[Event "4th Cairns Cup 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.06.19"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Paehtz, Elisabeth"] [Black "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2457"] [BlackElo "2505"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "54"] [GameId "2058300882787359"] [EventDate "2024.06.03"] {[%evp 0,54,22,9,9,-6,23,21,14,-16,-17,-17,-11,-41,-22,-53,39,35,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,22,13,-46,-16,-13,14,4,39,26,34,48,92,-35,0,0,32,0,14,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. c4 dxc4 $1 {The principled move.} (4... c6 {is okay, but a small concession.}) 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. O-O (6. Qxc4 e5 $15 {already favors Black.}) 6... e5 {Black will already stand better after any "normal" move like 7.Qxc4. This is not what White had in mind; it's tactics time:} (6... Nh6 {is a good (possibly better) alternative. The knight will go to f5, and when Black subsequently plays ...e5 she'll have a nice grip on d4. That will make it tough for White to mobilize her extra pawn in the center.}) 7. Nxe5 $1 Bxe5 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. Qxc6+ Bd7 10. Qe4 f6 11. f4 Bf5 12. Qc6+ Bd7 13. Qe4 Bf5 {Considering how weird the position is, it's smart to throw in the repetition to gain time on the clock (or get closer to the time control, depending on the time control in the game). Even though Paehtz surely prepared the variation, the resulting positions are sufficiently bizarre to justify this bit of prudence.} 14. Qe3 Bh3 $1 {Muzychuk is prepared!} (14... Qd4 {is the alternative, and while it's not bad it's not as good as the move chosen. Here's a very high-level example:} 15. fxe5 Qxe3+ (15... fxe5 $142 $14) 16. dxe3 fxe5 17. e4 $16 Bxe4 18. Nc3 Bc6 19. Bg5 Rb8 20. Rad1 h6 21. Bf6 Rh7 22. Bxe5 Rxb2 23. Rf4 Re7 24. Bh8 Rc2 25. Rdf1 Kd7 26. Rxc4 Bb7 27. Rf8 Re8 28. Rxc7+ Kxc7 29. Rxe8 {1-0 Kramnik,V (2812)-So,W (2770) Paris GCT blitz 2016 (9)}) 15. Rf3 $8 {It's a goofy-looking square for the rook, but it may well get activated along the third rank.} Nh6 (15... Ne7 {is good too, and almost certain to transpose.}) 16. fxe5 Nf5 17. Qa3 $1 ({The inferior} 17. Qc3 $2 {was played in a couple of games. Black is clearly better after putting either piece on d4.} Nd4 $1 (17... Qd4+ $17) 18. Rf2 fxe5 $17 19. Qxc4 $2 {It's hard to believe that this move, grabbing a pawn and threatening mate, could be a blunder - but it is.} Rf8 20. Rxf8+ Kxf8 {Black has the horrible threat of ...Qf6 (and ...Qf1#), and it's hard to find a sensible reply. A natural move, which may even be the best try both objectively and practically, is} 21. b3 {The point is to meet ...Qf6 with Ba3+ followed by Nc3. Unfortunately for White, there's} Nc2 $1 {, when} 22. Qxc2 Qd5 $1 23. e4 Qd4+ 24. Kh1 Kg7 $3 {wins, intending ...Rf8. White will get mated or lose a ton of material (whereupon she'll be mated anyway).} 25. Bb2 (25. d3 Rf8 26. Bf4 Qxa1 $19) 25... Qf2 26. Bxe5+ Kh6 $19) 17... Qd4+ 18. Rf2 fxe5 19. Qa4+ Ke7 20. d3 $146 {Paehtz was aware of the earlier game, and prepared this alternative. She knew that there was no objective advantage to be had, but Black has to keep finding good moves.} (20. Nc3 Raf8 21. d3 cxd3 (21... h6 $146 22. Qa5 {is complicated for humans, even if the engine gives 0.00 everywhere.}) 22. Bg5+ Ke6 23. Qb3+ Kd7 24. Qb5+ Kc8 25. Qa6+ Kb8 26. Bf6 Rhg8 27. exd3 Nh6 28. Qb5+ Qb6 29. Bxe5 Qxb5 30. Rxf8+ Rxf8 31. Nxb5 Ng4 {A near-perfect game so far. Now White should play} 32. Bxc7+ $6 (32. Bd4 {, maintaining equality.}) 32... Kb7 33. Bf4 g5 34. Bxg5 $2 (34. Nd6+ $3 Ka6 35. Ne4 gxf4 36. Ng5 fxg3 37. Nxh3 gxh2+ 38. Kg2 $15) 34... Rf2 $19 35. Nd6+ Kc6 $2 (35... Ka6 $1 $19 36. Ne4 Rg2+ 37. Kh1 Re2 $1 $19 {White's counterplay is too slow, and Black has various ways of prosecuting his mating attack here.}) 36. Ne4 $1 $11 Rg2+ 37. Kh1 Rxh2+ (37... Re2 38. Rc1+ $11) 38. Kg1 Rg2+ 39. Kh1 Rh2+ 40. Kg1 Rg2+ 41. Kh1 Rxb2 42. Rc1+ Kd7 43. Nf6+ Nxf6 44. Bxf6 Rxa2 45. Ra1 {½-½ Zhigalko,A (2591)-Ding,L (2753) Olympiad-42 Baku 2016 (10.2)}) 20... cxd3 21. Bg5+ Kf7 22. Qc6 $1 dxe2 {Forcing White to force the draw.} (22... Rhf8 {keeps the game going, though it's still equal after} 23. e3 $1 Qd6 24. Qxd6 cxd6 25. e4 d5 26. exf5 gxf5 $11 {Black only has two pawns for the piece, but the horde in the center looks scary.}) 23. Qf6+ Kg8 24. Qe6+ Kg7 (24... Kf8 $4 25. Bh6#) 25. Qf6+ Kg8 26. Qe6+ ({White should not try to keep the game going, e.g. with} 26. Nc3 $2 {. For example:} Rf8 27. Nxe2 Qd6 28. Qxd6 cxd6 $19 {followed by ...h6 and ...Rh7. Even though it's only one extra pawn for Black, her central passers are very strong while her bishop keeps White's king stuck and in constant danger of a mating attack.}) 26... Kg7 27. Qf6+ Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "4th Cairns Cup 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.06.22"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Lee, Alice"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2505"] [BlackElo "2368"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "131"] [GameId "2059888651128332"] [EventDate "2024.06.03"] {[%evp 0,131,32,21,30,18,8,14,50,50,50,-6,-9,10,48,53,48,59,49,63,75,55,42,36,55,47,62,64,79,59,81,44,118,32,26,1,21,21,10,6,46,45,38,13,37,13,20,14,24,13,3,0,11,12,11,9,19,4,6,7,15,0,0,0,0,0,0,23,15,15,97,106,102,94,86,98,106,91,91,93,116,26,97,82,77,68,90,60,57,49,72,63,83,74,96,96,106,110,118,118,118,118,118,116,116,115,254,115,236,253,253,258,252,380,485,485,485,485,507,485,537,537,537,495,537,537,537,537,537,537,547,547,557,567]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Bf5 8. Re1 O-O 9. c4 Nc6 10. cxd5 Qxd5 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Rae8 14. Bf4 Bd6 15. c4 Qh5 16. Bd2 {Black has made six draws in six games, but as they were all correspondence games one shouldn't draw too many conclusions about OTB results.} (16. Bxd6 {has been usual, but Black has drawn almost every game after} cxd6 17. Qa3 Qa5 18. Qxd6 Rxe1+ 19. Rxe1 Rd8 {, e.g.} 20. Re3 h6 21. Qf4 Qxa2 22. d5 Na5 23. Re7 Rf8 $11 {and here Black has gone four for four (in making draws).}) 16... b6 17. Kf1 (17. Rac1) ({and} 17. Rad1 {have also been played.}) 17... Qg6 $146 (17... a5 18. a3 a4 19. Rac1 h6 20. h3 Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Qg6 22. Qxg6 fxg6 23. Re6 Kf7 24. d5 Ne7 25. Ne5+ Kg8 26. Bc1 g5 27. Ke2 b5 28. g3 Rf6 29. Bb2 Rxe6 30. dxe6 b4 31. axb4 Bxb4 32. Kd1 Nf5 33. Kc2 Bc5 34. Nd3 Nd4+ 35. Bxd4 Bxd4 36. Kb1 a3 37. Ka2 {½-½ Adams,M (2329)-Korovnik,I (2372) EU-chT11 fin email ICCF email 2021}) 18. Qxg6 hxg6 19. Rab1 Rd8 20. d5 Nb8 {Black has objective equality, and White has the freer position. Both sides have something to be happy about.} 21. Bg5 Rc8 (21... Rd7) 22. Rbd1 (22. Be7) 22... Rfe8 23. Nd4 a6 24. Bh4 Nd7 25. Nc6 Kf8 26. Bg3 Bxg3 27. hxg3 Rxe1+ 28. Kxe1 Re8+ (28... Nb8 {is a good idea, expelling the intruder (or trying to) ASAP.}) 29. Kd2 Ne5 30. Kc3 $1 Nxc6 31. dxc6 Re6 $6 {Not a terrible move, but Black's aim of eliminating the c-pawn won't be as easy to achieve as she hoped and probably expected.} (31... Re2 {was better, getting straight to the MPM - the Mutual Pawn Massacre.} 32. Rd7 Ke8 33. Rxc7 Rxf2 34. c5 bxc5 35. Kc4 Kd8 36. Ra7 Rxa2 37. Rxf7 Rxg2 38. Kxc5 Rxg3 $11 {and Black would be drawing this even if all her pawns disappeared.}) 32. Rd8+ Re8 33. Rd7 Re7 34. c5 $1 {This strong move keeps the game going; the immediate threat is to take on b6, then play Rd8+ followed by c7, winning. Black's reply is forced.} Ke8 $1 35. cxb6 cxb6 36. Rb7 {Threatening not just the b-pawn, but mate in one.} Kd8 {Again forced.} 37. Rxb6 Re2 {Forced again. Black could have started chowing down on White's pawns several moves ago; fortunately, it's not too late.} 38. Rxa6 Rxf2 39. Ra7 Rf6 $2 {Again Lee hopes to bring the game to a simple conclusion by eliminating the c-pawn, and - again - this more passive approach is wrong. Earlier, it only made her life more difficult; now, it results in a lost position.} (39... Rxg2 40. a4 Rxg3+ 41. Kc4 Rg1 42. Rxf7 Ra1 43. Kb5 Rb1+ 44. Ka6 Kc8 $11 {This ending is a theoretical draw even without Black's g-pawns.} 45. Rxg7 g5 (45... Rc1) 46. Rxg5 Rb2 ({Of course Black should play} 46... Kc7 {instead.}) 47. Rg7 {and you can check your endgame manuals or tablebases: it's a draw. It's not necessarily a *comfortable* draw, but (a) it is a draw, and (b) Black didn't need to play the last couple of (overly cooperative) moves.}) 40. Rd7+ $2 (40. Kb4 $1 Rxc6 41. Rxf7 Rc2 42. a4 $1 Rb2+ 43. Ka5 Rxg2 44. Rf3 $1 Kc7 45. Kb5 $18 {One typical approach for White is to to have her rook cover both pawns (either on the 4th rank or from a3, for instance) and then migrate her king to the kingside.}) 40... Kc8 $2 (40... Ke8 $1 $11 {Black cannot afford to hemmorhage her kingside pawns.}) 41. Kd4 $2 (41. Kb4 $1 $18) 41... Rxc6 42. Rxf7 Rc2 $2 (42... Ra6 $1 {Black must win the a-pawn as quickly as possible, or at least force White's rook to passively defend it.} 43. Rf2 $1 {White is probably winning this, but it's not simple.}) 43. Rxg7 Rxa2 44. Ke5 $1 $18 (44. Rxg6 $2 Kd7 {lets Black's king get to the kingside in time, with an easy draw.}) 44... Rxg2 45. Rxg6 Kd7 46. Kf6 Rf2+ 47. Kg7 {The game is essentially over here. White will reach a Lucena-style position, with an elementary win.} Ke7 48. g4 Rf7+ 49. Kh6 Rf1 (49... Kf8 50. g5 Rf1 51. Kh7 Rh1+ 52. Rh6 Rg1 53. g6 Rg2 54. Rh4 Rg1 55. Rf4+ Ke7 56. g7 $18) 50. Rg7+ Kf8 {If Black's king could reach g8 (and not get mated on the next move) she would make a draw. Alas for the youngster, that's not going to happen against a GM.} 51. g5 Rh1+ 52. Kg6 Rh2 53. Ra7 Rb2 54. Ra8+ Ke7 55. Kg7 Rg2 56. g6 {Club players should play this out every time. It's surprising to see Lee play it out against a grandmaster, though.} Rg1 57. Kh7 Rh1+ 58. Kg8 Rh2 59. g7 Rg2 (59... Rh1 60. Ra4 Rh2 61. Re4+ Kd7 62. Kf7 Rf2+ 63. Kg6 Rg2+ 64. Kf6 Rf2+ 65. Kg5 Rg2+ 66. Rg4 $18 {is your basic Lucena method. (Some people refer to this as "building a bridge", which seems to me exactly backward. White is *destroying* the connection - the "bridge" - between Black's rook and White's pawn.)}) 60. Ra7+ Ke8 61. Ra1 Rg4 62. Rh1 Ke7 63. Kh8 Kf7 64. Rf1+ Ke7 65. g8=Q Rh4+ 66. Qh7+ {With the win, Muzychuk escaped what would have been a 5-way tie for second and instead took clear second, making about $17k more in the process. It pays to play out "drawn" endings when you have the better position or are the better player.} 1-0