An Atlantic Passage

Ann Matnadze Bujiashvili – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
2nd FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Tournament; Douglas, October 25, 2023
8/6p1/5k2/p2b1P1B/P2Pp2P/1p2K3/5r2/6R1 b - - 3 50

Position after 50. Kf4-e3

In a crazy game, Goryachkina went from riches to rags and rags to rugs:
50. ... Rxf5?? Blundering the Exchange and the game. 50. ... Rc2 would have won easily.
51. Bg4 Rf3+ 52. Bxf3 exf3

53. h5? A tragedy of errors begins and ends within a couple of moves. 53. Rc1 is the winning move here, for if 53. ... f2 (otherwise Rc1-c5-b5 follows) then 54. Rf1+− (54. Kxf2?? Be4−+).
53. ... Bf7? (53. ... Kf5 54. Rg6 f2! 55. Kxf2 Ke4 56. Ke2 Kxd4 57. Kd2 b2 58. Rb6 Bc6! 59. Rxb2 Bxa4=)
54. Rc1? (54. Rb1)
54. ... Be8= 55. Rc8 Bxa4 56. Rb8 Ke6 57. Kxf3 Kd5 58. Ke3 Kc4 59. Kd2 Kxd4 60. Rb7 Be8 61. Rxb3 Bxh5 62. Rb5 Bf7 63. Rxa5 g6 64. Ra7 Be6 65. Rg7 Bf5 66. Ke2 ½ : ½.

Apparently, Goryachkina still has to acclimatise herself to her new environment. Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE.