The Fleeting Moment

Désirée Di Benedetto – Polina Sergeevna Shuvalova
32nd World Youth Chess Championship Girls Under-18; Porto Carras, October 29, 2018
Semi-Tarrasch Defence D41

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 0-0 11. Bc4 b6 12. 0-0 Nd7 13. Rad1 Bb7 14. Rfe1 Rc8 15. Bb3 Re8 16. h3 Nf6 17. Qf4 Nh5 18. Qh2 Nf6? Better to trust the man who never loses: 18. ... h6 19. Ne5 Nf6 20. Qf4 b5 21. Re3 Rc7 22. Nd3 Rc3 23. Nc5 Rxe3 24. Qxe3 Bc6 25. Rc1 Qb6= Mamedyarov – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), Candidates Tournament, Berlin 2018. 19. d5! Di Benedetto bravely plays all out to accomplish her “mission impossible”. 19. ... exd5 20. e5 Nd7 21. Nd4 Rc5!? A novelty that is neither better nor worse than 21. ... f6 22. e6 Nc5 23. Nf5 Nxb3 24. axb3 Rc6 25. Qg3 with a powerful initiative, Mulyar – Burke, 12th Philadelphia Open, Philadelphia 2018. 22. Ba4!? Ra5 23. Bc6! Qc8. Now engines advocate 24. Bb5! which leaves White with a powerful bind and serious threats such as e5-e6 or Rd1-c1. Di Benedetto plays more naturally: 24. Bxd7! Qxd7 25. f4! Rxa2 26. f5 Ra4? Black goes straight into her opponent’s hands, but there weren’t particularly good moves. For instance, if 26. ... Kh8 then 27. e6! with vehement attack. Comparatively best was perhaps 26. ... Qe7, though after 27. f6 Qf8 28. Qg3 White keeps the upper hand. 27. f6! Kh8. Not 27. ... gxf6? because of 28. exf6 Kh8 29. Qc7!! and finis. 28. Qf4 Rg8 29. fxg7+ Rxg7. Di Benedetto has played a fantastic game and is now about to take Shuvalova off the crown:

30. Re3?? But she incredibly misses 30. Qf6! with the double threat of Nd4-f5 and Rd1-d3-g3, against which Black has no decent defence (30. ... Qxh3?? 31. Qxg7+!). 30. ... Qe7! 31. Qf6. Just too late. 31. ... Qxf6 32. exf6 Rg8 33. Re7 Bc8 34. Rxf7. Not surprisingly, after missing her big chance, White disintegrates. The rest does not require comment. 34. ... Bxh3 35. Rd2 Bg4 36. Nc6 Bh5 37. Re7 Rf4 38. Re5 Rxf6 39. Ne7 Re8 40. Rdxd5 Bf7 41. Rd7 a5 42. Rb5 a4 43. Nc6 Re1+ 44. Kh2 Be8 0 : 1.