Frontline Women

Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
66th Russian Women’s Chess Championship; Novosibirsk, October 24, 2016
Sicilian Defence B52

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. d4 cxd4 6. Qxd4 Nc6 7. Qd3 e6 8. Nc3 Nf6 9. Bf4 Be7 10. 0-0-0 Rd8 11. Qe2 0-0. From a coffee player’s point of view, it appears better now 11. ... Qc7 as 12. e5 is answered by 12. ... Nh5 with a rough balance. 12. h4 d5 13. e5 Qc7 14. Nb5 Qb8 15. Ng5 Bc5 16. Bg3 Nd7 17. Qd3 g6

18. f4. The more straightforward 18. h5! Ndxe5 19. Qe2 would seem to put Black into serious trouble; for instance: 19. ... a6 20. f4! Nd7 21. Nxh7! with a crushing attack. 18. ... h5 19. Be1 a6 20. Nc3 Kg7 21. g4 Rh8 22. gxh5 Rxh5 23. Ne2 Rdh8 24. Ng3 R5h6 25. Nf3 Ne7 26. Rh2 Kf8 27. Kb1 b5 28. Bd2 Nf5 29. Nxf5 gxf5 30. Be3 Qb6 31. Bxc5+ Qxc5 32. Qd2 b4 33. Rg2 Nb6 34. b3 a5 35. Kb2 R6h7 36. Rdg1 Nc8 37. Rc1 Ne7 38. c3 Ke8? This looks like the decisive mistake, as allows White to carry out her blows on both wings. 38. ... Rg7(!) was evidently called for, keeping on fighting. 39. cxb4 Qxb4 40. Rc3 Kd7 41. Qf2 Nc6 42. a3. After 42. Rxc6! Kxc6 43. Qa7 (Stockfish) Black’s King is in a mating net. Kosteniuk contents herself here with a human solution. 42. ... Qb5 43. Nd4 Nxd4 44. Qxd4 Rb8 45. Rgc2 Rb7 46. Qg1 1 : 0. Goryachkina dramatically ended up in Zugzwang. “I got a good position after the opening and thought I had a big advantage when I started my attack. It is possible that I missed a concrete win at some point. Nevertheless, Black’s position remained unpleasant, because both Rooks had to cover the h-file. During the time trouble and perhaps with some help from the opponent I managed to open up the Queenside and secure a win”, Kosteniuk finally said.

Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili