..
[Event "SPFGI 2017"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.07.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Shi, Linda"]
[Black "Miyasaka, Julia"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C97"]
[WhiteElo "1827"]
[BlackElo "1706"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "101"]
{The following game was the brilliancy prize winner at the 2017 Susan Polgar
Foundation Girl's Invitational. What makes this game a worthy winner is not a
flashy combination or daring sacrifice, but the clear demonstration of the
strategic power of pawn play in the Ruy Lopez.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6
4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 {[#]} 8. h3 $6 (8. c3 {is the
mainline, preserving the Lopez Bishop and supporting d2-d4.} Bg4 {looks like
it might be an annoying pin, but: 1) since White hasn't played d4 the N
doesn't need to stay on f3 to support White's center, and 2) White can gain
time for kingside piece play by attacking the B.} 9. h3 Bh5 10. d3 $1 O-O 11.
Nbd2 Na5 12. Bc2 c5 13. Nf1 Re8 14. Ng3 Bg6 15. Nh4 $14 {White gets a N to f5,
and scores Elo +300 from here!; see Inarkiev,E (2602)-Nikolic,P (2596)
Kusadasi 2006 (1-0, 32).}) 8... O-O (8... Na5 $1 {Eliminating the Bb3 and
Black is at least equal.}) 9. c3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 {[#] White
has a more central flexibility, but Black has no serious weaknesses. A key
strategic isssue here is whether the Na5 can find a good square. Black has
tried a lot of moves here.} Re8 (12... Rd8 13. b3 Bd7 14. d5 {and the Na5 will
spend a long time offside.}) ({The main line attempts to get some counterplay
on the c-file and queenside with:} 12... cxd4 13. cxd4 Nc6 14. Nb3 a5 15. Be3
a4 16. Nbd2 Bd7 {with several Ivanchuk games (as Black and White) as models.})
13. Nf1 {Black has tried almost every legal move here. Currently, ...g6 is the
most topical.} Nc6 (13... g6 14. Ng3 Bf8 15. d5 c4 16. Bg5 (16. b4 $5 cxb3 17.
axb3 Qxc3 $4 18. Bd2 $18) 16... Bg7 17. Qd2 Nb7 18. Nh4 Nc5 19. Bh6 Bxh6 20.
Qxh6 Qe7 21. f4 exf4 22. Qxf4 $14 {Robson,R (2675)-Stukopin,A (2586) chess.com
PRO League, 2017 (1-0, 75).}) 14. d5 Na5 15. Ng3 (15. b3 {Would be an
automatic -- and good -- move in bullet chess: keeping the Na5 on a bad
circuit.}) 15... Nc4 16. Nh2 Bd7 17. b3 Nb6 18. f4 {[#]} Bf8 (18... exf4 19.
Bxf4 $14 {The position resembles a Benoni, with the important difference that
Black's b5 and c5 pawns are not the front of a queenside majority, and so give
Black much less play than in a Benoni. Still, this would be better than the
game line, where Black gets steamrolled on the kingside.}) 19. f5 c4 $1 20. Bd2
(20. b4 a5 {with counterplay.}) 20... Bc8 21. Nh5 Nbd7 22. Nxf6+ Nxf6 23. g4 {[#] White has a
big space advantage and her kingside pawn storm will enable her to either open
files for her majors or sac a B for a winning attack. Computers rate this as +/
=, but it looks strategically winning to me.} Nd7 24. b4 Qd8 ({Better is} 24... a5 $1
{with counterplay.} {might allow Black to worry White with play along the a-file.}) 25. g5 (
25. a4 $1 {and Black will get either weak pawns on a6 and c4, or completely
shut in on the queenside after a4-a5.}) 25... Be7 26. Qg4 $16 Kh8 {[#]} 27. a4
$1 {Positionally, the star move of the game: White obviously has a huge
advantage on the kingside, but instead of slogging ahead with h4-h5, she takes
the time to seal off the queenside. This does two things: 1) it denies Black
any queenside counterplay, 2) it makes White's Ra1 more valuable than Black's
Ra8, since the White R can join the kingside attack while the Black R can't do
anything useful at all.} Bb7 28. a5 $1 {Complete positional domination:
Black's minor pieces have no prospects anywhere.} Qc7 29. Kf2 $1 {The right
strategy: evacuating the K and bringing the Rs over before deciding which pawn
break to force.} Nf8 30. Rg1 Bc8 31. Qg3 Nd7 32. Raf1 g6 33. Ke1 Qd8 34. h4 {
[#]} Rg8 (34... h5 35. f6 Bf8 36. Bd1 $1 Ra7 37. Bxh5 gxh5 38. Qf3 $18 {
and Black is helpless against White's massed forces.}) 35. f6 Bf8 36. Qf3 h6
37. gxh6 {The first pawn exchange of the game!} (37. h5 {is also good too,
when White has a choice of when to open the h-file and whether to aim her N at
g6 or f5.}) 37... Kh7 38. h5 Ra7 39. hxg6+ Rxg6 40. Rxg6 fxg6 {[#]} 41. Ng4 (
41. Qf2 Rc7 42. Nf3 {heading for g5 is also crushing, for instance} Bxh6 43.
Qh4 Qf8 44. Bxh6 Qxh6 45. Qxh6+ (45. Ng5+ {wins the Q for free, but mate is
better...}) 45... Kxh6 46. Rh1#) 41... Nb8 42. f7 Bxg4 43. Qxg4 Qe7 44. Bg5 Qc7
45. Rf6 Qd7 (45... Nd7 46. Rxg6 Kxg6 47. Qf5+ Kh5 48. Bd1#) 46. Qg3 Be7 {[#]}
47. Re6 {Completely winning, as is the flashier} (47. Rxg6 $1 {e.g.} Kxg6 48.
Bxe7+ Kxf7 49. Qg7+ Ke8 50. Qf8#) 47... Bxg5 48. f8=Q {The first time in 25
moves that White has had a piece in front of her pawns.... and that's only
because that Qf8 was a pawn.} (48. f8=N+ {would be overkill.}) 48... Bh4 49.
Qxh4 Nc6 50. Qhf6 Rb7 51. Qxg6# 1-0
..
