A Day’s Ride

Elisabeth Pähtz – Valentina Evgenyevna Gunina

4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event; Round of 16 match game 8; time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move; chess.com, June 28, 2022

Queen’s Pawn Game D00

1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 c5 3. e3 Nc6 4. c3 Bf5 5. Nd2 e6 6. Ngf3 Bd6 7. Bg3 Nf6 8. Qb3 Rb8 9. dxc5. More ambitious than 9. Qa3 Bxg3 10. hxg3 cxd4 ½ : ½ Wong Yinn Long – Villegas, 1st Online Chess Olympiad Division 3 Pool A, chess.com, August 9, 2020 (time control: 15 minutes plus 5 seconds per move). 9. ... Bxg3 10. hxg3 0-0 11. Nh4 Be4 12. f3 Bg6 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. Qc2 a5 15. Nb3 Nd7 16. g4 Qe7 17. Qf2 g5? This move causes Black grave trouble. Of course, there was nothing terribly wrong with 17. ... Nxc5 (and then 18. 0-0-0 would imply a typical struggle with heterogeneous castling), but Black could even play, perhaps more interestingly, 17. ... b6!? 18. Bb5 bxc5 19. Bxc6 Ne5 regaining the piece with an unclear game. 18. Qg3! Heading for the h-file. 18. ... f6 19. Qh3 Nde5 20. Nd4 Qxc5

21. 0-0-0? White misses 21. Qh8+ Kf7 22. Qxg7+! winning a second Pawn and securing the victory. 21. ... Kf7! Now the game gets real controversial. 22. Qh5+ Ke7 23. Qh7 Rg8 24. f4 Nf7 25. Qd3 b5 26. Kb1 b4 27. Nb3 Qa7 28. c4 Rgd8 29. Be2 gxf4 30. exf4 a4 31. Nc1 a3

32. b3? A mistake after which White’s position falls apart. Pähtz might still have saved the day by playing 32. Nb3! axb2 33. cxd5 Ra8 34. Qa6 Qxa6 35. Bxa6 Rxa6 36. dxc6 Rxc6 37. Rxd8 Nxd8 38. Kxb2 Rc4 39. g3 e5 with roughly equal chances. 32. ... dxc4 33. Qxc4 Nd4! 34. Rhe1 Qb6. Frees the b8-Rook. 35. Bf3 (35. Qa6 Qc7 36. Qc4 Qxf4−+) 35. ... Rbc8 36. Qf1

Gunina concludes brilliantly: 36. ... Rc2! Threatens 37. ... Rb2+ 38. Ka1 Nc2#. 37. Nd3 Qc7! Threatens 38. ... Rb2+ 39. Nxb2 Qc2+ followed by mate. 38. Rc1 Qc3! 0 : 1.