The Wrong Knight

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Elina Danielian

8th Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Almaty, December 27, 2022

Réti Opening A07

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. 0-0 Nd7 5. h3 Bh5 6. d4 e6 7. c4 Ngf6 8. cxd5 cxd5. The strategic alternative is 8. ... exd5 9. Nc3 Bxf3 10. exf3 (in the first game of tie-break White recaptured with the Bishop, but after 10. Bxf3 Ngf6 11. Bf4 Nf8 12. Qb3 Qd7 13. Bg2 Ne6 14. Be3 0-0 15. Rad1 Ne8 16. Qa4 Qd8 17. Qc2 Nd6 she achieved nothing special) 10. ... Ngf6 11. h4 0-0 12. Bh3 Nb6 13. Qd3 Re8 14. b3 Nfd7?! 15. Re1 Bf6?! 16. Bd2 a5 17. Kg2 Nf8 18. Rxe8 Qxe8 19. Re1 Qd8 20. Nd1! Nbd7 24. Bxe6! fxe6 25. Ng4 Re8 26. f4 Qd8 27. h5 h6?! 28. Re3 Kh8 29. b5! Nb8 30. Qe2 cxb5 31. Qxb5 Qc8 32. Qxa4+− 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Goryachkina, Women’s World Chess Championship match, Vladivostok 2020, tie-break game 3 (time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move). For the readers’ sake, the game was deeply annotated by four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán).
9. Nc3 Bd6 10. Qb3 Qb6 11. Qxb6 Nxb6 12. Ne5 Rc8 13. Bf4 Ke7 (13. ... Bb8 14. Rac1 0-0 15. g4 Bg6 16. Nxg6 hxg6 17. Bxb8 Rxb8 18. g5 Ne8 19. e4 dxe4 20. Nxe4 Rd8 21. Nc5 Nd6 22. Nxb7 Nxb7 23. Bxb7 Rxd4 24. Rfd1 Rfd8 25. Rxd4 Rxd4 26. Rc2 Kf8 27. Kg2 f6 28. b3 fxg5 29. Bf3 Ke7 30. Rc5 Kf6 31. Ra5 Rd7 32. Kf1 Rc7 33. Ke1 Nd7 34. Kd2 Ne5 35. Be2 Nc6 36. Ra4 Rd7+ 37. Ke3 Ne7 38. Bc4 Nf5+ 39. Kf3 Nd6 40. Ke3 Nf5+ 41. Kf3 Nd6 ½ : ½ Neiksans – G. C. Flear, 38th French Team Chess Championship, Chartres 2017)
14. g4 Bg6 15. Nb5

15. ... Ne8?! Preferable was 15. ... Bb8 along the lines of the aforementioned Neiksans – G. C. Flear.
16. Rfc1. After 16. Nxa7 Rc2 Black will regain her Pawn.
16. ... a6 17. Rxc8 Nxc8 18. Rc1 Bxe5. 18. ... axb5 19. Rxc8 leaves Black with a somewhat cramped position — and certainly one not easy to play with such a time control.
19. Bxe5 f6 20. Bf4 Kd7 21. Nc3 h5 22. e4!? White does not resist the temptation to open the game up for the benefit of her Bishop pair, but here 22. Na4! b6 23. Bf1 Ned6 24. f3 deserved serious consideration.
22. ... dxe4 23. Nxe4 Bxe4 24. Bxe4

24. ... Ned6? A wrong move, and most dramatically, the wrong Knight! 24. ... Ncd6! 25. Bf3 hxg4 26. hxg4 g5 27. Bg3 Rh7 was the right way to do what she wanted to do.
25. Bf3? But White misses the chance to disintegrate Black’s Queenside Pawns by 25. Bxb7! (25. ... Nxb7 26. Rc7+).
25. ... hxg4 26. hxg4 g5 27. Bg3

27. ... Rh7? A tactical slip which loses both the a- and b-Pawns leaving White with a won ending. Black could well consolidate her position with 27. ... Rd8 28. b3 Ke7! followed by ... Rd8-d7 and ... Nc8-b6. Not less interesting is 27. ... Na7!? (idem to say 27. ... Ne7!?) 28. Bxb7 Rb8 29. Bxa7 Rxb2 with very strong drawing chances.
28. Bxb7! Nb6? This loses a piece, but the endgame was lost for Black in any case.
29. Bxd6 Kxd6 30. Rc6+ 1 : 0.

After the disappointment in the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2022–23, Goryachkina is back looking for a less-unhappy ending and a second act. Photo: Vladimir Leonidovich Barsky/Chess Federation of Russia.