In the Wind

Fernando Peralta – Salome Melia
16th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 29, 2018
Nimzo-Indian Defence E48

Wild winds stormed around Gibraltar today, causing serious damage to buildings and structures, but of course don’t think it’s Aeolus’s fault! 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Ne2 Re8 8. 0-0 Bd6 9. Nf4 c6 10. f3 b6. The alternative is 10. ... a5 11. Kh1 Bxf4 12. exf4 b6 13. f5 Ba6 14. Bxa6 Nxa6 15. Bg5 Qd6 16. Qd2 Nd7 17. Rae1 b5 18. Re3 Nf8 19. Rfe1 Rxe3 20. Qxe3 f6 21. Bf4 Qd7 22. g4 Kf7 23. Ne2 Re8 24. Qd2 Qe7 25. Bg3 Qb4 and Black eventually held his own, Galliamova – Polugaevsky, Women vs. Veterans, Aruba 1992. 11. Kh1 Qc7 12. g4 Bxf4 13. exf4 Ba6 14. f5 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Nbd7 16. Ne2 c5 17. Bf4 Qb7? Time is priceless in such positions, so I think that Black should have saved it by the zwischenzug 17. ... c4(!). 18. Ng3 c4 19. Qd2 Nf8 20. Be5 Qc6 21. Rae1 Rac8 22. Rg1 N6d7? The situation was not too pleasant, but this “preventive” move turns out to be Black’s decisive mistake.

23. Bxg7! Kxg7 24. Nh5+ Kh8 25. Qg5 Ng6 26. fxg6 fxg6. After 26. ... Qxg6 27. Qxd5 White must equally win, if more prosaically. 27. Qh6! Rg8. 27. ... gxh5 28. Rxe8+ loses the Queen. 28. Re7 Nf8 29. Qf4! 1 : 0. The threat of Qf4-e5+ is imparable.

Fernando Peralta vs. Salome Melia. Photo © John Saunders.