The Hour of the Star

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Henrique da Costa Mecking
71st Corus Chess Tournament (B Group); Wijk aan Zee, January 23, 2009
Spanish Game C86

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Qe2 b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. c3 d6 9. Rd1 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. d5 Bd7 13. Nbd2 Nh5 14. Nf1 g6 15. b3 Ng7!? The uninfluential alternative is 15. ... Bf6 16. g3 Bg7 ½ : ½ Tomić – Blagojević, 6th Bosnia and Herzegovina Team Chess Championship, Vogošća 2007 16. Bh6 Rfb8. Theory provides a not-too-probing variation in theme: 16. ... f6 17. h3 Nb7 18. a4 Rfb8 19. Ne3 ½ : ½ Matikozian – A. Stein, IBAR Invitational, Santa Monica 2005. 17. h3 Nb7 18. g4 a5 19. Bd3 Nd8 20. Ng3 f6 21. Be3 Nf7 22. Kh2

22. ... b4? 22. ... a4 seems a little more suitable to Black’s already overburdened position, if nothing else because after 23. b4(!) c4 24. Bc2± White would only exploit her advantage on one wing. Now 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is easily able to establish an overwhelming grip on her opponent all over the board. 23. a4 Kh8 24. Rac1 bxc3 25. Rxc3 Qc8 26. Nd2 Ne8 27. Nc4 Nc7 28. Bd2 Ne8 29. Bc2 Bd8 30. Qf1 Be7 31. Re3 Qc7 32. Bc3 Bc8 33. Qe1 Bd8 34. Nf1 Kg8 35. Rg3 Qa7 36. Nfe3 Qc7 37. Rb1 Rb4? Black’s Exchange sacrifice is of no avail at all, but even without it, in the long run, he could not avoid to pay a material price for his strategic zugzwang. 38. Bxb4 axb4 39. Bd3. Game over: the rest is matter of technique 39. ... Qb8 40. Qe2 Ra7 41. Ra1 Nc7 42. Rgg1 Bd7 43. Qf1 Be8 44. h4 Be7 45. f4 Qd8 46. Rd1 Na8 47. Qf2 Nb6 48. Nxb6 Qxb6 49. Nc4 Qd8 50. fxe5 fxe5 51. g5 h6 52. gxh6 Nxh6 53. Rdf1 Kh7 54. Qg2 Bxh4 55. Ne3 Bf6 56. Bb5 Bf7 57. Rf3 Kg7 58. Rh3 Ng8 59. Nf5+ Kf8 60. Nh6 Nxh6 61. Rxh6 Bg7 62. Rh3 Bf6 63. Qg4 Bg7 64. Rf1 Kg8 65. Qg3 Bf6 66. Rg1 Bg7 67. Be2 Bf6 68. Qe3 Be8 69. Qh6 Bg7 70. Qe3 Bf6 71. Bg4 Rh7 72. Be6+ Kg7 73. Rxh7+ Kxh7 74. Qh3+ Bh4 75. a5 Kg7 76. a6 Bf2 77. Rf1 Bd4 78. a7 Qa5 79. Qf3 Kh6 80. Qf8+ Kh5 81. Qh8+ Kg5 82. Qf6+ Kh6 83. Kg3 1 : 0. “[...] I played badly against the Chinese. The game was good for me. There were people that criticised my game, my Spanish Opening. There’s nothing to do with it, I was in a good position. I was tired, exhausted, worried about my defeats. I feared losing 25 points and get the last position at the tournament. When the situation is not good, you have to avoid losing points”, Mecking will tell Rádio Xadrez about a year later.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Henrique da Costa Mecking. Photo: Corus Chess.