Queen In Blue Jeans

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk
Women’s World Chess Championship 2016; match game 7; Lviv, March 11, 2016
Spanish Game C83

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Be7 10. c3 Nc5 11. Bc2 d4 12. cxd4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Qxd4 14. Nf3 Qxd1 15. Rxd1 0-0 16. Be3 Rfd8 17. Rdc1 h6 18. Nd4 Bd5 19. Bd1!? 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s long-awaited novelty. Four years earlier she put Koneru under pressure (even though not enough to make a difference) with 19. f4 Ne6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Bg6 Rac8 22. Bc5 Kf8 23. Bxe7+ Kxe7 24. Rc5 Bc4 25. b3 Bd3 26. Bxd3 Rxd3 27. Rac1 Kd7 28. Rc6 Rd4 29. g3 g5 30. f5 exf5 31. Rxh6 Re8 32. Rh7+ Ke6 33. Rhxc7 Kxe5 34. R7c5+ Kf6 35. Rc6+ Re6 36. Rxe6+ Kxe6 37. Rc6+ Kd5 38. Rxa6 Rd1+ 39. Kf2 Rd2+ 40. Kf3 Rxh2 41. Ra5 Kc6 42. a4 g4+ 43. Ke3 bxa4 44. bxa4 Rg2 45. Kf4 Rf2+ 46. Kg5 Rg2 47. Kf4 Rf2+ 48. Kg5 Rg2 49. Kf4 Rf2+ ½–½ 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Koneru, 2nd SportAccord World Mind Games, Women’s Rapid Tournament, 北京 (Beijīng) 2012 (time control: 20 minutes plus 10 seconds per move).
19. ... Nd3 20. Rxc7 Bf8. After 45 minutes of thinking. Possibly best is 20. ... Bc5! as after 21. Rxc5!? Nxc5 22. Nf5 Nd3! 23. Ne7+ Kf8 24. Nxd5 Rxd5 25. Bf3 Rad8 26. Bxd5 Rxd5 Black will win back the Pawn with a comfortable equality.

21. e6! White returns the extra Pawn, but not without inflicting a little damage on Black’s Pawn formation.
21. ... fxe6 22. Bg4 Re8 23. b3⩲

23. ... Bd6 24. Rc2 Ne5 25. Be2 Be4 26. Rd2 Bb4 27. Rdd1 Bd5 28. Rac1 Rac8 29. h4 Ba3 30. Rc2 Rxc2 31. Nxc2 Be7 32. h5 Rc8 33. Nd4 Kf7 34. f3 Bf6 35. Kf2 Rc3 36. f4 Nd7 37. Bd3 Ke7. The King does not stand too well here. 37. ... Bh4+ was now playable with the same idea as in the game, as after 38. Kf1 Kg8 39. Ne2 Rc7 Black looks quite solid.
38. Bb1 Bh4+? (⌓ 38. ... Ba8! 39. Ne2 Rc8 40. Bd2⩲)
39. Ke2! (39. g3? Bxg3+!)
39. ... Bf6

40. g4? “There were better options than this studip move”, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) said afterwards. Ukraininan Grandmaster Adrian Bohdanovych Mikhalchishin, annotating the game for the ChessBase web site, says that “Black would face some real problems after 40. Nf5+! Kf7 41. Bd2 Rc7 42. Ne3” — and indeed, she would! One should also note that 42. Ba5! (instead of 42. Ne3) would provide Black with even more serious concern.
40. ... Bxd4 41. Bxd4 Rh3 42. Rc1 Bf3+ 43. Kf2

43. ... Bxg4. Mikhalchishin recommended 43. ... Nf6 as posing “serious problems” to White: 44. Bxf6+ Kxf6 45. Rg1 Bd5 46. g5+ Ke7 47. gxh6 gxh6 48. Rg7+ Kd6 49. Ra7 Rxh5 50. Rxa6+ Kc5, but even in this case White should draw without much trouble after 51. Bd3 — and it’s not to say that she could also go into a Rook ending a Pawn down by 46. Rg3 (instead of 46. g5+) 46. ... Rh2+ 47. Ke3 Ke7 48. Kd4 Kd6 49. g5! Rxh5 50. gxh6 gxh6 51. Be4! with likely drawing prospects.
44. Bxg7 Rxh5 45. Kg3 Bf5 46. Bxf5 Rxf5 47. Bxh6 Rc5 48. Rf1 Nf6 49. Bg5 Kf7 50. Bxf6 Kxf6

51. b4. To create a bit of suspense, chess theoreticians and scientist Boris Ruslanovich Schipkov calls it “A dubious move”. In fact, it just draws!
51. ... Rc4 52. Rf3 Kf5 53. Ra3 Rxf4 54. Rxa6 Rxb4. Black has gained a Pawn, but the ending is a theoretical draw.
55. Rb6 Ke5 56. Kf3 Kd5 57. Ke3 e5 58. Kd2 Rb2+. Mikhalchishin punctuates it with a question mark, as he says that “Black could keep winning chances after 58. ... Kc4 59. Rc6+ Kd4 60. Rd6+ Ke4 61. Rb6 Kf3”. This itself is a strange assertion, for theory shows that 62. a3, 62. Rf6+ and 62. Kc3 assure a draw.
59. Kc1 Rb4 60. a3 Kc5 61. Re6 Re4. 61. ... Rc4+ 62. Kd2 (62. Kb2?? Kd4−+ is Mikhalchishin’s mirage) 62. ... Kd4 63. Rd6+ Ke4 64. Rb6 also draws.
62. Kc2 Kd4 63. Rd6+ Kc4. Any appearance to the contrary, 63. ... Ke3 64. Rd5 Rc4+ 65. Kb3 e4 66. Rxb5 Kd4 is a book draw.
64. Rc6+ Kd5 65. Rb6 Rc4+ 66. Kd2 Kc5 67. Rb8 Ra4 68. Rc8+ Kd4 69. Rb8 Ra5 70. Rd8+ Kc4 71. Re8 Kd5 72. Rd8+ Ke4 73. Rb8 Rxa3 74. Rxb5. “Now we have a very well-known Philidor draw position”, Mikhalchishin writes.
74. ... Kf4 75. Rb8 Kf3 76. Rf8+ Ke4 77. Rb8 Ra2+ 78. Ke1 Kf4 79. Rb3 e4 80. Rc3 e3 81. Rc8 ½–½.

Whatever she wears, whether jeans or haute couture, the Queen is going to take back her crown. Photo: Vitaliy Hrabar.