21... Qc8 22. d6 Ng6 23. Nd5 Qb7 24. Ne7+ Nxe7 25. Rxe7 {is pretty amusing - at least for White.}) 22. Nxc7 Qxc7 23. d6 {The point.} Qd8 24. Rxe7 Bxc4 {Material is still equal, and the activity of Black's bishop might lead you to think that matters aren't *so* bad for Black. That's an illusion, and it's about to be dispelled.} 25. Qf4 Bf7 (25... Ba6 26. Qe5 {wins on the spot, as 26...Rf7 or 26...Rf6 can be met by 27.Re8+ winning the queen.}) 26. Qxf5 g6 27. Qf4 Nc6 28. Qf6 $1 Nd4 (28... Nxe7 29. dxe7 Qd2 {is a good try, but as Anish Giri pointed out on Twitter, White can round things off with the splendid} 30. Qh8+ $3 Kxh8 31. exf8=Q+ Bg8 32. Qf6#) 29. Ne4 Ne6 30. Bb3 c4 31. Bxc4 Qc8 32. Qxe6 $1 (32. Bxe6 $4 Qc1# {would have been a tragic reminder that it's almost never too late to blow a game.}) 32... Qxc4 (32... Bxe6 33. Bxe6+ Qxe6 34. Rxe6 $18) 33. Nf6+ $1 (33. Nf6+ $1 Kh8 (33... Kg7 34. Qxc4 {wins the queen as the bishop is pinned.}) 34. Qxc4 Bxc4 35. Rxh7#) 1-0 [Event "American Cup Champ w"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.03.21"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Krush, I."] [Black "Lee, Alice"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D55"] [WhiteElo "2421"] [BlackElo "2356"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2024.03.12"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1533"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.03.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.03.25"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,69,19,-12,3,6,11,12,12,-6,17,28,53,1,16,3,31,-4,19,8,4,0,18,20,11,5,5,4,84,49,83,75,79,96,88,89,82,88,87,77,101,80,94,74,119,15,148,87,113,115,109,132,122,178,191,127,225,280,290,293,293,300,300,291,340,340,411,419,434,436,1115,1139] In their first match, Krush won 2.5-0.5; in the second, Lee won by the same score. This was their third and final match, which would decide tournament victory.} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 a6 10. a4 c5 11. O-O cxd4 12. Nxd4 Ne5 13. Be2 Nd5 $146 (13... Bd7 $142) (13... Ng6 $142) 14. Bxe7 Nxe7 (14... Qxe7 15. Nxd5 exd5 $14 {may be a slightly better option for Black, but not everyone enjoys playing with the isolated d-pawn, particularly in situations where one can only defend.}) 15. Qb3 $1 Qa5 $6 (15... Qc7 16. Rac1 N7c6 17. Nxc6 Nxc6 18. Rfd1 Bd7 19. Ne4 $14 {/? is unpleasant for Black, even if it's better than the game.}) 16. Rfd1 $16 N7c6 17. Nxc6 Nxc6 18. Ne4 {While Black has no glaring weaknesses for White to target, it is difficult for her to finish developing her queenside pieces.} Qc7 (18... Rb8 $142) 19. Rac1 Qe7 (19... Rb8 $142) 20. Qb6 $18 e5 21. Nc5 {Threatening to take on a6, though White can also keep squeezing before cashing in.} Rd8 22. Nxa6 (22. Bf3) (22. h3) 22... bxa6 23. Qxc6 Bb7 24. Qb6 Bd5 25. Qa5 $1 Bb3 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. Qxa6 Rd2 28. Bd3 {Threatening to win Black's queen with 29.Qc8+ Qf8 30.Bh7+.} e4 29. Qa8+ Kh7 30. Qxe4+ Qxe4 31. Bxe4+ g6 32. a5 Rxb2 33. Ra1 Bc4 34. a6 f5 35. a7 {A convincing victory.} 1-0 [Event "American Cup Champ w"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.03.21"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Krush, I."] [Black "Lee, Alice"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2421"] [BlackElo "2356"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2024.03.12"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1533"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.03.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.03.25"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,48,17,28,28,-11,3,4,24,-11,-6,-7,2,4,-2,12,12,-23,-15,-11,-15,9,-3,2,-2,-57,-55,-65,-56,-56,-51,-72,-73,-58,-60,-57,-43,-35,0,0,0,-134,-129,-273,-287,-452,-567,-693,-697,-707,-724] Lee had to win this game on demand to force a blitz playoff - and she did. She won that too, with a bit of luck, and became the champion of this prestigious event at the tender age of 14.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Bb4 {The feisty Ragozin System.} 6. e3 h6 7. Bxf6 ({The sharp} 7. Bh4 {is more popular.}) 7... Qxf6 8. a3 (8. Qb3) (8. Qa4+) 8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 O-O 10. Bd3 Bf5 11. Ne2 (11. Nf3) ({and} 11. Bxf5 {are good alternatives, especially in a match setting where boring is good and a draw wins the tournament.}) 11... Nd7 12. c4 $2 $146 {There's nothing wrong with this from a positional standpoint; it's a tactical issue.} (12. O-O $11) 12... dxc4 13. Bxc4 Qc6 $17 {Oops - Black is forcing the bishop and the g2-pawn.} 14. Ng3 $1 Qxg2 (14... Bh7 $1) 15. Rc1 (15. d5 $1 $15) 15... Bh7 $17 16. Be2 (16. Qb3 $142) 16... Qd5 (16... Rad8 $1 17. Rxc7 Nf6 18. Bf3 Qh3 19. Bxb7 Rd6 $17) 17. Bf3 (17. Rxc7 $4 Qa5+ {is the point of Black's 16th move.}) 17... Qa5+ (17... Qb5 $1 18. a4 Qa6 $17) 18. Qd2 Qxa3 $2 (18... Qb6 $1) 19. Bxb7 $11 Rab8 20. Bc6 $2 (20. Rxc7 $1 {had to be played, when White's position seems to hold together.} Ne5 $1 {is the best try, aiming to cause White problems before she can castle to safety.} 21. dxe5 $8 (21. O-O $4 Rxb7 22. Rxb7 Nf3+ $19) 21... Rfd8 22. Qc3 Qxc3+ 23. Rxc3 Rxb7 24. O-O $11) 20... Rb2 $19 21. Qc3 (21. Qd1 Bd3 $1 22. Qa4 $1 Qd6 23. Bf3 Rfb8 $19) 21... Rb3 $1 22. Qd2 Rd3 23. Bxd7 (23. Qc2 Rxe3+ $1 24. fxe3 Bxc2 $19) 23... Rxd2 24. Kxd2 Qb2+ (24... Qb2+ 25. Kd1 Qxf2 $19 {is hopeless: Black has both a material advantage and a decisive attack. Lee obviously got some help in this game, but she was not a purely passive recipient of a gift; her active and opportunistic play paid off.}) 0-1