New Deal

Irina Borisivna Krush – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

1st Tech Mahindra Global Chess League; SG Alpine Warriors – Ganges Grandmasters; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Dubai, June 23, 2023

Nimzo-Indian Defence E53

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. dxc5 Nbd7 9. Bd2 Nxc5 10. Be2 Ba5. The alternative 10. ... Ne6 11. 0-0 a6 12. Qb3 Be7 13. Rfd1 b5 14. Be1 Bb7 15. a3 Rc8 also proved reasonably good for Black in Krush – Wojtaszek, 2nd Qatar Masters Open, Doha 2015.
11. 0-0 Nce4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Bxa5 Qxa5 14. Nd4 Qg5 15. Kh1 Bg4

16. Rc1. Likewise after 16. Bxg4 Nxg4 17. h3 Ne5 18. Qb3 Nd3 Black equalised and a draw soon followed: 19. Qxb7 Nxf2+ 20. Rxf2 Qxe3 21. Rxf7 Qxd4 22. Raf1 Rfb8 23. Qc6 h6 24. Qe6 Kh8 25. R1f6 Rb6 26. Rf8+ Rxf8 27. Rxf8+ Kh7 28. Qg8+ Kg6 29. Rd8 Qe5 30. Rd5 ½ : ½ Rambaldi – Pelletier, 38th French Team Chess Championship, Chartres 2017.
16. ... Rac8 17. h3 Bxe2 18. Qxe2 a6 19. Rc2

19. ... h5 20. Rfc1 Rxc2 21. Rxc2 Rd8 22. Rc7 Qd5 23. a3

23. ... Ne8. Naturally so; Black has no difficulty in holding the draw.
24. Rc3 Qe5 25. Qc2 g6 26. Rc5 Qe7 27. b4 Rd7 28. Rc8 Kh7 29. Qc3 Rd8 (29. ... Rc7 30. Rxc7 Qxc7=)
30. Rc5 Rd7 31. Rc8 Rd8 32. Rc5 Rd7 33. Rc8 Rd8 ½ : ½.

Today 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) has left the stage to her teammates, who actually led the team to a second consecutive win. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova/Global Chess League.