棉花糖 (Cotton candy)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Nigel David Short
Match game 6; Hoogeveen, October 22, 2016
Spanish Game C99

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Bd7 14. Nf1 Rac8 15. Re2 Rfe8 16. Ng3 Bd8 17. b3 Nc6 18. Bb2. If 18. Ba3 then 18. ... Qb8 19. Rd2 exd4 20. Nxd4 Nxd4 21. Rxd4 d5 22. exd5 Bb6 23. Rd3 Nxd5 24. Ne4 (24. Rxd5? Qxg3 25. Rxd7 Qxf2+ 26. Kh1 Rxc2 27. Qf1 Rxa2−+) 24. ... Bf5 25. Rxd5 Bxe4 26. Bxe4 Rxe4= Lékó – Kortschnoi, Hunguest Hotels Super Chess Tournament, Budapest 2003. 18. ... Qa7 19. d5!TN Nb4. A 19. ... Ne7 could be a possibly better route, heading to f4 via g6. 20. Bb1 a5 21. a3 Na6 22. b4! Qb7 23. Qd2 axb4 24. axb4. White has a slight edge as usual. 24. ... Nc7 25. Nh4!? g6 26. Ra3 Na8 27. Rf3 Nb6? “This was a blunder”, Short said afterwards. “I should have played 27. ... Kh8”, so as to meet 28. Qh6?? with 28. ... Ng8 winning the h4-Knight. “So then I would have had to play 28. Rc3”, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) agreed. ̴If I don’t have anything here, then it would have been better not to play 25. Nh4 either. In some way I hoped I could play f2-f4 somewhere, but it didn’t really work”. 28. Qh6! Kh8? This is the losing move! Black ought to have played 28. ... Be7 upon which might have followed 29. Nhf5! Bxf5 (29. ... gxf5?? 30. Rxf5!+−) 30. Nxf5 Bf8 31. Qg5 keeping the initiative.

29. Rxf6! Bxf6 30. Nh5! gxh5. If 30 ... Rg8 then 31. Nxf6 Rg7 32. Nf3 followed by Nf3-g5xh7 and finis. 31. Qxf6+ Kg8 32. Re3! Bg4. Or 32. ... Kf8? 33. Qxd6+ Re7 34. Qf6 Ree8 35. d6 Kg8 36. Rg3+ Bg4 37. Nf5 and mate in two moves. 33. Qg5+ Kh8 34. hxg4 Qe7 35. Qxh5 Na4 36. Rh3. Threatening Nh4-f5. 36. ... Qf6 37. Rf3 Qg7 38. Rxf7 Qg8 39. Qf5 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo © Lennart Ootes.