Water on Fire

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov

5th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 1; time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Tromsø, August 13, 2013

Sicilian Defence B77

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nge2 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 0-0 8. Bb3 d6 9. f3 Bd7 10. Qd2 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 b5 12. a4 bxa4 13. Bxa4 a5 14. 0-0 Qc7. Or similarly 14. ... Rb8 15. Bxd7 Qxd7 16. b3 Qc7 17. Rf2 e6 18. Qd3 d5 19. exd5 Rfd8 20. Qe3 Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Bxd4 22. Qxd4 Rxd5 23. Qe3 Re5 24. Qc1 Rd8 25. g3 Qc3 26. Rb1 h5 27. Qb2 Re1+ 28. Kg2 Qe3 29. Rxe1 Qxe1 30. c4 Rd3 31. c5 Qc3 32. Qb1 Rd5 33. Rc2 Rd2+ 34. Rxd2 Qxd2+ 35. Kh3 Qc3 36. Qg1 Qxf3 37. Qc1 Qc6 38. Qc3 Kh7 39. Qf6 Kg8 40. Qd8+ Kh7 41. Qf6 Qxc5 42. Qxf7+ Kh6 43. Qxe6 Qc3 ½ : ½ Vallejo Pons – Topalov, 25th Ciudad de León Masters, León 2012, match game 1 (time control: 40 minutes plus 25 seconds per move). 15. Rfd1 Rfb8 16. Bxd7 Qxd7 17. b3 Rb4 18. Ne2 Qb7 19. Kh1 Nd7 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Nf4 Nf6 22. Nd3 Rb5 23. Ra4 Rc8 24. Rda1 Qc7

25. Ne1. Good positional judgment. 25. Rc4 Qb8 doesn’t worry Black. 25. ... d5. The two united and passed white Pawns on the Queenside will prove to be a strong force. There was not, however, another option, for if 25. ... Ra8 then 26. b4 with similar outcomes. 26. Rxa5 Rxa5 27. Qxa5 dxe4 28. Qxc7 Rxc7 29. Kg1 exf3 30. gxf3 Nd5. Also possible was 30. ... Rc3 31. Kf2 Nd5, trying to lock the enemy Pawns. Now, slowly but surely, with a little help of Shirov, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) brings home the point with adamantine technique. 31. c4

31. ... Nb4? (⌓ 31. ... Nf4 32. Kf2 e5) 32. Kf2 e5 33. Ke3 Kf6 34. Ra4 Rb7 35. Kd2 Kf5 36. Kc3 Nc6 37. b4

37. ... e4 38. fxe4+ Kxe4 39. Nd3 Ke3 40. Ra8 Re7 41. b5 Nd4 42. Nc5 Re5 43. Rc8 Nf5 44. b6 1 : 0.

And God created woman. Photo: Anastasiya Valeryevna Karlovich.