CheckPoint Zagreb

Mariya Muzychuk – Lázaro Bruzón Batista
14th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, February 4, 2016
Sicilian Defence B91

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3. The so-called Zagreb Variation. 6. ... e6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Be3 Qc7 10. g4 Re8 11. g5 Nfd7 12. f4 Bf8 13. h4. As Miss Muzychuk burns bridges behind her, her intentions become clear. For 13. Kh1 Nc6 14. Qd2 Nxd4 15. Bxd4 b5 see A. Ivanov – Fedorowicz, 52nd U.S. Chess Championship, Tulsa 2008. 13. ... Nc6 14. h5 Nxd4 15. Qxd4. After 20 minutes of hard thinking! But so Mariya has used all the glucose in the brain that’s needed for creative thinking... 15. ... b5

16. Rad1 Bb7 17. Qd2 Rad8 18. Qf2. It is all very strange: after having advanced so many Pawns, she suddenly seems to realize that they will never come back. But if there is something wrong, it won’t go away, and White will inexorably lose ground to her opponent’s counter-attack. 18. ... b4 19. Nb1 a5 20. Rc1 Nc5 21. Nd2 Rd7 22. b3 d5 23. exd5 exd5 24. Bd4 Ne6 25. Rfe1 Rdd8 26. Be5 Bd6 27. Bxd6 Qxd6 28. g6 fxg6 29. hxg6 Nxf4 30. gxh7+ Kh8 31. Nf3 d4 32. Nh4 Rf8 33. Qd2 Bxg2 34. Nxg2 Nh3+ 35. Kh1 Nf2+ 36. Kg1 Ng4 0 : 1. Okay, it could have gone better, but I’m sure Caïssa does help people who lose too.

Mariya Muzychuk
Photo: Sophie Tray