Beyond Rehearsal

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Alisa Mikhailovna Galliamova
70th Russian Women’s Chess Championship Superfinal; Moscow, December 8, 2020
English Opening A27

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 f5 4. g3 Nf6 5. d4 e4 6. Nh4 d5 7. Bg5 Be7. The critical alternative is 7. ... Bb4 8. e3 (after 8. cxd5 Nxd5!! 9. Bxd8 Nxc3 10. Qb3 Nxe2+! 11. Kd1 Nexd4 12. Qe3 Be6! Black got more than enough dynamic compensation for the Queen, Mchedlishvili – Rathnakaran, 2nd Goa Open, Taleigão 2019) 8. ... 0-0 9. Ng2 Ne7 10. Qb3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 h6 12. Bxf6 Rxf6 13. h4 (13. Nf4!?⩲) 13. ... Be6 14. h5 Bf7 15. Nf4 c5= Harutyunian – Sasikiran, 45th Sunway Open, Sitges 2019. 8. e3 0-0 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. cxd5. In a not-too-recent game White continued: 10. Ng2 Ne7 (but 10. ... dxc4 seems better) 11. Nf4 c5 12. Ncxd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 cxd4 14. Nxf6+ Rxf6 15. Qxd4 Rd6 16. Qc3 Be6 17. Be2 Qc7 18. 0-0 Rad8 19. Rfd1 a5 20. Rd4 Rc6 21. Rxd8+ Qxd8 22. Rd1 Qc7 23. b3 b5 24. Rd4 h6 25. Qd2 bxc4 26. Bxc4 Kh7 27. Bxe6 Rxe6 28. Rd5 Re5 29. Rd7 Qc5 30. Kg2 Qc6 31. Qd4 Qc5 32. a4 Kg6 33. h4 Qxd4 34. exd4 Re6 35. Rd5 e3 36. Kf1 exf2 37. Kxf2 Ra6 38. Kf3 Kf6 39. h5 Rc6 40. Kf4 1 : 0 Collutiis – Valsecchi, 1st International Open, Alghero 2011. 10. ... Ne7!? A reasonable novelty, at least in comparison with 10. ... Bxh4?? which simply loses a piece after 11. dxc6+− Stremavicius – Kocur, 1st Saint-Quentin Open, Saint-Quentin 2019. 11. Ng2 Nxd5 12. Bc4 Be6 13. Nxd5. Goryachkina must have thought that 13. Qb3 c6 14. Qxb7 Qd6 14. 0-0 a6!? could offer some compensation for the Pawn to Black. 13. ... Bxd5 14. Qb3 Bxc4 15. Qxc4+ Kh8 16. Nf4 Qd6 17. h4± c6? This loses almost at once. Black should have preferred either 17. ... g6 or 17. ... Be7 (in order to reply to 18. h5 with 18. ... Qb4+ forcing the exchange of Queens) — hence in both cases White would probably do well to play 18. Kf1 (Δ Kf1-g2) with much the better game.

18. h5! With the deadly threat of 19. Ng6+ hxg6 20. hxg6+ followed by mate. 18. ... Bg5. Tertium non datur (18. ... h6 19. Ng6++−). 19. Ne6+− Bxe3? The only thing Galliamova doesn’t want to do is the only thing she had to do — and alas for her, the text move costs her a whole Rook instead of the Exchange. 20. Nxf8 Bh6 21. Ne6 b5 22. Qb3 Re8 23. Nf4 e3 24. fxe3 Bxf4 25. gxf4 Qxf4 26. Ke2 c5 27. dxc5 Qg4+ 28. Kf2 f4 29. e4 f3 30. Qxf3 Qg5 31. b4 Qd2+ 32. Kg3 h6 33. Rhd1 Qg5+ 34. Kh3 Qe5 35. Rac1 Qe6+ 36. Qg4 Qxa2 37. c6 Qb3+ 38. Kg2 1 : 0.

Today, nothing has changed at the top of the 70th Russian Women’s Chess Championship table, as both Goryachkina and Polina Sergeevna Shuvalova won their games, the latter still leading with full points. Photo: Vladimir Leonidovich Barsky/Russian Chess Federation.