The Last Day of School

谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
Women’s Candidates Tournament; Kazan, June 14, 2019
Caro-Kann Defence B12

With two rounds to spare, Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina, 20, has won the Women’s Candidates Tournament in Kazan, Russia for the right to take on 17th Women’s World Chess Champion 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) of China in an upcoming match for the title. Curiously enough, Goryachkina, an engineering student at Moscow University, was the lowest-rated of the eight challengers, and only entered in as first reserve after four-time Women’s World Chess Champion (as well as No. 1 woman player in the world) and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) declined the invitation due to her Master’s study at the University of Oxford. 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Qb6 7. Nc3 Nc6. The capture of the b2-Pawn can cost Black dear: 7. ... Qxb2 8. Qb1 Qxb1+ 9. Rxb1 c4 10. Rxb7 Nc6 11. Nb5 Nd8 12. Rc7 Rb8 13. Nd6+ Bxd6 14. exd6 Rb1+ 15. Bd1 Bxc2 16. Kd2 Bxd1 17. Rxd1 Rb6 18. Bf4 Nf6 19. Re7+ Kf8 20. Rxa7 Ne4+ 21. Kc2 f6 22. h4 Nxf2 23. Rb1 Rxb1 24. Kxb1 Ne4 25. a4 Rg8 26. a5 Nc6 27. Ra6 Nb8 28. Ra7 Nc6 29. d7 Nd8 30. Kc2 Ke7 31. a6 e5 32. Bc1 Kd6 33. Ba3+ Kc6 34. Ra8 1 : 0 Karjakin – Eljanov, 39th Chess Olympiad, Khanty-Mansiysk 2010. 8. Na4 Qa5+ 9. c3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Ne7 12. 0-0. It is not long ago that Goryachkina was around here: 12. Nc5 Qc7 13. 0-0 Nc6 14. Rc1 Be7 15. g4 Bg6 16. f4 h5 17. f5 Bxc5 18. fxg6 Bxd4+ 19. cxd4 0-0 20. Qd3 Qb6 21. gxf7+ Rxf7 22. Rxf7 Kxf7 23. gxh5 Qxd4+ 24. Qxd4 Nxd4 25. Rc7+ Kg8 26. Bg4 Rf8 27. Rxb7 Rf7 28. Rb8+ Rf8 29. Rxf8+ Kxf8 30. Kf2 Kf7 31. Ke3 Nc6 32. Kf4 Nb4 33. Be2 Nxa2 34. Ke3 Nb4 35. Bb5 Nc2+ 36. Kd3 Ne1+ 37. Ke2 Ng2 38. Kf3 Nh4+ 39. Kf4 Nf5 40. Bd3 Nd4 41. Ke3 ½ : ½ Alekseenko – Goryachkina, 16th Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2018. 12. ... Nc6 13. b4 Qc7 14. Rc1 Be7 15. g4! Bg6 16. f4 Qd7? Goryachkina unconsciously does her best not to stop the music today. Here Black ought to play 16. ... Be4 17. Nc5 a5 18. Be3 axb4 19. cxb4 Ra3 20. Bf2 Bxc5 21. Bxc5 Rxa2 22. b5!? Bc2? (22. ... Na5! 23. b6 Qc6 24. Rf2 Nc4!∞) 23. b6!+− Bxd1 24. bxc7 Kd7 25. Bxd1 Kxc7 26. Bd6+ Kd7 27. Rb1 1 : 0 Giri – Navara, 5th Gashimov Memorial, Şəmkir 2018. 17. Nc5 Bxc5 18. Bxc5 h5 19. g5? But this move is the sign that 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) has nothing to object against the credibility of the incumbent candidate. 19. f5! seems crushing for White, and it would indeed have been most unpleasant for Black. 19. ... Ne7 20. a4 a6 21. a5 h4 22. Bf3 0-0 23. Qe1 Bd3 24. Rf2 Bf5 25. Rd2 h3 26. c4 Rfd8 27. Rcd1 Qe8 28. Kf2 Ng6 29. Kg3 dxc4 30. Bxb7 c3 31. Rxd8 Rxd8 32. Rxd8 Qxd8 33. Qxc3 Qd1 34. Bf3 Qf1 35. Qe3 Qb1 36. Qe2 Qc1 37. Be3 Qb1 38. Bc5 Qc1 39. Qe3 Qb1 40. Qd2 Qf1 41. Qf2 Qc4 42. Qe3 Qf1 43. Bd4 Qb1 44. Bc3 Ne7! 45. Qd4 Kh7 46. Qd1 Qa2 47. Qd7 Qb1 48. Qd1. Of course The Kinght is taboo: 48. Qxe7?? Qg1+ 49. Kh4 Qf2+ 50. Kh5 g6 mate. 48. ... Qa2 49. b5 Nd5 50. Qd2 Qb1 51. Bxd5 exd5 52. Kf2? The game was quite even, but certainly not “easy playing” for White, which can justify so serious a misstep. Correct was 52. Qe3! Qf1! 53. Qf2 Qxb5 54. e6! Qd3+ 55. Qf3 Qxf3+ 56. Kxf3 Bxe6 with a completely drawish opposite colour Bishops ending. 52. ... Qh1! 53. Ke3 Qe4+ 54. Kf2

54. ... Qg2+? The engines show that 54. ... Bg4! (with the deadly threat of ... d5-d4) win for Black in all variations, and no one will ever know whether Goryachkina overlooked it or not. Of course, there’s a difference between forgive and forget, but in this case, it’s not important at all. 55. Ke3 Qe4+ ½ : ½.

In the end two-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion Goryachkina just did it! Photo: Eteri Kublashvili.