A Nemesis

Polina Sergeevna Shuvalova – Natalia Andreevna Pogonina
70th Russian Women’s Chess Championship Superfinal; Moscow, December 10, 2020
Nimzo-Indian Defence E20

Shuvalova implacably continued her winning streak, taking her sixth win in a row while extending her lead over Goryachkina to 1½ points. As for the game itself, Shuvalova herself summed it up best: “The result of the opening was very encouraging for me, and I also took a big time advantage. But Natalia Andreevna is very able in defending the worst positions, and at a certain point I allowed counterplay. Probably after that, most of my advantage was gone; we had about equal time, and a complex endgame appeared on the board. Then it seems to me that we were just playing out, as we were already very tired. Quite probably oversights and mistakes were made on both sides. Overall, I got an edge, but there was an opportunity for her to equalise. However, now it was harder for Natalia Andreevna to defend herself, and I managed to win”. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 0-0 6. Nf3 dxc4 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. Qa4 Bd6. Theoretically speaking, Black should have preferred 8. ... Nd5, after which may follow 9. Qc2 Be7 10. Rd1 Ncb4 11. Qd2 c5 12. dxc5 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Nd5 14. Qc2 Qc7 15. Ng5 Bxg5 16. Bxg5 Qxc5 17. Rd4 Ne7 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Rxc4 Rb8 20. Qb2 e5 21. Qb4 Re8 22. Bc6 Qxb4 23. Rxb4 Rd8 24. a4 b6 25. a5 Bb7 26. Bxb7 Rxb7 27. axb6 axb6 28. Rab1 Rc7 29. R1b3 Rdc8 30. Rxb6 f6 31. g4 Rxc3 ½ : ½ Jones – Koneru, 17th Gibraltar Chess Festival, Catalan Bay 2019. 9. Qxc4 a6 10. Rd1 Qe8 11. Bg5 Nd5 12. Ne4 Be7 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Rac1 Rd8 15. a3 Bd7 16. Nc5 Rab8 17. b4 h6 18. h4 Be8 19. e3 Na7 20. Ne5 Nb5 21. Qb3 c6 22. Be4 Nbc7 23. Bb1 f6 24. Nc4 b6 25. Nd3 Bh5 26. Re1 Nb5 27. Nd2 Be8 28. a4 Na7 29. e4 Nc7 30. Qc3 a5 31. bxa5 b5 32. e5 f5 33. axb5 (33. Bc2 bxa4 34. Bxa4 Nab5 35. Qc5 Qxc5 36. Nxc5 Nxd4 37. Kg2⩲/±) 33. ... Naxb5 34. Qc5 Qxc5 35. Nxc5 Nxd4 36. Bd3 Rd5 37. Kg2 Ra8 (37. ... Bh5=) 38. a6 Ndb5 39. Ndb3 Nxa6 40. Bc4 Nxc5 41. Nxc5 Rd2 42. Bxe6+ Bf7 43. Bxf5 Raa2 44. Rf1 Bd5+ 45. Be4 Nc7

46. Rc3? (46. Kg1) 46. ... Re2? (46. ... Rdc2! 47. Rc1 Rxf2+ 48. Kh3 Rae2) 47. Kf3 Bxe4+? (47. ... Kf7) 48. Nxe4 Ne6 49. Rd1 c5 50. Re3 Nd4+ 51. Kg4 Rec2 52. h5 Ra4 53. f4 Kf7 54. Rb1 Rb4 55. Ra1 Nb5 56. Ra6 Ke7 57. Rg6 Kf8 58. Rb6 Nd4

59. Nxc5! Rxb6 60. Nd7+ Ke7 61. Nxb6 Rc5 62. Rd3 Ne6 63. Rd7+ Kf8 64. Rd6 Kf7 65. Nd5 Ra5 66. Rd7+ Kf8 67. Nc7 Nc5 68. Rd5 Ke7 69. Kf5 1 : 0.

In the end, it’s like if Beth Harmon finally found her nemesis, and her life weren’t that fictional anymore. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili/Russian Chess Federation.