Evening Hours

Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk – Valentina Evgenyevna Gunina
1st Women’s Chess World Cup; match game 1; Krasnaya Polyana, July 25, 2021
8/q5kp/6p1/1p1Qp3/5r2/P1bB1Rp1/P1P1K1P1/8 b - - 3 42

Position after 42. Qe6xd5

Kosteniuk’s 42nd move was a terrible error which should lose, but... 42. ... Kh6? But Gunina misses the solution: 42. ... Qg1! (Δ ... Qg1-e1#) 43. Qd7+ Kh6 44. Qh3+ Kg5 45. Qxg3+ Rg4 and it’s all over. 43. Rxf4 exf4 44. Kf3 Kg7 (44. ... Qe3+ 45. Kg4 Be5∞) 45. Kxf4 Qf2+ 46. Kg4 h5+ 47. Kh3 Qg1 48. Kxg3 Qe1+ 49. Kf3 Qd1+ 50. Ke3 Kh6? It would be funny if it weren’t tragic, but Gunina made the same mistake twice (her 42nd and 50th moves)! Among other moves, 50. ... Qd2+ 51. Kf3 Qd1+ should lead to a draw by perpetual check. 51. Qe4 Qg1+ 52. Kf3 Qd1+ 53. Qe2 Qa1 54. Qe3+ g5 55. Qe6+ Bf6 56. Qf5 Kg7 57. Qd7+ Kf8 58. Qxb5

58. ... Qd1+? And yet after 58. ... Qxa2! 59. a4 Qe6 it’s still a tough fight. 59. Ke4 Qg4+ 60. Kd5 Be7 61. Be4 Qf4 62. Qd7 Qf7+ 63. Qe6 Bxa3 64. Qxf7+ Kxf7. If Gunina was relying on the drawing power of the opposite-coloured Bishops, she was promptly disappointed.

65. c4 Ke7 66. Bf5 g4 67. c5 Kd8 68. Kc6 Ke7 69. Kb6 Kf6 70. Bd7 Ke7 71. Bf5 Kd8 72. g3 Bb2 73. Kb7 Be5 74. a4 Bc7 75. c6 Bxg3 76. a5 1 : 0.

Clock time did not make a difference, but Kosteniuk’s concentration and determination did. Photo © Anastasia Korolkova.