Pink Granite

Magnus Carlsen – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 29, 2016
Russian Defence C42

1. e4 e5! It was probably a surprise to Magnus. 2. Nf3 Nf6. The good news is that 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) doesn’t want to lose. It’s a good start! 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Qd2 Be6 9. 0-0-0 Qd7 10. b3 Bf6 11. h3 0-0-0. For 11. ... h5 12. Bg5 Qe7 13. Bb5 0-0-0 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Rhe1 h4 16. Re4 Rh5 take a look at Lékó – 李超 (Lǐ Chāo), Szeged 2015, match game 4. 12. g4 h6 13. Bg2 Kb8 14. Rhe1. Shall we too add another to those melancholy case histories entitled: The Wrong Rook? Maybe no, because Carlsen’s likely novelty does not appear to imply any substantial differences with respect to 14. Rde1 a6 15. Re2 d5 16. Nd4 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 g6 19. Rhe1 h5 20. f3 Qd6 21. Re5 hxg4 22. fxg4 c6 with a holdable game, Domínguez Pérez – Vázquez Igarza, 59th Spanish Team Chess Championship (División de Honor), Linares 2015. 14. ... Rhe8 15. Kb2 a6 16. Re2 Qe7 17. Rde1. “Not much is happening, but Magnus definitely has some pressure. Not a pleasant position for Black to play”, Grandmaster Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler said. Indeed, Black’s position looks rock solid. 17. ... Qf8 18. Nd4 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Bxd4 20. Qxd4 Bd7 22. f4 Rxe2 22. Rxe2 Re8 23. Rxe8+ Bxe8. Now, Magnus, what can you do? Looking for water in the desert won’t be easy. 24. Qb4 c6 25. Bf1 Kc8 26. g5 Qe7 27. gxh6 gxh6 28. Qd4 f6 29. Qa7 Bd7 30. a4 Qd8 31. Qg1 Qe7 32. Qg6!? Ambitiously, angrily, bravely, and even disagreeably played. A silent draw offer with 32. Qa7 Qd8 was objectively justified. 32. ... Qe1! 33. Bd3 Qh4 34. Bf5 Bxf5 35. Qxf5+ Kb8 36. c4 Kc7. Indeed, the Queen ending is roughly equal. 37. Qa5+ Kc8 38. Qd2 Kd7 39. c5 d5 40. Qe3 Qh5. The time control reached. Quo vadis, Magnus? 41. Qg3 Qf7 42. Qg4+ f5 43. Qg3 Qf6+ 44. Qc3 Qxc3+? It’s not a mistake at all, but a necessary preparation for it. 45. Kxc3

45. ... h5?? Thus 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) decides to lose, and nobody never will know the reason why. Of course, after 45. ... a5 46. Kd4 (or 46. b4 h5!) 46. ... Ke6 it’s a dead draw. 46. Kb4 Kc8 47. Ka5 Kc7 48. h4 Kb8 49. Kb6 Kc8 50. b4 Kb8 51. b5 cxb5 52. axb5 axb5 53. Kxb5 Kc7 54. c3 1 : 0. I’m sure Magnus is not so happy.

Magnus Carlsen vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Alina l’Ami.