In the Middle of the Line

Elena Gennadievna Tomilova – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
20th European Individual Women’s Chess Championship; Antalya, April 14, 2019
Caro-Kann Defence B17

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Ng5 Ngf6 6. Bd3 Qc7!? 6. ... e6 is much more usual here. Instead, the text is a little controversial, because it concedes much to White’s initiative. 7. Ne2. From a historical standpoint, the critical line is 7. N1f3 e6 (probably best is 7. ... h6 8. Ne6!? fxe6 9. Bg6+ Kd8 10. 0-0 with excellent positional compensation for the Knight, de Firmian – Adorjan, 2nd World Team Chess Championship, Lucerne 1989) 8. Qe2 h6 9. Bg6! hxg5 10. Bxf7+ Kd8! 11. Nxg5 Nb6 (van der Wiel – Karpov, 1st Euwe Memorial, Amsterdam 1987) and now, according to Grandmaster Nick de Firmian, with 12. g3 White would have maintained a powerful initiative. 7. ... h6!? A very provocative move, inviting White to offer her Knight on e6. Once here, even a tactician like Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal prudently preferred to content himself with 7. ... e6 8. Bf4 Bd6 9. Qd2 Bxf4 10. Nxf4 0-0 11. 0-0-0 e5 12. Nfe6 fxe6 13. Nxe6 Qd6 14. Nxf8 Kxf8 15. dxe5 ½ : ½ Nunn – Tal, 6th Grandmasters Association World Cup Tournament, Skellefteå 1989. 8. Nf3. Being the weaker player, Tomilova had to play 8. Ne6!? without thinking twice, for after 8. ... fxe6 9. Nf4 Nb8 10. Ng6 Rg8 11. 0-0 White has no material but plenty of positional compensation for the sacrificed Knight — Black’s Kingside is dramatically paralysed. 8. ... e6 9. Bf4 Bd6 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. 0-0 0-0 12. Ng3 b6 13. Re1. A new move instead of 13. Qe2 Bb7 (as in Ginsburg – Ovsejevitsch, 1st Darmstadt International, Darmstadt 2001), which, however, may well transpose into the actual game. 13. ... Bb7 14. Qe2 c5 15. Ne4 Qc7 16. dxc5 Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Bxe4 18. Qxe4 Nxc5 19. Qc4 b5! Black now takes the initiative on the Queenside, trying hard to squeeze something out of nothing. 20. Qe2. 20. Qxb5 Rfb8 21. Qc4 Rxb2 22. Rab1 Rb6!⩱ is just a little better for Black, but not that much. 20. ... Rfd8 21. Rad1 Na4 22. c3? This is an obvious mistake which gives sense and purpose to what Black wants to do. Best was 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. Qxb5 Qxc2 with a hardly improvable feeling of initiative; for instance: 24. b3 Nc3 25. Qc4 Rd1! with unclear but about equal play. 22. ... Qc4. Most engines do not agree with Black’s move, but a drawish 4 vs. 3 Pawns on the same side Rook endgame was the last thing Goryachkina wanted. 23. Nd4? After this second mistake White’s game falls apart. Both 23. Rb1! and 23. Rc1! offer a tough defence. 23. ... Qxe2 24. Rxe2 b4!−+ 25. Rc1 Rac8 26. Rec2

26. ... Nxb2! 27. cxb4 (27. Rxb2?? Rxd4!−+) 27. ... Rxc2 28. Nxc2 Rc8. Threatening to win at once by ... Nb2-d3. White parries the threat, but cannot free herself of the pin on the c-file. 29. f3 Na4 30. Kf1 Nb6 31. Ke2 Nd5 32. a3. Of course, 32. Kd2 is of no use because of 32. ... Rd8 with no way out for White. 32. ... Nf4+ 33. Kd2 Rd8+ 34. Ke3 Nxg2+ 35. Kf2 Rd2+ 36. Kg3 g5 37. Ne1. Somehow White finally freed herself, but at the cost of leaving His Majesty impotent in a mating net: 37. ... Ne3 38. Kh3 Kg7 39. b5 h5 40. Rc5 Kg6 41. a4 f5 42. Re5 f4 43. Ng2 g4+! 44. fxg4 hxg4+ 45. Kh4 Rxg2 0 : 1. For after 46. Rxe6+ Kf5 mate follows in a few moves.

After brilliantly winning the top women’s prize in the “unisex” 20th European Individual Chess Championship at Skopje last month, Goryachkina appears just a little less inspired in the “women-only” version — at least so far. Photo: Turkish Chess Federation.