Things simply happen

Alexandra Zherebtsova – Marina Brunello
18th European Individual Women’s Chess Championship; Riga, April 19, 2017
Semi-Slav Defence D45

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd2 Qe7 8. h3!? h6? This seems very odd. 9. 0-0-0 dxc4!? No better is 9. ... a6 10. Kb1 dxc4 11. e4 Bc7 12. Bxc4 b5 13. Bd3 c5 14. dxc5 Nxc5 15. Nxb5! axb5 16. Bxb5+ Bd7 17. Bb4 Bb6 18. Rxd7! Nfxd7 19. Ne5 Rd8 20. Nxd7 Rxd7 21. Rd1 0-0 22. Rxd7 Qg5 23. f4 Qh5 24. Be2 Qh4 25. Bxc5 Rc8 26. b4 Bxc5 27. bxc5 Qe1+ 28. Rd1 Qb4+ 29. Ka1 Rxc5 30. Qb3 1 : 0 Dlugy – I. Schneider, 50th U.S. Chess Championship, San Diego 2006. 10. Bxc4 b5 11. Bd3 b4 12. Na4 Bb7 13. e4 e5? It took much courage to play Stockfish’s sacrificial line 13. ... c5!? 14. e5 cxd4, but subjectively and objectively it was the best Black could do. 14. dxe5. Not bad, but 14. Nh4! g6 15. f4! appears to be crushing Black. 14. ... Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Be3 Rd8 17. Bc5 Qc7 18. Bxb4 Bd4 19. Nc5 0-0 20. Nxb7 Qxb7 21. Bxf8 Kxf8. Black paid a high price – she is an Exchange and a Pawn down – for clinging to illusions of counterplay, but now, finally, she can play for “something” to happen. 22. Rhe1 Rb8 23. Re2 c5 24. Bc4 Nd7 25. Bd5 Qa6 26. Qd3 Qa5 27. Rc2 Ne5 28. Qd2 Qa6 29. f4 Nd7. Now, after 30. e5 Nb6 31. Bb3 would be very difficult for Black to find any compensation for her material deficit, but the left hand of fate suddenly comes to rescue her:

30. Bb3?? Really an incredible blunder! One cannot even think that Zherebtsova inadvertedly touched the Bishop, for, in such case, 30. Bxf7 would have been much better than the text. Was Zherebtsova under time pressure? No, not particularly. So, sometimes things simply happen. 30. ... Rxb3. The Rook is obviously taboo. 31. Kb1 Rb8 32. e5 Nb6 33. Qc1 Kg8. With trembling hand Black first puts her King in safety. 34. b3 Nd5. The Knight is coming. 35. Re1 Nb4. By 35. ... Rxb3+! Black would have forced mate, but it’s not time to quibble over whether or not. The Black Knight’s jump is enough to make White resign. 0 : 1.