A Seat at the Table

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk – Ann Matnadze Bujiashvili
2nd FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Tournament; Douglas, October 26, 2023
Modern Defence B06

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 5. Be3 Nh6?!

6. h3! A thematic refutation. Muzychuk is not interested in what improvements Matnadze Bujiashvili might have prepared over 6. Qd2 Ng4 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bh4 Qb6 9. Bc4 Qxb2 (by the way, it’s hardly credible that Black can afford to take such a poisoned Pawn without serious consequences) 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. 0-0 Qa5 12. Rfe1 Qc7 13. h3 Nh6 14. e5 fxe5 15. dxe5 d5 16. Bxd5! with crushing advantage for White, Osmanodja – Matnadze Bujiashvili, 11th European Women’s Team Chess Championship, Reykjavík 2015.
6. ... f6 7. Qd2 Nf7 8. 0-0-0. Of course it makes sense, albeit 8. Bc4 0-0 9. a4 Nd7 10. Bb3 a5 11. h4 also gave White a very strong initiative in Sampouw – D. Cox, 21st Chess Olympiad, Nice 1974.
8. ... b5?! (8. ... Na6 9. h4 Nc7 10. Kb1±)

9. d5 b4 10. Ne2 Qa5 11. Kb1 e5? This costs Black a Pawn at least. However, after 11. ... c5 12. Nf4 Nd8 13. h4 White still dominates the board.
12. dxe6 Bxe6 13. a3 0-0 14. Qxb4 Qxb4 15. axb4 a5 16. Nf4 Re8 17. b5! cxb5 18. Bxb5 Bd7

19. Bc4! Rxe4. A desperate and vain Exchange sacrifice, trying to move something. On the other hand, if 19. ... Rc8 then 20. Ba2 Ba4 21. Rd2 Nd7 22. Nd5 Bf8 23. Nc3 Bc6 24. Nd4 with a dominant advantage.
20. Bd5 Bc6 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. Nd2 Bc6 23. Nc4 Na6 24. Nxd6. That’s all. The rest is easy for White.
24. ... Ne5 25. Nd5 a4 26. Ne7+ Kf8 27. Nxc6 Nxc6 28. Nc4 a3 29. Nxa3 f5 30. Rd6 Rc8 31. Re1 Kg8 32. Nb5 Be5 33. Na7 Nxa7 34. Rxa6 Nc6 35. Bc5 Nb8 36. Re6 Nd7 37. R6xe5 1 : 0.