Centralcasting

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Francisco Vallejo Pons
Grand Prix 2017; 2nd stage; Moscow, May 20, 2017
French Defence C12

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. Bxf6 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 gxf6 8. Qd2 Qa5 9. Bd3 Bd7 10. Ne2 Bc6 11. f3 Nd7 12. c4!? An interesting new approach. 12. ... Qxd2+ 13. Kxd2 Nb6 14. h4 Rg8 15. Rhg1 Rd8 16. Ke3. White should have a slight edge, even though, quite strangely, it rapidly disappears like clouds on a sunny day. 16. ... Ke7 17. g4 h6 18. Rab1 Nc8 19. Nc3 b6 20. a4 Nd6 21. Nb5 Ne8 22. a5 Bxb5 23. Rxb5? A cryptic decision, apparently aiming for further simplifications at a very high price, even though, quite miraculously, White will not end up crossing the point of no return. By 23. axb5 she would apparently have kept the upper hand. 23. ... f5 24. axb6 axb6 25. c5 Nf6 26. cxb6 cxb6 27. Be2. White’s game soon became uncomfortable, and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) must maintain her coolness and balance to keep together her own position. 27. ... Nd5+ 28. Kd2 Nf4 29. c3 Rc8 30. Bf1 h5! 31. c4 hxg4 32. fxg4 fxg4 33. Rxb6 f5 34. Ke3 Nh3 35. Bxh3. Engines do not like this move, and, from a human viewpoint, it’s hard to disagree. But what follows shows that 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) quite well knew what she was doing. 35. ... gxh3 36. Rxg8 Rxg8 37. Rb1 Rh8

38. d5! An amazing way out of the blue. 38. ... exd5. Also 38. ... e5 39. c5 Rxh4 40. Kf2 Rd4 41. Rb7+ Kd8 42. d6 Rd2+ 43. Kg1! e4 44. Re7 Rd5 45. Kh2 Rxc5 46. Kxh3 Rd5 47. Rf7 should end in a draw. 39. cxd5 Rxh4 40. Kf2 Kd6 41. Kg3 Rh5 42. Kh2 Kxd5. In spite of Black’s two extra Pawns the endgame is a book draw or, rather to better say it, a “Nalimov Endgame Tablebases” draw. 43. Rb5+ Ke4 44. Rb4+ Ke5 45. Rb5+ Kf6 46. Rb1 Rh4 47. Rb3 Ke5 48. Rb5+ Kf4 49. Rb3 Rh8 50. Rb1 Ke3 51. Rb3+ Kd2 52. Rb2+ Kc3 53. Rb5 Rh5 54. Rd5 Kc4 55. Rd8 Kc5 56. Rd7 Kb6 57. Rd3 Kc6 58. Rd8 Rh4 59. Rf8 f4 60. Rd8 Kc5 61. Rd7 Kc6 62. Rd3 Rh8 63. Rxh3 Rxh3+ 64. Kxh3 Kd5 65. Kg2 Ke4 66. Kf2 f3 67. Kf1 Ke3 68. Ke1 f2+ 69. Kf1 Kf3 ½ : ½. “Chinese torture”, then Vallejo tweeted.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: RIA Novosti.