Happily Ever After

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Simone De Filomeno
The Youth Friendly Match; game 1; Florence, February 8, 2014
Sicilian Defence B70

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 g6 7. 0-0 Bg7 8. a4 0-0 9. Be3 Nc6 10. Qd2 Bd7 11. Rfd1 Ne5!? A questionable improvisation. Most usual is 11. ... Rc8 and then, for example, 12. f3 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Be6 14. a5 Bc4 15. Ra4 Bxe2 16. Qxe2 Nd7 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Nd5 Rc6 19. Qd2 Nf6 20. Nxf6 exf6 21. Rd4 Qc7 22. Rc1 b6 23. axb6 ½ : ½ Ivanchuk – Gelfand, Amber Blindfold Chess Tournament, Monte Carlo 2000.
12. f3. After thinking for almost ten minutes.
12. ... Rc8 13. a5 Nc4 14. Bxc4 Rxc4 15. Nde2 Rc8 16. b3 Bc6 17. Bb6 Qe8 18. Bd4 Nd7 19. Nd5 Bxd4+ 20. Nxd4 Bxd5 21. exd5 Nf6 22. c4 Qd7 23. Re1

White’s advantage is manifest due, among other things, to the weakness of Black’s backward e-Pawn.
23. ... Rce8 24. Qg5 Nh5 25. Rad1. It ain’t no use in 25. g4 Ng7.
25. ... e5 26. dxe6 fxe6

27. Ne2. During the game, a kibitzer suggested 27. c5!? to which, however, Black would have replied 27. ... Nf4! “with unclear play” — as 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) pointed out at dinner that evening.
27. ... Qc7 De Filomeno forsakes his only and last opportunity to play 27. ... d5, whereupon might have followed the same move (28. Qd2) as in the actual game.
28. Qd2 Qc5+ 29. Kf1

29. ... Rd8? Should be the losing move! If nothing else, 29. ... Qc6 would have set a trap for White, because if she carelessly took the Pawn with 30. Qxd6?? there would have followed 30. ... Rxf3+! with perpetual check.
30. Nd4+− Nf4 31. Nxe6 Nxe6 32. Rxe6 d5 33. Re5 1 : 0.

It was a very hard start for Simone De Filomeno, who was literally crushed by Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) in the first game of The Youth Friendly Match which took place in the dance room of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” in Florence, Italy on Saturday, February 8, 2014.