Saturday, September 3, 2022

In the Woods

Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Lagno – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event; Final match game 4; time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move; chess.com, September 2, 2022
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. Be3 b5!? “Striking out in this way at such an early stage is rightly considered premature. But I felt like getting away from well studied positions quickly”, 9th World Chess Champion Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian writes in his book “Python Strategy”, Quality Chess, Glasgow, 2015, p. 100.
8. Bf3


8. ... b4? Consistent and consistently unsound. Much better is 8. ... e5 9. Nf5 g6 10. Nh6 Be6 11. Ng4 Ng8 (Sefc – T. V. Petrosian, 1st European Team Chess Championship, Baden 1957) and “At this point the simplest way for White to acquire an opening edge would be 12. Bc1 followed by Ng4-e3, completing the manoeuvre he started with his 10th move”, says Petrosian (ibidem).
9. e5! dxe5 10. Nde2!? Sufficiently good, but 10. Nb3! is, from a theoretical standpoint, best: 10. ... Nbd7 11. Bxa8 bxc3 12. bxc3 Qc7 13. 0-0 Bd6 14. c4 e4 15. h3 0-0 16. c5 Nxc5 17. Nxc5 Bxc5 18. Bxc5 Qxc5 19. Qe2 Nd5 20. Qxe4 Nc3 21. Qd3 e5 22. Rfe1 Bxh3 23. Re3 Be6 24. Qxc3 Qxc3 25. Rxc3 Rxa8 26. a4 a5 27. Rc5 f6 28. Rb1 Bd7 29. Rb7 Bxa4 30. Rcc7 g5 31. Rg7+ Kh8 32. Rxh7+ Kg8 33. Rbg7+ Kf8 34. Rc7 Kg8 35. Rhg7+ Kh8 36. Rgf7 Kg8 37. Rxf6 Be8 38. Rf5 a4 39. Rxg5+ Kf8 40 .Rf5+ Kg8 41. Rxe5 a3 42. Rxe8+ Rxe8 43. Ra7 1 : 0 Brzózka – Hollis, Alekhine Memorial 1991–96, by correspondence, 1991.
10. ... Qxd1+ 11. Rxd1 bxc3 12. Bxa8 cxb2 13. c4 Bd7 14. c5 Ng4. Black would perhaps do better to give priority to her Kingside development by 14. ... Be7! 15. Rb1 0-0 16. Rxb2 Nd5 with a tenable game.
15. Rb1 Nxe3 (15. ... Be7! 16. Rxb2 0-0 17. Bb7 Nxe3 18. fxe3 Bxc5 19. Kf2⩲)


16. Rxb2! Nc6? Apparently upset by White’s zwischenzug, Black disintegrates. After 16. ... Bb5 17. fxe3 Nd7 18. Nc3 Nxc5 19. Kd2 White stands better, but victory still must be earned.
17. fxe3 Be7. Too late.


18. Rb6! Nd8 19. c6 Bc8 20. c7 1 : 0.

Turned out 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) did get lost in the sidelines of the Najdorf. Screenshot from the live stream.

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