Another Brick in the Great Wall

Nino Batsiashvili – 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié)
1st Women’s Grand Swiss Chess Tournament; Riga, November 3, 2021
Queen’s Gambit Accepted D27

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. 0-0 a6 7. e4 b5 8. Be2 Nxe4 9. a4 b4 10. Qc2? 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) later called this a “big mistake”, saying that very likely her opponent “forgot some lines”. A recent game continued: 10. Nbd2 Bb7 11. Nxe4 Bxe4 12. Be3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nc6 14. Rc1 Nxd4 15. Bxd4 Bd6 with approximate equality, Shankland – Domínguez Pérez, 6th Grand Chess Tour, 5th stage, Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, Saint Louis 2021 (time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move).

10. ... Bb7 11. Rd1 Nd7 12. Bf4 cxd4 13. Rxd4 Rc8 14. Bc4. 14. Qd3 Nef6 15. Nbd2 Bc5 is obviously good for Black, but (maybe) also a little better for White. 14. ... Nef6 15. Nbd2 Bc5 16. Rd3 Qb6 17. Rf1. 17. Bg3 0-0 does not make much difference. 17. ... 0-0 18. a5 Qc6! With the devastating threat of ... e6-e5. White cannot do much about it. 19. Re1 Rfe8 20. Nh4 e5 21. Bg5 e4 22. Rg3 Ne5 23. Nf5

The time has come for 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) to unleash her grand assault, “from a position” — Grandmaster Ian Rogers wrote in his report for the KasparovChess web site — “where most believed the Georgian was the attacker”. 23. ... Nh5! 24. Qb3. 24. Rh3 is also met by 24. ... e3 threatening mate on g2. 24. ... e3! Opening the long diagonal. 25. Nxe3 Bxe3 26. Bd5. A desperate and vain attempt to put a stop to Black’s battery.

26. ... Bxf2+! 27. Kxf2 Qc5+ 28. Qe3 (28. Be3 Qxd5−+) 28. ... Nd3+! 29. Kf1 Nxg3+ 30. Qxg3 Rxe1+ 0 : 1.

雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié), by virtue of her triumph in the inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss, made her bid for the crown which was worn in recent and in less recent years by 谢军 (Xiè Jūn), 诸宸 (Zhū Chén), 许昱华 (Xǔ Yùhuá), 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí), and 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn). Photo: Anna Shtourman.