Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Nurgyul Salimova
2nd Women’s Chess World Cup; Final match game 1; Baku, August 19, 2023
Queen’s Gambit Declined D35
2nd Women’s Chess World Cup; Final match game 1; Baku, August 19, 2023
Queen’s Gambit Declined D35
1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Bg4!? 8. Qc2. Other continuations are: 8. Qa4+ c6 9. Bd3 0-0 10. h3 Bh5 11. Qc2 c5! (Maghsoodloo – Carlsen, 85th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2023) or 8. Qb3 Nbd7! (Assaubayeva – Shuvalova, FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2022–23, 4th stage, Nicosia 2023).
8. ... 0-0 9. h3 Bh5 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Qf5 Bg6 12. Qxd5. Interviewed afterwards, Salimova said she was moving in terra incognita, but also that she thought the whole of her opponent’s plan, culminating in the gain of a Pawn to the detriment of development, looked very suspicious, at least from a human viewpoint.
8. ... 0-0 9. h3 Bh5 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Qf5 Bg6 12. Qxd5. Interviewed afterwards, Salimova said she was moving in terra incognita, but also that she thought the whole of her opponent’s plan, culminating in the gain of a Pawn to the detriment of development, looked very suspicious, at least from a human viewpoint.
12. ... c5!? A wild novelty! Black sacrifices a second Pawn for the attack. If one does not want to take such a risk, one can always rely on 12. ... Nc6 13. 0-0-0!? (13. Qxd8 Raxd8 14. 0-0-0 Nxd4!) 13. ... Qe7 with more than enough for the Pawn, Małek – Bartel, 80th PGNiG TERMIKA Polish Championship, Warsaw 2023.
13. Qxd8. Salimova was then shocked to learn that engines evaluated the greedy 13. Qxc5 as very advantageous for White: “I saw 13.Qxc5, of course”, she said, “but I was like, no way a human plays like this”. And, indeed, after 13. Qxc5 Nc6 14. Nf3 Rc8 Black’s advantage in development is manifest, but is it worth two Pawns? Apparently they both thought that yes, it was so.
13. ... Rxd8 14. d5. Salimova thinks that, objectively, Goryachkina did her best to keep it all together somehow, even though at the cost of some positional concession.
14. ... Bxc3+ 15. bxc3 Rxd5
13. Qxd8. Salimova was then shocked to learn that engines evaluated the greedy 13. Qxc5 as very advantageous for White: “I saw 13.Qxc5, of course”, she said, “but I was like, no way a human plays like this”. And, indeed, after 13. Qxc5 Nc6 14. Nf3 Rc8 Black’s advantage in development is manifest, but is it worth two Pawns? Apparently they both thought that yes, it was so.
13. ... Rxd8 14. d5. Salimova thinks that, objectively, Goryachkina did her best to keep it all together somehow, even though at the cost of some positional concession.
14. ... Bxc3+ 15. bxc3 Rxd5
Black has re-established equality of material, emerging with the better Pawns for the endgame.
16. Ne2 Rd6 17. Rd1 Rxd1+ 18. Kxd1 Nc6 19. Kc1 Rd8 20. Nf4 Bf5 21. Be2 g5 22. Nh5 Ne5 23. Rd1 Rxd1+ 24. Kxd1 Be6 25. a3 Nc4 26. Bxc4 Bxc4. With Bishop against Knight and the better Pawns, Black has now the preferable endgame, though it is not clear when and where Nalimova could have done better.
27. Ke1 Kf8. 27. ... Kh7 28. Nf6+ Kg6 29. Nd7 Bd5 30. f3 b6 does not seem to make too much difference.
28. Nf6 b6
16. Ne2 Rd6 17. Rd1 Rxd1+ 18. Kxd1 Nc6 19. Kc1 Rd8 20. Nf4 Bf5 21. Be2 g5 22. Nh5 Ne5 23. Rd1 Rxd1+ 24. Kxd1 Be6 25. a3 Nc4 26. Bxc4 Bxc4. With Bishop against Knight and the better Pawns, Black has now the preferable endgame, though it is not clear when and where Nalimova could have done better.
27. Ke1 Kf8. 27. ... Kh7 28. Nf6+ Kg6 29. Nd7 Bd5 30. f3 b6 does not seem to make too much difference.
28. Nf6 b6
29. f4! “This was good for her”, Nalimova sighed.
29. ... Kg7 30. Ne8+ Kf8. If 30. ... Kg6 then 31. f5+! Kh7 (31. ... Kh5?? 32. g3! g4 33. h4 ~ 34. Nf6#) 32. Nd6 Bd5 37. e4 Bc6 with equality.
31. Nf6 Kg7 32. Ne8+ Kf8 33. Nf6 ½ : ½. “Well, a draw is, of course, a good result with Black, but I feel like I was just pressing the whole game”, Nalimova said eventually.
29. ... Kg7 30. Ne8+ Kf8. If 30. ... Kg6 then 31. f5+! Kh7 (31. ... Kh5?? 32. g3! g4 33. h4 ~ 34. Nf6#) 32. Nd6 Bd5 37. e4 Bc6 with equality.
31. Nf6 Kg7 32. Ne8+ Kf8 33. Nf6 ½ : ½. “Well, a draw is, of course, a good result with Black, but I feel like I was just pressing the whole game”, Nalimova said eventually.
When asked who is her favourite woman player, Nalimova replied, with amused irony: “Actually, it’s Goryachkina”. Photo: Stev Bonhage/FIDE. |
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