Two-up

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Nihal Sarin
1st Trophée CapÉchecs Online; europe-echecs.com, October 24, 2020
Catalan Opening E06

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 0-0 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Ne5 Nc6 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. Nxc6 Qe8 10. Nxe7+ Qxe7 11. Qa4 c5 12. dxc5 Qxc5 13. Be3 Qc7 14. f3 Bb7 15. 0-0!? Goryachkina just trusts in the typical Catalan opposite-coloured Bishop middle game with a slight advantage to White. Her last move may be a novelty, as a recent game continued instead: 15. Rd1 Nd5 16. Nxd5 exd5 17. Bd4 Rfe8 18. Kf2 Re6 19. Qb4 Rae8 20. Rde1 f6 21. Qd2 a6 22. g4 Qf7 23. Rhg1 R8e7 24. h4 Qg6 25. Rg2 Bc6 26. g5 f5 27. Qf4 Qh5 28. e3 Bd7 29. Rh1 Re8 30. Rc1 R6e7 31. b3 Be6 32. g6 h6 33. Rg3 Rb7 34. Kg2 a5 35. Rc2 Rc8 36. bxc4 dxc4 37. Rb2 Rxb2+ 38. Bxb2 Bd5 39. Qe5 Bxf3+ 40. Kf2 1 : 0 L. van Foreest – Elgersma, 57th International Open, Groningen 2019. 15. ... Nd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 (16. ... exd5 17. Bd4⩲) 17. Qa3 Qe5 18. Qc3 Qxc3 19. bxc3 Rfb8 20. Rab1 f6 21. Rfd1 a6 22. Bf4 Rb5 23. Bd6 Bc6. 23. ... Ra7 was also worth considering, in order to double Rooks by ... Ra7-b7. 24. Kf2 Rd8 25. Bc7 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Rd5 27. Rxd5. The opposite-coloured Bishop endgame should not produce anything more than a draw, but 27. Rb1 e5 28. Rb6 Bb5 leads nowhere as well. 27. ... Bxd5 28. Ke3 e5 29. f4 exf4+ 30. gxf4 Bc6 31. Kd4 Bb5 32. e4 Kf7 33. Kd5 Ke7 34. Bd6+ Kd7 35. e5 fxe5 36. fxe5 g6?! Much better was 36. ... Bc6+ 37. Kxc4 g5 38. Kc5 Bf3= with a drawn ending. 37. e6+ Ke8 38. h4

38. ... h5? A grave error which crucially weakens the Kingside. The continuation of the game seems hard to crack, provided the Pawn is still on h7. 39. Kc5 Kd8 40. Kb4 Ke8 41. Kc5 Kd8 42. Kd4 Ke8 43. Bf4 Ke7 44. Kd5 Kf8 45. Bg5 Ke8 46. Kc5 Kf8 47. Kb4 Ke8 48. a4 Bc6 49. Kxc4? With such a time control (10 minutes plus 3 seconds per move), no wonder the rush. 49. a5! Bb5 50. Kc5 was obviously the way to keep squeezing Black.

49. ... Bxa4?? A tragic mistake likely due to time’s tick. 49. ... a5!= 50. Kb3 (otherwise there follows ... Bc6xa4) 50. ... Bd5+ is a trivial draw. 50. Kb4+− Bd1 51. c4 Bg4 52. e7 Kd7 53. Ka5 Be6 54. c5 Bf7 55. Kb6 a5 56. c6+ Kc8 57. Kxa5 Kc7 58. Kb5 Kd6 59. Kb6 Be8 60. c7 1 : 0.