Shapeshift

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Bhakti Kulkarni

1st Chess Super League; Pivotal Pawns – Quintessential Queens; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess.com, October 14, 2021

Two Knights Defence C55

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4. First love never dies. 2. ... Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nf3 h6 5. c3 d6 6. Nbd2 g6 7. Bb3 Bg7 8. h3 0-0 9. 0-0 d5 10. Re1 dxe4 11. dxe4 Qe7 12. Ba4!? 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) gives her new turn to an old subject: 12. Nf1 Na5 13. Bc2 c6 14. Qe2 b6 15. Ng3 Nb7 16. b3 Rd8 17. Bb2 a5 18. Rad1 Rxd1 19. Rxd1 Ne8 20. Qe3 Qc7 21. c4 Be6?! 22. Nf5! gxf5 23. exf5 Bc8 24. Nxe5 Qe7? 25. Qg3→ Qg5 26. Qf3 Nbd6 27. Bc1 Qh4 28. Ng4 Bd7 29. Qf4 Rd8 30. f6 Bf8 31. Nxh6+ 1 : 0 Kovalev – Khudyakov, Osen II, Alushta 2003. 12. ... Bd7 13. Nc4 Nh5. Another safe course would be to turn the opening into a Spanish Game by 13. ... a6 whereupon play can continue 14. Bc2 with a very slight edge to White. 14. Ne3 Rad8 15. Nd5 Qd6 16. Qc2 Ne7 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Be3

18. ... Nf4? And here Black’s trouble begins. ⌓ 18. ... Bc8! 19. Rad1 Kh7 gives Black a reasonably solid game. 19. Bxd7 Rxd7 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. e5! Threats such as e5-e6 or Qc2-e4 are in the air. 21. ... c5. Here 21. ... g5 is critical, in which case White would play 22. Qb3 or even 22. e6 to keep building up her initiative. 22. h4! f5 23. Qa4 Re8 24. Qxf4 Qe6 25. Re2 Rde7 26. c4 Rd7 27. Rae1 Red8 28. b3 Kh7

29. h5! gxh5 (29. ... g5? 30. Qxg5!+−) 30. Qh4 Rg8 31. Qxh5 Bf8 32. Rd2 Rdg7 33. Nh4 Rg5 34. Qf3 Be7 (34. ... Rg4 35. Qxf5+ Qxf5 36. Nxf5 Rxg2+ 37. Kh1+−) 35. Qxb7 Rg4 (35. ... R5g7 36. Nf3! Rxg2+ 37. Kf1+−)

36. Rd6! Qf7 37. Rd7 (37. Rf6+−) 37. ... R8g7 38. Nxf5? A most dramatic climax of the time scramble. 38. g3+− was simple and winning as 38. ... Rxh4 is met by 39. Rxe7 and finis. 38. ... Rxg2+ 39. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 40. Kxg2 Qxf5 41. Rxe7+ Kg6? “What goes around comes around”. Correct was 41. ... Kh8! 42. Rxa7 Qg6+! drawing by perpetual check. 42. Re3+− Qc2 43. Rxa7 h5 44. Ra6+ Kg5 45. e6 h4 46. e7 h3+ 47. Kxh3 Qf5+ 48. Kg2 1 : 0.

Give the Queen a Pivot and she will lift up the Earth! Screenshot from the live stream.