On the Town

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Wesley So

Bright · China – USA Chess Grandmaster Summit Match; match game 1; 上海 (Shànghǎi), May 4, 2016

Queen’s Gambit Declined D45

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Be2 Bd6 7. 0-0 0-0 8. a4 a5 9. Qc2 b6. 9. ... dxc4 transposes into known patterns, e.g. 10. Bxc4 e5 11. h3 exd4 12. exd4 Nb6 13. Bb3 Nfd5 as occurred in Granero Roca – Granda Zuniga, XXII Open Internacional Villa de Benidorm, Benidorm 2009. 10. e4! As straightforward as ever, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) opens up the game thus formalizing his claim to initiative. 10. ... Nxe4 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Qxe4 Bb7 13. Rd1 Qe7 14. Bf4 Rad8 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Qb4 18. b3 Qe7. If 18. ... Qxb3 then 19. c5 followed sooner or later by Rd1-b1. 19. Bf3 Ba8 20. Qe3 c5 21. Bxa8 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Rxa8 23. Qd3. White dominates the open d-file, but will it be enough? 23. ... h5! Wesley rightly distracts his opponent’s attention with a demonstration on the Kingside. 24. f4 Qh4 25. Qg3 Qe7 26. Qd3 Qh4 27. g3 Qh3 28. Qf1 Qf5 29. Qd3 Qh3 30. Qf1 Qf5 31. h4 Kh7 32. Rd6! 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) finally decides on a last effort to win. 32. ... Rb8 33. Qd1 Kg6 34. Kf2 f6! This is quite a creative defence. 35. exf6 gxf6 36. Kg2 Qe4+ 37. Kh2 Re8 38. Rxb6

38. ... Rd8! A pretty if easy resource: Wesley gives up his Rook in order to force perpetual check. 39. Qxd8 Qe2+ 40. Kg1 Qe1+ ½ : ½.

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) (R.) vs. Wesley So (L.)
Photo: cmsa.cn