After the Storm

谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) – 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn)
Women’s World Chess Championship match game 7; 重庆 (Chóngqìng), May 13, 2018
Nimzo-Indian Defence E51

Quiet after the storm. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. e3 0-0 6. Bd2 b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. 0-0 Bd6 10. Nb5 Be7 11. Rc1 c5. The alternative is 11. ... c6 12. Nc3 c5 13. Ne5 Nc6 14. Ba6 (or 14. Qa4 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Ne4= Ivkov – Filip, Interzonal Tournament, Palma de Mallorca 1970) 14. ... Qc8 15. Bxb7 Qxb7 16. Nxc6 Qxc6 17. dxc5 ½ : ½ Najdorf – T. V. Petrossiàn, 19th Chess Olympiad, Siegen 1970. 12. Ne5 a6 13. Nc3 Nc6 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. dxc5 bxc5 16. Na4 c4 17. Bc2

17. ... Rb8. Here 17. ... d4!? was possible already, but 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), maybe still in shock from yesterday, just plays safe. 18. Bc3 Bd6 19. Bd4 Qe7 20. Nc3 Be5. Clearly not 20. ... Rxb2? on account of 21. Nxd5 winning the Exchange. 21. b3 Rfd8 22. h3 Rbc8 23. Qd2 Bb7 24. Rfd1 Ne4 25. Qe1 Nc5 26. Ne2 cxb3 27. axb3 Bd6 28. Bb2 Ne6 29. Nd4. Since 29. Bd3 g6 doesn’t give anything special to White, 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) offers a draw through the uncerimonial move in the text, which leads to an almost symmetrical position. 29. .... Nxd4 30. exd4. Of course, 30. Bxd4? Ba3 would cost White the Exchange. 30. ... Qxe1+ 31. Rxe1 Bf4 32. Bf5 Bxc1 33. Bxc8 Bd2 ½ : ½.

谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) (left) vs. 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) (right). Photo: qipai.org.cn.

The coffee is free, but the offer is conditional on passing security checks. Photos: qipai.org.cn.