彩蛋 (Easter egg)

Georg Meier – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
4th GRENKE Chess Classic; Karlsruhe, April 16, 2017
Queen’s Indian Defence E16

Probably it is just a coincidence that Fabiano Caruana, Georg Meier and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) often enjoyed the coaching services of Belgian Russian-born Grandmaster Vladimir Nikolaevich Chuchelov. What is sure instead is that now a showdown is going on here: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Nd2 0-0 6. Nf3 b6 7. 0-0 Bb7 8. b3 Nbd7 9. Bb2 Qe7 10. Ne5!? An interesting novelty. For 10. Qc2 Rac8 11. e3 Ba3 12. cxd5 Bxb2 13. Qxb2 Bxd5 14. b4 c5 see Fedoseev – Dragun, 12th Miguel Najdorf Memorial, Warsaw 2014. 10. ... Rfd8 11. Nd3 Bd6 12. e3 Rab8 13. Rc1 Ne4 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Re1 c5!? It seems quite crazy to self-inflict hanging Pawns, opening at the same time the diagonal of White’s dark-squared Bishop, but apparently 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) knows her opponent better than he knows himself. 16. dxc5 bxc5 17. Qc2 Rbc8 18. Nf4 Nef6. Comparatively best was 18. ... Ndf6 19. Nxe4 Nxe4 20. Rcd1 with only a slight edge for White, as afterwards recommended by Meier himself. 19. Nc4. The methodical Meier neatly seized a clear positional advantage, but he had to think long and will now have to play dynamically – something he is not (too) used to. 19. ... Bc7 20. Red1 Bxf4 21. exf4 Ba8 22. Ne3 Qe6 23. Nf5 Re8 24. h3. Meier begins to be very short of time. 24. ... d4! 25. Bxa8 Rxa8 26. b4 Rac8 27. Qb1? Very unpractical. After 27. Re1 Black should have had to give up the Queen for two Rooks, with some apprehension for her hanging centre Pawns. 27. ... Ne4! 28. g4 g6 29. Nh4? And White’s time is gone... He should have played – nolens volens – 29. Nh6+ and if 29. ... Kg7 then 30. bxc5! Kxh6 31. Bxd4 with some kind of tactical compensation.

29. ... Nxf2! Black offers her Knight as a crushing demolition! 30. Kxf2 Qe2+ 31. Kg1 Re3 32. Qc2 Rg3+ 33. Kh1 Rxh3+ 34. Kg1 Qe3 0 : 1.

Georg Meier vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Georgios Souleidis/GRENKE Chess Classic.