Friday, March 3, 2023

Backpacker Europe

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Claudiu-Cristian Dobre
23rd European Individual Chess Championship; Vrnjačka Banja, March 3, 2023
Queen’s Gambit Declined D52

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5. The Cambridge Springs Variation.
7. Nd2. Goryachkina pushes away a bad memory still fresh in her mind: 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Rc1 h6 9. Bh4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Ba3 11. Rc2 b6 12. Nd2 Ba6 13. c4 0-0 14. Bd3 c5 15. 0-0 cxd4 16. exd4 Rfe8 17. Qe2 Rac8? (17. ... Bf8!) 18. c5!± 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) – Goryachkina, FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2022–23 Pool B, Khiva 2022, Semifinal match game 4.
7. ... Bb4 8. Qc2 c5 9. Nb3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qa4


11. cxd5 exd5. This implies quite an objectionable Pawn sacrifice which will not give the desired result. More convincing seems to be 11. ... c4! 12. Qb2 Ne4 13. Bf4 exd5 14. f3 Nef6 15. Nd2 0-0 16. g4 Re8 17. Be2 Nf8 18. Kf2⩲ with an edge for White.
12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. dxc5 Be6 14. Bd3 0-0 15. 0-0 Rfc8 16. Rfc1 Rc7 17. Rab1 Rb8 18. h3 h6 19. Qe2 Nd7 20. c4 dxc4 21. Bxc4 Bxc4 22. Rxc4 Qa6 23. Qc2. Dobre failed to prove any appreciable compensation for the Pawn and, as if that weren’t enough, he is already very short of time. All things considered, it’s all too easy for Goryachkina to improve her own position.
23. ... Rbc8 24. Rd1


24. ... b6? Inevitably, Black falls into trouble. 24. ... Qf6 25. Rd6 Qe7 would have offered much more resistance.
25. Rd6 Qa3?! If 25. ... Nf6 then 26. Rxf6! gxf6 27. c6 followed by Nb3-d4 with plenty and plenty of compensation.
26. Rg4


26. ... Nxc5? This loses catastrophically, but 26. ... Kh8 is no better at all because of 27. Qf5 Nf8 28. Rxh6+! Kg8 (or 28. ... gxh6 29. Qf6+ and mate next move) 29. Rxg7+! Kxg7 30. Qf6+ followed by mate. A little better seems 26. ... Ne5, though after 27. Rg3! hard times awaits Black anyway.
27. Rxh6 Nxb3 28. Qh7+ Kf8 29. Qxg7+ Ke8 30. Rh8+. The mighty engines say that after 30. Qe5+! White forces mate in five moves. Nothing to argue about.
30. ... Kd7 31. Qxf7+ Qe7. Playing for a self-mating net. The prosaic 31. ... Kc6 32. Rxc8 Rxc8 33. axb3+− leaves Black three Pawns down.
32. Qf5+. She’s too excited to notice 32. Qd5+! Qd6 33. Rg7#, but it is a venial oversight as there is no way ahead for Black.
32. ... Qe6 33. Rh7+ Kd6 34. Rg6 Nc5 35. Rxe6+ Nxe6 36. Rh6 1 : 0.

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