Commentary: U.S. Women's Championship 2017, Round 11 (Paikidze - Yu)

I try to pick commentary games based on thematic reasons and this next one features a Slav, so helps reinforce the material in The solid Slav Defence. It's also very interesting on its own, as this was the last round of the 2017 U.S. Women's Championship and IM Nazi Paikidze (White) was tied for the lead with WGM Sabina Foisor. Jennifer Yu (then with a 2196 rating, now an FM at 2297) goes with a solid main line Slav and Paikidze chooses the 4. Qb3 variation, which as can be seen in the game is not directly challenging, but gives White a slight initiative into the middlegame. Some of the key takeaways from the game:

• Black made the strategic error of opening up the game for White's pieces on move 14, rather than sticking with a more solid semi-open structure.
• White's initiative lasts for around another 10 moves, but she misses a chance to play more actively with 21. Nd5 - the idea of a strong/dominant knight on d5, either staying there or forcing a trade advantageous to White, is a recurring theme.
• Black takes over the initiative around move 26 and masterfully works to gain space and penetrate White's position. For some time, the game is objectively equal according to the engine, but White is clearly under pressure and the best moves eventually become only moves in order to stay level. Move 35 is critical in this respect.

[Event "U.S. Championships Women 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer R"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2369"] [BlackElo "2196"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [ECO "D23"] [PlyCount "102"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 2.6.1"] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 {the main line of the Slav Defense.} 4.Qb3 {this is a solid choice by White, but should not pose any problems for Black after the exchange on c4. This can now also be classified as a Queen's Gambit Accepted opening.} 4...dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bf5 6.g3 e6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.O-O Nbd7 9.e3 O-O {a standard Slav-type position has been reached that is comfortable for Black. White still has a slight initiative, but Black has a solid structure and good development.} 10.Qe2 {putting the queen behind the e-pawn and on a potentially more productive diagonal (d1-h5).} 10...h6 {here the engines like ... Bg6, with full equality. Black is in no rush to commit the rooks or pawns and by retreating the bishop, the sting is taken out of a potential future e4 push by White. The text move is just fine, though.} 11.Nc3 Ne4 12.Nd2 {forcing the trade, to get rid of the well-placed knight.} 12...Nxd2 13.Bxd2 {White completes her minor piece development and will look to push with e4 and/or activate her rooks.} 13...e5 {a thematic pawn break. Black needs to challenge White's center before it becomes too strong.} 14.d5 {with the idea of e4 as a follow-up.} 14...cxd5 $6 {this helps open up the game for White's pieces, who are better placed to take advantage of the open center.} ( 14...Nf6 {is the engines' choice. The point is that after} 15.e4 Bg4 $11 {is possible, pushing the White queen around or forcing the awkward f2-f3 push blocking the Bg2.} ) 15.Nxd5 $16 Bd6 {this bishop is "bad" and the Nd5 is clearly superior to it. However, White now unnecessarily retreats the knight. Activating the rooks seems more to the point.} 16.Nc3 $6 ( 16.Rfd1 ) 16...Nc5 $6 {the idea of ...Nf6 with the same concept of allowing for ...Bg4, as mentioned earlier, is superior.} 17.e4 $14 Be6 18.Rfd1 {now White begins to get her rooks into the game.} 18...Qe7 {getting off the d-file.} 19.Be3 {placing the bishop on a more effective diagonal and unmasking the Rd1.} 19...Rfd8 20.Rac1 Rac8 21.Rc2 {White chooses slow maneuvering over changing the position's characteristics.} ( 21.Nd5 {getting the knight back to its dominant square would be the most challenging, although that would admit retreating it in the first place was not the best idea.} 21...Bxd5 {gives White the two bishops and an advantage after} ( 21...Qf8 $5 $14 {is passive but considered best by the engine.} ) 22.Rxd5 Ne6 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Bxa7 ) 21...b6 {blunting the g1-a7 diagonal and removing the threat of Bxa7.} ( 21...Nd7 {redeploying the knight, which is not in fact doing much on c5, looks good as well, with the idea of going to f6 when needed.} 22.Bxa7 $6 {is not favorable, since after} 22...b6 $10 {White will have to work hard to extract the bishop.} ) 22.Rdc1 Nb7 {d7 still seems like a better square for the knight.} 23.Nd5 {although White has doubled rooks on the c-file, there is no actual threat associated with this move, so it is less effective than in earlier variations.} 23...Qd7 24.Rd1 Rxc2 ( 24...Bg4 $5 {as an in-between move looks useful, forcing White to play f3 and block two diagonals first.} 25.f3 Rxc2 26.Qxc2 Be6 $10 ) 25.Qxc2 Rc8 26.Qd2 $10 {now the game appears fully equal, as White has no more even pseudo-threats and Black can start making more active moves.} 26...Qc6 {controlling the c-file.} 27.Bf1 {reactivating the bishop, which was doing nothing except staring at the pawn on e4.} ( 27.Rc1 Qxc1+ 28.Qxc1 Rxc1+ 29.Bxc1 Nc5 {can only benefit Black, whose pieces are more active now.} ) 27...Qa4 28.Nc3 {protecting both the a- and e-pawns and covering the c-file.} 28...Qa5 29.a3 {both protecting the a-pawn and covering the b4 square.} 29...Bb3 {while the position is objectively equal, the initiative has shifted to Black, who keeps making threats and puts White in a reactive mode.} 30.Rc1 Rd8 {lining up on the queen.} 31.Qe2 Bc5 {Black would be fine with an exchange that put her knight on c5.} 32.Bd2 {White appears to have everything covered, but Black continues to apply pressure with} 32...Bc4 {offering a tactical trade of the Bc4 for the Bd2, which of course would be in Black's favor.} 33.Qe1 {White's pieces are all now on the first three ranks, showing how little progress has been made.} 33...Bxf1 34.Kxf1 Qa6+ 35.Kg2 {this preserves the material balance.} ( 35.Qe2 Qxe2+ 36.Kxe2 Bxf2 37.b4 {is the engine line with equality, but going a pawn down, even probably only temporarily, would be a difficult choice to make in an endgame.} ) 35...Qd3 $1 $15 {Black's queen now penetrates, however, and applies even more pressure.} 36.Rd1 Qc2 37.b4 Bf8 38.Nd5 Nd6 {this creates a critical position for White, with only one good defense. The e4 pawn is threatened, most urgently.} 39.Bc1 $2 {the wrong square for the bishop.} ( 39.Bc3 {this is not the most obvious move and likely quite difficult to find under time pressure.} 39...Nxe4 40.Nf6+ $1 {is the tactical point, with the Rd8 hanging.} 40...gxf6 41.Rxd8 Nxc3 42.Rc8 Qe4+ 43.Qxe4 Nxe4 44.Ra8 $10 ) 39...Rc8 $19 {the best move and relatively subtle, although White's game now collapses in short order. In contrast with having the bishop on c3, Black has full control of the c-file and White is not threatening the e5 pawn. The e4 pawn now falls without any compensation.} 40.Kg1 Qxe4 41.Qf1 {a desperate attempt to preserve some counterplay possibility by keeping the queens on, but now Black simply dominates.} 41...Nf5 42.Be3 Rc6 43.Qd3 {White evidently had no better ideas, although it allows Black to simplify the win.} 43...Qxd3 44.Rxd3 Rd6 {the pin on the Nd5 is extremely awkward, since there is no other way for White to defend it.} 45.b5 {this clears the b4 square for the knight retreat, but does not solve White's problems.} 45...Nd4 {forcing loss of material by White.} 46.Nb4 Nxb5 47.a4 Rxd3 48.Nxd3 Nc3 49.Nxe5 Nxa4 50.Nc6 a5 {The Na4 holds things together for Black and now the win is inevitable, with two connected passed pawns on the wing.} 51.Ne5 Bc5 0-1

Evaluation chart generated by HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro