A Teacher’s Tale

雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) – Christopher Woojin Yoo

1st Julius Bär Challengers Chess Tour; Quarterfinal tie-break game 2; time control: 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move; chess24.com, October 12, 2021

Pirc Defence B09

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Bd3 0-0 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. 0-0 e5 8. d5 Nd4 9. f5 c6 10. Bg5 h6. The only known reference about 9. f5 went 10. ... gxf5 11. exf5 (but 11. Nxd4! exd4 13. Ne2 seems much stronger) 11. ... Nxf5 12. Bxf5 Bxf5 13. Kh1 Qd7 14. dxc6 bxc6 15. Nxe5 dxe5 16. Qxd7 Nxd7 17. Rxf5⩲ van Wissen – de Graaf, 35th European Club Chess Cup, Ulcinj 2019. 11. Bh4 Qb6? The b2-Pawn hunt will soon betray its fallacy.

12. Kh1! Qxb2? If you said A you must say B, but... 13. Qd2! gxf5 (13. ... g5 14. Nxg5!→) 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Qxh6 Bg7 16. Qh5 Nxf3. 16. ... Qxc3?? 17. Ng5 falls into mate. 17. gxf3 f6. After all, the g-file opened is the last thing Black needed! Here again 17. ... Qxc3?? was unplayable because of 18. Rg1 with mating attack. 18. Rg1 Rf7 19. Ne2 fxe4 20. fxe4 cxd5 21. Ng3 f5 22. Raf1 (22. Qg6+−) 22. ... f4 23. exd5 Qd4 24. Ne4 Bf5

25. Rxg7+! White is going to finish her opponent off in grand style. 25. ... Rxg7 26. Qxf5 Qxd5 27. c4. 27. Rxf4!+− is strong and even stronger for White, threatening Bd3-c4. 27. ... Qf7 28. Nf6+ Kf8 29. c5! Rd8 30. Be4 d5 31. Bc2 d4 32. Bb3 Qg6 33. Nh7+ Ke7 34. Qxe5+ Kd7 35. Nf6+ Kc6

36. Ba4+?? The drama explodes! 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) was too much excited to pick her lucky number: 36. Bd5+! Rxd5 (or 36. ... Kb5 37. a4+! with mate in a few moves) 37. Qxd5+ Kc7 38. Qd6+ Kc8 39. Qf8+ Kc7 40. Qxg7+! winning. 36. ... b5! 37. cxb6+ Kb7! (37. ... Kxb6?? 38. Qb5+ Kc7 39. Rc1++−) 38. Bc6+?? And the drama ends in tragedy. After 38. Qe4+ Qxe4 39. Nxe4 Kxb6 40. Rb1+ Kc7 a draw was in sight, which would have meant that the Armageddon was just there. 38. ... Kxc6 39. Rc1+ Kb7 40. Rc7+ Ka6 (40. ... Ka8?? 41. b7+ Kb8 42. Rd7#) 41. Rxg7 Qxg7 42. bxa7 Qb7+ 43. Ne4 Qxa7 44. Nc5+ Kb6 45. Qf6+ Kxc5 46. Qxd8 Qb7+ 47. Kg1 Qb1+ 48. Kf2 Qxa2+ 49. Kf3 Qd5+ 50. Qxd5+ Kxd5 51. Kxf4 Kc4 52. Kf3 d3 0 : 1.

As a mentor and a teacher, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) may well feel glad that two of her three students got to the knockout finals of the inaugural Julius Bär Challengers Chess Tour, and even more importantly that 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) was the only woman to have qualified for the quarterfinals. Screenshot courtesy of chess24.com.