Thursday, December 28, 2023

Moonshot

Anastasia Mikhailovna Bodnaruk – 朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr)
9th Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Samarkand, December 27, 2023
Sicilian Defence B23

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Bc4 e6 5. Nge2 Qc7 6. d3 a6 7. Nxd4 cxd4 8. Ne2 b5 9. Bb3 Bc5. Less convincing is 9. ... Qb6 10. 0-0 Bb7 on account of 11. c3! dxc3 12. Be3 regaining the Pawn with the better game, Goryachkina – Osinenko, Titled Tuesday Blitz October 11 Early 2022, chess.com, October 11, 2022 (time control: 3 minutes plus 1 second per move).
10. c3 dxc3 11. bxc3 Ne7 12. 0-0 Bb7 13. d4 Bb6 14. Bc2 d6 15. Be3 0-0 16. Rc1 e5 17. Ng3 Rad8 18. Qh5 Ng6?! Better was 18. ... Kh8 19. Bb3 f6 with a solid defence.
19. Nf5. Intending Qh5-g4 followed by h2-h4-h5.
19. ... Rfe8 20. Qg4


20. ... Qxc3? Such greed cannot be condoned by a predestined elect. Comparatively better was still 20. ... Kh8, though now, after 21. h4 Rg8 22. Bb3 d5 23. h5 Ne7 24. Nh4! Bc8 25. Qg3 White’s initiative bites and stings.
21. Bb3 Qb4 22. dxe5 Bxe3. If 22. ... Bc5 then 23. Bd4! (Δ e5-e6) 23. ... Bxd4 (23. ... Bc8 24. Bc3! Qa3 25. exd6+−) 24. Bxf7+! Kxf7 25. Rc7+ Kf8 26. Nxd4! with irresistible attack.


23. Bxf7+! Kxf7 24. Rc7+ Kg8. Or 24. ... Kf8 25. fxe3! with a mating attack — one of the rare cases in which tripled Pawns serve.
25. Rxg7+ Kf8. If 25. ... Kh8 then 26. Rxh7+! Kxh7 27. Qh5+ with mate in two moves.
26. fxe3 Qxe4


27. Rxg6. Bodnaruk contents herself with a prosaic win rather than play for mate with 27. Rxh7; for, as they say, the end justifies the means.
27. ... Qxg4 28. Rxg4 Rxe5 29. Nxd6+ Ke7 30. Nxb7 Rd2 31. e4 h5 32. Rg7+ Ke6 33. Rgf7 Rg5 34. R7f2 Rd7 35. Rf6+ Ke5 36. Nc5 Rd2 37. Re6+ Kd4 38. Nb3+ 1 : 0.

Bodnaruk was not among the favourites to win a gold medal. Much to everyone’s surprise, however, she won. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili/Chess Federation of Russia.
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5 comments:

  1. UlisesDecember 28, 2023 at 8:04 PM

    I'm still trying to understand what Lei Tingjie was thinking in that last game against Bodnaruk.
    Did she get confused with the rules?

    ReplyDelete
  2. LorenzoDecember 28, 2023 at 9:32 PM

    Apparently, she was thinking of making her way to a tie-breaker, misinterpreting the rules. One can just note that both 朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr) and 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) played a significant role in the success of Bodnaruk.
    André Schulz writes (https://de.chessbase.com/post/carlsen-erneut-schnellschachweltmeister-bodnaruk-gewinnt-frauentitel): "So kam es in der elften und letzten Runde zu einem Entscheidungsspiel am ersten Tisch zwischen Bodnaruk und Lei Tingjie.
    Das Treffen der beiden Spitzenreiterinnen endete ohne Siegerin. Humpy Koneru gewann aber ihre Partie gegen Katerina Lagno und so beendeten Bodnaruk, Lei Tingjie und Koneru das Turnier nach elf Runden punktgleich. Ein Stichkampf wurde nötig, der aber nur zwischen den beiden Besten der Feinwertung, Bodnaruk und Koneru ausgetragen wurde."

    [Event "9th Women's World Rapid Chess Championship"]
    [Site "Samarkand UZB"]
    [Date "2023.12.28"]
    [Round "11.1"]
    [White "Lei, Tingjie CHN"]
    [Black "Bodnaruk, Anastasia M RUS"]
    [ECO "E61"]
    [Result "1/2-1/2"]
    [TimeControl "15+10"]
    [PlyCount "5"]

    1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 1/2-1/2

    ReplyDelete
  3. LorenzoDecember 28, 2023 at 9:48 PM

    I guess that the photo at the link https://www.flickr.com/photos/fide/53426446568/ might show the precise moment when 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) realises what her last-round draw means in terms of her final outcome.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UlisesDecember 28, 2023 at 10:02 PM

    What a photo!

    I don't know if I should feel sad for her or not.



    Well, Edna, one must read the rules of the tournament before participating in it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. LorenzoDecember 28, 2023 at 10:29 PM

    Maybe she got confused because the rules are different for men and women, who knows? I feel it's a pity because she has great talent and (perhaps) not enough will power -- I'm just thinking of her world match with 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn).

    ReplyDelete