Game of the Week - Cao,J vs. Shetty,A

[Event "Quebec op inv."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.07.21"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Cao, Jason"]
[Black "Shetty, Atulya"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B67"]
[WhiteElo "2060"]
[BlackElo "2314"]
[Annotator "Jiang,Louie"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2013.09.29"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8.
O-O-O Bd7 9. f3 {A less common choice, f4 is the standard Richter-Rauzer
choice.} Qc7 10. Kb1 Be7 11. h4 h6 12. Be3 h5 13. Bg5 Ne5 14. f4 Neg4 15. Bd3 {
Out of book. A rather dubious choice, the bishop is badly misplaced. Much
better was} (15. g3 b5 16. a3 Rb8 17. Bh3 a5 18. Bxg4 hxg4 19. Rhe1 b4 20. axb4
axb4 21. Na2 e5 22. Nb3 $14 {With a comfortable edge to white as the
positional disadvantages in black's position outweigh his temporary initiative.
}) 15... Qb6 {Razoring in on the unguarded d4 knight and the f2 square. White
is forced to make another move with the light squared bishop.} 16. Bc4 Rc8 17.
Qe2 Nf2 {gaining the bishop pair. This position looks fairly equal.} 18. Qxf2
Rxc4 19. Qd2 d5 {Giving white two options:} 20. Bxf6 (20. exd5 Bb4 21. dxe6
Bxc3 22. exd7+ Kxd7 $3 23. Qc1 Rxd4 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Ka1 Bxb2+ 26. Qxb2 Qxb2+
27. Kxb2 Rxd1 28. Rxd1+ Ke6 29. Rd3 Kf5 $15 {And a comfortable endgame for
black. White should be able to hold, but only black really has any winning
chances.}) 20... Bxf6 $11 21. e5 Be7 22. Nce2 Qc7 23. Nf3 {A very nice
maneuver by white. Swapping the e2 knight for an f3 knight is key to his
future breakthrough.} O-O $6 {A dubious choice. Castling into an imminent
attack is not a wise decision.} 24. Ned4 Rc8 25. Rhg1 Ra4 $2 {A mistake.
However, it's really hard to notice that this is a mistake. Black should have
played} (25... Qb6 26. g4 Ba4 27. b3 (27. Rc1 Bb4 28. Qd3 Rc3 29. Qd1 Bc5 30.
gxh5 Rxf3 31. Nxf3 Bxg1 32. Qxg1 Qxg1 33. Nxg1 Be8 $11 {Equal position, but
black has some pressure as white has multiple weaknesses.}) 27... Rxc2 28. Nxc2
(28. Qxc2 Rxc2 29. Kxc2 hxg4 30. Rxg4 Bb5 $15 {A slight preference for black.
Queen and bishop make a strong combination.}) 28... Bxb3 29. Rc1 {Any other
move loses.} Bxc2+ 30. Ka1 hxg4 31. Rxg4 Bb4 32. Rxc2 Bxd2 33. Rxc8+ Kh7 {A
very sharp line. This looks to be a complete win for black, but white has just
enough tricks to hold a draw.} 34. h5 f6 35. h6 Be3 36. Rxg7+ Kxh6 37. exf6
Bd4+ 38. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 39. Kb1 Qxf6 40. Rxb7 $11 {It's hard to say, but I would
prefer playing black in these kind of situations.}) 26. g4 {White's attack is
now somehow unstoppable. Black needs to bail out, but it's understandably hard
for black to realize that he is now a lot worse.} hxg4 $2 {A completely
natural move that actually causes an immediate loss.} (26... Qa5 27. Qxa5 Rxa5
28. gxh5 $16 {With a clear advantage for white. This was no doubt unacceptable
for black, who a few moves ago was in a completely equal position.}) 27. Rxg4
Qa5 28. Qg2 $1 {And suddenly black cannot defend g7. Meanwhile, black's attack
is stopped cold by white's knights.} Rxa2 {Is the only choice, but here
white's knights show their amazing defensive abilities.} (28... Bf8 29. Rxg7+ {
wins on the spot.}) 29. Nb3 (29. Rxg7+ Kh8 30. Nb3 {was a better move order.})
29... Rxb2+ 30. Kxb2 Qc3+ 31. Ka2 {Now black is suddenly unable to continue
his attack as the b3 knight covers everything.} g6 32. Nfd4 Rc4 {Incredibly,
with just the two knights, white is able to cover every single entry point.}
33. Rxg6+ fxg6 34. Qxg6+ Kf8 35. Rg1 {Black can do nothing.} Bg5 36. Qxg5 Be8 {
Not sure why white delayed the mate. Qg7 was a slight bit faster, but there is
no difference.} 37. Nxe6+ {It's a good example of how dangerous the sicilian
defense is for both sides. Black equalized easily with only a minor mistake by
white right out the opening, but on the same token, a minute misplacement of
his pieces and white's attack with g4 blitzed through his defenses.} 1-0