Through the Storm

Antoaneta Stefanova – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina

1st Women’s Chess World Cup; tie-break game 2; time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Krasnaya Polyana, July 24, 2021

Grünfeld Defence D78

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. 0-0 Nf6 5. d4 0-0 6. c4 c6 7. Qb3 a5 8. Rd1 a4 9. Qb4 dxc4 10. Qxc4 Qd5TN (10. ... b5!? 11. Qc3 Qb6= Pantsulaia – Yılmaz, 18th European Team Chess Championship, Porto Carras 2011) 11. Qb4 Qd6

12. Qe1! Bf5 13. Nc3 Ne4 14. Nh4 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Be6 16. e4 Bc4 17. f4 f5 18. e5 Qd7 19. Ba3 Na6 20. Nf3 Nc7 21. Nd2 Bd5 22. Bf1 b5 23. c4 bxc4 24. Nxc4 Rfb8 25. Bc5 Bxc4 26. Bxc4+ Nd5 27. Rab1 Bf8 28. Rxb8 Rxb8 29. Rb1 Qd8? Suddenly it feels like Goryachkina cannot stand her cramped position any longer. Yet after 29. ... Ra8! Stefanova couldn’t make too great use of the b-file, for if 30. Qb4 Black may reply with 30. ... e6 31. Bxd5 Qxd5 32. Bxf8 Rxf8 36. Qxa4 c5! leaving White with a worthless extra Pawn. 30. Rxb8 Qxb8

31. Qb4! Qxb4 32. Bxb4 e6? Of course, after 32. ... Kf7 33. Bc5± it is anything but easy for Black to escape the bind, but, however hard it might be, it was better than the text (which loses by force). 33. Bxf8 Kxf8 34. Kf2 Ke7 35. Ke2 Kd7 36. Kd3. Threatening to liquidate into a won Pawn ending with Bc4xd5 followed by Kd3-c3-b4. 36. ... Ne7 37. Kc3 h6 38. Kb4. Naturally, 38. h4 was also very good. 38. ... g5 39. fxg5 hxg5 40. Kxa4 c5 41. dxc5 Ng6 42. Kb5 Nxe5 43. Be2 f4 44. gxf4 gxf4 45. h4 f3 46. Bf1 Kc7 47. h5 Ng4 48. a4. 48. Bh3 f2 49. a4 e5 50. a5 e4 51. a6 e3 52. Bf1+− was an equally good but (maybe) simpler solution. 48. ... e5

49. a5. Or 49. Kb4! e4 50. Kc3 e3 51. a5+− with an easily won ending, since after 51. ... e2 52. Bxe2 fxe2 53. Kd2 Black cannot stop White’s Pawns. 49. ... e4 50. Bh3? Stefanova misses her big chance to score the equaliser: 50. Kb4! e3 51. Kc3+− would transpose into the line given above. 50. ... e3 51. a6? If Stefanova had not badly needed a win, at least she could have saved herself with 51. h6! Nxh6 52. a6 e2 53. a7 Kb7 54. c6+ Kxa7 55. c7 Nf7! — but cui prodest? 51. ... e2 52. a7 Kb7 53. c6+ Kxa7 54. c7 Kb7 55. Bxg4 Kxc7 56. Bxf3 e1=Q 0 : 1.

Goryachkina finally won a tense match against Stefanova to advance to the quarterfinals, where she will face Kazakhstani International Master Dinara Ramazanovna Saduakassova. Photo © Anastasia Korolkova.