Silent Sound

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk – Baskaran Adhiban
17th Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 29, 2019
Sicilian Defence B41

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Qc7 7. Be2 b6 8. 0-0 Bb7 9. Qd3 d6 10. f4 Nbd7 11. b4. Understandably, Muzychuk deviates from 11. Bf3 which after 11. ... Rc8 12. b3 b5! proved to be very satisfactory for Black, M. Muzychuk – Abdumalik, Women’s World Chess Championship Knockout Tournament, Khanty-Mansiysk 2018, tie-break game 2 (25+10). 11. ... d5. Quite dubious appears 11. ... Rc8 12. Bd2 Be7 13. g4? (13. Rac1 Qb8 14. a3 seems to offer White a safe and lasting advantage) 13. ... g5!∞ A. Muzychuk – Koneru, 6th Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship, Saint Petersburg 2018. 12. exd5 Bxb4 13. dxe6 Nc5 14. exf7+ Kxf7 15. Qh3 Bxc3 16. Qxc3 Rhe8 17. Bf3. The dark-squared Bishop apparently brought White good or better fortune after 17. Be3 Qe7? (but 17. ... Kg8 is perfectly playable) 18. Nf5 Qe6 19. Bg4 Nce4 20. Qb2!+− Smirnov – Nakauchi, 7th NSW Open, Sydney 2018. 17. ... Nce4!? And finally here is the theoretical novelty. Previously Black had chosen 17. ... Rad8 which left him with a slight inferiority after 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 19. Bb2 Na4 20. Qb3 Nxb2 21. Qxb2 Qc7 22. Nf3⩲ I. Popov – Solozhenkin, 68th Russian Chess Championship (Higher League), Kaliningrad 2015. 18. Qb4 Rad8 19. Be3. 19. Bb2 would have probably been answered by 19. ... a5∞ with consequences worth further analysis. 19. ... Nc5 20. Qc3 Bxf3 21. Nxf3. 21. Rxf3 Ng4! may well be unpleasant. 21. ... Nd3

22. Ne5+. There’s nothing better. 22. ... Nxe5 23. fxe5 Rxe5. 23. ... Qxe5 24. Qxe5 Rxe5 25. Bxb6 Rd2 26. Rf2 Ree2 27. Rxe2 Rxe2 28. c5 Rc2 might be a dynamic other-way of claiming a draw. 24. Qb3 Re6 25. Rac1. 25. Rab1 Rc8 26. Rbc1 Qd6 doesn’t give White anything either. 25. ... Qc6 26. c5. This forces a draw. 26. ... Qb5 27. Qxb5 axb5 28. Bg5 bxc5 29. Rxc5 Ra8 30. Rxb5 Rxa2 31. Bxf6 Rxf6 ½ : ½.

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk vs. Baskaran Adhiban. Photo © John Saunders.