Saturday, October 15, 2022

Quietly Powerful

Ashritha Eswaran – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)
61st U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 14, 2022
Caro-Kann Defence B15

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6. The Tartakower Variation, a solid but not too ambitious line which must have taken Eswaran by surprise.
6. c3 Bf5 7. Bc4 Bd6 8. Qe2+ Qe7 9. Nf3 Nd7. 9. ... Na6 10. Nh4 Bg4 11. Qxe7+ Kxe7 is morphologically similar to the game, except for the position of the Knights, Fedorchuk – Lariño Nieto, 6th Rabat Blitz Marathon, Rabat 2015 (time control: 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move). White has a theoretical advantage for the endgame, but in practice, it is hardly enough of an advantage to hope for a win.
10. Qxe7+ Kxe7 11. 0-0 Rhe8 12. Nh4 Be6 13. Bd3 g6 14. Re1 Kf8 15. c4 Rad8 16. Bd2 Be7 17. Ba5?! 于 (Yú)’s psychological strategy, aimed at pursuing balance as best, has apparently worked well, since her opponent felt compelled to step out her comfort zone and dare something. After 17. Bc3 f5 18. Nf3 Nc5! 19. Bxf5 Bxf5 20. dxc5 Bxc5 the two Bishops make Black’s game a little more attractive, but White should hold without difficulty.
17. ... Nb6 18. Nf3 Rd7 19. b3 Bg4


20. Bc3?! White could perhaps consider giving up the d-Pawn, since the doubled Pawns on f6 and f7 might have constituted a partial compensation for it.
20. ... Bxf3 21. gxf3 Red8


22. b4? This makes things considerably worse. On the other hand, White couldn’t feel enthusiastic about 22. Rad1 f5 23. Bf1 Bf6∓ (which yet was a better try).
22. ... Na4 23. Rxe7? After 23. Bd2 Rxd4 White has no compensation for the lost Pawn, but the idea of adding the Exchange to the losses sounds quite incomprehensible.
23. ... Rxe7 24. Be1 Rxd4 25. Bf1 Kg7. The game is over, but it still takes a good hour of technique.
26. Rb1 Nb6 27. Rc1 Nd7 28. Bc3 Rf4 29. Kg2 Ne5 30. Be2


30. ... g5 31. Bd2 Ng6 32. Be3 Rh4 33. Bf1 b6 34. Rd1 Rh6 35. Kg3 Nh4 36. Bh3 Nxf3! 37. a4 Rh4 38. c5 Ne5 39. Bd4 Re8 40. b5 cxb5 41. axb5 bxc5 42. Bxc5 Rc4 43. Be3 Rb4 44. Bf1 Rg4+ 45. Kh3 h5 46. Be2 Rh4+ 47. Kg3 Ng4 48. Bxg4 Rxg4+ 49. Kf3 Re7 50. Rd6 Re5 51. Bd4 Rf4+ 52. Kg2 Rxb5 53. Bxa7 Rg4+ 54. Kh3 Rb3+ 55. Be3 f5 56. f3 Rh4+ 0 : 1.

于 (Yú) recovered and took back the lead with four rounds to go. Photo © Bryan Adams/SAint Louis Chess Club.

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