Think Twice

Tatiana Anatolyevna Kosintseva – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
1st 杭州 (Hángzhōu) WGM Chess Tournament, 杭州 (Hángzhōu), July 18, 2011
Sicilian Defence B42

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. 0-0 e5 7. Bg5 h6. Of course after 7. ... exd4 8. e5 White wins back the piece with interest. 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Nf5 d5? Very unsound. 9. ... g6! 10. Ne3 Bc5 seems to be good. 10. Nc3 d4 11. Nd5 Qd8

12. Bc4!TN (12. Ng3 g6 13. f4 exf4 14. Nxf4 Nc6 15. Bc4 Ne5 16. Bb3 Bg7 17. Nge2 Bg4 18. h3 Bxe2 19. Qxe2 0-0 20. Rad1 Kh7 21. Nd3 ½ : ½ Vallejo Pons – Kunte, 11th Bagnkok Chess Club Thailand Open, Pattaya, April 14, 2011) 12. ... Nc6 (12. ... g6? 13. Nxd4! exd4? 14. Qxd4+−) 13. f4 Na5 14. Qd3 Bxf5 15. exf5 Rc8 16. Bb3 Nxb3 17. Qxb3 Bc5 18. fxe5 O-O 19. Kh1 Qd7

20. f6 g5 21. Qf3 Kh7 22. c4 dxc3 23. Nxc3 Rfd8 24. Rad1 Qe6 25. Qxb7. White has two Pawns ahead and also a crushing advantage. 25. ... Kg8 26. Qe4 Bf8 27. h3 Rb8 28. b3 Re8 29. Rd5 Rb4 30. Qd3 Rh4 31. Ne4 Rc8 32. Nd6 Rc3 33. Qxc3 Qxd5 34. Nf5 Re4 35. Qc8 Qb5 36. Ne7+ Kh7 37. Rg1 Bxe7 38. Qf5+ 1 : 0.

Such an outcome may suggest that perhaps it is time for 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) to rethink her theory. Photo courtesy of Chess-News.ru.