Twenty-five Minutes from Broadway

Elena Sedina – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

Women’s World Chess Championship Knockout Tournament; tie-break game 1; time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Nalchik, September 6, 2008

Sicilian Defence B53

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 a6 5. c4 Nc6 6. Qd1 Bg4 7. Be3!? A novelty instead of 7. Be2 g6 8. 0-0 Bg7 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nf6 11. Nc3 0-0 12. Be3 Rc8 13. Rc1 Qa5 14. Qb3 Nd7 15. a3 Nc5 16. Qd1 Ne6 17. Be2 Ned4 18. Bd3 e6 19. Bb1 b5 20. cxb5 axb5 21. Nd5 exd5 22. exd5 Ne5 23. Rxc8 Ndf3+ 24. gxf3 Rxc8 25. Qe2 Qa8 26. Ba2 b4 27. f4 Nd7 28. Qb5 Nc5 29. axb4 Qxa2 30. bxc5 dxc5 31. Bxc5 Rd8 32. Qb7 Qc4 33. Be7 Qxd5 34. Qxd5 Rxd5 35. b4 Bf8 36. Bxf8 Kxf8 37. Rb1 Ke7 38. Kg2 Kd6 39. b5 Kc7 40. Re1 Rxb5 41. Re7+ Kd6 42. Rxf7 Rh5 43. Kg3 Ke6 44. Ra7 Kf6 45. Kg4 h6 ½–½ Vasiukov – Rashkovsky, 48th USSR Chess Championship, Vilnius 1980. In her notes for Torre & Cavallo Scacco!, No. 11, November 2008, pp. 15-16, Sedina attached an exclamation mark to her last move, as “White tries to exploit the weakness of the squares b6 and b7 after Black’s premature light-square Bishop”.
7. ... g6 8. Nc3 Nf6 9. Nd5 Nxd5 10. cxd5 Ne5 11. Qb3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Bg7. “This is probably a right decision, for Black cannot afford to waste another tempi; for instance: 12. ... Nxf3+ 13. Ke2 Ne5 14. f4 Nd7 (after 14. ... Ng4 15. Bb6 Qd7 16. Rc1 Rc8 17. Rxc8+ Qxc8 18. Qa4+ Qd7 19. Qxd7+ Kxd7 20. Bh3 f5 21. Rc1 White’s advantage is decisive) 15. Bh3 Bg7 16. Qxb7 Nc5 17. Qc6+ Kf8 18. e5! and White stands much better”. (Sedina).
13. f4. “I didn’t like the alternative 13. Bb6 on account of 13. ... Qd7 14. f4 Qg4! 15. fxe5 Qxe4+ 16. Kd2 Bh6+ 17. Be3 Bxe3+ 18. fxe3 dxe5 with an unclear position”. (Sedina).
13. ... Nd7. “On 13. ... Nf3+ there would follow 14. Ke2 Nh4 15. Bh3 and the h4-Knight is completely out of play”. (Sedina).
14. Bh3 0-0 15. Qxb7 Nf6 16. Bg2 Ng4 17. 0-0 e5

18. h3? “Apparently, I did not remember the en passant rule! After 18. dxe6! fxe6 (there is nothing to fear from 18. ... Qh4; for example: 19. exf7+ Kh8 20. h3 Nxe3 21. fxe3 Rab8 22. Qxa6 Rxb2 23. Rab1 Rc2 24. Qa4 Re2 25. Rf3 and White’s material advantage should guarantee her a win, even though the conversion is far from simple) 19. Rad1 Rb8 20. Qxa6 Rxb2 21. Bc1! and White should win (bad is 21. Qxd6?? due to 21. ... Qh4 22. h3 Nxe3 23. fxe3 Qg3 and it is Black who wins)”. (Sedina).
18. ... Nxe3 19. fxe3 exf4 20. exf4 a5! “Black equalised — and eventually even managed to win the game”. (Sedina).
21. Rab1 Rb8 22. Qc6 Bxb2 23. Kh2?! 23. Kh1 seems to be a better square for the King, but then Black would probably continue 23. ... Rb4 with an edge.
23. ... Qe7 24. Qc2 Bd4 25. Rxb8 Rxb8 26. Qa4 Bc3 27. Qc4 Bf6 28. Rc1 g5

29. e5? After this mistake — probably due to Sedina’s time shortage — it’s all over. 29. Qe2! still offered hope.
29. ... dxe5 30. f5 Kg7 31. Rd1 Qd6 32. Qc6 Be7 33. Rc1 e4+ 34. Kh1 Qe5 35. f6+ Bxf6 36. d6 e3 37. d7 e2 38. Re1 Rb1! 39. Qxf6+ Qxf6 40. Rxb1 Qd6 41. Re1 Qxd7 42. Kg1 Qd4+ 43. Kh2 Qd2 0–1.

Pit Stop

Elena Sedina – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

Women’s World Chess Championship Knockout Tournament; match game 2; Nalchik, September 5, 2008

Sicilian Defence B53

Notes by International Master Elena Sedina, Torre & Cavallo Scacco!, No. 11, November 2008, pp. 15-16.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4. I think my opponent was already a bit surprised by my 3rd move, as in the last years I have always played here 3. Bb5+.
3. ... cxd4 4. Qxd4!? A line especially (and successfully) played by Sergio Mariotti in the 1970s, which was recently reintroduced at high level by super Grandmaster Gata Kamsky. I had prepared it, together with Grandmaster Arthur Kogan, especially for my first round opponent, Irina Krush of United States. [...] Irina then did not take part in the tournament, but my careful preparation proved not to have been in vain...
4. ... Nc6. In the first tie-break game the young Chinese preferred 4. ... a6 [...].
5. Bb5 Nf6. Here is a brilliant win by the young Chinese prodigy from the World Championship under-20 which was held a little time before than the Women’s World Championship: 5. ... Bd7 6. Bxc6 Bxc6 7. Nc3 h6 8. Be3 e5 9. Qc4 Nf6 10. 0-0-0 Qc8 11. Qd3 a6 12. Nh4! b5 13. f4 b4 14. fxe5 dxe5 15. Nd5 Bb5 16. Qd2 Qc6 17. Nf3! Nd7 18. Nxb4 Qc4 19. Nd5 Qxa2 20. Nc7+ Kd8 21. Qc3! Qa1+ 22. Kd2 Qa4 23. Nd5 Rc8 24. Bb6+ Nxb6 25. Nxb6 1–0 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Arun Prasad, 47th World Junior Chess Championship U-20, Gaziantep 2008.
6. Nc3 Bd7 7. Bxc6 bxc6? It’s a trivial and rather unexpected mistake, especially because it was committed by a player who has already achieved all the Grandmaster norms. The theoretical (and logic) move is certainly 7. ... Bxc6. Probably 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), who occasionally plays this variation as White, had her reasons to avoid the main line...
8. e5 dxe5 9. Nxe5 e6. On 9. ... Qb6 White would play 10. Qc4 provoking the advance 10. ... e6 anyway.
10. 0-0 Be7 11. Rd1. The outcome of the opening is not satisfactory for Black: in addition to her spoiled Pawn structure, she is also behind in development.
11. ... Qb6 12. Qc4. A valid alternative could be 12. Qd3!? with the idea of Qd3-g3.
12. ... Rd8 13. Bg5 h6. 13. ... Qxb2 loses quickly due to 14. Rab1 Qa3 (or 14. ... Qxc2 15. Nxd7 Nxd7 16. Bxc7 Kxc7 17. Nd5+) 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Nxd7 Bxc3 17. Qxc6 Ke7 18. Rb3 winning in both cases.
14. Be3! After the more obvious 14. Nxd7?! Nxd7 15. Bxe7 Kxe7 16. Ne4 Nf6 17. Nxf6 Kxf6 it would not have been easy to exploit the exposed position of the Black King. The key idea of the Bishop move is to transfer it to c5 trying to exchange Black’s dark-square Bishop and preventing her from castling.
14. ... Qc7. Also after 14. ... Qxb2 15. Rab1 Qxc2 the winning idea is always the same: 16. Bc5! Nd5 (after 16. ... Bxc5 17. Qxc5 Black cannot defend against White’ numerous threats) 17. Bxe7 Qxc3 18. Qxc3 Nxc3 19. Bxd8 Nxd1 20. Rxd1 and finally White remains a piece ahead.
15. Nxd7 Rxd7. On 15. ... Nxd7 there would follow 16. Nb5.
16. Rxd7 Qxd7 17. Rd1

17. ... Nd5? After this move Black ends up in a desperate position. The best try for counterplay would have been 17. ... Qb7 18. Bc5 0-0! 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Qxc6 Qb4 and White must work very hard to convert her extra Pawn.
18. Bc5 Qb7. Now the previous variation 18. ... 0-0 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Qxc6 is certainly favourable to White.
19. Nxd5 exd5?! Black’s decision to stay with the King in the centre is hard to understand. The variation 19. ... cxd5 was certainly to be preferred, even though after 20. Qa4+ Qd7 21. Qb4! (the ending after 21. Qxa7 Qxa7 22. Bxa7 Kd7 23. c4 is almost impossible to win) 21. ... a5 22. Qa3 Qc7 23. Bxe7 Qxe7 24. Qa4+ Qd7 25. Qxa5 0-0 26. c4 and White should manage to convert an extra Pawn.
20. Qe2 Kd8 21. Bd4! At this stage, exchanges definitely favour Black.
21. ... Re8 22. Re1! Keeping the Black pieces tied up is more important than immediate material gain. After 22. Bxg7?! Bg5 23. Qf3 Qe7 White would allow Black to recoordinate her forces.
22. ... f6 23. Qe3 Qc7

24. b4! Preventing Black from continuing ... c6-c5. For this reason the move 24. Bxa7?! would not be so good after 24. ... c5.
24. ... f5 25. Bxg7. The time of the harvest has finally come: the end is very near for Black. The rest of the game is of little interest.
25. ... Rg8 26. Be5 Qb7 27. Qxh6 Qxb4 28. c3 Qg4 29. Bg3 Rg6 30. Qh8+ Kd7 31. Qb8 Qg5 32. Qc7+ Ke8 33. h4 Qf6 34. h5 Rg4 35. Bd6 Re4 36. Qxc6+ Kf8 37. Bxe7+ Qxe7 38. Rxe4 Qxe4 39. Qa8+ Ke7 40. Qxa7+ Kd6 41. Qd4 Qb1+ 42. Kh2 Ke6 43. h6 Qb7 44. Qg7 Qb8+ 45. g3 Qb2 46. Kg2 1–0. In conclusion, although, after all, this win was not enough to allow me go through the round, it will remain as one of the highest achievements of my career. Now, after overcoming the bitterness of the lost tie-breaker, I thought that in any case being eliminated in the eighth-finals extra time by the World Championship finalist was not such a little thing...

Helpless

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Elena Sedina

Women’s World Chess Championship Knockout Tournament; match game 1; Nalchik, September 4, 2008

French Defence C10

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Bd3 c5 8. 0-0 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Be7 10. b3 0-0 11. Bb2 a6 12. Re1 Qc7 13. Qf3 Re8 14. Qh3!?TN (15. Rad1 Bd7 16. Qh3 g6 17. Nf3 Bb5 ½–½ Kovalev – Itkis, Alushta 1997)
14. ... e5 15. Nf5 Bxf5 16. Qxf5 Bd6 17. g3 Rad8 18. Rad1 Qe7 19. Re2 g6 20. Qg5 Kg7 21. Qh4 h6 22. f4 Nd7?? In her hurry to exchange Queens and simplify things, Sedina commits a gross blunder. Correct was 22. ... Qc7 23. Rf1 Bc5+ 24. Kg2 Qc6+ 25. Rf3 Bd4 with rough equality.
23. Qxe7 Rxe7 24. Be4 Nf8 25. Kg2 f6 26. fxe5 fxe5 27. Red2 Red7

28. Rxd6! 1–0.

Sedina glances around the room as if she’s searching for help. Photo: Russian Chess Federation.

A street to be named after Bobby Fischer

A petition with the aim of naming a street after Robert James “Bobby” Fischer in Belgrade is gaining momentum:

• Pat Anđelković, “What’s In A Name?”, BalkanInsight.com, Ocotober 13, 2008.

Turning Tables

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk

1st World Mind Sports Games; Women’s Teams Blitz Tournament; time control: 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move; 北京 (Běijīng), October 10, 2008

Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Nf3 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 a6 6. Bb3 Ba7 7. h3 0-0 8. 0-0 d6 9. Nbd2 Kh8 10. Re1 Nh5 11. Nf1 f5. 11. ... Qf6 (Lane – Anand, 75th British Chess Championship, Blackpool 1988) is probably best here.
12. Ng5 Qe8 (12. ... g6 13. Nf7+ Rxf7 14. Bxf7 fxe4 15. Bd5⩲)

13. Bf7! Rxf7 14. Qxh5 g6 15. Nxf7+ Qxf7 16. Qe2 (16. Qf3! f4 17. Be3⩲/±)
16. ... f4 17. Nh2 g5 18. b4 Bd7 19. Bb2 Rg8 20. d4 h5 21. Red1 g4 22. hxg4? 22. Kh1!∞ was called for. Now Black’s attack suddenly becomes irresistible.
22. ... hxg4 23. g3 Qh5 24. Rd2 Rg7 25. gxf4 exf4 26. Qf1 g3 27. fxg3 fxg3 28. Qf8+ Kh7 29. Kh1 Bh3 30. Qf3 Qh6 31. Re2 Ne5! 32. Qf8 0 : 1.

L’Ombre chinoise

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Mathilde Choisy
Trophée Multicoms; 3rd China–France Match; Paris, September 6, 2006
Sicilian Defence B93

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f4 e5 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. a4 Be7 9. Bd3 0-0 10. 0-0 Nc5 11. Kh1 d5 12. Nxe5 Ncxe4 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Qe2 Bf5 15. g4 Be6? Best is 15. ... Bc8 16. Rd1 Qe8 17. g5 Nd7 18. Nc4 f6 19. Nd5 fxg5 20. fxg5 b5 21. axb5 e3 22. Bxe3 Bxg5 23. Nd6 Qe5 24. Qc4 Kh8 25. Bxg5 axb5 26. Qe4 Rxa1 27. Rxa1 Qxg5 28. Rg1 Qe5 29. Qxe5 Nxe5 30. Nxc8 Rxc8 31. Re1 Nc6 32. c3 Kg8 33. Ne7+ Nxe7 34. Rxe7 b4 35. cxb4 Rc2 36. b3 Rc3 37. Kg2 Rxb3 38. Rb7 h6 39. b5 Kh7 40. Rb6 ½–½ 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Najer, 7th Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2008.
16. f5 Bd5? 16. ... Qc7! may give more scope for complications.
17. Rd1 Bd6 18. Nxd5 Bxe5 19. Bg5!? 19. Ne3 Nd7 20. g5 was probably the most methodical and scientific way of tightening the grip.
19. ... Qe8! 20. Bxf6 gxf6. 20. ... Bxf6!? was also worth considering, as after 21. Nc7 Qc6 22. Nxa8 Rxa8 Black’s exceptionally strong dark-square Bishop may well offer compensation for the Exchange.
21. Ra3

21. ... Rd8? After 21. ... h6 22. Rh3 Kg7 23. Rxh6! Rh8 (not 23. ... Kxh6? because of 24. Qe3+ Kg7 25. g5!+− with a mating attack) 24. Rh5±→ White would retain both material advantage and the attack. Black’s best was probably 21. ... Kh8!, so she could reply to 22. Rh3 with 22. ... Rg8 apparently avoiding the worst consequences.
22. Rh3. With the deadly threat of g4-g5.
22. ... Rxd5 23. Rxd5 Qc6 24. c4 Qxa4 25. g5 Qa1+ 26. Rd1 Qxb2 27. Qh5 Re8 28. g6! fxg6 29. Qxh7+ Kf8 30. Qh8+ 1–0.

丝绸之路 (Silk Road)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Tiberiu-Marian Georgescu
47th World Junior Chess Championship; Gaziantep, August 4, 2008
Sicilian Defence B25

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Bg7 6. Nxd4 cxd4 7. Qf3 Nh6 8. Ne2 0-0 9. d3 d6. 9. ... Ng4! 10. Bb3 d6 11. 0-0 а5 12. а4 Nе5 13. Qg3 Nd7 14. Qh4 Nc5 15. Bg5 Rе8 is possibly Black’s best defence, Najer – Tiviakov, 37th International Chess Tournament, Groningen 1999.
10. Qg3 Kh8?! 10. ... Ng4 was still worth considering: 11. 0-0 Ne5 12. Bb3 Nd7 (12. ... a5! 13. a4 Nd7 14. f4 Nc5 is a substantial improvement, Borsuk – Azarov, 74th Belarusian Chess Championship, Minsk 2008) 13. f4 Nc5 14. f5 Nxb3 15. cxb3! Qa5 16. Qh4 gxf5? 17. exf5 Qe5 18. Ng3 Bf6 19. Qh5 Bd7 20. Bh6 Rfc8 21. Rae1 Qd5 22. Ne4 Qe5 23. Ng5 Qd5 24. Rf3 Bxf5 25. Rxf5! Qxf5 26. Qxf7+ Kh8 27. Bg7+! 1–0 T. A. Kosintseva – Shumiakina, 54th Russian Women’s Chess Championship, Kazan 2004.
11. h4! f6 12. h5 g5 13. f4. Here 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) has probably let slip most of her advantage: after 13. Nxd4! f5 14. c3 Qc7 15. Bxg5 fxe4 16. 0-0 White would stand much better.
13. ... Bg4 14. Nxd4 gxf4 15. Bxf4 e5 16. Bxh6 Bxh6 17. Qxg4 Qa5+ 18. c3 exd4 19. 0-0 dxc3 20. bxc3 Qxc3 21. Rab1 b6 22. Rb5 a6 23. Rbf5 b5 24. Bd5 Rae8 25. Qg3 Qd4+ 26. Kh1 Re5 27. Kh2 Bg5?? A huge blunder that allows an elegant conclusion.

28. Qxg5! fxg5 29. Rxf8+ Kg7 30. R1f6! 1–0. Mate is unavoidable.

Relaxing backstage

Violinists Vladimir Tsypin, left, and Mark Ginsburg relaxing backstage at at National Centre for the Performing Arts in 北京 (Běijīng), China. Photo: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times.

The Twelfth Queen

Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

Women’s World Chess Championship Knockout Tournament; Final match game 4; Nalchik, September 17, 2008

Sicilian Defence B85

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 Be7 8. 0-0 a6 9. a4 0-0 10. f4 Qc7 11. Kh1 Bd7 12. Nb3 b6 13. Qe1 Bc8 14. Qg3 Bb7 15. f5 Kh8 16. Rad1!?TN (16. Bg5 Rae8 17. Rad1 Ne5 18. Nd4 Bd8 19. Rf4 Nfd7 20. Bh5 g6 ½ : ½ Drozdov – Okrugin, 10th Chigorin Memorial, Saint Petersburg 2002) 16. ... Rae8 17. fxe6 fxe6 18. Qh3 Bd8 19. Nd4 Nxd4 20. Rxd4 e5 21. Rc4 Qb8 22. Rd1 b5 23. axb5 axb5 24. Nxb5 Nxe4 25. Bd3 Nf6 26. Rh4. Threat: Rh4xh7+. 26. ... e4 27. Be2 Bc8

28. Qg3. In fact, they aim at opposite goals: 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) must win, Kosteniuk must not lose — which can explain why White does not dare to play 28. g4!? here. 28. ... Ba6 29. c4 Bxb5 30. cxb5 Bb6 31. Bf4 Qa7 32. Bxd6 Bf2 33. Qf4 Nd5 34. Qc1! “In response to 侯逸凡 (Hóu)’s ... Nf6-d5, with a double attack on the White Queen, Alex found 34. Qc1!. Good for Black are, 34. Qg5? Bxh4 35. Qxh4 Qf2 or 34. Qd2? Bxh4 35. Bxf8 Ne3!. (After 34. Qc1 Bxh4 35. Bxf8 Ne3 doesn’t work anymore because of 36. Bc5!)”, Woman Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade wrote in Chess Life, December 2008, p. 27. 34. .. Rc8??! A calculated miscalculation, as 34. ... Bxh4 35. Bxf8 Qf2= is not enough to hope for a win. 35. Qd2 Rfd8 36. Rxh7+ Kxh7 37. Qxd5. Black is on the verge of ruin, and can only speculate on tricky tactics. 37. ... Qe3 38. Bg4 Ra8 39. Qe6 (39. b6+−) 39. ... Kh8 40. Qe7? (40. g3) 40. ... Qh6 41. h3 Qg6 42. Qe5 Bb6 43. Bh5 Qh6 44. Bg4 e3 45. Qe4

45. ... Qf6? (45. ... e2! 46. Bxe2 Rac8∞) 46. Rd5 Ra1+ (46. ... Rxd6 47. Rh5+ Kg8 48. Qxa8+) 47. Kh2 Qxd6+. Because of the threat of Rd5-h5+ there’s nothing else Black can do. 48. Rxd6 Bc7 49. Qf5 Bxd6+ 50. g3 Kg8. Now Kosteniuk can win as she pleases, but she just doesn’t need it — hence, very chivalrously, she concedes a draw by perpetual check. 51. Qd5+ Kf8 52. Qf5+ Ke7 53. Qe6+ Kf8 54. Qf5+ Kg8 55. Qd5+ Kf8 56. Qf5+ ½ : ½.

Kosteniuk became the 12th Women’s World Chess Champion, outpointing the 14-year-old Chinese prodigy 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), mostly by virtue of her more mature experience and more effective self-control. Photo: chesspics.com.