The Only Woman in the Room

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Alexander Vladimirovich Riazantsev
29th Russian Team Chess Championship; Sochi, May 1, 2022
Slav Defence D10

1. c4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Bf5 6. Nc3 e6 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 Bd6 9. Nge2 (9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. Nf3 Nf6 11. 0-0 0-0 12. Rac1 Rfc8 13. Ne2 Ne7 14. h3 h6 15. Rxc8+ Rxc8 16. Rc1 ½-½ Vasiukov – Beliavsky, 48th USSR Chess Championship, Vilnius 1980) 9. ... Nf6 10. 0–0 0–0 11. Rfc1 Rc8

12. Na4 (12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Nb5 Qe7 14. Nbc3 Qd6 15. Nb5 Qe7 16. Nbc3 Qd6 17. Nb5 Qe7 ½ : ½ Jianu – Nikolaidis, 48th Greek Team Chess Championship, Athens 2021) 12. ... Ne4 13. Bxd6 Nxd6 14. Nf4 Qe7 15. Qe2 Rc7 16. Nc5 b6 17. Na6 Rcc8 18. Nd3 Qb7 19. Nab4 Nxb4 20. Nxb4 Rxc1+ 21. Rxc1 Rc8 22. Rxc8+ Qxc8 23. Qc2 Qxc2 24. Nxc2 Kf8 25. Kf1 Nc4 26. b3 Nd6 27. Ke2 Ke7 28. Nb4 ½ : ½.

Once again, three-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion and world’s woman No. 2 Goryachkina crossed the gender barrier, in the footsteps of Judit Polgár and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Vladimir Leonidovich Barsky/Russian Chess Federation.