Thru the Wire

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Bibisara Erkhanovna Assaubayeva

2nd Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event; Quarterfinal match game 6; time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move; chess.com, June 25, 2021

Sicilian Defence B53

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nf6 5. Be2 Nc6 6. Qe3 g6 7. h3 Bg7 8. 0-0 0-0 9. c4 Nd7 10. Nc3 Nc5. Or, by transposition, 10. ... a6 11. b3 Nc5 12. Bb2 Be6 13. Rfd1 Qa5 14. Rab1 Rac8 15. Nd5 Bxb2 16. Rxb2 Qa3 17. Rbd2 f6 18. Ne1 Nd7 19. Nd3 Bf7 20. Bg4 e6 21. N3f4 exd5 22. Bxd7 d4 23. Qe2 Rcd8 24. Bxc6 bxc6 25. Rxd4 Rfe8 26. Qd2 Kg7 27. Qc2 Re5 28. Ne2 Rde8 29. Nc3 R5e6 30. Qd2 Qb4 31. Kh1 Qa5 32. f3 f5 33. exf5 gxf5 34. Rd3 Qe5 35. Qf2 Kh8 36. Qd4 c5 37. Qxe5+ dxe5 38. Na4 e4 39. fxe4 fxe4 40. Re3 Bg6 41. Rd7 Re5 42. Rc7 Rf8 43. Rxc5 Re6 44. Nc3 Rf2 45. Rd5 Rc2 46. Kh2 Rf6 47. Nxe4 Re6 48. Rd4 Rxa2 49. Kg3 Ra5 50. Kf3 Rf5+ 51. Ke2 Rfe5 52. Kd3 a5 53. g4 Re7 54. h4 h6 55. Re2 Kg7 56. Re1 Bh7 57. Re3 Bg6 58. h5 Bh7 59. Re2 Kh8 60. Re1 Kg7 61. Re3 Kh8 62. Re1 Kg7 63. Re2 Kh8 64. Re3 Kg7 65. Re1 Kh8 66. Re2 Kg7 67. Re3 Kh8 68. c5 Rxc5 69. Ke2 Rce5 70. Kf3 Rf7+ 71. Kg3 Kg7 72. Re2 Rb7 73. Kf4 Rxe4+ 74. Rexe4 Bxe4 75. Rxe4 Rxb3 76. Re7+ Kg8 77. Ra7 Rb5 78. Ra6 Kg7 79. Ra7+ Kg8 80. Ra6 Kg7 81. Ra7+ ½ : ½ 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Pogonina, 1st World Mind Sports Games, Women’s Individual Rapid Tournament, 北京 (Běijīng) 2008. 11. Rd1 Ne6?! A novelty of very dubious merit. Hence, Black ought to play 11. ... f5 12. exf5 gxf5 13. Qg5 f4 14. Nd5 e5 15. Qxd8 Rxd8 16. Nh4 Nd4 with an approximately balanced game, Khodashenas – Firouzja, 52nd Iranian Chess Championship, Jam 2019. 12. b3 Qa5 13. Bb2 Qc5?! A little better may be 13. ... Qh5 eventually followed by ... f7-f5. 14. Qd2 Ned4 15. Nxd4 Bxd4. After 15. ... Qxd4 16. Qc1 Black’s situation is quite uncomfortable.

16. Nd5! Bxb2. Indeed, Black has little choice but to get crushed at the bottom, because 16. ... Bxf2+ 17. Kh2 would allow White too many threats. 17. Qxb2 a5 18. a3 Be6 19. b4 Qa7 20. b5 Bxd5 21. cxd5 Ne5 22. b6 Qb8 23. Rac1 Rc8. Otherwise the White Rook will penetrate to the seventh rank. 24. Qb5 g5 25. Qb2 Rc5 26. Rxc5 dxc5 27. Qd2. But why not play 27. Qc1 attacking both c5 and g5? 28. ... h6 28. h4! f6 29. hxg5 hxg5

30. d6! A very strong move, preventing Black’s Queen from moving to d6. 30. ... Qxd6?? But Black refuses to believe evidence and ends up blundering away her Queen. 30. ... exd6 was correct, after which there could follow 31. g3! Kg7 32. f4 Nf7 33. e5! with White breaking through on the open files. 31. Qa2+ Kg7 32. Rxd6 exd6 33. Qe6 1 : 0.

Thus, by defeating Assaubayeva 13½ – 9½, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) became one of the four semifinalists of the 2nd Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event. Screenshot from the live stream.