Chance and Luck

Huseyin Can Agdelen – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
23rd European Individual Chess Championship; Vrnjačka Banja, March 4, 2023
Sicilian Defence B45

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Ne4 Bb7. A move first introduced by Lékó against Kasparov at the 16th Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez “Ciudad de Linares” in 1999. As Grandmaster Edmar Mednis wrote in his column for Chess Life, No. 12, December 1999, p. 840, “The idea is wonderfully thematic: Black gets ready to mobilize his do-nothing Bishop along a key central diagonal”.
9. Be2 c5 10. 0-0 Qc7 11. Nd6+. “Here we have the first demonstration of the value of 8. ... Bb7!. Black was threatening to capture on e5, while 11. e4 is met by 11. ... Ne3! 12. Bxe3 Bxe4, with equality”. (Mednis, ibidem).
11. ... Bxd6 12. exd6 Qc6. It is obvious that the capture of the d6-Pawn would cost a piece.
13. f3. “The mate threat on g2 must be attended to (13. c4? Nc3!), while after 13. Bf3 c4!, White’s light-squared Bishop has little to do”. (Mednis, ibidem).
13. ... e5!? Strangely enough, Black allows White to drive the Knight away with c2-c4, which may seem antithetical to the theory of the line, but she aims at simplifying the position, even at the cost of a Pawn. Most usual is 13. ... c4 14. Qd4 0-0 15. Bxc4 Rfc8 16. b3 Qxd6 17. Rd1 Qb6 18. Qxb6 axb6 19. a4 Bc6 20. Bd2 Nf6 21. Bf1 d5 22. Be3 Nd7 23. c4 Nc5 24. Rab1 Nxb3 25. cxd5 Bxd5 26. Rxd5 exd5 27. Rxb3 Rxa4 28. Bxb6⩲ Shirov – Westerberg, 31st European Chess Club Cup, Skopje 2015.
14. c4 Nf4 15. Bxf4 exf4 16. Qd2 0-0 17. Qxf4

17. ... Rfe8. This just seems to be a case of “wrong Rook”. Play usually goes 17. ... Rae8 18. Bd3 Re6 19. Rad1 g6 20. Be4 (20. Bc2 Qa6 21. Bb3 Rfe8 22. h3 ½ : ½ Iljiushenok – Chigaev, 21st Karpov Tournament, Poykovsky 2022) 20. ... Qa6 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. Rd2 Rfe8 23. h4 Re5 24. Rfd1 a5 ½ : ½ Ganguly – Fedoseev, 55th Meisterturnier MTO, Biel/Bienne 2022.
18. Bd3 Re6

19. Be4. But White doesn’t seize his chance, viz.: 19. Bf5 Qxd6 20. Qxd6 Rxd6 21. Rad1 retaining his extra Pawn under more satisfactory conditions than in the game — it is just the case to note that, had Black’s Queen’s Rook been on f8 rather than on a8, she could now simply play 21. ... Ra6! 22. Rxd7 Bc8= (no back rank mate!).
19. ... Qb6 20. Bxb7 Qxb7 21. b3 Qb6 22. Rad1 a5 23. Rfe1 a4 24. Rxe6 fxe6 25. Qe3 Qb4 26. h3 Qa3 27. Rd2 Rb8 28. Kh2 axb3 29. axb3 Rxb3 30. Qg5 Rb8 31. Rd1 h6 32. Qe7 Qa4 33. Re1 Kh7 34. Re4 Rb1 35. Rg4 Qa1 36. Qf7. Or 36. Qxd7 Rh1+ 37. Kg3 Qe5+ 38. Kh4 Qf6+ with perpetual check.
36. ... Rh1+ 37. Kg3 Qf6

38. Qxd7?? A dramatic mistake, which loses right off. Of course, the exchange of Queens would be very bad as well, but after 38. Qe8! Black seems to have nothing better than 38. ... Qe5+ 39. Kh4 Qf6+ with a draw.
38. ... h5!−+ 39. Re4 Qg5+ 40. Kf2 Rh2 0 : 1.

In one of her rare appearances outside Russia, Goryachkina has no other choice than to do everything possible to make her presence count for something. Photo: European Chess Union.