Gifted Hands

Denis Rimovich Khismatullin – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
69th All-Russian Higher League; Kolomna, June 24, 2016
English Opening A28

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 Bb4 5. e4 Bxc3 6. bxc3 d6 7. d3 0-0 8. Nf3 Bd7 9. 0-0 Qc8. Goryachkina goes for unfianchettoing. The alternative was 9. ... Kh8 10. Nh4 Ng8 11. Be3 Be6 12. Qd2 Nge7 13. f4 exf4 14. Bxf4 f6 15. Be3 Qd7 16. Rab1 b6 17. Nf5 Ne5 18. Nxe7 Qxe7 19. h3 Rae8 20. g4 Qd7 21. Kh2 Bf7 22. Bf4 Bg6 23. Qe2 c6 24. Rbe1 Bf7 25. Bg3 Kg8 26. Qd1 Re7 27. Rf5 ½ : ½ Uhlmann – Kortschnoi, Interzonal Tournament, Leningrad 1973. 10. Rb1 Rb8 11. Nh4 Bh3 12. f4 Bxg2 13. Kxg2 Qg4 14. Qc2 Qd7 15. Qe2 Ne7 16. fxe5 dxe5 17. Ba3 Rfe8 18. Rf3 b6 19. Rbf1 c5 20. Bc1 Ng6 21. Nf5 Re6. In spite of coriaceous defence by Goryachkina, the open f-file seems to offer White a definite initiative.

22. Nxg7?! A controversial choice among many interesting possibilities. The simplest could be 22. h4! h5 23. Ne3 with very promising prospects; for instance: 23. ... Nf8 24. Rxf6! Rxf6 25. Rxf6 gxf6 26. Nd5 and White’s position appears dominant. 22. ... Kxg7 23. Qf2 Kg8?! Chess-News.ru’s commentator Alexey Borisovich Yarovinsky recommends 23. ... Qd6! 24. Bg5 Nd7 25. Rxf7+ Kh8 with unclear variations, in his opinion, more favourable to Black. 24. Bg5?? An awful blunder. After 24. Rxf6 Nf4+ 25. Rxf4 exf4 26. Qxf4 both material and dynamic assets more than compensate White for the Exchange. 24. ... Nh5 25. Qe2. Yarovinsky suspects that Khismatullin may have overlooked — after 25. Rxf7 — the trivial refutation 25. ... Ngf4+! which wins instantly. 25. ... f6 26. Bc1 Rd8 27. Bh6 Rd6 28. Rf5 Ng7 29. Rxf6 Nf4+ 0 : 1.

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina. Photo: Chess-News.ru.