Deceit

Mariya Muzychuk – Regina Pokorná Theissl
11th Women’s European Team Chess Championship; Reykjavík, November 20, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D31

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. Bd3 Ne7 9. Qc2 b6 10. Nf3 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. a3 0-0 13. 0-0 Nc7 14. Rfc1. For 14. Rac1 Rfc8 see Kashlinskaya – Batsiashvili, 19th Women’s European Club Cup, Bilbao 2014. 14. ... Ne6. We would have preferred 14. ... a5 15. Na4 Rfb8 keeping the situation fluid. 15. b4 Rac8 16. Ne5 Rc7 17. Nd3 Rfc8 18. a4 a6 19. a5 b5 20. Nb1. The battle for c5 begins. 20. ... Re8 21. Nd2 Nf5 22. Nb3 Ng5 23. Nbc5 Ra7 24. Ne5. White obtained a clearly superior, if not already winning game. 24. ... g6 25. Qd1 f6 26. Ned3 Ne4 27. Ra2 Nxc5 28. Rxc5 Rc7 29. Rac2 Qd7 30. Nf4. With the threat of Nf4xd5. 30. ... Rec8 31. Qc1. Alekhine’s gun. 32. ... Ne7 32. h4 Qd6 33. g3 Kf7 34. Kg2 Rd7 35. Qd1 Rcc7 36. Qg4 Rd8 37. Rc1 Qd7 38. Qf3 Rcc8 39. Nd3 Kg7 40. R5c2 Ra8 41. Nc5 Qc8 42. g4 Ra7 43. Qf4 Re8 44. f3 Qb8 45. Re1 Kf7. The exchange of Queens would be of no avail: 45. ... Qxf4 46. exf4 Kf7 47. Rce2 when Black is almost in Zugzwang. 46. Qh6 Rh8

47. e4. White finally breaks through in the center. The rest is silence. 47. ... Qf8 48. Qf4 Qc8 49. e5 f5 50. e6+ Ke8 51. Qe5 Rf8 52. Nd7 Rxd7 53. exd7+ Qxd7 54. Rce2 Rf7 55. Qh8+ 1 : 0.

Mariya Muzychuk
Photo: Hrafn Jökulsson/Icelandic Chess Federation