Ash and Fire

Péter Lékó – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

7th 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament “人民网 (People’s Daily Online) Cup”; 儋州 (Dānzhōu), July 10, 2016

Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. e3 c4 9. Be2 Nc6 10. 0-0 g5 11. Bg3 0-0 12. Ne5 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Ne4 14. Bf3 Nxg3 15. hxg3 Bf5 16. Bg4. A dry move (and perhaps a new one) in the style of Lékó, who is as gifted as he is peace-oriented. For 16. e4 Nxe5 17. exf5 Nxf3+ 18. Qxf3 Qd6 19. a4 Rfe8 20. Rae1 Rad8 see Hammer – Movsesian, 5th Chess World Cup, Tromsø 2013, match game 1. 16. ... Be4 17. f4 Nxe5 18. dxe5 f6!? A sign of good mood! 19. Qd4 fxe5 20. fxe5 Qb6 21. Bf3 Qg6 22. Rad1 Rae8 23. Qxa7! Lékó avoids the liquidation into what he thought to be a drawn Rook ending (even though a Pawn ahead), aiming to consolidate his slight but lasting positional edge. 23. ... Bxf3 24. Rxf3 Rxf3 25. gxf3

25. ... Qc2! Whetever it is, for now Black satisfies herself with winning back the Pawn. 26. Qd4 Rxe5 27. Rd2 Qc1+ 28. Kf2 Rf5 29. g4 Rf7 30. Kg2 Qe1 31. a4 Qa1 32. Qe5 Qe1 33. Qd4 Qa1 34. Rf2. Lékó maneuvered skillfully to overload her opponent’s defence, but it’s not clear at all that his structural advantage is sufficient to win such a double-edged Queen and Rook endgame. 34. ... Qc1 35. Re2 Qa3 36. Qe5 Qc5. Clearly not 36. ... Qxa4?? on account of 37. Rd2! followed by Rd2xd5 with devastating effect. With the (controversial) text move, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) put her opponent upon a crucial dilemma, rather than allowing him to gradually tighten his hold upon the board. Deserving consideration, however, was 36. ... Qc1 (idem to say 36. ... Qa1) 37. Rf2 Qd1 in order to answer 38. Qd6 (the immediate 38. e4 dxe4 39. Qxe4 Qd3 40. Qxd3 cxd3 41. Rd2 Rf4! 42. Rxd3 Rxa4 43. Rd8+ Kf7 44. Rd7+ Kg6 45. Rxb7 Rc4 leads to a drawn Rook endgame) by 38. ... Kg7 39. e4 Qe1 stubbornly keeping hold of her own. 37. Kf2. Stockfish evaluates 37. e4 Re7 38. Qf6 as far more profitable here, but such “risks” aren’t in the style of the sober Péter. 37. ... Qc6 38. Qd4 Rd7 39. a5 Qc7 40. Kg2 Qxa5 41. e4 Qd8 42. Rd2 Qf8 43. exd5 Qf4! 44. Qf2 Qe5 45. Qc5 Kg7 46. Qxc4 Rc7 47. Qa2 Rxc3! 48. Qb2 Qf6 49. Qxb7+ Qf7 50. Qxf7+ Kxf7. And now it’s a dead draw (with or without Rooks), even if Lékó takes more than a while for getting convinced. 51. d6 Rc8 52. d7 Rd8 53. Rd6 Ke7 54. Rxh6 Rxd7 55. Rh7+ Ke6 56. Rxd7 Kxd7. White’s extra Pawn is meaningless, but Péter pretends he does not know it. 57. Kf2 Kd6 58. Ke2 Ke6 59. Kd2 Kd6 60. Kc3 Ke5 61. Kd3 Kd5 62. Ke2 Ke6 63. Kd2 Kd6 64. Ke3 Ke5 65. f4+ gxf4+ 66. Kf3 Ke6 67. Kxf4 Kf6 68. g5+ Kg6 69. Kg4 Kg7 70. Kf5 Kf7 71. g6+ Kg7 72. Kg5 Kg8 73. Kf6 Kf8 74. g7+ Kg8 75. Kg6 ½ : ½. Until the stalemate.

Péter Lékó vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Photo: 李昕 (Lǐ Xīn)/sports.sina.com.cn