Wonder Woman

Natalia Andreevna Pogonina – Pia Cramling

Women’s World Chess Championship; playoff game 2; Krasnaya Polyana, March 31, 2015

Sicilian Defence B49

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 Nf6 7. Be3 a6 8. 0-0 Bb4 9. Na4 0-0 10. c4 Be7. For 10. ... Bd6 11. g3 Nxe4 see Swiercz – Volodin, 49th World Junior Chess Championship, Chotowa 2010. 11. Nc3 d6 12. Rc1 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 Nd7. For 13. ... Bd7 14. Rfd1 Rac8 15. b4 Qb8 16. a4 see Grischuk – J. Polgár, FIDE Grand Prix, Moscow 2002. 14. Rfd1 b6 15. b4 Rd8 16. Na4 Rb8 17. a3 Qc6 18. Nc3 Bb7 19. f3 Ba8 20. Kh1 Nf6 21. Bf1 h6 22. Qd2 Nd7 23. Qf2 Rdc8 24. Qg3. Now, and for the next three moves, White misses the straightforward 24. b5! axb5 25. Nxb5 Rd8 26. Qg3 threatening both Nb5xd6 and Be3xh6. 24. ... Kf8 25. Bd4 g6 26. Be3 Kg7 27. Qh3 h5 28. Qg3 h4 29. Qf2 Ne5 30. h3 Qe8 31. Nb1 Rc6 32. Bd4 Kg8 33. f4 Nd7 34. Nd2 e5 35. Be3 exf4 36. Bxf4 Ne5 37. Nf3 Nxf3 38. Qxf3 Rbc8 39. Qd3 Bf8 40. Re1 b5. “At one point I played 40. ... b5, but I don’t think I should play that. She went 40. Re1. This position was playable for me. But I played 40. ... b5... The problem was the time. It was difficult position plus I had much less time” then Pia Cramling said. 41. cxb5 Rxc1 42. Bxc1 axb5 43. Bb2 Kh7

44. e5!?? Objectively, it would have been much stronger 44. Qd4! Bh6 45. Qf6, dominating the long diagonal. 44. ... d5? Not a good move. After 44. ... Bg7! 45. Qxd6 Rc2 Black has some positional compensation for her Pawn. 45. e6! fxe6 46. Qd4 Bh6 47. Qxh4 Qf7. If, instead, 47. ... Bc6 then 48. Bd3 Bd7 49. Qf6 and Black is helpless against the Rook maneuver Re1-e3-g3 (Rublevsky’s analysis). Now, one would expect White to play 48. Bd3, then Re1-f1 with an overwhelming attack. Instead... 48. Bxb5 Rc2 49. Bd4 e5 50. Rxe5. 50. Bd3 would have won on the spot, as 50. ... Rd2 is met by 51. Rxe5. 50. ... Rc1+ 51. Bg1 Qf8?? 51. ... Qf4 was the only way to struggle on. 52. Re8?? 52. Re7+ Kg8 53. Re8 was an elementary win for White. 52. ... Qf4 53. Qxf4 Bxf4 54. g3 Be3 55. Rxa8 Rxg1+ 56. Kh2 d4 57. Rd8 Rb1 58. Kg2 Rb3 59. Be2 Rxa3 60. b5 Rb3 61. Rd6 Rb2 62. Kf3 Rb3 63. Ke4 Bf2 64. Bd3 Bxg3 65. Rxd4 Be1 66. Rd6 Bg3 67. Rc6 Kg7? Thus Black gives up her last Pawn. 67. ... Bf2 was called for. 68. Kd4 g5 69. Rg6+ Kf8 70. Rxg5. After all, the game might be still a draw. 70. ... Bh2 71. h4 Rb4+ 72. Bc4 Rb1 73. h5 Rg1 74. Rf5+ Kg7 75. Kc5 Rc1 76. Rd5 Kh6 77. Kb4 Rb1+ 78. Kc3 Rc1+ 79. Kb3 Bf4 80. Rf5 Be3 81. Be2 Re1 82. Bf3 Bg5 83. Kc4 Re6 84. Rd5 Rf6 85. Rd3 Bh4 86. Kd5 Bg3 87. Rb3 Bf2 88. Ke5 Rb6 89. Bc6 Rb8 90. Rf3 Bc5 91. Kd5 Bg1 92. Rf5 Rd8+? Correct was 92. ... Rg8! followed by ... Rg8-g5. 93. Ke6. Even though this position may be theoretically tenable, now Black is being inexorably squeezed out of the game. 93. ... Rd2 94. Bf3 Bd4 95. Rd5 Be3 96. Re5 Bd4 97. Rf5 Rf2 98. Kd5 Rd2 99. Ke4 Bc3 100. b6 Rd4+ 101. Ke3 Rb4 102. b7 Kg7 103. Kd3 Be1 104. Bc6 Kh6 105. Bb5 Bg3 106. Kc3 Rh4 107. Be2 Rh1 108. Rf6+ Kh7 109. Rf7+ Kg8 110. Rd7 Rb1 111. Bc4+ Kh8 112. h6 Be5+ 113. Kc2 Rb4 114. Bd3 Kg8 115. h7+ Kf8 116. h8=Q+ 1 : 0. For after 116. ... Bxh8 117. Rd8+ Ke7 118. Rxh8 Rxb7 119. Rh7+ White wins. “Es triste tener que salir del mundial de esta forma pero tanto Anna como yo estamos muy orgullosos del comportamiento de Pia”, Pia’s husband, Grandmaster Juan Manuel Bellón López tweeted.

Natalia Andreevna Pogonina
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

Pia Cramling
Photo: Anastasiya Valeryevna Karlovich