It’s Not Luck

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Mikhail Robertovich Kobalia
20th European Individual Chess Championship; Skopje, March 19, 2019
Semi-Slav Defence D45

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 a6 6. b3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 0-0 9. 0-0 Qe7 10. Bc2! After the routine 10. Qc2 it might follow: 10. ... e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. cxd5 Bxd2 15. Qxd2 Qxd5 16. Qc2 Qh5 17. f4 f5 18. Rae1 Be6 19. e4 fxe4 20. Bxe4 Bd5 21. f5 Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Rae8 23. Qc4+ Qf7 24. Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Qg4 Qf6 26. Qc4+ Qf7 27. Qg4 Qf6 28. Qc4+ Qf7 ½ : ½ Goryachkina – Korchmar, 54th World Junior Chess Championship, Khanty-Mansiysk 2015. 10. ... b6!? If 10. ... e5 then 11. Nxd5! cxd5 12. Bxb4 Qxb4 13. dxe5 Ng4 14. Qd4 Nh6 15. cxd5 Qxd4 16. exd4 with a small advantage for White in the endgame. In the première game of 10. Bc2, play instead continued with 10. ... Rd8 11. a3!? Bxa3!? 12. Rxa3! Qxa3 13. c5! (Black’s Queen is almost trapped!) 13. ... b6!? 14. b4!? (Aronian – Carlsen, 5th Altibox Norway Chess, Stavanger 2017), and now Black’s best would have probably been 14. ... Qb2 15. cxb6 Nxb6 16. Ne5 Ne4 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Bxe4⩲ (Alex Vladislavovich Yermolinsky’s analysis). 11. Re1 dxc4 12. bxc4 Bb7 13. e4 e5 14. Ne2 Bxd2 15. Qxd2 Rfe8 16. Ng3 g6

17. Qg5! With the obvious threat of Ng3-f5. White clearly got the upper hand. 17. ... Kh8 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. dxe5 Qxe5 20. Qxe5 Rxe5 21. f4 Rc5 22. e5 Nd5 23. Bb3? White is seeking complications, but simply 23. cxd5 Rxc2 24. Rec1! Rxc1+ 25. Rxc1 c5 (or 25. ... cxd5 26. Rc7 winning back the Pawn with powerful advantage) 26. d6 seems to give her a much better ending. 23. ... Nxf4 24. Ne4 Rxe5 25. Nd6 Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Rb8 27. c5?? This inversion of moves — due to miscalculation — has serious, immediate consequences. White first ought to play 27. Re7 and after 27. ... Ba8 then 28. c5! walling up Black’s Bishop, even though at cost of two Pawns. There might still follow: 28. ... bxc5 29. Nxf7+ Kg7 30. Nd6+ Kh6 31. g3 (if 31. h4 then 31. ... c4! 32. Nxc4 Nd5 33. Ra7 g5! with a drawish outcome) 31. ... Nd5 32. Ra7 Nb6! 33. Rxa6 c4! 34. Nxc4 Nxc4 35. Bxc4 c5 with a draw soon coming. 27. ... Nd3 28. Re7 Nxc5. And the tables are turned! Strangely, Goryachkina must have overlooked this move when she played 27. c5. 29. g4!? Maybe a little better is 29. Bxf7, though even then it would follow 29. ... Kg7! 30. Bc4+ Kf6 31. Rxh7 a5 with a clearly better endgame for Black. 29. ... Nxb3 30. axb3 Ba8 31. g5 Kg8 32. Rxf7 Rd8 33. Rf6 Rf8 34. Re6 c5 35. Ne8 Kf7 36. Nc7 Rc8 37. Rf6+ Ke7 38. Nxa8 Rxa8 39. Rxb6 c4 40. b4. 40.bxc4 a5 loses as well. 40. ... Rc8 41. Rxa6 c3 42. Ra1 Kd6 43. Kf2 Kd5 44. b5 c2 0 : 1.

Pictured above is two-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina, who, at the recent World Women’s Team Chess Championship, was the undisputed superstar of the Russian women’s team, winning 6 games in a row and finishing unbeaten with 8 out of 9. Photo: eicc2019.mk.