How to Squeeze a Lemon

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – John David Bartholomew
27th Reykjavík Open; Reykjavík, March 10, 2012
Spanish Game C91

Notes by Grandmaster John David Bartholomew, Chess Life, May 2012, pp. 36-39.

Playing a world champion on equal terms is definitely a nerve-wracking affair. I had plenty of time to prepare for this game but didn’t manage to get much sleep! Nevertheless, I went in with a clear head and a desire to match wits with a formidable opponent.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. d4

The Ruy López is a cornerstone of 侯 (Hóu)’s repertoire. I devoted almost all of my preparation time to it, but this was a surprise! Previously she had always gone for the main lines with 9. h3.
9. ... Bg4 10. d5 Keeping a flexible center with 10. Be3 is equally popular.
10. ... Na5 11. Bc2 c6 12 Na5 11. Bc2 c6 12. h3 Bc8. I think White has more chances for something tangible in the line 12. ... Bxf3 13. Qxf3 cxd5 14. exd5 when Black will have to play very precisely to neutralize the Bishop pair on a board that is quickly becoming open.
13. dxc6

13. ... Qc7. GM Mihail Marin (in his notes to Adams – Aronian, Dortmund 2006) makes an astute comment on the slightly inferior 13. ... Nxc6: “Since the Pawn structure is relatively immobile, the best routes for the pieces can be easily established. The Knight has nothing to do back on c6. It would not only fail to control the relatively weak d5-square but would also be restricted in his actions by the c3-Pawn and his own e5-Pawn. Therefore, the Queen is better suited for winning the Pawn back, while the Knight can dream of being recycled via c4-b6”. I would only add that the maneuver ... Nc4-b6 very often fails to completely solve Black’s problems with this Knight, but the text does provide more interesting opportunities for counterplay.
14. Nbd2 Qxc6 15. Nf1 Nc4 16. Ng3 Re8 17. a4 Be6. I had this position against Julio Becerra in a U.S. Chess League game a couple years back. There I preferred 17. ... Bb7, but after 18. Nf5 Bf8 19. Bg5!? d5 (19. ... Nxb2 is critical) 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa8 Bxa8 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. exd5 Rd8 24. b3 Nb6 25. c4! I failed to fully equalize.
18. Ng5 Bd7 19. b3 Na5. Per my comment on move 13, 19. ... Nb6 20. a5 Nc8 still leaves the Knight in a bad way.
20. Bd2

We’ve reached a theoretically important position.
20. ... Qc7. The benefit of this natural move is that it forces White to immediately clarify the Queenside structure. The flexible alternative 20. ... Bd8!? (as seen in the aforementioned Adams – Aronian game) is fully playable; Black can also throw in 20. ... h6 21. Nf3 before committing to anything, though this does encourage White’s standard plan of Nf3-h4-f5.
21. axb5 axb5 22. Qe2 h6 23. Nf3 Be6 24. Rab1 (RR 24. Reb1 Reb8 25. Nh2 Qb7 26. Ng4 Nc6 27. b4 Nxg4 28. hxg4 Rxa1 29. Rxa1 Qc8 30. Bd1 d5 31. exd5 Bxd5 32. Nf5 Bf8 33. Ne3 Be6 34. Bc2 Ne7 35. Be1 Qc6 36. Rd1 g6 37. Qd3 Bg7 38. Qd6 ½ : ½ Becerra Rivero – Kamsky, 50th U.S. Chess Championship, San Diego 2006)
24. ... Rab8?! It wasn’t yet necessary to protect the b-Pawn. More accurate is 24. ... Bf8!, intending to meet 25. Nh4 with 25. ... g6 when Black has absolutely no problems.
25. Nh4. White enjoys a typical Kingside initiative.
25. ... Nh7 (RR 25. ... b4!? 26. c4 Nc6 27. Nhf5 Bf8)
26. Nhf5 Bg5

This was my idea beginning with 24. ... Rab8. Exchanging dark-square Bishops and targeting c3 is a positionally wellfounded plan, but it’s probably a bit artificial with the dopey Knight on h7 (matching its unhappy counterpart on a5!?).
27. h4!? Played after prolonged thought. White had a couple of tempting alternatives: 27. Nh5!? g6 28. Nhg7 gxf5 29. Nxe8 Rxe8 30. exf5 Bd7 leads to complications not unfavorable to White; The simple 27. Bxg5 hxg5 (27. ... Nxg5? 28. Nh5 is very dangerous for Black) 28. Red1 is good for a slight edge.
27. ... Bxd2 28. Qxd2 Nf6! I was very happy to get this move in. The d-Pawn is temporarily immune, so I take the opportunity to improve my worstplaced piece.
29. Re3!

Combining attack and defense. Definitely not 29. Nxd6? Red8, when the Knight will be lost; 29. Qxd6?! Qxc3 is also quite nice for Black.
29. ... d5?! I didn’t think I could afford to hesitate (e.g. 29. ... Red8 30. Rf3 sees White building up heavy threats against my King. However, in view of the opportunity on White’s 31st move perhaps 29. ... b4!? is the best attempt to cross White’s plans.
30. Rf3 Nxe4

31. Nxe4? Here the Zwischenzug 31. Nxh6+! is very strong. We both thought I would answer this with 31. ... Kf8 (not 31. ... gxh6? 32. Qxh6 with a decisive attack), when I will take the piece and evacuate my monarch to the Queenside. Nevertheless, after 32. Bxe4! dxe4 33. Nxe4 Black is in a precarious position, i.e. 33. ... Rbd8 34. Qg5 gxh6 35. Qxh6+ Ke7 36. Qg5+ Kd7 37. Nf6+ Kc6 38. Nxe8 Rxe8 when White’s chances are definitely higher (for instance, she may just start running the h-Pawn).
31. ... dxe4 32. Bxe4 (RR 32. Nxh6+ gxh6 33. Qxh6 exf3 34. Bh7+=)
32. ... Bxf5 33. Bxf5. Now I’m close to equalizing.
33. ... Qd8. During the game I was proud of this clever double attack [侯 (Hóu) later said she missed it), but it’s probably not best. (33. ... Nb7!?).
34. Qa2?! A decision dictated by our mutual time trouble. If she wants to keep Queens on, then 34. Bd7 is a better way to do so, intending 34. ... Re7 35. Rd3.
34. ... e4 35. Re3 Qd5! Centralization!
36. Bg4

36. ... Nc6? I thought I had finally made sense of this piece, but this is in fact a serious error! After 36. ... Ra8! Black may even have more choices. If I can get in ... f7-f5, then the Knight will be in no way inferior to the Bishop.
37. Rd1! 侯 (Hóu) doesn’t miss her chance.
37. ... Qe5. 37. ... Qc5 38. b4 is even worse.
38. Bd7 Red8. Unfortunately, my intended 38. ... Rbd8 just loses material after 39. Qe2.
39. Qe2 Qc7? The game is essentially over after this mistake. I needed to find 39. ... Qf6! to keep things going. Then 40. Rxe4 Qxc3 definitely looks shaky for Black, but I also don’t see any sort of knockout for White.
40. Bf5! Reaching time control with a clear Pawn in hand. Worse, I have no stable square for my Knight.
40. ... Rxd1+ 41. Qxd1 Rd8 42. Qe2 g6. Trying to arrange my Pawns on light squares, but it doesn’t really work out. I saw that 42. ... b4 43. Bxe4 bxc3 44. Rxc3 Nd4 45. Rxc7 Nxe2+ 46. Kh2 would present my opponent with only a moderately difficult technical task. Albeit depressing, this may have been the most testing.
43. Bxe4 h5 44. Bf3! Illustrating the stark contrast between Bishop and Knight. The threats are Re3-e8+ and Qe2xb5. 44. ... Na5. I couldn’t bring myself to play 44. ... Na7 with a straight face.br /> 45. Qxb5 Kh7. 45. ... Rb8 46. Re8+ is trivial. 46. ... Rxe8 47. Qxe8+ Kg7 48. Bd5.
46. g3 Rb8 47. Qg5 Rxb3 48. Re7 Rb1+ 49. Kh2 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) squeezed the most out of her Ruy López. Photo courtesy of John David Bartholomew.

“Cosmo Woman”

Cosmo Woman of the Year 2011: 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 17 — who, in the chess world, is more gorgeous than her? A chess prodigy, she is the youngest female player ever to participate in the Women’s World Chess Championship (at 12), the youngest ever to gain the Grandmaster title (at 14), and the youngest ever to win the Women’s World Championship (at 16)... Too early fame, but no sense of exhaustion yet. She just said plainly: “As a professional, you have to face constant challenges!”. Caption and photo: 时尚COSMO (COSMO Fashion).

Birthday Gift

2012年2月27日，最年轻的国际象棋 “世界棋后”侯逸凡年满18周岁。年轻的 她在母亲的陪同下，以无偿献血、捐献血样加入中华骨髓库的方式纪念人生这一特殊 日子，完成了特殊的成年礼。 On February 27, 2012, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), the youngest Women’s World Chess Champion ever, donated blood and joined the Chinese Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) for her eighteen-year-old birthday. Photos courtesy of sports.163.com.

Endgame

Krishnan Sasikiran – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
10th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 28, 2012
Catalan Opening E06

Comments in quotation marks by Grandmasters Joel Benjamin, “Liquidation on the Chess Board: Mastering the Transition Into the Pawn Ending”, New in Chess, Alkmaar, 2015, p. 220, and Karsten Müller, “CBM training: Endgames from Gibraltar”, ChessBase.com, February 4, 2012.

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 0-0 6. 0-0 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 Be4 11. Qc1 Bb7 12. a3 h6 13. Rd1 Qc8 14. b4 Nbd7 15. Nc3 Ne4 16. Qc2 Nxc3 17. Qxc3 Bd6 18. Rac1 Nb6 19. Ne1 Nc4 20. Rb1 Rd8 21. e4 e5 22. Be3 Re8 23. Nc2 Nxe3 24. Qxe3 exd4 25. Nxd4 Qg4 26. h3 Qg6 27. Nf5 Qe6 28. Nxd6 cxd6 29. Qf4 Rad8 30. Re1 Qa2 31. Ra1 Qb2 32. Qc1 Qf6 33. Qc7 Bxe4 34. Bxe4 Rxe4 35. Qxd8+ Qxd8 36. Rxe4 Qc8 37. h4 Qc3 38. Rd1 Qxa3 39. Rxd6 Kh7 40. Rdd4

“The basic plan of two Rooks against a Queen is to double-team a Pawn and to liquidate into a Pawn ending. Black has an extra Pawn so it feels like the position should be safe”. (Benjamin).
40. ... Qc1+. “Trading off White’s Queenside Pawns with 40. ... a5 41. bxa5 Qxa5 has its virtues. White would have to eliminate the b-Pawn before he could liquidate, but he might be able to achieve that. After 42. Rd1 Qc3 43. Rb1 g5 44. Reb4 Kg6 45. hxg5 hxg5 46. Rxb5 f6 47. Rd5 Qf3 48. Rd6 Kh5 49. Rbb6 f5 Black may be holding”. (Benjamin).
41. Kg2 Qc6 42. Kh2 h5.“Black is aiming for a fortress, but Black would be advised to take a more proactive approach; 42. ... g5 would make a coordinated attack on the f-Pawn difficult to arrange”. (Benjamin).
43. Re5 g6 44. Rf4 Qd7 45. Re3 Kg7 46. Ref3 Qd5? “侯 (Hóu) is hesitant to make a weakness. After 46. ... f5 my chess engines try to claim a slight edge for Black, which seems quite laughable. However, to organize an attack on the g6-Pawn or the seventh rank White will risk losing the b4-Pawn and perhaps some counterplay on his King as well”. (Benjamin)

“Two Rooks are stronger than the Queen but this depends of course a lot on the position. The Queen needs targets and the Rook stability:“. (Müller).
47. Rf6! “Sasikiran blocks the f-Pawn and forces Black to act quickly”. (Müller).
47. ... Qa2? “This way Black can not start real counterplay. The retreat 47. ... Kg8? is met by 48. Kg2 Qe4 49. Rxf7 Qxb4 50. R3f4 and Black should also be lost despite her passed Queenside Pawns, e.g. 50. ... Qc5 51. R7f6 a5 (51. ... Kg7 52. Rxa6 b4 53. Rff6 Qd5+ 54. Kh2 Qd3 55. Rfb6 Kh6 56. Ra2 Qc3 57. Rb7 Qd4+ 58. Rc2+−) 52. Rxg6+ Kh7 53. Rg5 Qc6+ 54. Kh2 a4 55. Rf7+ Kh8 56. Rxh5+ Kg8 57. Rf4 a3 58. Rg4+ Kf7 59. Rf5+ Ke7 60. Rg7+ Ke8 61. Rh5 Kf8 62. Ra7 Qf6 63. Kg1 b4 64. Rb5+−. The only way to fight on was the direct 47. ... a5! 48. bxa5 b4 when White has the choice between a Queen endgame with an extra Pawn or two Rooks against Queen: 49. R3f4 (49. Rxf7+ Qxf7 50. Rxf7+ Kxf7 51. a6 b3 52. a7 b2 53. a8=Q b1=Q with a Queen endgame which should be tenable) 49. ... b3 50. Rb6 Qxa5 51. Rxb3 Qd5 52. Rb6 f5 and White can fight on but Black has practical drawing chances”. (Müller).

48. Kg2! “Preparation for the simplification. Sasikiran wins an all important tempo for the Pawn endgame. 48. Rxf7+? violates the endgame principle do not rush: 48. ... Qxf7 49. Rxf7+ Kxf7 50. Kg2 (50. f3 Ke6 51. Kg2 Kd5 52. Kf2 Kc4 53. g4 Kxb4 54. f4=) 50. ... Ke6 51. Kf3 Kd5 52. Ke3 Kc4 53. f4 Kxb4 54. g4 Kc5 55. f5 Kd5 56. fxg6 Ke6 57. gxh5 Kf6=”. (Müller).
48. ... Kg8. “Now it’s too late for 48. ... a5 due to 49. bxa5 Qxa5 (49. ... b4 50. a6 b3 51. Rxf7+ Kh6 52. Rb7 Qxa6 53. Rff7+−) 50. Rxf7+ and White’s attack is too quick, e.g. 50. ... Kh6 (50. ... Kg8? 51. Rf8+ Kg7 52. R3f7+ Kh6 53. Rh8 mate) 51. Rb7 Qa6 52. Rff7 Qc6+ 53. Kh2 g5 54. Rh7+ Kg6 55. Rbg7+ Kf5 56. Rxg5++−”. (Müller).
49. Rxf7! Qxf7. “The Pawn endgame is lost, but 49. ... Qd5 50. R7f6+− also offers no real hope”. (Müller).
50. Rxf7 Kxf7 51. Kf3! “The King comes first to stop Black’s Queenside counterplay based on the breakthrough ... a6-a5. Afterwards White’s Kingside majority will decide the day”. (Müller).
51. ... Ke6. “After 51. ... a5 52. bxa5 b4 53. Ke4+− White’s King is in the square and Black’s King is not”. (Müller).
52. Ke4 Kd6 53. f3 Kc6

54. g4! “This advance wins the resulting races”. (Müller).
54. ... Kc7. “The breakthrough 54. ... g5 backfires due to 55. gxh5 gxh4 56. h6 h3 57. h7 h2 58. h8=Q+−. After 54. ... Kb6 55. gxh5 gxh5 56. f4 a5 57. bxa5+ Kxa5 58. f5 b4 59. f6 b3 White must deal with the b-Pawn: 60. Kd3! (60. f7? b2 61. f8=Q b1=Q+=) 60. ... Ka4 61. f7 b2 62. Kc2 Ka3 63. f8=Q++−”. (Müller).
55. gxh5 gxh5 56. f4 Kd6 57. f5 Kd7 58. Ke5 Ke7 59. f6+ 1 : 0. “侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) resigned due to 59. ... Kf7 60. Kf5 a5 61. bxa5 b4 62. Ke4!+− and White’s King stops the b-Pawn (62. a6? b3 63. a7 b2 64. a8=Q b1=Q+=)”. (Müller).

“Today I played Black against Indian Grandmaster Sasikiran. Overall the game was pretty fine for me, but alas! I missed one opportunity after another. The end eventually came in a King and Pawn ending”, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) commented afterwards. Photo courtesy of her herself.

Afternotes

Antoaneta Stefanova – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Women’s Grand Prix 2009–2011; 5h stage; Ulaanbaatar, August 11, 2010
English Opening A14

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. b3 b6 7. Bb2 c5 8. e3 Bb7 9. Nc3 Nc6 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. d4 Na5 13. Nh4 (13. dxc5!⩲ A. J. Miles – Short, 85th British Chess Championship, Torquay 1998) 13. ... Qd8 14. dxc5 Bxh4 15. gxh4 Qxh4 16. Bxb7 Nxb7 17. c6 Nc5 18. Qd4 Qh6 19. Rad1 Rac8 20. b4 Na4 21. Ba1 e5 22. Qxe5 Qg6+ 23. Kh1 Qxc6+ 24. f3 f6 25. Qg3 Rf7 26. Rg1 Nc3 27. Rd2 Qc7? (27. ... Nd5 28. e4 Ne7 29. Rd6 Qc7 30. h4 Kh8)

“The Chinese super-GM who eventually won the tournament and the Grand Prix and went on to become a World Champion, was visibly nervous during the opening. She had to find a series of accurate moves over the board, spent a lot of effort and, not surprisingly, committed some serious mistakes in the middlegame, being short of time. One final blow on move 28 or 29, and Stefanova would have won the tournament”, Grandmaster Aleksander Petkov Delchev wrote in his book “The Modern Réti — An Anti-Slav Repertoire”, Sofia, Chess Stars, 2012, p. 6. 28. Qg2 (28. Qg4+−) 28. ... Nb5 29. e4 (29. Bxf6! Rxf6 30. Rc2+−) 29. ... Na3 30. Qg4 Nc4 31. Rd3 Ne5 32. Bxe5 fxe5 33. Rgd1 Rcf8 34. Rd7 Qc6 35. Rxf7 Rxf7 36. Rd8+ Rf8 37. Rxf8+ Kxf8 38. Qf5+ Qf6 39. Qc8+ Kf7 40. Kg2 Qg5+ 41. Kf1 Qh5 42. Qd7+ Kf6 43. Qd6+ Kf7 44. Qd7+ Kf6 45. Qd8+ Kf7 46. Kg2 Qg6+ 47. Kf2 Qe6 48. a3 Qe7 49. Qd5+ Qe6 50. Qa8 Qd7 51. Kg3 Qe7 52. h4 Kg6 53. Qc8 Qf6 54. Qg4+ Kf7 55. Qd7+ Kg6 56. Qg4+ Kf7 57. Kf2 Qe6 58. Qh5+ Kg8 59. Qg5 Kf7 60. Qd8 Qe7 ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) took first place after holding Stefanova to a draw in the final round. Photo: FIDE.

The Half Has Not Been Told

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Fabiano Caruana
27th Reykjavík Open; Reykjavík, March 13, 2012
Spanish Game C78

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. d4 Bb6 9. h3 0-0 10. Be3 h6 11. Nbd2 Re8 12. Re1 Bd7. The alternative is 12. ... Bb7 13. Bc2 Nb8 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. Bxb6 cxb6 16. c4 b4 17. Nf1 Nbd7 18. Qd2 Nc5 19. Qxb4 Nfxe4 20. Rad1 Qc7 21. Ne3 a5 22. Qa3 Rad8 23. Rxd8 Qxd8 24. Rd1 Qc7 ½ : ½ Svidler – Caruana, 4th Chess World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2011, match game 2. 13. Qb1!? A new try, aiming for something more than 13. Bc2 Qb8 14. a3 a5 15. Bd3 Qa7 16. Bxb5 exd4 17. cxd4 Nxd4 18. Bxd7 Nxd7 19. Nxd4 Bxd4 20. Rc1 Bxe3 21. Rxe3 a4 which led to nothing special for white, Navara – Caruana, 74th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2012. 13. ... Na5 14. Bc2 c5 15. d5 c4 16. b4! cxb3 17. axb3 Bxe3 18. Rxe3 Nb7 19. b4 Nh5 20. Bd3 Nf4 21. Bf1 Rf8! 22. c4 bxc4. If 22. ... f5 then 23. c5! with a bid for the initiative. 23. Bxc4 a5 24. bxa5 Nxa5 25. Qb4. 25. Bf1 f5 was not too appealing. 25. ... Nxc4. Maybe 25. ... Nxg2!? 26. Rea3 Bxh3∞ sounded too unclear for Caruana. 26. Rxa8 Qxa8 27. Nxc4 Qa1+ 28. Re1 Qa2 29. Nfd2 Rc8 30. Re3 Qc2 31. Kh2! Nd3? As a consequence of his shortage of time, Caruana makes a fatal faux pas. Correct was 31. ... Qd1! (Δ 32. ... Rxc4! 23. Nxc4? Qf1!−+) 32. Qb3 Qa1= where if 33. Nb6 then 33. ... Rc1! 34. Nxd7 Rh1+ 35. Kg3 Qg1 36. Qb8+ Kh7 37. Nf8+ with perpetual check. 32. Qb7+− Nc5 33. Qb6 Nd3 34. Nxd6. White could also wait to win the d-Pawn and first play 34. Rg3!? with an overwhelming position. 34. ... Rf8 35. N6c4. 35. N2c4 was even simpler and stronger, for if 35. ... Nxf2? then 36. Nxe5 Bxh3!? 37. Rg3 winning easily. 35. ... Nxf2 36. Qb1 Qxb1 37. Nxb1 Bb5 38. Nba3 Ba6 39. Nxe5 Re8 40. d6 Bb7 (40. ... Rxe5?? 41. d7+−)

41. Nxf7?? Strangely, after reaching the time control, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) misses her big chance! As argued by the ChessBase guys, 41. Nac4 Nxe4 42. d7 Rd8 43. Na5 Bd5 44. Rd3 Nf6 45. Rxd5 Cxd5 46. Cb7 “was one way of converting the advantage to victory”. 41. ... Kxf7 42. Rf3+ Ke6 43. Nb5 Rb8!= 44. Rxf2 Bxe4 45. Re2 Rxb5 46. Rxe4+ Kxd6 47. Kg3 Kd5 ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Fabiano Caruana. Photo: skak.blog.is.

The Ice Sword

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Hannes Hlífar Stefánsson
27th Reykjavík Open; Reykjavík, March 11, 2012
Vienna Game C26

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3. Jacques Mieses’s speciality.
3. ... d5 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nxc3 (5. ... Be6 6. Nf3!)
6. bxc3 Bd6 7. Nf3 0-0 8. 0-0 Nd7. Another continuation is 8. ... Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 c6 11. d4 Nd7 12. Qd3 f5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Qd4 Qc7 15. Bf4 Nf7 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. Rab1 Qxd4 18. cxd4 Nd6 19. c4 Rf7 20. c5 Ne4 21. Rfe1 Nf6 22. Re5 Rd8 23. Rxf5 Rxd4 24. Rf3 Rfd7 25. Rfb3 Rd1+ 26. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 27. Kh2 Rd7 28. g4 g5 29. Kg3 Re7 30. h4 h6 31. hxg5 hxg5 32. f4 gxf4+ 33. Kxf4 Rf7 34. Kg3 Kg7 35. Bf3 Kg6 36. Rb4 Kg5 37. a4 a5 38. Rb3 Re7 39. Rb2 Ne8 40. Rh2 Nf6 41. Rb2 Ne8 42. Rh2 Ng7 43. Rh8 Re8 44. Rh2 Re5 45. Rb2 Kf6 46. Rh2 Re7 47. Rh8 Ne6 48. Ra8 Nd4 49. Kf2 Ke5 50. Kg3 Kf6 51. Kf2 Ke5 52. Kg3 Kf6 ½ : ½ 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – So, 1st Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chess Tournament, New Delhi 2011.
9. d4 c6. Or 9. ... exd4 10. cxd4 Nb6 11. Ng5 Be7 12. h4 h6 13. Ne4 c6 14. a4 Be6 15. Nc5 Bxc5 16. dxc5 Nc4 17. Rb1 (Short – Nunn, 5th Grandmasters Association World Cup Tournament, Rotterdam 1989) 17. ... Qa5 18. Rxb7 Qxc5⩱ (Nunn).
10. Re1 exd4. If 10. ... Qc7 then 11. Qd3! c5 12. Rb1 exd4 13. cxd4 c4 14. Qd2! Nb6 15. d5 Bd7 16. Bb2 Rae8 17. Ng5!↑ Marinković – Pavasovič, Čačak 1995.
11. cxd4 Nb6 12. Qd3. If 12. Ng5 then 12. ... h6 13. Ne4 Be7= (Pavasovič).
12. ... h6 13. c4 Bb4 14. Bd2 Bxd2 15. Nxd2 Qf6 16. a4 Bf5 17. Qc3 Rad8 18. a5 Nc8 19. Nb3 b6 20. Re5 c5 21. Rae1 (21. dxc5?? Rd3−+)
21. ... cxd4 22. Nxd4 Bd7 23. c5 bxc5 24. Qxc5 g6 25. h4 h5 26. Ne2 Rfe8 27. Nf4 Rxe5 28. Rxe5 Qd6

29. Qc3. Threatening both Nf4xh5 and Re5-d5. The Exchange sacrifice 29. Rxh5!? Bf5 30. Rxf5 gxf5 31. Qxf5 was interesting, but after 31. ... Ne7 32. Qg5+ Kf8 33. h5 Ng8 Black should save the day. Probably best was 29. Qe3! (threatening again both Nf4xh5 and Re5-d5) and if 29. ... Bc6 then 30. Nd5 with advantage to White.
29. ... Ne7 30. Nd5 Be6 31. Nf6+ Kf8 32. Nh7+ Kg8 33. Nf6+ Kf8 34. Rc5 Nf5 (34. ... Qd1+ 35. Kh2 Qd2=)
35. Nh7+ Kg8 36. Nf6+ Kf8 37. Nd5 Kg8? (37. ... Ne7 38. Nxe7 Kxe7 39. Rc7+ Rd7 40. Rxd7+ Kxd7 41. Qe3±)

38. Rc6!+− Qb8? (38. ... Qf8 39. Nf6+ Kh8 40. Nxh5+ Nd4 41. Nf4+−)
39. Nf6+ Kf8

40. Rxe6! 1 : 0. Because of 40. ... fxe6 41. Nd7+ Rxd7 42. Qh8+.

She must have scared him off with her half hand. Photo: skak.blog.is.

朝圣 (Pilgrimage)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) kneeling at Bobby Fischer’s grave in Selfoss, Iceland on March 3, 2012. Photos: skak.blog.is.

Twosome

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Guðlaug Þorsteinsdóttir
27th Reykjavík Open; Reykjavík, March 6, 2012
Sicilian Defence B43

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 a6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qc7 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Nxc6 dxc6 8. f4 e5 9. Qf3 Nf6 10. f5 Bc5 11. a4 a5 12. Qg3 Rg8 13. Qh4 Bd7 14. Bc4 Qb6 15. Bb3 0-0-0

16. Bxf7? A liberty that could cost her dear. 16. Bd2 g5! is double-edged but probably balanced as well (17. Bxg5 Bd4∞). 16. ... Rgf8 17. Bb3

17. ...Bd4? So Þorsteinsdóttir’s opportunity passes by. Instead, 17. ... Be8! just stuck the White King in the centre with crushing effect (18. Bd2? Bh5!−+). 18. Bd2 Be3? Two mistakes in a row are too many. Both 18. ... Bxc3 19. bxc3 c5∞ and 18. ... Be8∞ would have kept Black in the game. 19. 0-0-0 Bxd2+ 20. Rxd2 Qb4 21. Rf1 c5 22. Bd5 Bxa4 23. Qg3 Nxd5 24. Nxd5 Qb5 25. Rfd1 1 : 0.

Reykjavík City Councilor Óttarr Proppé makes the first move for 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), the reigning Women’s World Chess Champion, against Icelandic Women’s pluri-Champion Guðlaug Þorsteinsdóttir. Photo: skak.blog.is.

Flat World

Humpy Koneru – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Women’s World Chess Championship match game 6; Tirana, November 21, 2011
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

“On the evening before the sixth game 侯 (Hóu) suffered acute stomach pain and was rushed to hospital. She refused pills, declined to ask for a postponement and won that game in style”, Leonard Barden wrote in his The Guardian chess column of December 2, 2011. 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s specialty. “It was a normal opening, I prepared some line. I’ve got very decent position after the opening. I had two bishops. I wanted to press for a win. At the beginning I had a lot of time but then I was trying to find the best line. I was afraid that some variations would lead to draw”, then Koneru said. 5. Qa4+. In the second game Koneru preferred 5. cxd5, but after 5. ... exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. e3 c4 9. Be2 g5 10. Bg3 Ne4 11. Rc1 Qa5 12. Ne5 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Nc6 14. 0-0 0-0 15. Bf3 Nxg3 16. fxg3 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Be6 18. Bh5 Qxa2 19. Rf6 Qb2! 20. Rxh6 Bf5! Black seized the upper hand, Koneru – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), Women’s World Chess Championship match game 2, Tirana 2011. 5. ... Nc6 6. e3 0-0 7. Bd2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bd6 9. Qc2. 9. 0-0 a6 10. Be2 Bd7 11. Qb3 b5 12. Qc2 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. f4 Bd6 16. Bf3 c6 17. Kh1 Qc7 18. Ne2 Nd5 19. Rac1 Rac8 20. Qd3 Nb4 21. Qb1 a5 22. e4 f6? (22. ... Rfd8 23. a3 Na6) 23. Rfd1 Be6 24. a3!!+− Ba2 25. Bxb4! Bxb1 26. Bxd6 Qf7 27. Rxb1 Rfe8 28. e5 h6 29. Nd4 Qd7 30. h3 fxe5 31. fxe5 c5 32. Bg4 Qb7 33. Bxc8 Rxc8 34. Nb3 Qb6 35. Nxc5 Rxc5 36. Bxc5 Qxc5 37. e6 Kf8 38. Rbc1 Qg5 39. Rc7 Kg8 40. e7 1 : 0 周健超 (Zhōu Jiànchāo) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 1st 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament, 儋州 (Dānzhōu) 2010. 9. ... a6 10. a3 e5 11. dxe5. Koneru: “This move is not a novelty, there were few games played in this variation before”. 11. ... Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. f4 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Qe7 15. 0-0! An interesting Pawn sacrifice. If, instead, 15. Bd4 Black could reply with 15. ... b6 followed by ... c7-c5. 15. ... Qxe3+ 16. Kh1. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán): “I was spending a lot of time here as I knew White has a better position so I tried to find some plan”. 16. ... Qb6 17. f5. The initiative and the Bishop pair compensate for the Pawn. 17. ... Bd7 18. Bb4 Rfe8. Asked at the press conference if she had been considering 18. ... Ng4, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) replied: “Already at this moment in the game I had a little time. I saw this move, but decided to simply move the Rook”. 19. Rad1 Qc6 20. Qb3. Koneru also considered 20. Bxf7+ Kxf7 21. Qb3+ Be6 22. fxe6+ Rxe6 but eventually discarded it as “In this position I did not see a proper plan for White”. However, after 23. Rc1 Qb6 24. Rc5 White keeps a slight edge. 20. ... Kh8. Black gives back the Pawn for the second (seventh) rank (20. Bxf7 Re2). 21. Rc1 Qb6. Most engines gave the “tricky variation” 21. ... Re5 (Δ 22. Bxf7? Rxf5!), but White could content herself with 22. Bd3 Qd5 23. Bc4 repeating moves. 22. Bxf7 Re5 23. Bc3. Or 23. Qg3 Re2(!) with equality. 23. ... Qxb3 24. Bxb3 Re3 25. Bc4 Rae8 26. Bd4 R3e7 27. Ba2 Re2 28. Bf7 R8e7 29. Bc4 R2e4. Koneru: “After this move I had already bad position”. 30. Bc5? Koneru: “I saw the move 30. Bxf6 before, but I missed it in this position!”. After 30. ... gxf6 31. Bd5 White retains an edge. 30. ... Re8 31. Bf7 T8e5 32. Ba2? Koneru wastes time. With 32. Bb4 Bc6 33. Rc2 White safely stays within the draw zone; for instance: 33. ... Re2 34. Rxe2 Rxe2 35. Rd1 g6 36. Bc4 Rc2 37. Bc3 Kg7 38. fxg6 Rxg2 39. Bd5 Bxd5 40. Rxd5 Rxg6 41. Rd7+ Kg8 42. Rxc7 b5 with equality. 32. ... Bc6. The threat of ... Re4-e2 is in the air. 33. Rg1? White’s best was 33. Rfd1(!) in order to met 33. ... Re2 by 34. Be6!∞ with unclear play. 33. ... Re2 34. Bd4 (34. Be6?? Rxc5! 35. Rxc5 Ne4−+) 34. ... Rxf5 35. Bc4 Rd2 36. Bc3? Still a mistake, but 36. Be6 Rh5 cannot be too better. 36. ... Ne4! With a mate in mind: 37. Bxd2?? Nf2#. The “dual” is 36. ... Ng4! with the elegant pointe of 37. h3 Rf3!!−+ (38. hxg4 Rh3#). 37. Rge1? Tantamount to surrender, but also 37. h3 Nxc3 38. Rxc3 Rff2 is an easy win for Black.

37. ... Ng3+! 38. hxg3 Rh5+ 0 : 1. Because of 39. Kg1 Rxg2+ 40. Kf1 Rh1#.

Humpy Koneru (left) vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (right). Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich.

Manifesto

Bring out the future! The future              will not come of its own accord, unless we           take measures. Komsomol, get it by the gills, Pioneers, grab it by the tail! The Commune                     is not a fairy-tale princess to dream of                       in the night. Calculate,               think,                        observe, and advance,               even though in little things. Communism                     does not live only in the ground,                 in sweat factories. It also lays out in homes,                              on eating tables, in relationships,                              in family,                                       in the way of life. Who all day                           screeches with filthy and colorful rants,                                          like a badly oiled wagon, who      falls into delight                      when a balalaika sweeps, is not          ready yet                                for the future. Bursts of machine gun fire               on front lines: but war                           is not only                                        one! The attack on families                                    and the housing crisis are not a lesser threat                      to us. Who is not able to resist                        domestic pressure, and sleeps              comfortably                                    among paper roses, is not          ready yet for a strong                        future life. Just like an overcoat                              so too can time be eaten away                    by the moths                                 of byt. The unworn clothes                                    of our times shake up, Komsomol! Tirate fuori il futuro! Il futuro              non viene da solo, se noi           non ci diamo da fare. Acchiappalo per le pinne, komsomol! Acchiapalo per la coda, pioniere! La Comune                     non è una principessa da fiaba per sognarsela                       la notte. Calcola,               rifletti,                        osserva, e avanza,               anche se in cose da poco. Il comunismo                     non vive soltanto nella terra,                 nel sudore delle fabbriche. È anche nelle case,                              a tavola, nei rapporti,                   nella famiglia,                                       nel modo di vivere. Chi tutto il giorno                           stride in sozzi e coloriti improperi,                                          come un carro male oliato, chi      va in estasi                      quando geme una balalajka, non è          ancora pronto                                per il futuro. Sui fronti               scariche di mitraglia: non sta in questo,                           soltanto,                                        la guerra! L’attacco delle famiglie                                    e quello degli alloggi non è per noi                      una minaccia da meno. Chi non resiste                        alla pressione domestica, e dorme              comodamente                                    tra rose di carta, non è          ancora pronto per la possente                        vita futura. Come una pelliccia                              è anche il tempo: se lo mangia                    la tarma                                 del nostro modo di vivere. Scuotilo tu, komsomol,                                    l’abito polveroso di questi nostri giorni! Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky, 1925