[Event "ch-USA w 2022"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2022.10.19"] [Round "13"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2432"] [BlackElo "2368"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "173"] [EventDate "2022.10.04"] {[%evp 0,173,32,14,21,-9,-4,-11,-3,-17,-7,4,0,11,37,39,44,42,54,25,63,58,59,37,46,32,44,11,32,31,29,22,29,18,25,21,14,17,27,25,27,26,31,29,34,11,14,12,20,19,26,6,18,3,17,28,34,31,30,16,31,34,55,22,23,17,32,18,22,15,38,22,39,39,53,48,58,40,49,47,50,41,49,0,35,49,49,50,59,88,86,50,48,41,40,41,37,40,50,31,29,30,52,29,41,15,25,36,40,40,22,0,0,0,0,21,21,14,32,18,73,17,17,12,9,6,6,8,8,4,21,14,9,0,10,11,19,0,0,-14,0,-1,0,0,0,-48,-50,-41,46,52,41,2,0,-62,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. Nf3 Nf8 9. Ne5 N6d7 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Nf3 Ne6 12. Qc2 Nf4 13. Bf1 Nb6 14. O-O-O Ng6 15. h3 Be6 16. Kb1 Nh4 17. Nxh4 Qxh4 18. Bd3 Qe7 19. Ka1 g6 20. Rc1 Qb4 21. h4 O-O-O 22. Nb1 Kb8 23. Nd2 Rc8 24. Nb3 Nd7 25. Qe2 Qe7 26. Qd2 c5 27. dxc5 Nxc5 28. Nd4 Bd7 29. Bb1 Ne6 30. Nf3 Qd6 31. Rcd1 Bc6 32. Nd4 Ba4 33. Rc1 Bd7 34. a3 Rhd8 35. Ba2 Rxc1+ 36. Rxc1 Nxd4 37. Qxd4 Be6 38. g3 Qb6 39. Qf6 a6 40. Rd1 Ka7 41. Qe5 Qc5 42. Bb3 Rd7 43. Ka2 Kb6 44. Rd4 Qc7 45. Rb4+ Ka7 46. Qd4+ b6 47. Qd2 h5 48. Rd4 Qc6 49. Ba4 b5 50. Bb3 Kb6 51. a4 Kc7 52. a5 Kd8 53. Rd3 Qd6 54. Qc3 Ke7 55. Rd1 Rc7 56. Qd4 Qc5 57. Qxc5+ Rxc5 58. Ka3 b4+ 59. Ka4 Kd6 $2 {Krush has been grinding away for hours, hoping to clinch clear first if she can win this game. She has been somewhat better for the vast majority of the game, but only now is the win there for the taking.} (59... f5 $1 60. Rd4 Kd6 61. Kxb4 Rb5+ {and Black regains the pawn, as} 62. Ka4 Bd7 {leaves White forced with the choice of allowing a perpetual (...Rc5+, ...Rb5+, ...Rc5+ etc.) or returning the a-pawn. Either way, it's equal and very drawish.}) 60. Rd4 $2 (60. e4 $1 {This is why Black should have played 59...f5.} Bd7+ 61. Kxb4 Rb5+ 62. Kc3 $1 Rc5+ 63. Kd4 $1 dxe4 (63... Rb5 64. Rd3 Be6 65. exd5 Bd7 66. Rf3 f5 67. Bc4 Rxb2 (67... Rxa5 68. Rb3 $18) 68. Rb3 $1 $18) 64. Bxf7 Bc6 65. Rd2 Rxa5 66. Bxg6 $18) 60... Bd7+ {Now Black is fine, and the game coasts to a peaceful conclusion.} 61. Kxb4 Rb5+ 62. Kc3 Rxa5 63. e4 Rc5+ 64. Kd2 Bc6 65. exd5 Bxd5 66. Bxd5 Rxd5 67. Kc3 Ke5 68. Rf4 f6 69. b4 g5 70. hxg5 fxg5 71. Rf8 Ke4 72. Kc4 Rf5 73. Ra8 Kf3 74. Rxa6 Kxf2 75. Ra3 g4 76. Ra5 Rf8 77. Rxh5 Kxg3 78. Rg5 Kf3 79. b5 g3 80. b6 g2 81. Kd5 Kf2 82. Kc6 g1=Q 83. Rxg1 Kxg1 84. b7 Kf2 85. Kc7 Ke3 86. b8=Q Rxb8 87. Kxb8 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2022"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2022.10.19"] [Round "13"] [White "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E17"] [WhiteElo "2272"] [BlackElo "2297"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2022.10.04"] {[%evp 0,105,32,19,49,3,3,-11,25,14,11,11,11,19,8,-2,8,-7,12,10,-3,-9,7,3,18,17,17,19,23,-41,-15,-37,-21,-30,-24,-31,-43,-66,-52,-69,-63,-53,-58,-74,-70,-94,-79,-93,-70,-134,-126,-122,-98,-128,-116,-106,-106,-120,-132,-141,-146,-150,-173,-179,-176,-163,-147,-157,-135,-136,-131,-127,-154,-214,-172,-170,-193,-178,-188,-176,-154,-165,-153,-265,-57,-217,-237,-201,-234,-241,-166,-223,-223,-222,-342,-381,-381,-365,-402,-403,-422,-414,-417,-431,-428,-439,-491,-762] The players entered the round tied for second, half a point behind Krush. As Krush was never in any danger in her game, only a win in this game would give that player a chance at a playoff. Cervantes had come into the game with a five game winning streak, but Yu, to her credit, shook off her completely unnecessary loss to Krush from the previous round and won this game - with Black, at that. Very impressive.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 {The Queen's Indian - especially this quiet line - is about the last thing I would recommend to someone in a must-win situation. (Good thing I wasn't Yu's coach.)} 6. O-O (6. Nc3 {is a good alternative.}) 6... O-O 7. Re1 {Kramnik's pet line, which he popularized in the 1990s.} (7. Nc3 Ne4) 7... a5 (7... Na6) (7... Ne4) ({and} 7... Qc8 {are popular choices. The most popular move of all time is 7...d5, but it isn't "hot" at the moment.}) 8. Bg5 (8. Nc3) 8... Ne4 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nfd2 f5 11. Nxe4 fxe4 12. Nc3 d5 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Qb3 $6 (14. f3 $1 e3 15. Qb3 Qb4 16. f4 $14 {/? seems rather pleasant for White.}) 14... Qb4 $11 15. Red1 (15. Rad1 $142 Qxb3 16. axb3 Na6 17. f3 exf3 18. exf3 {and with the e1-rook enjoying the open file we see why 15.Rad1 is the better choice.}) 15... Na6 (15... Qxb3 $142 16. axb3 Na6) 16. Rac1 $6 (16. Qc2 $1 $14 {leaves Black's queen and knight strangely placed for the moment.}) 16... Qxb3 17. axb3 Rad8 (17... Nb4 $15) (17... Rae8 $15) 18. Nb5 {A clever idea...but see move 20.} c6 19. Nc3 Nb4 20. Na4 {The point of her 18th move, but she probably missed Black's rejoinder.} Ba6 $1 21. Bf1 (21. Nxb6 $6 Bxe2 $17 {/-+ is bad for White, who will suffer thanks to Black's control over d3.}) 21... Rb8 {So much for the White knight's jumps.} 22. Kg2 g5 $1 {Good technique, seizing space on the kingside.} 23. e3 $2 (23. f3 $142 {is better, though the position after} e3 {is pretty lousy for White.}) 23... Bd3 $2 (23... Bxf1+ 24. Rxf1 Rf3 $19 {locks White in and leaves her with serious problems defending f2 over the long haul.}) 24. Rd2 $2 (24. Bxd3 exd3 $15 {and here White's f-pawn will live.} (24... Nxd3 25. Rxc6 Rxf2+ 26. Kg1 $11)) 24... Rf6 $1 $19 {Now Black can safely recapture on d3 with her knight, so the position is once again winning for Yu.} 25. Kg1 Kf7 26. Bxd3 Nxd3 27. Rf1 Rf3 {Preventing any ideas of f3 or f4.} 28. Rc2 Nb4 29. Rd2 Ke7 30. Rc1 Kd6 31. Rf1 Kc7 {The queenside pawns are covered, so now Black can go gung ho on the kingside.} 32. Nc3 Rbf8 33. Ne2 h5 $1 34. Kg2 c5 $1 35. h4 (35. Ng1 R3f6 36. dxc5 bxc5 37. f4 {looks like a better way of lashing out, but both this try and the approach in the game should prove futile.}) 35... gxh4 36. gxh4 Rg8+ 37. Ng3 Rg4 38. Rh1 Kd6 39. dxc5+ bxc5 40. Ra1 Nc6 (40... Nd3 {was a more direct, better way:} 41. Rxa5 Nxf2 42. Rxf2 Rgxg3+ 43. Kf1 d4 $19) 41. Rc1 d4 $2 42. exd4 $2 (42. Rc3 $1 {is still losing at the computer level, but at the human level White now enjoys very decent chances of survival.}) 42... cxd4 {Back to a comfortably large wining advantage for Black.} 43. Rc4 d3 44. Ra4 (44. Rxe4 Rfxg3+ 45. fxg3 Rxe4 46. Rxd3+ Nd4 $19 {leaves White without realistic chances of reaching R vs. R+N (with no pawns).}) 44... Ne5 $1 {Very nice.} 45. Rxa5 Ng6 46. Ra6+ Kc7 47. Ra4 Nxh4+ 48. Kh3 Nf5 49. Rc4+ Kd6 50. Kh2 Nxg3 51. fxg3 Kd5 52. Ra4 Rgxg3 53. Ra5+ Kd4 54. Rxh5 Ke3 55. Rd1 Ke2 56. Ra1 d2 57. Rh4 e3 {An excellent game by Yu, especially under the circumstances. Krush drew her game, so they were off to contest a playoff the next day.} 0-1 [Event "ch-USA Women TB 2022"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2022.10.20"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Yu, Jennifer"] [Black "Krush, Irina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A56"] [WhiteElo "2297"] [BlackElo "2432"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2022.10.20"] {[%evp 0,91,32,21,36,-7,43,41,44,50,40,25,38,40,42,50,50,60,69,72,59,53,56,42,33,4,11,5,9,-1,29,25,25,11,5,-14,-7,-8,0,0,2,-6,16,16,11,-25,8,4,0,-15,71,12,74,26,49,-69,-5,-71,-53,-94,202,-53,-26,-35,-2,-54,-31,-91,-77,-107,48,48,46,31,31,38,46,88,88,82,657,750,724,718,1148,1153,29983,767,1153,1153,29983,29984,29999,-30000]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 {A surprising choice in a situation where a draw is a good result. Perhaps Krush felt her best chances against Yu would come in sharp positions, regardless of color or tournament situation.} 3. d5 e5 {Levon Aronian has played this on occasion over the years, but it's not so popular in general. The only player I've known to have a consistent fondness for the opening is New York FM Asa Hoffmann.} 4. Nc3 d6 5. g3 (5. e4) 5... g6 6. Bg2 Bg7 7. e4 O-O 8. Nge2 Nbd7 (8... Nh5) (8... Na6) (8... Ne8) 9. O-O Ne8 10. h3 (10. Be3) 10... f5 11. f4 $6 Nc7 $6 (11... Ndf6 $1 {Black need not fear} 12. fxe5 dxe5 {, with her knight ready to land on the beautiful blockading square d6.}) 12. Be3 $6 (12. exf5 $142) 12... exf4 13. Bxf4 Ne5 $11 {Black is fine here.} 14. b3 Bd7 (14... b5 $1 15. cxb5 a6 {is a very good "Benko" for Black.}) 15. Qd2 (15. exf5 $1) 15... b5 $1 16. exf5 gxf5 17. cxb5 Nxb5 18. Rae1 Qf6 (18... Qa5 $142 $15) 19. Nd1 $11 a5 (19... Nd4 $142) 20. a4 Nd4 21. Nxd4 cxd4 22. Nf2 Rfb8 23. Nd3 (23. Ng4 $11 {isn't any better, but it's more visually pleasing.}) 23... Re8 24. Rc1 Rab8 $6 (24... Rac8 $11) 25. Rc7 Bc8 $2 (25... Qd8 $11) 26. Nc1 $2 (26. Rfc1 $16 {/+-}) (26. Re1 $16 {/+-}) 26... Rb4 $6 (26... Ba6 27. Re1 Qd8 $15 {Black shouldn't allow White's rook to fester on the 7th rank; bad things can happen when you allow your opponent's pieces to remain on your side of the board.}) 27. Re1 (27. Ra7 $1 Qd8 28. Bh6 $14) 27... Qd8 28. Rc2 (28. Ra7 Qb6 29. Ra8 Bd7 30. Rxe8+ Bxe8 31. Nd3 Rxb3 32. Nxe5 dxe5 33. Bxe5 Re3 $11) 28... Ba6 (28... d3 $5 29. Nxd3 Rd4 30. Bxe5 dxe5 $44) 29. Kh2 (29. Rc6 $1 Nxc6 30. dxc6 $44) 29... Qb6 $4 (29... d3 $15) 30. Qf2 $4 {It was essentially a blitz game, so mistakes were to be expected.} (30. Rc6 $18) 30... d3 $19 31. Be3 Qb7 $6 (31... Qd8 $19) 32. Rd2 Qd7 $2 $17 (32... Qf7 $19) 33. Bf4 Rbb8 $6 (33... Kh8 {was better, intending ...Rg8.}) 34. Bxe5 $11 Bxe5 35. Nxd3 Bxd3 36. Rxd3 Kh8 37. Rf3 Rg8 38. Rxe5 $1 dxe5 39. Rxf5 Rxb3 $4 {This time, the blunder does get punished.} (39... Qg7 $11) 40. Rf7 Qd6 41. Be4 Rg7 42. Rf8+ Rg8 43. Rf7 {Buying time on the clock.} (43. Qf7 $1) 43... Rg7 44. Rf8+ Rg8 45. Qf7 $1 {This time she does it.} Qxf8 (45... Rb2+ 46. Kh1 {and Black is out of good checks.}) 46. Qxh7# 1-0 [Event "ch-USA Women TB 2022"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2022.10.20"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2432"] [BlackElo "2297"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2022.10.20"] {[%evp 0,95,32,20,26,-7,26,20,30,25,38,26,27,15,45,44,53,43,48,48,34,50,46,43,43,30,31,39,36,21,14,14,21,16,69,31,36,-1,55,25,28,28,18,31,23,30,28,9,11,0,19,21,19,16,20,2,45,37,37,51,103,72,64,73,73,80,71,-17,-10,-29,-34,-52,161,160,163,160,160,96,102,102,97,60,55,72,76,76,126,72,395,159,202,201,274,306,369,422,855,870] Krush needed a win with White to keep the match going, and she got it.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 {Nothing against the Exchange Slav, but it's a funny choice when juxtaposed with her opening decision in the previous game. With Black in a non-must-win situation, she played a sharp, strategically risky (maybe even dubious) opening. Now, needing a win, she chooses the hyper-solid, slightly dull Exchange Slav. Well, it worked!} cxd5 4. Bf4 Nf6 5. e3 Nc6 6. Bb5 (6. Nc3 {is the standard move, and it still brings in the points.}) 6... Qa5+ {Very rare (only played once, and that was this year). It's hard to see what the point is - "forcing" White's knight to go where it always goes anyway?} 7. Nc3 Bd7 8. Nge2 {This doesn't seem necessary.} (8. Nf3 Ne4 9. Qb3 {is fine for White.}) 8... e6 9. O-O a6 10. Bd3 Be7 11. a3 b5 12. Nb1 $6 (12. b4 $14 {/? followed by Nc1-b3-c5 looks like a normal and good idea.}) 12... Qb6 13. Nd2 Na5 $11 14. b4 Nc4 {In the 12.b4 version, Black's knight(s) would have a much harder time reaching c4.} 15. Nb3 O-O 16. Nc5 Bxc5 $2 (16... a5 $11) (16... Bc6 $11) 17. dxc5 $16 Qb7 18. Bc2 $2 (18. f3) 18... h6 $2 (18... e5 $11) 19. Qd3 (19. Qd4 $142 $16) 19... e5 20. Bg3 g6 (20... Rfe8 $11 {/?}) 21. Qc3 $14 Rfe8 22. f3 Bc6 23. Bb3 Qe7 24. Rfe1 Rad8 (24... a5) 25. Bh4 Qe6 26. Bf2 Nd7 $6 (26... d4 $5 27. exd4 e4) (26... a5) 27. a4 $6 (27. h3 $16) 27... Nb8 $2 (27... bxa4 $11) 28. axb5 Bxb5 29. Rec1 $14 {/?} (29. Rac1 $142) 29... Qc6 $2 30. e4 $16 {/+-} (30. Qc2 $142 $18) 30... d4 31. Nxd4 $2 (31. Qc2 $1 Ne3 (31... d3 $6 {seems scary until one notices that Black's knight on c4 is also loose.} 32. Qa2 dxe2 33. Bxc4 $18) 32. Bxe3 dxe3 33. Bd5 $16 {/+-}) 31... exd4 32. Bxd4 Ne5 (32... Rxd4 33. Qxd4 Ne5 $11 {Black's knights will coordinate well enough to make up for the rook and two pawns.}) 33. Bd5 $2 (33. Bxe5 Rd3 34. Qb2 Rxb3 35. Qxb3 Rxe5 $11) 33... Rxd5 $1 34. exd5 Qxd5 35. Re1 Nc4 $4 {With the players at and below 10 seconds, all they could do is react and hope for the best.} ({Yu probably had some general fears about f4 possibilities, now that the knight on c6 blocks the bishop's defense of e8. But there's no way for White to take advantage of this, as her bishop on d4 is hanging right now. After} 35... Nbc6 36. Bxe5 Rxe5 37. Rxe5 Nxe5 38. Re1 f6 $17 {Black is clearly better, and with White's dark-squared bishop gone the Black king is at least safe enough.}) 36. Rxe8+ Bxe8 37. Bh8 $18 {A big oops for Black. Now White is winning, and the playoff match is headed for Armageddon.} f6 38. Qxf6 Qf7 39. Qc3 Bb5 40. Rd1 Nc6 41. Bf6 Qe6 42. Re1 Qd7 43. h4 Nd2 44. Be5 Nxe5 45. Qxe5 Nc4 46. Qf6 Qf7 47. Qd8+ Kg7 (47... Qf8 {keeps the game going, albeit with slim hopes.} 48. Qd5+ Qf7 49. Re6 $18) 48. Re7 1-0 [Event "ch-USA Women TB 2022"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2022.10.20"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2432"] [BlackElo "2297"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2022.10.20"] {[%evp 0,94,32,27,20,-9,9,16,6,4,9,11,13,4,4,15,7,-30,-22,-38,338,365,398,381,376,358,415,402,402,410,411,405,405,405,393,416,409,407,442,446,442,439,501,419,414,370,493,38,34,29,21,23,84,69,69,77,118,125,122,107,109,107,136,142,152,159,164,177,266,265,316,335,328,213,204,299,363,362,873,838,838,854,873,31,44,33,46,68,107,52,8,35,8,8,128,34,83] This game has all the quality one normally associates with Armageddon battles: not too much. Nerves, exhaustion, and a short time control generally make for subpar play. And so it was here, but in the end Krush lost on time in a winning position, giving young (20-year-old) Jennifer Yu her second U.S Women's Championship title. Congratulations!} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O e5 5. d3 Ne7 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. e4 d4 8. Ne1 Nbc6 9. f4 Bg4 $4 {Yep, she actually did this. She tried to take it back, but she had released it. Krush still had an extra 47 seconds on the clock to go with her extra piece, and even with this enormous handicap Yu managed to keep the game going.} 10. Qxg4 f5 11. Qe2 Qd7 12. Nef3 Rae8 13. fxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. exf5 Nxf5 16. Ne4 b6 17. Bd2 c5 18. Rf2 Re7 19. Raf1 Rfe8 20. Bh3 Rf7 21. g4 $6 {Good enough to win, but this creates the potential for accidents. (And one happens.)} (21. Bxf5 {was much simpler, continuing the cynical strategy of exchanging as many pieces as possible.} Rxf5 (21... gxf5 22. Rxf5 $1 Rxf5 23. Qg4+ $18) 22. Qg4 $18 (22. Rxf5 gxf5 23. Ng5 $18)) 21... Nd6 22. Nxd6 {A good move in one sense, but a terrible practical choice.} (22. Rxf7) 22... Bxh2+ 23. Kxh2 $4 (23. Rxh2 Rxe2 24. Nxf7 $18) 23... Qxd6+ 24. Kh1 Rxe2 25. Rxe2 $14 {Black is right back in the game.} Qd5+ $2 (25... Qg3 26. Rxf7 Kxf7 27. Bf1 Qxg4 $14) 26. Kg1 Rxf1+ 27. Bxf1 $18 Qf3 28. g5 Qg4+ 29. Rg2 Qd1 30. Bf4 Qf3 31. Rf2 Qg4+ 32. Bg2 Qd1+ 33. Kh2 Qe1 34. Bd5+ Kg7 35. Bg3 Qe8 36. Kg2 $2 (36. Rf7+ {essentially ends the game on the spot, and then it's just a question of how fast Krush can move the pieces. (She had less than 20 seconds left to make it to move 61, when there would finally be an increment.)} Kh8 37. Rf8+ $1 Qxf8 38. Be5+ Qg7 39. Bxg7+ Kxg7 40. Kg3 $18) 36... h5 $1 37. Rf7+ Kh8 38. Kf1 Qe3 39. Rf8+ Kg7 40. Rf7+ Kh8 41. Bf2 $2 (41. Bf4 $18 {was the only way to keep a winning position, but with both players around five seconds at this point commentary is irrelevant.}) 41... Qc1+ 42. Be1 Qxg5 43. Be4 Qg4 44. Bf2 Qd1+ 45. Kg2 Qg4+ {Here Krush lost her last chance. She had two seconds left, Yu had three, but Krush played the illegal 46.Kg1. The penalty was to give Yu an extra minute on the clock, and if that weren't bad enough she only had one second left when she executed 46.Kh2. (Had she played 46.Kh2 the first time she would have had two seconds on the clock.) There was no way she was going to make another 14 moves in one second--it can be done online, in some contexts; over the board, never. (Especially with the very unwieldy, slightly oversized pieces they use - the DGT pieces are *horrible* for time scrambles. The pieces look nice, but I'll take a regular, cheap tournament set any day for situations where there's a need to move quickly.)} 46. Kh2 $16 Kg8 $2 47. Rf3 $2 (47. Rf6 $18) 47... h4 $2 (47... h4 48. Rf6 $18) 0-1