The Last Round-Up

李荻 (Lǐ Dí) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 29, 2015
Queen’s Indian Defence A50

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. Nf3 Bb7 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. d5 Qe8!? 8. Nc3 e5 9. e4 d6 10. h3 a5 11. Be3 Na6 12. b3 Nh5 13. Nh4 Bc8 14. Nb5 Bd7 15. Bf3 Nf6 16. g4 h6 17. Nc3 Qe7 18. Ng2 Nh7 19. h4 Nc5 20. Qd2 f5! Black got the upper hand, thanks to his opponent’s irresolute opening strategy. 21. gxf5 gxf5 22. Bxc5. Not 22. Bxh6? on account of 22. ... f4! 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 followed by ... Rf8-g8 and ... Kg7-h8, which would give Black a very powerful attack. 22. ... bxc5 23. exf5 Bxf5 24. Be4 Bg4 25. Rae1 Nf6 26. f3 Bh3 27. Kh2 Bd7 28. Bg6 Kh8 29. Ne4 Ng8 30. Ng3 Bf6 31. Re4 Bg7 32. Re2 a4. Black is keeping her opponent under pressure on both wings. Now she must find a way to penetrate the walls. 33. Bb1

33. ... h5!? Black’s idea is to sacrifice a Pawn for bringing her King’s Bishop more effectively into play. 34. Qd3. A little better seems 34. Qg5, though even then 34. ... Bh6 35. Qxh5 axb3 36. axb3 Ra3 should give Black a good initiative for the Pawn. 34. ... Bh6 35. Nxh5. This was imprudent, but 李荻 (Lǐ Dí) probably underestimated Black’s strong rejoinder. 35. ... Bf5 36. Qd1. It’s probably not the best idea, but after 36. Qc3 axb3 37. axb3 Bxb1 38. Rxb1 Rf5! 39. Ng3 Bf4! Black also has a very strong attack. 36. ... axb3 37. Qxb3. Very comical – in all its dramaticity – is 37. axb3?? Ra1 38. Rb2 Bxb1 39. Rxb1 Ra2 with an irresistible attack. 37. ... Rab8 38. Qxb8 Rxb8 39. Bxf5 Qf7 40. Bg4 Rb4. White has some material compensation for the Queen, but his scattered and uncoordinated forces make the pendulum of opinion swing decisively in Black’s favour. 41.Re4 Rb2 42. a4 Qe8 43. a5 Qa4 44. Be6 Ne7 45. Rg4 Qxa5 46. Nf6 Qa2 47. Kh3 Rf2 48. Rxf2 Qxf2 49. f4 exf4 50. h5 Qf3+ 51. Kh2 Qe2 52. Kh3 Qd3+ 53. Kh4 Qf1 0 : 1. Thus 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) won the best women’s prize of $8,000 dollars.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Photo: Katerina Savina