Upside Down

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Maili-Jade Ouellet

Knockout Women’s World Chess Championship Tournament; match game 1; Khanty-Mansiysk, November 3, 2018

Queen’s Gambit Declined D55

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 0-0 6. e3 h6 7. Bxf6 Bxf6 8. Qc2 c6 9. 0-0-0 Nd7 10. h4 g6. Apparently there's also another way to get at it: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. h4 c6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Bxf6 8. e3 e6 9. Qc2 Nd7 10. 0-0 0-0 (Grünfeld Defence D90). 11. g4. A vintage reference is 11. h5 g5 12. e4 Qa5 13. Kb1 Rd8 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. exd5 Nf8 16. d6 Bd7 17. Nd2 b5 18. Nb3 Qb6 19. Ne4 Bg7 with quite an unclear game, Pachman – Radashkovich, 12th International Tournament, Netanya 1975. 11. ... Bg7 12. g5!? Brevity remix: 11. Kb1 Bg7 12. g4 Qe7 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Bd3 Nb6 15. Rhg1 Bd7 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Qxe5 18. f4 Qxe3 19. Bxg6 Qxf4 20. g5 fxg6 21. Qxg6+ Kh8 22. Qxh6+ Kg8 23. Qg6+ Kh8 24. Qh6+ Kg8 25. Qg6+ ½ : ½ Tomashevsky – Svidler, Grand Prix 2017, 2nd stage, Moscow 2017. 12. ... h5 13. Kb1 Qa5!? New from old. A recent game continued: 13. ... Qe7 14. e4!? dxc4 15. Bxc4 b5 16. Bd3 (Atabayev – Kazhgaleyev, 43rd Chess Olympiad, Batumi 2018) and now 13. ... e5 seems fine for Black. 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 e5 16. d5 Nc5 17. Bh3 Bxh3 18. Rxh3 Rad8 19. Nf6+!? Bxf6 20. gxf6 Rd6!? 21. Nxe5 Rxf6 22. Rg3 Re8? This mistake might cost Black dear. She ought to have played first 22. ... Qc7 and if 23. Rg5 then 23. ... Re8 with a playable game.

23. f4? Goryachkina misses (or doesn’t dare) 23. Nxg6! fxg6 24. Rxg6+ Kf7 25. Rxf6+ Kxf6 26. Qc1! which gives White an overwhelming attack. 23. ... cxd5? (23. ... Kg7∞) 24. cxd5. 24. Nxg6! fxg6 25. Rxg6+ Kf7 26. Rgg1 was still good enough to induce Black to give back her Knight. 24. ... Qb4 25. d6 Rd8 26. d7 Kg7 27. Rc3 Ne6. Ouellet has only a few seconds left, which means that she’ll have to play on increment till time control. 28. Rc4 Qe7 29. Qc3! Threatening f4-f5. 29. ... Kh7 30. Re1? Goryachkina, too, ran into serious shortage of time. Here it was very strong 30. Qf3! Rf5 31. Qxb7 Qxh4 32. Qb4 with great advantage to White. 30. ... Rf5 31. Rc8 Rxf4. The rest of the game is a “fast and furious” time scramble. 32. Qg3? (32. Rxd8 Qxd8 32. a3) 32. ... Rf6? (32. ... Qf6!∓) 33. Rec1 (33. Rxd8) 33. ... Rf5 34. Re1 Qf6 35. Rxd8? (35. a3) 35. ... Nxd8 36. a3 Qd6 (36. ... Rf4!) 37. Qe3 Ne6 38. Qc3. White is in trouble, but can still hope that her last-ditch “threats” will upset her opponent’s balance: 38. ... f6? Ouellet loses patience just on the eve of time control! Both 38. ... Qd5!? and 38. ... a5!? — among others — would have secured Black a manifest advantage. The text, instead, allows White a spectacular draw by perpetual check: 39. Nxg6! Kxg6 40. Qc8 Qd3+ 41. Ka2 Rf1 42. Qe8+ Kh6 43. Qxe6 Rxe1 44. Qxf6+ Kh7 45. Qf7+ Kh6 46. Qf6+ ½ : ½.

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina vs. Maili-Jade Ouellet. Photo © Press service of the Women’s World Championship 2018.