Proximity

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Alfia Nasybullina
67th Russian Women’s Chess Championship; Vladivostok, June 6, 2014
Dutch Defence A90

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c6 4. Qc2 Bd6 5. g3 f5 6. Bg2 Nf6 7. 0-0 0-0 8. b3 Qe7 9. Ne5 Bd7. The alternative 9. ... Nbd7 10. Bb2 Ne4 11. f3 Nef6 looks sounder, Alekseev – Radjabov, Kasparov Cup, Moscow 1998. 10. Nd3 Nh5? lt ain’t no use to decentralize the Knight. For 10. ... Be8 11. Bf4 Nbd7 (for 11. ... Bxf4 12. Nxf4 Nbd7 13. Nd2 Bf7 14. e3 Ne4 15. Nf3 dxc4 16. bxc4 e5 see K. D. Georgiev – Pr. Nikolić, 17th Bora Kostić Memorial, Vrsac 2012) 12. Nd2 Bh5 13. Rfe1 Rac8 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. c5 Qe7 16. Nf3 Ng4 17. h3 Ngf6 18. b4 Ne4 19. a4 g5 20. Nfe5 Be8 21. Nxd7 Qxd7 22. Ne5 Qg7 23. Bxe4 fxe4 24. f3 Bg6 25. Qd2 Rf5 26. Kh2 Rcf8 27. Rf1 h5 28. b5 see Goryachkina – Arabidze, 31st World Junior Girls Chess Championship, Kocaeli 2013. 11. Nd2 Be8 12. Nf3 h6 13. Bd2 Nd7 14. a3 a5 15. c5! Beginning the positional assault on the Queenside. 15. ... Bb8 16. b4 axb4 17. axb4 Rxa1 18. Rxa1 Nhf6 19. b5! At last the decisive breakthrough! 19. ... e5. Not good, but it’s hard to suggest anything else useful. If 19. ... bxc6 then 20. Bb4 followed by c5-c6 with devastating effect. Also the comparatively best 19. ... Ne4 20. bxc6 bxc6 21. Ra6 leaves Black no hope. 20. bxc6 bxc6 21. Nb4 exd4 22. Nxc6 Qxe2 23. Nfxd4 Qc4. A bad move which loses the Queen, but neither 23. ... Qh5 24. Ne6 nor 23. ... Qg4 24. h3 Qh5 25. Ne6 would have been of any avail.

24. Bxd5+! 1 : 0. For if 24. ... Qxd5 then 25. Ne7+.

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
Photo: ruchess.ru