Here we continue with the general theme of a b3/e3 development scheme for White, which appears here with an early c2-c4. White (GM Jobava) pursues a deliberate strategy of restraint, adopting a Hedgehog structure and maneuvering while waiting for his opponent to create a weakness. GM Yu Yangyi as Black does not oblige for most of the game, apparently being largely content to maneuver as well, with typical Hedgehog characteristics: enjoying a space advantage and eyeing the typically weak d-pawn, but not having any truly weak targets to go after. As can often occur, this relatively quiet maneuvering period ends with an explosive tactic, after some of Black's choices weaken his position subtly.
[Event "FIDE World Cup 2017"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2017.09.08"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Jobava, Baadur"]
[Black "Yu, Yangyi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A01"]
[WhiteElo "2687"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo Dragon 2"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
1. b3 d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. e3 g6 4. c4 {challenging the central pawn, taking
advantage of White's control of d4 to prevent its advance.} dxc4 5. Bxc4 (5.
bxc4 {is also possible, with the trade-off of controlling d5 with a pawn, but
no longer having the half-open c-file to use, and isolating the a-pawn.}) 5...
Bg7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O c5 {asserting some central control.} 8. Be2 (8. d4 {
is usually played here, directly challenging in the center. This leads to a
very equal position. However, not necessarily a draw, as we can see from this
high-level encounter:} cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bd7 10. Nd2 Nc6 11. N4f3 a6 12. Rc1 b5 13.
Be2 Qb6 14. a3 Rfd8 15. Qc2 Rac8 16. Qb1 Ne8 17. Bxg7 Nxg7 18. Qb2 Bf5 19. b4
Ne6 20. Rc3 Bg4 21. Rfc1 Na7 22. h3 Bxf3 23. Nxf3 Rxc3 24. Rxc3 Rc8 25. Rd3 Rd8
26. Ne5 Rxd3 27. Nxd3 Qd6 28. Qc3 Qc6 29. Qe5 Qc7 30. Qd5 Kg7 31. Bf3 Nc8 32.
Bg4 Nb6 33. Qe4 Nf8 34. Qd4+ f6 35. Nc5 e5 36. Qd3 f5 37. Bd1 Nc4 38. Bb3 Nd6
39. Qd5 e4 40. Qg8+ {1-0 (40) Nepomniachtchi,I (2784)-Dominguez Perez,L (2758)
Lichess.org INT 2020}) 8... b6 9. d3 {now we see that Jobava is choosing to
play with a Hedgehog type structure, which required the bishop retreat.} Bb7
10. Nbd2 Nc6 11. a3 {taking away the b4 square from Black's knight and
completing the typical Hedgehog pawn structure.} Nd5 {centralizing the knight
and leading to the exchange of White's better bishop.} 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Qc2 {
the queen gets off the first rank, connecting the rooks, and heads for the
now-open long diagonal.} Qd7 (13... e5 {would be a more aggressive and
imbalancing approach, setting up a more traditional central pawn presence
immediately. Instead, Black maneuvers and prepares it for later.}) 14. Qb2+ f6
{blocking the diagonal and controlling the e5 square.} 15. Rfd1 {the Hedgehog
structure typically calls for patient maneuvering and improvement of piece
placement, which is what we see in the next several moves.} Rfd8 16. Rac1 Rac8
17. h3 {gives the king "luft" and controls g4. Also a useful waiting move.} e5
{Black now commits in the center, seizing space.} 18. Ne4 {centralizing the
knight. It cannot be kicked with ...f5, due to the e5 pawn's weakness.} (18.
Ne1 {is liked by the engines, as it reinforces d3 and threatens to activate
the bishop via g4.}) 18... Qe7 19. Re1 {White continues patiently maneuvering.
The rook overprotects the Be2 and lines up on the Black queen.} Rd7 (19... f5 {
would no longer lose a pawn and would gain space, but would be committal on
Black's part.} 20. Ned2 Qf6 $11) 20. Bf1 {gets the bishop out of the way of
the Re1. It is not needed to protect the Nf3, so this helps activate the rook
more.} Qd8 {moving the queen off the e-file and doubling up pressure on the
d-file. This however seems slightly awkward, cutting off the Rc8 from moving
along the 8th rank, but Black has nothing in particular to do at this moment.}
21. Rcd1 {reinforcing d3 again.} Nde7 $6 {the first slip-up by Black. Now
White can advance his b-pawn and gain some space and activity.} (21... Nc7 22.
b4 cxb4 23. axb4 a6 {and here the Nc7 controls b5, preventing the b-pawn from
advancing further. As can be seen in the game continuation, this advance plays
a significant role, attacking and driving away the Nc6.}) 22. b4 cxb4 (22... c4
$2 23. Qa1 cxd3 24. b5 $1 {this wins the knight, since if it moves, White will
have the Nxf6 sacrifice, similar to the game.} Na5 $2 25. Nxf6 $18 Kxf6 (25...
Bxf3 26. Nxd7 Bxd1 27. Nxe5 $18 {and White will regain the piece while having
a much superior position.}) 26. Nxe5) 23. axb4 Nf5 {activating this knight and
increasing control of d4.} 24. Rc1 {the rook is now free to do this, since the
bishop covers d3, the minor piece serving a useful if limited purpose.} Qe7 {
targeting the b-pawn, but essentially forcing White to play the best move.} 25.
b5 $14 Na5 {the knight is now largely out of the action. The main effect is to
relinquish control of the d4 square.} 26. Rxc8 Bxc8 {Black's pieces are now
rather awkwardly placed and are not coordinating well.} 27. d4 {Black now has
to exchange, in which case the game is still even, but he misses the threat.} (
27. g4 $5 {is an alternative leading to some simplification.} Nd6 28. Nxd6 Qxd6
29. d4 $14) 27... Bb7 $2 (27... exd4 28. exd4 (28. Nxd4 $4 Qxe4 $19) 28... Qd8
29. d5 Rxd5 30. g4 Nd6 31. g5 {and the position is rather awkward for Black,
despite being temporarily a pawn up, but it is better than the game
continuation.}) 28. Nxf6 $1 $18 {a difficult-to-spot tactic, since it visually
appears that the pawn is properly defended.} Kxf6 (28... Qxf6 29. dxe5 $18 {
and now either the queen blocks on e6 or the discovered check wins the rook.}
Qe6 30. Ng5 Qb3 {attacking the Qb2 almost works, but} 31. e6+ Qxb2 32. exd7 {
and amazingly the d-pawn cannot be stopped without losing the queen.} Qd2 33.
d8=Q Qxd8 34. Ne6+ $18) 29. dxe5+ Kf7 (29... Ke6 30. e4 $18) 30. e6+ (30. e4 {
first would also work.}) 30... Kxe6 {now Black's king is exposed in the center,
but it is still not so simple to convert the win.} (30... Qxe6 31. Ng5+ $18)
31. e4 {the only winning move, kicking the knight and seizing more squares in
the center.} Ng7 (31... Nd6 32. Qa2+ Kf6 33. e5+ Kg7 34. exd6 Qxd6 35. Re6 Qf4
36. Qa1+ Kf7 37. Re3 {and Black cannot stop all the threats to the king,
including Ne5+}) 32. Qa2+ Kd6 (32... Kf6 $2 33. e5+) 33. Rc1 $1 {this is a
good example of how to conduct a king hunt properly. White first cuts off the
escape route, before attempting to directly attack again.} Bxe4 $2 {this looks
like a reasonable try, but now White goes after the king.} (33... Qd8 {is the
best defence, but it also loses to} 34. Qa3+ Ke6 35. h4 h6 36. Qe3) 34. Qd2+
Ke6 35. Ng5+ Kf5 (35... Kf6 36. Nxe4+ Qxe4 37. Qxd7 $18) 36. g4+ Kf6 37. Nxe4+
Qxe4 38. Qxd7 {White is now up the exchange with a commanding position.} Ne6
39. Bg2 {the bishop finally sees some action.} Qd4 {hoping that White will
exchange into a (still winning) endgame, but Jobava can simply increase his
advantage.} 40. Qxh7 Nf4 {hoping for a cheapo fork on e2.} 41. Qh8+ Ke6 42.
Re1+ {White does not fall for the fork trap, so Black gives up.} 1-0