Best by rest

居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
Women’s World Chess Championship match game 2; 上海 (Shànghǎi), January 6, 2020
Spanish Game C67

The second game of the Women’s World Chess Championship match also ended — without particular dispute — in a draw, thus welcoming tomorrow’s rest day more than most. 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) said afterwards that she felt that the result was a fair outcome of a correctly played game, while Goryachkina roughly called it “A very insipid game”. 1. e4. Best by rest. Usually 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) opens with 1. d4. 1. ... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 0-0 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re2!? That’s not the dernier cri in a World Chess Championship match, but at least it’s something different from what Goryachkina already knew: 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Qe8 13. Qxe8+ (if nothing else, 13. Qd1 b6 14. Bf4 might be a bit more ambitious for White, Gevorgyan – Goryachkina, 32nd World Junior Chess Championship Girls U-20, Pune 2014) 13. ... Nxe8 14. Bf4 d5 15. Bd3 Be7 16. Nd2 Bd6 17. Bxd6 Nxd6 18. Re1 Kf8 19. f3 Bf5 20. Bxf5 Nxf5 21. Kf2 Re8 22. Rxe8+ Kxe8 23. Nf1 c6 24. Ne3 Nd6 25. Ke2 Ke7 26. Kd3 Ke6 27. b3 Nf5 28. Nxf5 Kxf5 29. Ke3 h5 30. g3 f6 31. Kd3 ½ : ½ Papp – Goryachkina, 42nd Women’s Chess Olympiad, Baku 2016. 10. ... Nc4 11. b3 Nb6 12. c3. If 12. a4 then 12. ... a5! 13. Nc3 d6 14. Ne4 Be7 15. Qe1 Nd5= Nepomniachtchi – Grischuk, Grand Prix 2019, 1st stage, Moscow 2019, match game 2. 12. ... c6!? Goryachkina’s new play is no better nor worse than 12. ... d5 13. Re1 Re8 14. Rxe8+ Qxe8 15. a4 Be6 16. Na3 Nc8 17. Bf4 Qd7 18. Bd3 c6 19. Nc2 Ne7 20. Qd2 Bf5= Fedoseev – Kramnik, 81st Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2019. 13. Nd2 d5 14. h3 Bf5 15. Nf3 Be4 16. Ne5 Bg5. Black is anxious to make exchanges and to wait for a draw (which by specific rule is agreeable only after the 40th move). 17. f3 Bf5

18. Bxg5. Most commentators recommend 18. g4!? as White’s best bid for the initiative, in the hope of establishing a bind on the e-file after, let’s say, 18. ... Bxc1 19. Qxc1 Bg6 20. Qf4, but then Black can reply 20. ... a5(!) 21. a4 Qb8(!) apparently keeping everything under control. 18. ... Qxg5 19. Qc1 Qxc1 20. Rxc1 f6 21. Ng4 h5 22. Ne3 Bd3 23. Ree1 Bxf1 24. Kxf1 g6 25. g4 hxg4 26. hxg4 Kf7 27. Kf2 Rh8 28. Rh1 Rae8 29. Ng2 Nc8 30. Nf4 Nd6 31. Nd3 g5 32. a4 a5 33. Rxh8 Rxh8 34. Kg2 Re8 35. Kf2 Rh8 36. Kg2 Re8 37. Kf2 Rh8 38. Kg2 Re8 39. Kf2 Rh8 40. Kg2 Re8 ½ : ½.

In spite of her first move, 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) didn’t catch Goryachkina by surprise. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili/Russian Chess Federation.