A Month by the Lake

Mariya Muzychuk – Emilio Milko Fućak
25th Chess Festival; Bled, February 26, 2008
French Defence C16

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6 5. Qg4 Bf8 6. Bg5 Qd7 7. Bb5 c6 8. Be2 Ba6 9. Nf3 h6. For 9. ... Ne7 10. a4 Nf5 11. 0-0 Bxe2 12. Nxe2 c5 13. c3 Nc6 see Tseshkovsky – Erendzhenov, 48th Russian Chess Championship, Elista 1995. 10. Bd2 Ne7 11. a4 Nf5 12. 0-0 Be7 13. Qh3 Bb4 14. Bxa6 Nxa6 15. Ne2 Bxd2 16. Nxd2 c5 17. Nf3 Nb4 18. c3 Nc6 19. g4 Nfe7 20. Nd2 0-0-0 21. a5 cxd4 22. axb6 axb6 23. cxd4 Kb7 24. Ra3 Ra8 25. Rfa1 Rhb8 26. b4. A bit of tactics to try to get something out of little. 26. ... Qe8. The Pawn is obviously immune since after 26. .. Nxb4?? 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. Rxa8 Kxa8 29. Qa3+ White wins the Knight. 27. b5 Na5 28. Nc3 Rc8 29. Qd3 g6 30. Na4 Nc4 31. Nxc4 dxc4 32. Qf3+ Nd5 33. Nc3 Rxa3 34. Rxa3 Qd7 35. Ne4 Kb8 36. Qd1 Rc7 37. Nd6 c3. White will soon be forced by Black’s dangerous passed c-Pawn to sacrifice the Exchange. 38. Qc2 Ra7 39. Rxc3 Nxc3 40. Qxc3. The extra Pawn and a crystal-clear superiority of position certainly compensate for the Exchange, but probably nothing more. 40. ... Ra4 41. Qe3 g5 42. h4 Qa7? Fućak fatally pursues the mirage of an attack. The right way was 42. ... gxh4 43. Qxh6 Rxd4 44. Qf8+ Kc7 45. Ne8+ Kb7 46. Nd6+ and White has nothing more than perpetual check. 43. hxg5 Qa8? The consistency of an announced catastrophe. The lesser evil would have been 43. ... hxg5, although after 44. Qxg5 Qd7 45. Qf4 Ra7 46. Kg2 White picks up a second Pawn and she’s the only one that can win. 44. Kh2 Ra1. No better is 44. ... Ra3 because of 45. Qc1! Qf3 46. Qc8+ Ka7 47. Qd7+ Kb8 48. Qe8+ Ka7 49. Qxf7+ Qxf7 50. Nxf7 hxg5 51. Nxg5 and Black’s ending is hopeless.

45. d5!! A delightful pointe. 1 : 0. For if 45. ... Qxd5 then 46. Qxb6+ Kb8 47. Qc6+ Qxc6 48. bxc6 finis.

Mariya Muzychuk
Photo: karpidis