Domino show

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk
Women’s Candidates Tournament; Kazan, June 9, 2019
Queen’s Gambit Declined D44

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 9. Bd2 Qc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Nb3 Qc7. Quite a rare move, due to the White Rook coming to c1. More usual is 11. ... Qe7 (as also played by Kosteniuk herself against Girya in the Russian Women’s Rapid Chess Championship in Olginka, 2011). 12. 0-0 0-0. A sound continuation is 12. ... Bxc3 13. Bxd7+ Qxd7 14. Bxc3 Nc6 15. Qe2 Qe7 16. f3 0-0 17. Qb5 Rfd8 18. Rfd1 Rac8 19. Rac1 Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 Qc7 21. Be1 a6 22. Qc5 Rd8 23. Rc1 Rc8 24. Bg3 Qd8 25. Qd6 Qxd6 26. Bxd6 b6 27. a4 Ne8 28. Ba3 Rc7 29. Nd2 f6 30. Kf2 e5 31. b3 Kf7 32. Nc4 b5 33. axb5 ½ : ½ 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – So, 4th Chess World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2011, match game 2. 13. Bd3. 13. Rc1 Nc6 may transpose into 14. Qe2 Rfd8 15. Bg5 Be7 16. Be3 a6 17. Bd3 Be8 18. f4 Ng4 19. Qxg4 Rxd3 20. Bf2 Qd8 21. e5 Nb4 with rough equality, Kramnik – Vallejo Pons, 41st Chess Olympiad, Tromsø 2014. 13. ... Rd8 14. Qe2 Nc6 15. Rac1 Be8 16. Rfd1!? A natural and good move — and maybe a new one, too. Theory gave 16. Bg5 Be7 17. Nb5 Qb8 18. Bh4 Ng4 with near equality, Arab – Talbi, 13th African Chess Championship, Oran 2017. 16. ... a6. 16. ... Ng4!? 17. g3 Qb6!? was at least worth considering (and if 18. Bg5 then 18. ... f6 19. Qxg4 Ne5 regaining the piece with quite a tenable position), as the text move leaves White a free hand in consolidating her edge. 17. Be3! Bd6 18. g3 Qe7 19. Bb6 Rdc8 20. Bb1 Nd7 21. Be3 Bb4 22. a3 Na5 23. Nxa5 Bxa5 24. Bd4 f6?! Kosteniuk gives a sign of impatience, weakening permanently her own Pawn centre. Black should resign herself to try to hold on by 24. ... Bb6 25. e5! Bxd4 26. Rxd4 Rd8 followed by ... Nd7-f8. 25. Ba2 Bf7

26. e5!± fxe5 27. Bxe5 Nxe5 28. Qxe5. The isolated Pawn on e6 is doomed to fall, giving Black a hard time. 28. ... b5 29. Ne4 Bc7 30. Qc3 Qf8 31. Qd4 Rd8 32. Qe3 h6 33. Rxd8 Qxd8 34. Nc5 Bb6 35. Bxe6 Bxe6 36. Qxe6+ Kh8 37. Ne4 Bd4 38. Rd1. 38. Nd6! at once would have been even stronger (38. ... Qf6 39. Nf7+ Kh7 40. Qe4+ g6 41. Qxa8 Qxf2+ 42. Kh1 Qxf7 43. Qg2+−). 38. ... Ra7?? Kosteniuk blunders two moves before time control, ending up losing her Bishop. She had nothing better than 38. ... Qb6 39. Qxb6 Bxb6 40. Rd6 Bc7 41. Re6 leaving White with a Pawn up and also with the much better endgame — but not yet a forced win. 39. Nd6 Bxf2+ 40. Kxf2 Rd7 41. Kg2 Qa8+ 42. Qd5 1 : 0.

Even today no one has been able to stop Goryachkina. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili.