Through the Ice

居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
Women’s World Chess Championship match game 7; Vladivostok, January 16, 2020
Spanish Game C65

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. 0-0 Nd7 7. Be3 Qe7 8. Qe1!? An early novelty by 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), with which she hopes to catch Goryachkina by surprise. 8. ... 0-0 9. Nc3 Re8 10. a3 Bd6 11. Nd2 Nf8 12. f4 exf4 13. Bxf4 Ng6 14. Bg3 Be6 15. Nf3 Rad8 16. Kh1 Bg4 17. h3 Bxf3 18. Rxf3 Rd7 19. Rf5 b6 20. Ne2 c5 21. b3 Qd8 22. Qf2 Bxg3 23. Qxg3 Qh4. Goryachkina is confident, not wrongly, that she will be somehow able to hold the ending. 24. Qxh4 Nxh4 25. Rf2 Ng6 26. Nc3 Ne5 27. g3 a5 28. a4 Nc6 29. Kg2 Nb4 30. g4 Re5 31. Nd1 h5 32. Ne3 Nc6 33. Kg3 Nd4 34. Raf1 f6 35. Nd5 Kf7 36. Ne3 Kg8 37. Nf5 hxg4 38. hxg4 Nxf5+ 39. gxf5

39. ... g6! 40. fxg6 Rg5+ 41. Kf4 Rxg6 42. Ke3 Rf7 43. Kd2 Kf8 44. Kc3 Ke7 45. Kc4 c6 46. Rh1 Rg8 47. Rh6 Ke6 48. Rh5 Rfg7 49. c3 Rg5 50. Rh6 R5g6 51. Rfh2 f5 52. Rxg6+ Rxg6 53. exf5+ Kxf5 54. d4 cxd4 55. cxd4 Rg1 56. Rh6 Rc1+ 57. Kd3 Rd1+ 58. Kc2 Rxd4 59. Rxc6 Rb4 60. Kc3 Ke5 61. Rc4 Rxc4+ 62. Kxc4 Kd6 63. Kb5 Kc7 64. Ka6 Kc6 65. Ka7 Kc7 66. Ka6 Kc6 67. Ka7 Kc7 ½ : ½. Goryachkina then said she felt just a little strange to be in Vladivostok after 上海 (Shànghǎi), but all’s well that ends well: “I feel good and my head does not hurt”. 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), too, had not much to say about today’s game: “White had a slight advantage, but not enough to win”.

So not to displease anyone, the chief referee Shohreh Bayat showed herself without her headscarf not only in 上海 (Shànghǎi) but also in Vladivostok. Photo © Yuri Smityuk/TASS.