Painting a Wall

Pentala Harikrishna – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
5th György Marx Memorial; Paks, August 14, 2007
Queen’s Indian Defence E15

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 Bb7 6. Bg2 c5 7. d5!?

“It could be argued that this gambit is one of a number of reasons for the overall decline in popularity of the Queen’s Indian at Grandmaster level”, Grandmaster John Emms writes. “Even though reliable defences for Black have been discovered, it remains a difficult line to meet over the board and therefore not to everyone’s taste”.
7. ... exd5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. 0-0 Be7 10. Rd1 Qc8 11. Nc3!? Harikrishna ventures into unexplored territory. About a year later, another opponent vainly tried his luck with more traditional means: 11. Qf5 Nf6 12. Nc3 Nc6 13. Bg5 d5 14. Qf4 d4 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Nd5 Bd8 17. e3 Ne7 18. Nxe7 Bxe7 19. exd4 0-0 20. dxc5 bxc5 21. Rac1 Rb8 22. b3 Bxf3 23. Bxf3 Rb6 24. Rd5 g6 25. Kg2 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Qxd8 27. Qa4 Qc7 28. Bd5 Kg7 29. Qe4 Qd6 30. a3 Bf6 31. Qf3 Qe7 32. Qe3 ½ : ½ Sargissian – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 2nd Ruy López International Chess Festival, Mérida 2008.
11. ... Nxc3 12. bxc3 d5 13. Bg5 Nc6

14. Qa4. Perhaps 14. Rxd5 h6 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 16. Rd6 0-0 17. Rad1⩲ was worth considering here.
14. ... 0-0 15. Rxd5 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 h6 17. Nh3 Ne7 18. Rd7

18. ... Bc6 19. Bxc6 Nxc6 20. Rd6. If 20. Rad1 then 20. ... Nb8! 21. Rd6 Qxh3 22. Rd8 Na6! liquidating into roughly the same ending as in the game.
20. ... Qxh3 21. Qxc6 Qg4 22. Qb5 Rae8 23. Rd2 Re7 24. Rad1 Rfe8 25. e3 Qe4 26. Qe2 Qe5 27. Rd3 Qe4 28. Rd5 Re6 29. R1d3 Qc4 30. Rd7 Qa4 31. Qd2 R6e7 32. Rxe7 Rxe7 33. Rd8+ Kh7 34. f3 Qc6 35. Qd3+ g6 36. e4 h5 37. Qd2 Kg7 38. Rd6 Qb5 39. Kg2 Qc4 40. Rd8 Qe6 41. Rd5 Qf6 42. h4 Kh7 43. Rd6 Qe5 44. Kf2 Kg7 45. Rd5 Qe6 46. Kg2 Qf6 47. Qd3 Qc6 48. Rd8 Qa4 49. Qd2 Qc4 50. Kg1 Qe6 51. Rd6 Qe5 52. Kg2 Kh7 53. Rd5 Qf6 54. Qg5 Qe6 55. Qf4 f5 56. Qd6 Qxd6 57. Rxd6 ½ : ½.

The best defence is a good defence. Photo: marxgy.ase.hu.