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. |