Dress Like a Grandmaster

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Nikita Kirillovich Vitiugov
5th GRENKE Chess Classic; Baden-Baden, April 5, 2018
Spanish Game C92

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. h3 Re8 10. d4 Bb7 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. d5. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) usually favours closing the centre in the Ruy López, so as to avoid to drown into too much analysed insanity – even if at the cost of contenting herself with a very slight edge. 12. ... Nb8 13. Nf1 Nbd7 14. N3h2 c6. The alternative 14. ... Nc5 would have evoked happy memories to 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), who, three years earlier, had been milking the cow in Monte Carlo Casino: 15. Bc2 c6 16. b4 Ncd7 17. dxc6 Bxc6 18. Bg5 Qc7 19. Bxf6 Nxf6 20. Ng4 Nxg4 21. hxg4 Be7 22. Bb3 Bg5 23. Qf3 Qb7 24. Rad1 Red8 25. Rd3 a5 26. Ng3 g6 27. Red1 a4 28. Bd5 Rac8 29. Ne2 Kg7 30. g3 Qd7 31. Kg2 h6 32. Bxc6 Qxc6 33. a3 Qc4 34. Rd5 Qb3 35. Qd3 Rb8 36. Ra1 Qb2 37. Qd1 Rdc8 38. Kf1 Rc4 39. f3 Rb6 40. Qb1 Qxb1+ 41. Rxb1 Kf8 42. Kf2 Ke7 43. f4 Bf6 44. Ke3 exf4+ 45. gxf4 Bxc3 46. Kd3 Bf6 47. Rxb5 Rbc6? (after 47. ... Rxb5 48. Kxc4 Rb8 49. Rd1 White stands only a little better) 48. Ra5 Rc2 49. b5 Rc8 50. Ra7+ Ke6 51. b6 Ra2 52. f5+ Ke5 53. Ra5+ 1 : 0 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Zhukova, Women’s Grand Prix 2015–2016, first stage, Monte Carlo 2015. 15. dxc6 Bxc6 16. Bg5 Qc7 17. Ng3!? 17. Qf3 has long been the most popular line, at least until Black found a way to deal with it: 17. ... a5(!) 18. Rad1 Qb7 19. Ng3 a4 20. Bc2 b4 21. Nf5 Re6 22. Bxf6 Nxf6 23. Ng4 Nxg4 24. hxg4 g6 25. Ne3 bxc3 26. bxc3 Bh6 27. Rb1 Qa7 28. Rb4 Bg5 29. Qe2 Ree8 30. Qd3 Red8 31. Nd5 Rab8 32. Reb1 a3 33. Nb6 Kg7 34. g3 Rb7 35. Kg2 ½ : ½ Vachier-Lagrave – Svidler, 4th Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis 2016. 17. ... a5! 17. ... Qb7(?) 18. Qf3 d5 would transpose into 19. Ng4 dxe4 20. Qf5 Nd5 21. Nxe4 Re6 22. Rad1 h5? (comparatively better was 22. ... Rae8) 23. Ne3 Nf4 24. Bxf4 Bxe4 25. Rxd7 Bxf5 26. Rxb7 exf4 27. Rxf7 1 : 0 Short – Beliavsky, Knockout World Chess Championship Tournament, Groningen 1997, match game 2. 18. Bxf6. 18. a3 Qb7(!) gives Black no worry. 18. ... Nxf6 19. Ng4 Nxg4 20. hxg4 a4 21. Bd5 Bxd5 22. Qxd5 a3 23. bxa3. 23. b3 Qxc3 24. Qxb5 g6 25. Rac1 Qb2 26. Rb1 Qc2 (not 26. ... Qxa2?? on account of 27. Qd3! followed Re1-e2 trapping Black’s Queen) 27. Rbc1 Qb2 would have led to a draw by repetition. White, however, finds another pretty way to achieve the same result. 23. ... Rxa3 24. Rab1 Qc4 25. Qxb5 Qxb5 26. Rxb5 Rxa2 27. Nf5 Rc2

28. Ne3! Rxc3 29. Ra1. White has sacrificed a Pawn, in return for which she – thanks to the domination of the seventh rank and the d5-square – has virtually paralysed both the d6-Pawn and the f8-Bishop (29. ... g6?? 30. Nd5! would cost Black the Exchange), thus preventing Vitiugov from making any progress. That’s more than enough to make the draw inevitable. 29. ... Rcc8 30. Rb7 Rb8 31. Raa7 Rxb7 32. Rxb7 h6 33. Nd5 Ra8 34. Kh2 g6 35. f3 Kg7 36. Nc7 Rc8 37. Nd5 Ra8 38. Nc7 Rc8 39. Nd5 ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s sartorial representation of the first-move advantage in chess. Photo: Georgios Souleidis/GRENKE Chess Classic.

From the opening into the middle game: 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (left) vs. Nikita Kirillovich Vitiugov (right). Photo: Georgios Souleidis/GRENKE Chess Classic.