When Time Stopped

Megan Lee – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)
61st U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 12, 2022
Scotch Game C45

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Nc3 Nge7 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bf4 0-0 9. a4 a5!? Another line of play, probably more flexible, is 9. ... a6 on which there can follow, by transposition: 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 Qe7+ 12. Be2 Ne5 13. a5 Ba7 14. d6 Qxd6 15. Qxd6 cxd6 16. 0-0-0 Bxf2 17. Rhf1 Bh4? (17. ... Ba7 18. Nd4 gives White good compensation for his temporary material deficit) 18. g3 Bg5 19. Rxd6 g6 20. h4 Bxf4+ 21. gxf4 Nc6 22. Bc4+ Kg7 23. h5 f5 24. Rg1 Ne7 25. Nc5 Rb8 26. Nd3 Ng8 27. hxg6 h6 28. Bxg8 Kxg8 29. Re1 b6 30. Re7 bxa5 31. Ne5 1 : 0 Ansell – L. E. Webb, 12th Four Nations Chess League — Division 1, Nottingham 2005.
10. Qd2 d6 11. 0-0-0 Ne5 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Qxe3 f5 14. f4 Ng4 15. Qd2 fxe4 16. Nxe4 Bf5 17. Nc3 Nf6 18. Re1 Bg6 19. Rg1 Bf7

20. g3. Why not 21. g4? In any case, even by adopting a more sober strategy, Lee is going to get where she wants to go, not without the help of 于 (Yú) herself, who generously indulges in erratic moves until she falls fatally short of time.
20. ... Ned5 21. Nb5 c6 22. N5d4 Nb6 23. Ne6 Bxe6 24. Rxe6 d5 25. Qd4

25. ... Nfd7? This loses a crucial tempo. Black ought to hurry to 25. ... Re8! 26. Bh3 Rxe6 27. Bxe6+ Kh8 28. Re1 Nc4 with a tolerable game.
26. Bh3 Rf6? 27. Re2! The White Rooks now dominate the e-file.
27. ... Qc7 28. Re7 Qd6 29. Rge1 c5 30. Qf2 d4 31. Qf3 c4 32. Qxb7! Rb8 33. Qa7 cxb3 34. Bxd7 Kh8

Now 35. R1e6! is telling enough, but Lee is in the mood to make European audiences stay up late:
35. Qxb8+! Sic et simpliciter. The rest is, as they say, a matter if technique.
35. ... Qxb8 36. Re8+ Rf8 37. Rxb8 Rxb8 38. Re8+ Rxe8 39. Bxe8 Kg8 40. cxb3 Kf8 41. Bc6 Ke7 42. b4! axb4 43. a5 Nc8 44. Bb7 Na7 45. Kd2 Kd6 46. Kd3 Kc5 47. g4 Nb5 48. f5 h6 49. h4 b3 50. a6 Kb6 51. g5 hxg5 52. hxg5 Nd6 53. f6 g6 54. Kxd4 Nf7 55. Bd5 Nxg5 56. f7 Nh7 57. Be4 Kxa6 58. Bxg6 Nf8 59. Bf5 Kb6 60. Ke5 Kc7 61. Kf6 Kd6 62. Kg7 Ke7 63. Kg8 1 : 0.

It was an evening of glory for Megan Lee, who describes herself in her own words, “A designer who spends her free time sketching out comic ideas and playing chess”. Photo © Crystal Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.