Future in the past

Divya Deshmukh – 谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí)
2nd FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Tournament; Douglas, October 26, 2023
r7/1p3kbp/4b1p1/3p1p2/NB2p3/1P2P1P1/P4P1P/3R2K1 w - - 0 28

Position after 27. ... c6xd5

The position in the diagram is the result of a Leningrad Dutch, and may be assessed as being comfortably equal for Black, but hardly anything more — especially if White had now played 28. Rc1. Instead, it takes only one bad move to wipe out a hard-won and barely defensible comfort zone:
28. Rd2? g5! 29. Bc3 Rc8 30. Bxg7 Kxg7 31. b4 Rc1+ 32. Kg2 Bf7 33. Nc5

33. ... Bh5!? Black intends to weave a mating net by 34. ... Bf3+ 35. Kh3 Rg1, but first 33. ... d4! (also menacing ... b7-b6) would have been much stronger.
34. Ne6+ Kf6 35. Nd4 Bd1! 36. Ne2? White misses her only resource, that is, 36. a4!, with the idea 36. ... Bxa4 37. Ne2 followed by Ne2-c3.
36. ... Rb1 37. a3 Ra1 38. h3 Ke5 39. Nd4

39. ... h5! 40. b5 g4 41. hxg4 hxg4 42. Kh2 Bf3! 43. Nxf3+ gxf3 44. Rc2 Rxa3 45. Rc7 Ra2 46. Rxb7 Rxf2+ 47. Kg1 Rb2 48. Rb8 d4 49. Re8+ Kf6 50. exd4 Rxb5 51. Kf2 Kf7 52. Ra8 Rb2+ 53. Kf1 e3 54. Ra1 Ke6 55. Re1 Rf2+ 56. Kg1 Rg2+ 57. Kh1 e2 58. g4 Rxg4 59. Kh2 Kd6 0 : 1.

谭中怡 (Tán Zhōngyí) is more than ever determined to show that she be not past her prime. Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE.