Yesterday’s Tomorrow

Antoaneta Stefanova – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
1st Women’s Chess World Cup; match game 1; Krasnaya Polyana, July 22, 2021
Slav Defence D11

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. 0-0 Nf6 5. d4 e6 6. c4 Nbd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Nc3 Bd6 9. Ne1 0-0 10. f3 Be6!? Perhaps a novelty. Not good is 10. ... Bf5?! on account of 11. e4± LeBlanc – Sullivan, 1st Labour Day Open, Langley 2006, while 10. ... Bh5 11. Nd3 Re8 12. Nf4 Bxf4 13. Bxf4 a5 seems good enough for Black: 14. Qd2 Nb6 15. b3 a4 16. e4 dxe4 17. fxe4 axb3 18. axb3 Rxa1 19. Rxa1 Bg6 20. d5 Qe7 21. Be3 Nbd7 22. Ra7 Ne5 23. d6 Qd7 24. Qd4 Bh5 25. Na4 Nf3+ 26. Bxf3 Bxf3 27. Nc5 Qh3 28. Qd2 b6? (28. ... h5! 29. Rxb7 h4⇄) 29. d7 Rd8? 30. Ra8! 1 : 0 Miller – Colpe, 89th German Chess Championship, Dresden 2018. 11. Nd3. 11. e4 might be also considered. 11. ... Re8 12. Nf4 Nf8 13. Nxe6 Nxe6 14. Be3 c5 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. Bxc5 Nxc5

17. Qd2?! White unwisely allows Black’s centre Pawn to advance. 17. e3! was called for, because if 17. ... Rxe3 there would follow 18. Qd4 Qe7 19. Ne4! with good play for White. 17. ... d4 18. Nb5 d3! 19. exd3 Qb6. Perhaps 19. ... a6!? 20. Rac1 Nxd3 may be a little more promising.

20. d4 Qxb5 21. dxc5 Rad8 22. Qc3? A bad error, probably due to time pressure. ⌓ 22. Qc1 to which Black can reply with 22. ... Nd7 winning back the Pawn with comfortable play. 22. ... Nd5 23. Qa3 Ne3 24. Rf2 Nc4?! Stronger seems 24. ... Nd1 25. Rf1 Qe2 with the powerful threat of ... Rd8-d2. 25. Qc3 Re3 26. Qc2

26. ... Qxc5?? A gross oversight quite unusual with Goryachkina. Best was 26. ... Ne5! 27. Rd2 Re8 with a dynamic balance. 27. Rc1. Now White wins the Knight and Black has nothing to show for it. 27. ... Red3. In her mirage, Black might have hoped for 27. ... Rd2 28. Qxc4?? Re1+ followed by mate in two, just to suddenly realise that 28. Qxd2! wins at once. 28. Kh1! Avoiding the last trap: 28. Qxc4?? Rd1+! 29. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 30. Qf1 Rxf1+ 31. Bxf1 g5! with the mighty Queen to dominate the board. 28. ... b5. Naturally Black cannot play 28. ... Rd1+ 29. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 30. Qxd1 Qxf2 because of the back rank mate. 29. b3 h5 30. bxc4 b4 31. Qe2 Rc3 32. Re1 Rxc4 33. Bf1 Rc3 34. Kg2 h4 35. gxh4 Rd6 36. Kh1 Re6 37. Qd2 Rxe1 38. Qxe1 Re3 39. Qd2 Qe7 40. Qd4 Re1 41. Kg2 a5 42. Rc2 Qe6 43. Bd3 g6 44. h5 gxh5 45. Qd8+ Kg7 46. Qg5+ Kf8 47. Qxh5 1 : 0.

Three-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion Goryachkina has appealed too much to her emotions today and timorrow will have to play all out if she is to win. Photo © Anastasia Korolkova.