Marmalade

Myroslava Hrabinska – Nataliya Buksa
75th Ukrainian Women’s Chess Championship; Lviv, December 14, 2015
Queen’s Pawn Game D02

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 d5 5. Nbd2 0-0 6. Be2 c5 7. c3 Nh5!? Theoretical novelty. For 7. ... Nc6 8. Ne5 Nd7 see P. C. Benkö – E. P. Geller, Géza Maróczy Memorial, Budapest 1952. 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Nxg3 11. hxg3 Bf5 12. Ne5 cxd4 13. exd4 Nc6 14. Ndf3 Qd6 15. Bd3 Bxd3 16. Nxd3 b5 17. Kf1? A grave error of judgment. White hopes in vain to mount an attack on the Kingside, through her open h-file. Simply 17. 0-0 would have secured her a perfectly playable game. 17. ... b4 18. Nxb4 Nxb4 19. cxb4 Qxb4 20. b3 Rfc8 21. Ne5 Qc3 22. Rb1 a5

23. Rxh6. This looks like an exaggerated Rook sacrifice, but Hrabinska had to somehow justify her hard playing strategy. 23. ... Bxh6 24. Qh5 Ra6! A Rook lift which appears to have been overlooked by Hrabinska. White’s attack immediately comes to an end. 25. Qxf7+ Kh8 26. Re1. Equally after 26. Ng6+ Rxg6 27. Qxg6 Bg7 White would be hopeless. 26. ... Qc2 27. Qxe7 Qh7 28. Nf7+ Kg8 29. Qd7 Rf8 30. Nxh6+ Rxh6 31. Qxd5+ Kh8. Black emerged a whole Rook up, and White’s four Pawns do not give sufficient compensation. 32. Re4 Qf5 33. Qxf5 Rxf5 34. g4 Rf4 35. Re5 Rxd4 36. Rxa5 Rxg4 37. f3 Rd4 38. Rxg5 Rd2 39. Kg1 Rxa2 40. f4 Rb6 41. Kh2 Rxb3 42. Rg6 Rf2 43. Rg4 Kh7 44. Kg1 Ra2 45. Kh2 Kh6 46. Rg8 Rf2 47. Rg4 Kh7 48. Kg1 Rc2 49. Kh2 Kh8 50. Rg5 Rb7 0 : 1.

Nataliya Buksa
Photo: Ukrainian Chess (Facebook)