Iron and Stone

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Artyom Valeryevich Timofeev
76th Russian Chess Championship Superfinal; Saint Petersburg, October 6, 2023
Catalan Opening E05

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 0-0 6. 0-0 dxc4 7. Qc2 c6 8. a4 b6 9. Na3 Bb7 10. Rd1 Bxa3. “As for the opening, I was a little shocked, because Ponkratov and Esipenko were playing the same variation as ours, and they knew their stuff”, Goryachkina said. “I felt upset when I saw Esipenko playing 10. ... Qc8 because I knew it was a good move. But, fortunately, my opponent did not know it and he did not give a look at the adjacent board either”.
11. Rxa3 Nbd7 12. Qxc4 Rc8 13. b4 c5 14. dxc5 bxc5 15. bxc5 Rxc5 16. Qb4 Qc8 17. Bb2 a5 18. Qe1

18. ... Nd5 19. Raa1 Nb4 20. Rac1 Nf6 21. Qd2 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Qd8 23. Qg5 h6 24. Bxf6 Qxf6 25. Qxa5 Qb2 26. Re1

26. ... Bd5 27. Qc7 Na2 28. e4 Ba8 29. a5 Nc3 30. Qc4 Qa3 31. Nd4 Qb2 32. Nf3 Qa3

“I had a promising position but not time enough, and perhaps I played too much for safety”, Goryachkina explained. “I could probably have held the a-Pawn, but I feared that, in case of a blunder on my part, the game would have been a draw at once. So I got to an ending with two pieces for Rook and Pawn which, if nothing else, guaranteed me the possibility of playing on for a long time”.
33. a6 Nxe4 34. Rxe4 Bxe4 35. Qxe4 Qxa6 36. h4 Qa1+ 37. Kh2 Qf6 38. Qe3 h5 39. Ng5 Rd8 40. Bf3 g6 41. Kg2 Qd4 42. Qe2 Kg7 43. Be4 Qf6 44. Qc2 Rd7 45. Bc6 Ra7 46. Be8 Qe5 47. Qc6 Rc7 48. Qa8 Qf5 49. Qd8 Qd5+ 50. Qxd5 exd5 51. Kf3 Kf8 52. Bb5 Rc3+ 53. Ke2 Ke7 54. Bd3 Ra3 55. Ke3 Ra4 56. Bf1 Ra3+ 57. Kd4 Ra2 58. Nh3 Kd6 59. Bb5 Rb2 60. Bd3 Rb4+ 61. Ke3 Ra4 62. Nf4 Ra3 63. Kd2 Ra2+ 64. Bc2 Ke5 65. Nd3+ Kd6 66. Kc3 Ra1 67. Kd4 Rf1 68. Bb3 f5 1 : 0. Timofeev exceeded the time limit while making his last move. “I feel a little embarrassed that the game ended with my opponent flagging on time; it’s a pity that victory was not won on the board”, Goryachkina said eventually. “Of course, if not for flagging, we would have played for another two hours! I think that, practically speaking, after 68. ... f5 I’m in a pretty good situation”. However, after 69. Bxd5 Ke7 70. Nd4 Kf6 it’s hard to figure out how White could have taken advantage of the weakness at g6.

Once again, Goryachkina showed her endurance and tenacity. Photo: Vladimir Leonidovich Barsky/Chess Federation of Russia.