To Each Her Own

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Judit Polgár
10th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 24, 2012
Sicilian Defence B46

Notes by 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán).

I missed Gibraltar several times, finally I came for the 10th anniversary. This year’s festival attracted many strong players, particularly my opponent in this round :).

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 Nge7!? Usually she plays the main line such as the following: 6. ... Qc7 7. 0-0 Nf6.
7. Bf4. Another choice here is 7. Be3 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 b5 (8. ... Nc6 9. Qb6!?) 9. 0-0 Nc6 10. Qd2 Be7.
7. ... Ng6 (7. ... e5 8. Nxc6 Nxc6 9. Be3) 8. Nxc6. I was confused about this position — should I exchange her Knight then head into an ending which is not clear for me or retain more pieces so as to make the position complicated? After thinking for a long time, I decided to choose the simple way.
8. Bg3 Be7 9. h4 (Interesting sacrifice! 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Qd2 d6 11. Rad1 Qc7) 9. ... Bxh4 (9. ... Nxh4!? Keeping the dark-squared Bishop does not allow White to take control of a series of dark squares) 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bxh4 Nxh4 12. Qd4 (12. g3 Ng6 13. Qd6 Qe7 14. 0-0-0 Qxd6 15. Rxd6 Ke7) 12. ... 0-0 13. e5 Ng6 14. Bd3 f5 A comfortable position for Black, Svidler – Volokitin, 12th Russian Team Chess Championship, Sochi 2005.
8. ... bxc6 9. Bd6 Bxd6 10. Qxd6 Qe7 11. 0-0-0 Qxd6 12. Rxd6 Ke7 13. Rhd1!? Nf4 14. Bf3 Rb8. At one point I was a little bit worried about 14. ... Nd5 15. exd5 Kxd6 16. dxc6+ Kc7 17. cxd7 Bb7! (this I had missed when playing 9. Bd6) 18. Bxb7 Kxb7 19. Ne4 Rhd8 (19. ... Kc6? 20. Nd6! Rhf8 21. Ne8 Rd8 22. Rd6+ Kc5 23. a3) 20. Nc5+ Kc6 21. b4 a5 22. a3 axb4 23. axb4 Rab8 (calculating until here, I thought this would totally comfortable for White, e.g. 23. ... Ra1+ 24. Kd2 Rxd1+ 25. Kxd1 Ra8 26. c4) 24. c3 Rb5! 25. Kc2 Rxc5 26. bxc5 Kxc5 This is the easiest way for Black to get an equal position: just by waiting there.
15. R6d2 g5!? An interesting move, pushing first before the Knight goes back to g6. Black wants to control the dark squares. 15. ... e5 This looks normal and has been played a few times before. The idea of this is to bring the Knight back to the e6-square which is a more active place than g6; in the meantime it can also stop White’s idea of e4-e5. 16. Nb1!? (pointed out from the engine) 16. ... Ne6 17. Na3 f6 18. c3 The position is easy to play for White.
15. ... d5!? 16. g3 Ng6 17. Be2.
16. Na4. Planning c2-c4, that’s why Judit played ... d7-d5 immediately.

16. ... d5 17. g3 Ng6 18. Re1 Kf6 19. Bh5. During the game I was confused between this move and b2-b3. Actually the latter looks more natural, say 19. b3 h5 20. Be2 h4 21. Nc5 a5 22. c4 The light-squared Bishop is in a terrible place and it’s not easy for her to get it out.
19. ... Rb4! I missed this when I played 19. Bh5!
20. Nc3. A solid choice to keep a balanced position. If 20. Nc5 Rc4 21. Nd3 Rxe4 22. Rxe4 dxe4 23. Nc5 Ke5! 24. b4 f5 25. Be2 Ne7 26. Bxa6 e3! 27. fxe3 Bxa6 28. Nxa6 Nd5 the King on e5, the active Knight and the central Pawns offer enough compensation for Black.
20. ... d4? A dubious continuation, I guess maybe Judit missed my next move.
In view of the threat to take on d5, Black should choose 20. ... a5!? 21. b3 Rf8 22. Kb2.
20. ... Rb7 21. f4!? During the game I calculated like this: 21. ... gxf4 22. gxf4 Nxf4 23. Rf2 Kg5! 24. Rg1+ Kxh5 25. Rxf4 I thought this position is absolutely hazardous for Black so I stopped here, but as I check the engine right now, it tells me this is totally equal! In spite of this, I feel I still prefer to play White.

21. e5+! Nxe5 22. Ne4+ Ke7 23. Nxg5

23. ... h6? A huge mistake leading to a lost position.
23. ... f6□ 24. f4 (24. Nxe6 Bxe6 25. f4 Rb5):
A) 24. ... Nc4?! 25. Rxd4 fxg5 26. Be2! (26. b3 c5! 27. Rxc4 Rxc4 28. bxc4 gxf4 29. gxf4 Rf8=);
B) 24. ... fxg5 25. Rxe5 (25. fxe5 Rf8) 25. ... gxf4 26. gxf4 d3! 27. Rxd3 Rxf4 What a comfortable position for White: Black has four isolated Pawns with a Bishop on its starting square, though I do not have a clear plan to exploit this.
24. Nxe6! Bxe6 24. ... Kxe6 25. f4 f6 26. fxe5 fxe5 27. b3! (an intelligent move! 27. a3 Ra4 28. b3 Rxa3 29. Kb2 Ra5 30. Rxd4) 27. ... Kd6 28. c3 Rb5 29. cxd4+−.
25. Rxe5 Rd8 26. f4 (26. Bf3 Rb5!) 26. ... Rb5 27. Rde2 Kf6 28. Bf3 c5?! A better choice here is 28. ... Bc4 29. R2e4±. 29. a4 Rb4 30. Rxc5 Rxa4 31. b3 Rb4 32. Be4! Bg4 33. Re1 Rd6 34. Bd3 Bd7 35. Ree5 Be6 36. Kd2 Rbb6 37. Ra5 Rbc6 38. Ra4 Rb6 39. Re4 Bf5 40. Rexd4 Re6 41. Bc4 Rec6 42. Ra5 Bc8 43. Bd3 Be6 44. Rd8 Bc8 45. Rad5 Be6 46. Rh5 Kg7 47. f5 1 : 0. 47. ... Bc8 48. f6+ Rxf6 (48. ... Kxf6 49. Rxc8 Rxc8 50. Rxh6+) 49. Rxc8. Thanks for your attention :).

Passing the torch. Photos: Željka Malobabić © Tradewise Insurance Ltd.