In the Beginning

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Women’s World Chess Championship 2016; match game 1; Lviv, March 2, 2016
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5. “Really, 1. ... e5 is rare move in my practice, but anyway this move is quite popular”, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) said afterwards.
2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. 0-0 Nf6 5. d3 0-0 6. c3 d6 7. h3 h6 8. Re1 a6 9. a4 Ba7. Or 9. ... Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Rxe3 Qd7 13. Nbd2 Qf7 14. g3 Nd7 15. Kg2 a5 16. Qc2 Nc5= Giri – Anand, 5th Zürich Chess Challenge, Zürich 2014 (time control: 40 minutes plus 10 seconds per move).
10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Nf1 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Nxe3 d5 15. Qc2

15. ... Qd7. “So far, both sides played quite steadily, and the position is roughly equal. At most, White has a microscopic edge due to the Black Kinght on c6 (just a bit uncomfortable), and perhaps Black ought to play here 15. ... a5!? in order to prevent White from pushing b2-b4, but 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) preferred to mass pieces in the centre. Such tiny details may cause some problems when dealing with élite Grandmasters like Carlsen, but female players really do not care too much about it. They think much more about combinations and tactical blows”, writes Grandmaster 倪华 (Ní Huá).
16. Rad1. 倪华 (Ní Huá) gives 16. b4 Rd8 17. b5 Ne7 18. c4 d4 19. Nd5 with an imperceptibly thin edge, but 16. ... Ne7 is also worth considering, with Black very close to equality.
16. ... Rd8=

17. Nf5 (17. b4 b5=)
17. ... Qe8 18. b4 b5 19. axb5 倪华 (Ní Huá) also considers 19. a5 Ne7 20. Ng3 (20. Nxe7+ Qxe7 21. Nd2 c5=) 20. ... dxe4 21. Nxe4 Nxe4 22. dxe4 Rc8= with a draw in sight.
19. ... axb5 20. Nd2

20. ... Ne7! 21. Nxe7+ Qxe7 22. Nb3 dxe4 23. dxe4 Red6 24. Nc5 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 26. Qxd1 Qd6 27. Qe2 c6 28. g3 Nd7 29. Nxd7 Qxd7 30. Kg2 Qd6 31. Qe3 ½–½.

The die is cast, the stage is set, and to say it in 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s words, it was only “a normal start of the match”. Photo: Vitaliy Hrabar.