The Cosmic Hologram

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Karina Cyfka

2nd Online Chess Olympiad Playoff; China – Poland; Quarterfinal match game 1; time control: 15 minutes plus 5 seconds per move; chess.com, September 13, 2021

Two Kinghts Defence C55

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. c3 d6 6. Nbd2 g6 7. Bb3 Bg7 8. h3 0-0 9. 0-0 Nh5 10. Re1 Nf4 11. Nf1 g5. A rather committal decision, though perhaps justified by the time control. On the other hand 11. ... Kh7 is not too convincing because of 12. Bxf4 exf4 13. d4 and White stands better, Mamedov – S. Kaplan, 13th European Youth Chess Championship Boys U-16, Budva 2003.

12. Ne3 Ne7?! Perhaps 12. ... Qf6!? was a little more consistent with the approach chosen. 13. d4 c6 14. Bc2 Kh8? Too little, too slow. Black had to try something like 14. ... Re8 since 15. Nf5 Bxf5 16. exf5 Ned5 17. dxe5 dxe5 18. g3! e4! 19. gxf4 exf3 20. fxg5 Rxe1+ 21. Qxe1 Qe8 22. Bd2 leaves White with “only” a sound extra Pawn. 15. Nf5 Neg6 16. g3! Nxh3+. The Knight jumps into a dead end, but after 16. ... Ne6 17. dxe5 dxe5 18. Qe2 the situation would be hopeless for Black anyway. 17. Kg2 g4

18. Nh2! Thus and simply: White wins material by force. 18. ... h5 19. Nxg4 Bxf5 20. exf5 hxg4 21. Qxg4 Nhf4+ 22. gxf4 Nh4+ 23. Kh3 Bf6 24. Rg1 1 : 0.

Not surprisingly, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s appearance on the stage of the opening ceremony of the 2nd Online Chess Olympiad was a triumph of elegance and imagination. Screenshot from the live stream.