Saturday, November 14, 2015

Stories of the Old West

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Parimarjan Negi
2015 Showdown in Saint Louis; Rapid match game 4; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Saint Louis, November 14, 2015
Sicilian Defence B53

Comments in quotation marks by Grandmaster Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez, ChessBase.com, November 15, 2015.

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. Bxc6 Bxc6 7. Nf3 e6 8. Bg5 Nf6 9. 0-0-0 Be7 10. Qd3 Qb6!? “An interesting altenative to the usual 10. ... Qa5. ... Qb6xf2 is sometimes an idea, after all”.
If, instead, 10. ... 0-0 then 11. Nd4 Rc8 12. f4 Re8 13. h4 Ng4 14. Qe2 h5 15. e5 d5 16. Rd3 Qa5 17. Bxe7 Rxe7 18. Kb1 Be8 19. Qd2 Qb6 20. Re1 Rec7? (20. ... f6!) 21. f5 Rc4 22. f6 g6 23. Nd1 Kh7 24. c3 Qc7 25. Nf3 Bb5 26. Ne3 Nxe3 (26. ... Nxe5 27. Ng5+! Kg8 28. Nxd5! exd5 29. Rxd5+−) 27. Rdxe3 Rg4 28. Qf2 Qa5 29. Rd1 Bc4 30. b3 Qb6 31. Nd4 (31. Rd4! Bxb3!? 32. axb3 Qxb3+ 33. Qb2 Qxb2+ 34. Kxb2 Rxg2+ 35. Kc1±) 31. ... a5 32. Rg3 Be2? (32. ... Re4!) 33. Rd2 Rxg3 34. Qxg3 Bg4 35. a4 Qc5 36. Kb2 Qf8 37. Qd3 Qh6 38. Rf2 Rc5 39. g3 Bf5 40. Qf3 Bg4 41. Qd3 Qf8 42. Nb5 Rc6 43. Nd6 Rxd6 44. exd6 Qxd6 45. Rd2 Qe5 46. Qd4 Qe1 (46. ... Qxg3 47. Qc5 Qf4 48. Rf2 Qb8 49. Qe7 Kg8 50. Rd2 Δ c3-c4+−) 47. Qf2 Qxf2 48. Rxf2 g5 49. hxg5 Kg6 50. b4 Bd1 51. bxa5 Bxa4 52. Ka3 Bb5 53. Kb4 Ba6 54. Kc5 Kxg5 55. Kd6 Bb5 56. Rf4 Ba6 57. Ke5 Bb5 58. Rb4 Ba6 59. Rb6 Kg6 60. Rd6 Bb5 61. Rd8 Kh7 62. Rf8 Kg6 63. Rg8+ Kh6 64. Rb8 Ba6 65. Rf8 1 : 0 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Schiendorfer, 10th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, Catalan Bay 2012.
11. Rhf1 Rc8 12. Nd4 0-0 13. f4 Rfd8. “13. ... Rfe8 14. g4 h6 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 was maybe a bit better, with ... e6-e5 type ideas”.


14. g4! Be8 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. g5 Bxd4. “16. ... Be7 made a lot more sense to me, keeping the Black Bishops”.
17. Qxd4 Qxd4 18. Rxd4 Kf8 19. f5 e5 20. Rd3 Bc6 21. Rh3 Kg8 22. Rd1 b5 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. Rxd5 Rc4 25. Re3


25. ... b4? (25. ... a6 26. b3 Rc6 27. Rg3±)
26. b3. “Black has a weakness, White doesn’t. This is difficult position for Negi”.
26. ... Rc6 27. Rb5 Rb6 28. Rxb6 axb6 29. Rd3 d5


30. Rxd5! Well calculated by 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán).
30. ... Rxd5 31. exd5 Kf8 32. f6! gxf6 33. gxf6 Ke8 34. c3 bxc3 35. Kc2 Kd7 36. Kxc3 b5 37. a4 bxa4 38. bxa4. “Too many passed Pawns!”.
38. ... Kd6 39. Kc4 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) like Calamity Jane in the Wild Far West. Photo © Austin Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

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