East O’ the Sun and West O’ the Moon

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

“尚街杯” (“MEWE Cup”) 2017 World Champion Summit Chess Match; match game 3; 深圳 (Shēnzhèn), April 7, 2017

Catalan Opening E04

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 dxc4 6. Bg2 0-0 7. 0-0 b5 8. a4 c6 9. axb5 cxb5 10. Ng5 Nd5 11. e4 Ne7!?? A crazy novelty (or maybe, just improvisation) in a well-known position. If 11. ... Nc7 there might follow 12. Nxh7 Kxh7 13. e5 Rh8 14. Bxa8 Nxa8 15. Rxa7 Nc7 16. Ne4∞ (Wöllermann – Lubbe, 4th Isle of Man International Chess Tournament, Douglas 2017) and now 16. ... Nc6 17. Bg5 Qd7 18. Nf6+! gxf6 19. Bxf6 Bf8! is harshly balanced. Another continuation is 11. ... Qxg5 12. exd5 exd5 13. Nxc4 Qd8 14. Ne3 Be6 15. Qb3 a5 16. Nxd5 Nc6 17. Rd1 Rc8 18. Bf4 a4 19. Qf3 Bxd5 20. Qxd5 Qxd5 21. Bxd5 Rfd8 22. Bxc6 Rxc6 23. d5 Rc4 ½–½ P. H. Nielsen – M. Adams, 4th Chess World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2011, tie-break game 1. 12. e5! Nd5

13. Nxh7!?? Ivanchuk’s pretty combination only leads to a draw, and probably he will himself regret missing 13. Nde4! h6 (if 13. ... Be7 there might follow 14. Nxh7! Kxh7 15. Qh5+ Kg8 16. Bg5! with a very powerful attack) 14. Nf6+! with White on top. But it’s clear that the whole thing needs further study and practical evaluation. 13. ... Kxh7 14. Qh5+ Kg8 15. Ne4 f6!! It took 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) 38 minutes, but in the end she found the only move to save the game! 16. Nxf6+. Ivanchuk must be content with a pyrotechnic perpetual check, as after 16. exf6 Qe8! Black holds everything. 16. ... gxf6 17. Qg6+ Kh8 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. Qg6+ ½–½. That’s why champagne is a fizzy wine.

An uneven match, at least with regard to age and gender. Photo: fashion.xinmin.cn