(1) Xiang,Ellen - Getz,Alec [A60]
Southwest Open (6), 30.09.2012
[Annotator: Getz,Alec]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c5 Inviting White into a Modern Benoni structure. I had been playing sluggishly and I wanted to win this game. 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Bg2 g6 7.Nc3 Bg7 8.e4 0-0 9.Nf3?! b5 This typical Benoni idea, if carried out, is believed to give black full counterplay. It "kills two birds with one stone" - the first being, as already explained, that it accelerates counterplay on the queenside as well as in the center (Black can chase the c3 Knight away with a timely ...b4 in the future). The second, we will see in a few moves. 10.Qc2 Not 10.Nxb5, as after 10...Qa5+ 11.Nc3 Nxe4 (perhaps even stronger is 11...Ba6 and the White king is stuck in the center), White is losing material. 10...a6 11.0-0 Nbd7 Now we can see more clearly the second benefit of Black's ...b5. Not only does it serve well for the counterplay but also it controls the very important square c4. Inasmuch as White's general strategic plan is to pressurize the center - namely the e5 and d6-squares - she would thus like her Knight on c4, where it "touches" both important squares. 12.Rd1 Qc7 13.Nd2 Re8 14.f4? This is definitely a mistake. White's pieces are temporarily uncoordinated and Black assumes the initiative. 14...c4! Clearing the transit square c5. 15.a4 Ng4 16.Nf3 Qc5+ 17.Kf1 b4 18.h3 Ngf6 The simplest. 18...Ne3+ or 18...bxc3 also promised Black an excellent game. 19.e5 bxc3 20.exf6 Nxf6 21.bxc3 Bf5 I preferred this move to 21... Nxd5, although it really is a matter of taste at this point. 22.Qf2 Qxf2+ 23.Kxf2 Ne4+ 24.Kg1 Nxc3 White is losing an exchange, and with it the game. 25.Ba3 Nxd1 26.Rxd1 c3 27.g4 Be4 28.Rc1 Bxd5 29.Bxd6 Re2 30.Bf1 Re6 0-1