The Wings

Anna Muzychuk – Alina Anatolyevna Kashlinskaya
ACP European Women’s Rapid Chess Championship; Monte Carlo, October 21, 2017
French Defence C11

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Be7 7. Be3 b6 8. h4 0-0. For 8. ... Nc6 9. h5 f5 10. exf6 Bxf6 11. Dd2 0-0 12. 0-0-0 just take a look at A. Muzychuk – Unuk, Turkish Team Chess Championship (First League), Kocaeli 2017. 9. h5 Nc6 10. Bb5 Ndb8 11. Qd2 c4!? The alternative was 11. ... a6 12. Bxc6 Nxc6 13. Qf2 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Qc7 15. 0-0-0 b5 16. Nxc6 Qxc6 17. f5 exf5 18. Nxd5 Bd8 19. Qg3 Kh8? (best was 19. ... h6!) 20. Nf4! h6 21. Ng6+! fxg6 22. hxg6 Qe4 23. Bxh6 Qg4 24. Bg5+ 1 : 0 Sutovsky – Forcén Esteban, 18th European Individual Chess Championship, Minsk 2017. 12. Bxc6 Nxc6 13. g4 b5. The run to opposite goals has just started. Who will arrive first? 14. Qg2 b4 15. Nd1 c3 16. b3 a5 17. Nf2 a4 18. Rc1 axb3 19. axb3 Ra2 20. g5 Qe8 21. Ng4. With the obvious threat of Ng4-f6+. 21. ... Kh8 22. Nh4 Na5 23. Qf3 Qd8? As it will be immediately clear, Her Majesty should never have relinquished control of the g6-square. 23. ... Bd8 (Stockfish) might have been Black’s toughest defence.

24. Ng6+! fxg6. If 24. ... Kg8 then 25. Nxe7+ Qxe7 26. Nf6+! Kh8 27. g6! gxf6 28. g7+! Kxg7 29. Qg3+ Kh8 (or 29. ... Kh6 30. f5 mate) 30. Rg1 and mate next move. 25. hxg6 h6 26. Nxh6! gxh6 27. Qh5 Bxg5 28. fxg5 Kg8 29. Qxh6 1 : 0.