A Letter to Lady Zorro

Magnus Carlsen – Cristóbal Henríquez Villagra
5th World Rapid Chess Championship; Doha, December 26, 2016
Sicilian Defence B66

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. 0-0-0 h6 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bf4 d5 11. Qe3 Bb4 12. a3 Ba5 13. Be2 0-0 14. e5 Nh7? This looks decidedly suspect. Much better appear to be 14. ... Nd7 and if 14. g4!?? (obviously there is a reason why the sounder 14. Qg3 is usually played) there might follow 14. ... Qb6 15. Qg3 Rb8 with quite crazy girls games, T. Kosintseva – Kosteniuk, Women’s World Blitz Chess Championship, Moscow 2010. 15. h4 Rb8 16. Na4! Bc7 17. Bd3. The immediate 17. g4! may well transpose into the game after 17. ... f6 18. Bd3. 17. ... f6 18. g4! fxe5 19. Bxe5 Nf6 20. f3! Ne8 21. f4 Bxe5 22. fxe5 Qa5. Henríquez Villagra is in a valley of tears, and Carlsen dismantles his defences in the most elegant way:

23. Rhf1! Qxa4. Black is doomed, whether he captures or not the Knight. 24. Rxf8+ Kxf8 25. Qc5+ Kf7. Or 25. ... Kg8 26. Rf1 with a mating attack. 26. Rf1+ Nf6 27. exf6 gxf6 28. g5 f5 29. g6+ Kxg6 30. Qd6 1 : 0.

Magnus Carlsen vs. Cristóbal Henríquez Villagra. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.