Biting the air

居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Nigel David Short
123rd New Zealand Open; Devonport, January 5, 2016
Queen’s Pawn Game A40

1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. e4 Bb7 4. Bd3 Bb4+ 5. Kf1!? Alea iacta est. White renounces castling but leaves the b4-Bishop biting the air. 5. ... c5!? An interesting novelty. For 5. ... Be7 6. Nc3 d6 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. g3 see So – Jobava, ACP Golden Classic, Bergamo 2014, while 5. ... e5! (Grandmaster Glenn Curtis Flear’s suggestion) is worth considering. 6. a3 Ba5 7. Nf3 Ne7 8. Bf4 Na6? 8. ... d5 looks much better. 9. d5. White’s space advantage is now manifest. 9. ... 0-0 10. Bd6 Re8 11. h4! Nc8 12. Bg3 exd5 13. exd5 Qf6 14. Qc2 h6

15. Nbd2! The end is coming. 15. ... Nd6 16. h5 Bxd2 17. Nxd2 b5?! A desperate but uninfluential try, for 17. ... Nc7 18. Qc3! was also hopeless for Black. 18. cxb5 Nc7 19. Qc3! Qg5 20. Bxd6 Qxd5. Nevertheless, 20. ... Nxd5 21. Nf3 leaves Black without a good reply. 21. Ne4 Nxb5 22. Qc4 Qxc4 23. Bxc4 Nxa3 24. Bxf7+? A moment of ineffable oblivion. 24. Nf6+! gxf6 25. Rxa3 looks much stronger. 24. ... Kxf7 25. Nxc5 Bxg2+? Best was 25. ... Nc2 since after 26. Rc1 Be4 27. Rh4 (on 27. Nxe4? Rxe4 28. Rxc2 Rd4 Black regains the Bishop due to the mate threat) 27. ... Bh7 28. Ra4 White’s advantage is very neat but not yet mathematically decisive. 26. Kxg2 Nc4 27. Bg3 Nxb2 28. Nxd7 a5 29. Ne5+ Kg8 30. Rhb1 1 : 0. The Knight is doomed. “If you play in a strategically suspect way, you have to back it up with accurate calculation...”, Short eventually said.

居文君 (Jū Wénjūn)
Photo: blog.sina.cn