As Far As Far Enough

Pavel Andreevich Ponkratov – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
74th Russian Chess Championship Superfinal; Ufa, October 9, 2021
Scotch Gambit C44

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. 0-0. 5. c3 is probably safer (whereupon might follow 5. ... Nf6 6. cxd4 Bb4+). 5. ... d6! 6. c3 Bg4! “This excellent Bishop sortie proves the weakness of White’s castling at move 5 as it does not take care of the usual tricky 7. Qb3”, Serafino Dubois wrote in “Le principali aperture del giuoco di scacchi sviluppate secondo i due diversi sistemi italiano e francese”, Tipografia de’ Fratelli Monaldi, Rome, 1868, p. 27. 7. Qb3

7. ... Qd7. Theoretically speaking, the most critical is 7. ... Bxf3 8. Bxf7+ Kf8 9. Bxg8? (9. gxf3 is correct, to which Black can reply 9. ... Nf6 or 9. ... Bb6) 9. ... Rxg8 10. gxf3 g5!−+ 11. Qe6 (or 11. Qd1 Qd7 12. b4 Bb6 13. Bb2 d3 14. Qxd3 Ne5 15. Qe2 Qh3 16. Nd2 g4 0 : 1 Kolisch – Anderssen, Paris 1860, match game 6) 11. ... Ne5 12. Qf5+ Kg7 13. Kh1 Kh8 14. Rg1 g4! 15. f4 Nf3! 16. Rxg4 Qh4!! 17. Rg2 Qxh2+! 18. Rxh2 Rg1# 0 : 1 Reiner – Steinitz, Vienna 1860. 8. Nxd4. 8. Qxb7?? Rb8−+ gives Black an irresistible attack. Other playable continuations, except the text move, are 8. cxd4 Bxf3 9. dxc5 Nd4 10. Qxb7?? (⌓ 10. Qe3! Qg4 11. Qg5∞) 10. ... Qg4−+ A. – Perigal, London 1843 and 8. Bxf7+ Qxf7 9. Qxb7 Kd7 10. Qxa8 Bxf3 11. gxf3 Qxf3 12. Nd2 Qh3 13. e5 dxe5 14. b4? (14. Ne4 Qg4+ 15. Ng3 h5∞) 14. ... Nf6! 15. Qxh8 Ng4−+ Strautmanis – Palau, 2nd Chess Olympiad, The Hague 1928. 8. ... Na5 9. Qb5. If 9. Bxf7+ then 9. ... Ke7 10. Be6 Bxe6 11. Qxe6+ Qxe6 12. Nxe6 Kxe6 13. b4 Bxf2+ 14. Rxf2 Nc4 with comfortable equality, Blatný – Krasenkow, International Tournament, Brno 1994. 9. ... Nxc4 10. Qxc4 Ne7 11. h3!? After 11. Bg5 Nc6 followed by ... Nc6-e5 Black stands well, Procházka – Široký, 10th “MASPORK NIKI OPEN”, Náchod 2012. 11. ... Be6 12. Qd3 0-0 13. Be3 Bxd4 14. cxd4 f5 15. d5 Bf7 16. Nc3?! Positionally wrong as it leaves White with an isolated Pawn at d5 without any dynamic compensation therefor. Correct was 16. f3! followed by Nb1-d2 maintaining the balance. 16. ... fxe4 17. Qxe4 Rae8 18. Qd4 a6 19. Rfe1 Qf5 20. Rad1 h6 21. Kh2 Ng6 22. Qb4 Qc8 23. Bd4? There were many reasonable moves for maintaining the status quo, but White — quite inexplicably — allows the exchange of Rooks, after which the d5-Pawn is doomed. 23. ... Rxe1 24. Rxe1 Re8. More straightforward is 24. ... Qf5! winning the Pawn at once, since White cannot play 25. Qxb7?? on account of 25. ... Qf4+ gaining the Bishop. 25. Rxe8+ Bxe8 26. Ne2 Ne7 27. Qb3 Bf7 28. Nf4 Qf5 29. Qg3 g5. So after all Black wins a Pawn anyway. 30. Be3. Retreating the Knight at once was a lesser evil. 30. ... Qe5 31. Ne2

31. ... Qxg3+. Black is content with one safe Pawn ahead in a Queenless endgame, but her judgment will prove a bit too cautious as from now on she will have to deal with many technical difficulties. After 31. ... Qxb2! Black is not only a Pawn ahead, but she also dominates the board. 32. Nxg3 Nxd5 33. Bd2 Kh7 34. Ne2 Kg6 35. g4 Nf6 36. a3 c5 37. f4 Ne4. More promising seems 37. ... b6! followed by the advance of the d-Pawn. 38. Be3 b6 39. Nc3! White is on the verge of abyss, but there is still one hope left, viz. an endgame with Bishops of opposite colours. 39. ... Nf6 40. f5+ Kg7 41. b4 Be8 42. Kg3 Bc6 43. h4 Nh7 44. hxg5 hxg5 45. bxc5 bxc5 46. Nd1 Kh6 47. Nf2 Kg7 48. Nh3 Kf6 49. Kf2 Be4. Intending to sacrifice the Bishop for two Pawns, remaining with three extra Pawns — very near but not near enough to win. 50. Ke2 Bg2 51. Ng1 Ke5 52. Kf2 Bc6 53. Bc1

53. ... Be4. In fact resigning herself to a draw. Perhaps Black could still try to win by 53. ... Kd5!? (heading to the Queenside) 54. Nf3 Nf6 55. Nxg5 Nxg4+ 56. Kg3 Ne5∓ keeping her extra Pawn (and her advantage) a while longer. 54. Nh3 Bxf5 55. Bb2+ Ke6 56. gxf5+ Kxf5 57. a4 Nf8 58. Ng1 d5 59. Ne2 d4 60. Bxd4. The dual is 60. Nxd4+ cxd4 61. Bxd4 with a book draw as well. 60. ... cxd4 61. Nxd4+ Kf4 62. Nc6 Ne6 63. Nb4 g4!? A last ditch trick. 64. a5. Of course White cannot afford the luxury of 64. Nxa6?? on account of 64. ... g3+ 65. Ke2 (65. Kg2 Kg4−+) 65. ... Kg4−+ winning by force. 64. ... g3+ 65. Kg2 Kg4 66. Nd5 (66. Nxa6?? Nf4+ 67. Kf1 Kf3−+) 56. ... Kh4 67. Ne3 Nd4 68. Nf1 Nc6 69. Nxg3 Nxa5 70. Ne4 Nc6 ½ : ½.

Goryachkina has to do her best to win her place in the men’s world, because as Leonard Barden wrote in his column on The Guardian last Friday, “the chances of a third female prodigy emerging to follow Judit Polgár and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) seem remote”. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili/Russian Chess Federation.