A School Bag

Marie Rachel Sebag – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

7th Karpov Trophy; time control: 20 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Cap d’Agde, October 30, 2019

Sicilian Defence B22

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. d4 Nf6 6. Na3 Qd8 7. Nc2 Nc6 8. Bd3 Be7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Qe2 b6 11. Rd1 Qc7 12. c4 cxd4 13. Ncxd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bb7 15. Be3 Rad8 16. h3 h6 17. Rac1 Rd7 18. Nb3 Rfd8 19. c5 Qc6 20. f3 bxc5 21. Nxc5 Bxc5 22. Rxc5 Qa4 23. b3 Qa3 24. Rcc1 Rd5. More solid seems to be 24. ... Nd5 25. Bc5 Qa5 with an uneasy balance. 25. Bc4 Rxd1+ 26. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 27. Qxd1 Bd5 28. Bd3! Sebag turns her soporific Alapin into a gambit, offering a Pawn for the initiative. 28. ... Qxa2 29. Qc1!

29. ... Kh8! 30. Bd4 Qxb3? Black just gets too greedy. Almost incredibly, 30. ... Ng8! would have defended everything. 31. Bc2 Qb7 32. Bxf6 gxf6 33. Qxh6+ Kg8 34. Bh7+ Kh8 35. Bd3+. White, in order to carry out her attack, needs reinforcements: 35. h4!→ heading for h6. 35. ... Kg8 36. Qxf6? White was still in time for 36. Bh7+ Kh8 37. h4! with a very powerful attack. 36. ... Qb6+ 37. Kf1 Qe3 38. Qc3 Kf8 39. Qa3+ Kg7 40. Qc3+? 40. Qa1+ e5 was similar but better, as White would have prevented the a-Pawn advancing. 40. ... e5 41. Qc2 a5 42. Qe2? 42. Be2 Bb3 was not too appealing, either. But perhaps 42. Bc4 Qc5 43. Bd3 Qb4!?∓ might have been a lesser evil. 42. ... Qd4 43. Qd2 Bc4? Too impulsive. Simply 43. ... f6! would have left White with no resource but to give up the Bishop in exchange for the Pawn on a5. 44. Qg5+ Kf8 45. Bxc4 Qxc4+ 46. Kf2? White ought to hide His Majesty by 46. Kg1! Qd4+ 47. Kh1 in order to not expose it to obnoxious Queen checks after 47. ... a4 48. Qh6+ Ke7 49. Qg5+ Ke6 50. Qh6+ Kd7 51. Qa6 — where no progress is in sight. 46. ... Qd4+ 47. Ke2 a4 48. Qh6+ Ke7 49. Qa6. A replica of the aforementioned line shows why the White King should not have gone under the enemy’s fire: 49. Qg5+ Ke6 50. Qh6+ Kd7 51. Qa6 is now refuted by 51. ... Qb2+! followed by the advance of the a-Pawn. 49. ... Qb2+ 50. Ke3 a3 51. Qc6 Qd4+ 52. Ke2 Qa7 53. Qd5 Qa6+ 54. Kf2 Qb6+ 55. Kg3 Qg6+ 56. Kh2 Qd6 57. Qb7+ Kf6 58. Qa8 e4+ 59. Kg1 Qd4+ 60. Kf1 Qd3+ 61. Ke1 e3 62. Qh8+ Ke7 63. Qh4+ f6 64. Qb4+ Kf7 0 : 1.

If nothing else, on the Cap d’Agde 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) enjoyed a rare chess interlude from her eventful academic life. Screen capture from CAPNEWS #6 (Mercredi 30 Octobre)/CAPÉCHECS YouTube Channel.