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Hikaru Nakamura vs Alexander Shabalov
US Chess Championship (2016), St Louis, MO USA, rd 8, Apr-22
Sicilian Defense: Kan. Modern Variation (B42)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Apr-22-16  RookFile: Confusing game. Wish I had the slightest idea what was going on here.
Apr-23-16  activechess55: Black already had a weak pawn at d6. Then he had another at e6 after f5. White cleverly placed his pawns at c4 and f4 preventing e5 or d5 release. Now black was cramped since he had only 7th and 8th rank to maneuver. It was just matter of time before he collapsed.
Apr-23-16  RookFile: I'm sure you're right. Take the position after 14. Rac1. White has a space advantage, but black has the opportunity to exchange some pieces to relieve a space cramp. So, I would play 14....Nxf3 myself after about two seconds of thought. After 15. Qxf3, do you keep right on going with 15...Ne5 and 16....Nxd3? That one I'm not sure about, I'd be nervous about the d pawn dropping. Maybe you just play 14...Nxf3 and see about developing the c8 bishop.
Apr-23-16  Jamboree: "RookFile: Confusing game. Wish I had the slightest idea what was going on here."

What I think happened was very straightforward: Shabalov blundered and hung an exchange for no reason with 23. ... N3d8?, allowing a quick two-move combo to pick up the rook, and then after that he just panicked and went into "throw everything at the white king and hope something mates" mode, but Nakamura calmly made sure there were no discovered-mate tricks, so Shabalov just resigned. Simple enough.

Apr-23-16  activechess55: 14...nf3 15 qf3 ne5 16 qe2 nd3 17 qd3 rfd8 18 na4 threatens bb6 as well as pawn at d6. So that is lost straight away. Yes, 14... nf3 seems playable. In a position like this, white pawn at c4 and e4 prevent d5 and permanently put presssure on d6. black hopes to exchange of pieces later to relieve the pressure or try breaks like f5 or b5 which is not easy. As for white, pressure alone on d6 is not gurantee of success. He has to open another front on queen side or king side. If he manages to create pressure on two points, he usually succeeds.
Apr-23-16  activechess55: <Jamboree> Thanks. Yeah. 23...Ncd8 is an immediate blunder that takes away control of e7 square losing the exchage.
Apr-23-16  Ulhumbrus: After 17 f4 Nf7 White's e4 square is weak, but how can a black knight get to it? This suggests the idea of preparing ...g5 so that a knight on g5 gains access to e4 and perhaps Black will want his queen's bishop on c6. As ..Ng5 displaces a defender of d6, this suggests ...Rd8 and ...Be8 covering d6.
Apr-23-16  thegoodanarchist: <Jamboree: "RookFile: Confusing game. Wish I had the slightest idea what was going on here."

What I think happened was very straightforward: Shabalov blundered and hung an exchange for no reason >

Thanks. I had no idea if the exchange was sacrificed or if Shaba thought he had positional compensation to go along with the extra pawn.

Apr-23-16  SirRuthless: I didn't see anything wrong with the Sac for the pawn and Q access to e3. The game was a mess but I thought Shabalov had a chance to get a holdable endgame before the time control and instead just miscalculated and went for a dangerous looking attack

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