One Special One

王安妮 (Annie Wáng) – Nazí Nodarovna Paikidze

58th U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; tie-break playoff game 1 (25+5); Saint Louis, April 30, 2018

Nimzo-Indian Defence E36

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 c5!? A sharp variation, by which Black offers two Pawns for a powerful initiative. 7. dxc5 d4. “Romanishin’s gambit has been doing well of late. In 2016 Black has scored a very impressive 71% with it! Regardless of its objective merits, more often than not Black gains excellent practical compensation. White’s position is not easy to play over the board, as Anatoly Karpov found out to his cost recently”, writes Grandmaster John Michael Emms. 8. Qg3 Nc6 9. Qxg7 Rg8 10. Qh6 e5 11. Bg5!? Quite an insubstantial novelty. The subject-matter of analysis should be 11. b4 Rg6 12. Qd2 Ne4 13. Qb2 Qf6 14. e3 a5 15. b5 Ne7 16. Bd3? [16. Nf3 Bh3!? (16. ... Bg4!?) 17. exd4 Bxg2 18. Nxe5? Bxh1 19. Nxg6 hxg6 20. Be3 Bf3 21. Be2 Nxc5−+ 黄茜 (Huáng Qiàn) – Kosteniuk, 4th Women’s World Team Chess Championship, Astana 2013] 16. ... Nxc5! 17. Bxg6 Qxg6 18. Kf1 Be6−+ Karpov – Édouard, 5th Trophée Anatoly Karpov, Cap d’Agde 2016. 11. ... Rg6 12. Qh4 Qa5+ 13. Bd2 Qxc5 14. e4 Qd6? 14. ... dxe3! would have ensured Black excellent prospects of exploiting her development advantage, and even 14. ... d3!? at once makes more sense now than later. 15. f3! Now, almost incredibly, White manages to consolidate. 15. ... d3? A flawed concept. 15. ... Qd8 16. Nh3 Na5!? seems quite unclear.

16. Qf2! Nd4. That was Paikidze’s idea (17. Bxd3?? Nb3), but... 17. Bb4! White cashes in the second Pawn and at the same time completes her development. 17. ... Qc6 18. Bxd3 Be6 19. Ne2 0-0-0 20. 0-0-0 Bxc4 21. Nxd4 Rxd4 22. Bxc4 Rxc4+ 23. Kb1 Nd7. Thus Black exposes herself to a mating attack, but 23. ... b6 24. b3! was totally lost as well. 24. Qxa7 Rxg2 25. Qa8+ Kc7 26. Ba5+. Here 26. Be7! (Δ Qa8-d8 mate) 26. ... Nb8 27. Bd6+ was even quicker, but it does not make much sense to quibble about how 王安妮 (Annie Wáng) wins, as she will confidently bring home the goal. 26. ... b6 27. Qa7+ Kd8 28. Bxb6+ Ke8 29. Bf2 f6 30. Rd2 Rg7 31. Rhd1 Re7 32. Rg1 Kf7 33. Qe3 Nf8 34. Qh6 Ke8 35. Rgd1 Nd7 36. Qh5+ Kd8 37. Qg4 Kc7 38. Qg8 Qb5 39. Qg4 Qc6 40. Rd5 Nb8 41. Qg8 Nd7 42. Be1 Rc5 43. Bb4 Rxd5 44. exd5 Qa4 45. Rc1+ 1 : 0.

王安妮 (Annie Wáng) (standing) vs. Nazí Nodarovna Paikidze (seated). Photo: Eric Rosen.