Quadrature of the Parabola

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk

4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event; Quarterfinal match game 9; time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move; chess.com, July 28, 2022

Caro-Kann Defence B13

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3. Bobby Fischer called it “An old variation to get off the beaten track”.
4. ... Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Qc8. A move credited to Vlastimil Hort, “with the idea of ... Bg4-h5 and ... Bh5-g6”, writes Fischer. But it looks like Kosteniuk has other intentions.
8. Nd2 g6!? 9. Ngf3 Bg7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Rfe1 Bf5 (11. ... Bxf3 12. Nxf3 e6 13. h3 a6 14. a4⩲ Pacis – Wharton, 24th Chess Olympiad, La Valletta 1980)
12. Ne5 Bxd3 13. Nxd3 e6 14. h3 Nd7 15. a4 Na5 16. Qa2 Re8 17. Rac1 Nb6 18. b3!

18. ... f6? Weakening the a2-g8 diagonal for no return as Black will have no time to play ... e6-e5. Comparatively better was 18. ... Nd7 and if 19. c4 then 19. ... Qd8 with a tenable game.
19. c4!

19. ... Nc6? The clumsy placement of Black’s Knights is almost reminiscent of that seen in Borochow – Fine, Pasadena 1932. A little better was 19. ... dxc4 20. bxc4 Qd7, but after 21. Nc5 Qc6 22. Nce4 White dominates the board.
20. a5 Nd7 21. cxd5. Or at once 21. b4 with the same effect.
21. ... exd5 22. b4 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Qf8 24. b5 Nd8

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s concluding attack is entertaining in style and effect:
25. Ne4! f5 26. Bd6! Qf7 27. Ng5 Qf6 28. Qxd5+ 1 : 0.

“Gimme a mouse quick enough and I’ll lift the world”. Screenshot from the live stream.