Magic Spells

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk – Mobina Alinasab

Women’s World Chess Championship Knockout Tournament; match game 2; Khanty-Mansiysk, November 10, 2018

Queen’s Gambit Accepted D20

Today Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk got confirmation that superstition existed before FIDE. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Bxc4 Nc6 6. 0-0 Be6 7. Bb5 Bc5 8. b4 Bb6 9. a4 a6 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. a5 Ba7 12. Bb2 Qd6 13. Na3 Qxb4? This way to keep the extra Pawn seems very dangerous. Probably safer is 13. ... Rd8 14. Nc2 Bg4 15. h3 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Ne7 17. Rfd1 d3 18. Ra3 d2 19. Bc3 0-0 ½ : ½ Shishkin – Nyzhnyk, 8th Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov Memorial, Kiev 2010. 14. Qc1 Ne7 15. Nc2 Qc4 16. Ncxd4 c5!? Alinasab introduces her novelty, which, however, makes life even easier for the younger Muzychuk, while the other Muzychuk had had to struggle alone for her own livelihood: 16. ... Bxd4 17. Nxd4 Rb8 18. Qd2 c5 19. Nf5 Nxf5 20. exf5 Bxf5 (20. ... Qd5! might have been worth considering) 21. Rac1 Qg4 22. Rc3 Be6 23. Rg3 Qb4? (23. ... Rd8) 24. Bc3 Qc4 25. Rd1 Qa2 26. Qc1 (Black is doomed) 26. ... Rg8 27. Bxg7 Qe2 28. h3 Qh5 29. Qd2 Ke7 30. Rg5 Qh4 31. Qe3 Qb4 32. Qe5 Qxa5 33. Bf6+ 1 : 0 A. Muzychuk – Kalinina, 74th Ukrainian Women’s Chess Championship, Lviv 2014. 17. Nxe6 Qxe6 18. Bxg7 Rg8 19. Be5 0-0-0 20. Bg3 Nc6 21. Qf4 Rd7 22. h3 f6 23. Rfd1 Re7 24. Kh2 Rgg7. Not 24. ... Qxe4? because of 25. Qxf6 Kb7 27. Re1 with overwhelming preponderance. If, instead, 24. ... c4 there might follow 25. Rac1 Nxa5 26. Nd4 with great advantage to White. 25. Nh4 Rd7 26. Nf5 Rgf7

27. Ne3! Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Nxa5? A little better seems 28. ... Ne5, though even then 29. Nd5 c6 30. Nc3 c4 31. Na4 Rd7 32. Rc1 leaves White in full command of the board. 29. Nd5 Bb8. If 29. ... c6 then 30. Nc7 Qb3 31. Qg4+ Kb7 32. Ne6 winning easily. 30. Qe3 Ba7 31. Rb1 f5 32. Qc3 Nc6 33. Qh8+ Nd8 34. Rd1 Rd7 35. exf5 Qf7 36. Qe5 Nc6 37. Qe4 Kd8 (37. ... Kb7 38. f6+−) 38. Nxc7. Another finish would have been 38. Bh4+ Kc8 39. Ne7+! Nxe7 40. Qa8+ Bb8 41. Rb1 with mate coming. 38. ... Rxd1 39. Qxc6 Rd4 40. Ne6+ Ke7 41. Nxd4 cxd4 42. f6+ 1 : 0.

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk. Photo © Press service of the Women’s World Championship 2018.