Between Two Trees

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Kirill Alexeyevich Alekseenko
Candidates Tournament 2020–21; Yekaterinburg, April 24, 2021
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3. The Fantasy Variation. 3. ... dxe4 4. fxe4 e5 5. Nf3 Bg4 (5. ... exd4 6. Bc4→) 6. c3! A finesse which was raised to theoretical dignity by four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). White postpones Bf1-c4 for one move in order to first defend the d4-Pawn, waiting for Black’s reply before making a decision about whether c4 or d3 is the better square for the Bishop. 6. ... Nf6. If, instead, 6. ... Nd7 then 7. Bd3! Bd6 8. 0-0 Ngf6 9. h3 Bh5 10. Nbd2 0-0 11. Nc4 Qc7 12. Qc2 Bg6 13. Bg5⩲ Rfe8 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Nh4 Kh8 16. Kh1 Rg8 (16. ... exd4!? 17. cxd4 Rad8) 17. Ne3 Rae8 18. Ng4 exd4 19. cxd4 c5? (19. ... Bf4 20. Rf3±) 20. Nxg6+! fxg6 (20. ... hxg6 21. e5+−) 21. Bb5!+− Rgf8 22. dxc5 Be7 23. b4 a6 24. Ba4 b5 25. Bb3 Ne5 26. Ne3 Nc6 27. Nd5 Qe5 28. a4 Bd8 29. axb5 axb5 30. Qd3 Qxe4 31. Qxb5 Nd4 32. Qc4 Re5 33. Rae1 Qxe1 34. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 35. Kh2 Re4 36. Qd3 f5 37. Qc3 Bh4 38. Bc2 Be1 39. Qa1 Rh4 40. Qxe1 1 : 0 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Danielian, FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2011–12, 1st stage, Rostov-on-Don 2011. 7. Bc4. Threat: Bc4xf7+.

7. ... Qc7?! Of course 7. ... Nxe4? 8. Bxf7+! plays into White’s dreams, while 7. ... Nbd7?! loses a Pawn to 8. Qb3! Bh5 9. Ng5 Qe7 10. Qxb7± Vega Gutiérrez – Tjølsen, 39th Women’s Chess Olympiad, Khanty-Mansiysk 2010. Comparatively best may be, as suggested by Grandmaster Nick de Firmian (Mechanics Institute Chess Club Newsletter #964, April 17, 2021), 7 ... Bh5 8. 0-0 Bd6 9. Bg5 Nbd7 10. Nbd2⩲ “with a small edge to White”. 8. dxe5 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Qxe5 10. Bf4± Qh5. The gain of the Pawn is not to be recommended, as after 10. ... Qxe4+? 11. Qxe4+ Nxe4 12. Nd2! White comes out with two powerful Bishops and an almost overwhelming development advantage. 11. Nd2 Nbd7 12. 0-0-0 Nb6 13. Bb3 Be7 14. Rhg1 Qxf3 15. gxf3 g6 16. Nc4 Nxc4 17. Bxc4 b5 18. Bb3

18. ... Nd7?! Black decides to sacrifice a Pawn in order to get rid of White’s Bishop pair. As such, it may have its points — the long-term consequences, however, shall not be encouraging to Black. 19. Bxf7+ Kxf7 20. Rxd7 Ke6 21. Rc7 Rhc8 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Be3 a5 24. Kd2 a4 25. f4 Rd8+ 26. Ke2 Rf8 27. Kf3 Rd8 28. Rc1 c5 29. c4 b4 30. Ke2

30. ... Rd7? Allowing the exchange of Rooks is a huge mistake, since in the resulting same coloured Bishop endgame White’s extra Pawn will obviously tell. 31. Rd1 Rxd1. There is no reasonable way to avoid the exchange, since 31. ... Rb7 32. Rd5 leaves White dominating the board. 32. Kxd1. The transmission of the moves was temporarily interrupted due to a “blackout”, with any suspense, however, with regard to the result, as the winning technique is relatively simple. Reportedly, the game ended as follows: 32. ... Bf8 33. Kc2 Be7 34. b3 a3 35. Kd3 Bf8 36. Bf2 Be7 37. Ke3 Bd8 38. Kf3 Be7 39. Kg4 h5+ 40. Kf3 Bf8 41. Kh4 Bd6 42. e5 Bc7 43. Ke4 Ba5 44. Bg5 Bb6 45. Bh6 1 : 0.

One thing is sure: Vachier-Lagrave will leave no stone unturned in his quest for challenge. Photo © Lennart Ootes.