Back and Forth

谢军 (Xiè Jūn) – Alisa Mikhailovna Galliamova
Women’s World Chess Championship match game 2; Kazan, July 31, 1999
Sicilian Defence B66

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. 0-0-0 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Be7 10. f4 b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. e5. Printed directly from Garry Kimovich Kasparov’s scrapbook. 12. ... d5. Not 12. ... dxe5 on account of 13. Qe4 Bd7 14. Rxd7! Kxd7 15. Bxb5+! axb5 16. Rd1+ winning by force: 16. ... Bd6 17. Nxb5 Ke7 18. Nxd6 Qb8 19. fxe5 Rxa2 20. exf6+ Kf8 21. Rd4! Qxb2+ 22. Kd2+− finis. 13. Kb1 Bd7. 13. ... b4 gave Black a bad headache after 14. Ne2 a5 15. Ng3 f5 16. Nh5 Rb8 17. g4! fxg4 18. f5!↑/→ Kasparov – Hráček, 32nd Chess Olympiad, Yerevan 1996. 14. Qe3. It’s a curious fact that Galliamova herself too enjoyed White’s prospects of attack after 14. f5!? fxe5 15. Qxe5 Bf6 16. Qe3 0-0 17. Qh3 Rc8 18. Bd3 Qe7 19. Rhe1 Rxc3 20. bxc3 e5 21. Qg4+ Bg7? (21. ... Kh8∞) 22. Be4 Qa3? (22. ... dxe4 23. f6!) 23. Re3 Kh8 24. Rh3 Qe7 (24. ... h6 25. Rg3 Rg8 26. Rxd5+−) 25. Rxh7+! 1 : 0 Galliamova – Iskusnyh, 4th stage of the Russian Cup, Nizhny Novgorod 1999. 14. ... f5 15. g4!? A sharp Pawn sacrifice which 谢军 (Xiè Jūn) had specifically prepared for the occasion. Here is a more recent game which may serve as a theoretical reference: 15. Ne2 h5 16. h4 a5 17. Ng3 b4 18. Be2 a4 19. Nxh5 a3 20. Qd4 axb2 21. Nf6+ Kf8 22. g4 fxg4 23. Rhg1 Bc6 24. Rxg4 Qa5 25. Qxb2 Bc5 26. f5 exf5 27. Rf4 Qa3 28. Nxd5 Rd8 29. Bc4 Rg8 30. Rxf5 Qh3 31. Rxf7+ Kxf7 32. e6+ Qxe6 33. Rf1+ Bf2 34. Rxf2+ 1 : 0 Smirnov – Dreev, 8th Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2009. 15. ... fxg4 16. h3 gxh3 17. Bxh3 (Δ Nc3xd5) 17. ... Qc7! 18. f5 0-0-0 19. Rhf1 Kb8! 20. fxe6 fxe6 21. Rf7 d4! 22. Rxd4. After 22. Qxd4 Be8 23. Qxd8+ Bxd8 24. Rxc7 Bxc7 25. Bxe6 Bxe5 Black stands better, but probably not so much better as to give credit to the assessment (“−+”) of 谢军 (Xiè Jūn)’s analysis for the Chess Informant (Šahovski Informator) issue No. 76. 22. ... Bc5 23. Ne2 h5?? This is a grave blunder which loses almost immediately. 谢军 (Xiè Jūn)’s suggestion of 23. ... Qb6 makes quite sense, for after 24. b4 Bxd4 25. Nxd4 Rhf8! (26. Rxh7 Rh8) Black seems to have nothing to fear, and likewise both 23. ... Rhf8! (24. Rxh7 Rh8) and even 23. ... Bxd4 24. Nxd4 Rhf8! (25. Rxh7 Rh8) appear quite satisfactory to Black.

24. b4!+− Bxd4 25. Nxd4 Rc8 26. Bg2 Rhg8 27. Nc6+! Ka8. Or 27. ... Bxc6 28. Bxc6+− Qxf7 29. Qb6+ and mate next move. 28. Rxd7 Qxd7 29. Nb8+! 1 : 0.

The 1999 Women’s World Chess Championship match was played half in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia and half in 沈阳 (Shěnyáng), 辽宁省 (Liáoníng province), China. 谢军 (Xiè Jūn) won by two points, thus regaining the title that she had lost to Zsuzsa (Susan) Polgár three years earlier. Photo courtesy of Gazeta.Ru.