Time Delay

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov

Rapid & Blitz World Chess Champions Showdown; match game 8 (15+10); 深圳 (Shēnzhèn), July 5, 2018

Spanish Game C65

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. 0-0 Nd4 6. Nxd4 Bxd4 7. c3 Bb6 8. Na3 c6 9. Ba4 d6 10. Nc4 Bc7 11. Bb3 Be6 12. f4!? exf4 13. Bxf4 d5 14. exd5!? If not new, it is certainly more ambitious than 14. Nd2 0-0 15. d4 Nxe4 16. Bxc7 Qxc7 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Qg4 Qd6 20. Qxe4 Qd5= Efimenko – Fressinet, 30th European Chess Club Cup, Bilbao 2014. 14. ... Nxd5 15. Bxc7 Qxc7 16. Qf3. 16. Qh5!? 0-0 17. Rae1 Rad8 doesn’t seem to offer anything more. Perhaps 16. d4 at once might have been considered. 16. ... 0-0 17. Rae1 Rae8 18. d4 Re7 19. Ne5. 19. Bc2 Nf6 20. Ne5 Nd7 transposes into the game. 19. ... Nf6 20. Bc2. With the deadly threat of Qf3-d3.

20. ... Nd7. The only move. 21. Qe4 g6. Of course, after 21. ... f5? 22. Qh4 the weakening of the a2-g8 diagonal would imply quite dramatic consequences for Black. 22. Nf3. Intending Nf3-g5. If 22. Qh4 there might follow 22. ... Nxe5 23. Rxe5 Rfe8 with an approximate balance, so maybe she could consider 22. Ng4!? f5 23. Nh6+ Kg7 24. Qh4 Nf6 25. g4!? fxg4 26. Qg5∞ which, although very unclear, might have its speculative appeal. 22. ... f5 23. Qh4 Nf6 24. Ng5 Bd5. 24. ... Bxa2(?) 25. b3 is obviously nonsensical. 25. b3? The rapid time control hurts as usual. White ought to have played 25. Rxe7 Qxe7 26. Re1 Ne4 27. Qg3!? keeping tension and unbalance on the board. 25. ... Rfe8 26. c4 Rxe1? But time passes for everyone, even for Ponomariov. After 26. ... Ng4! 27. Rxe7 Qxe7 28. cxd5 Qe3+ 29. Kh1 Nf2+ 30. Kg1 Nh3++ 31. Kh1 Nxg5 Black would have emerged with a very pleasant position. 27. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 28. Qxe1 h6 29. Ne6 Bxe6 30. Qxe6+ Kg7 31. h3 h5 32. Bd3 h4 33. Qe1 Qf4! A pretty way to draw. 34. Qe7+ Kh6 35. Qxf6 Qe3+ 36. Kh2 Qg3+ 37. Kh1 Qe1+ 38. Kh2 Qg3+ ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (left) and Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov (right) analysing and discussing their games. Photo: qipai.org.cn.