Squaring the circle

Nazerke Nurgali – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina

9th Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Samarkand, December 26, 2023

Slav Defence D12

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. h3. Many of Goryachkina’s adversaries, both online and offline, preferred here 6. Nh4, which is certainly more ambitious than the text.
6. ... Nbd7 7. Bd3 Bg6 8. Bxg6. A model strategy for White is 8. 0-0 Bb4 9. Bxg6 hxg6 10. Qb3 a5 11. Ne2 dxc4 12. Qxc4 0-0 13. Qc2 Qe7 14. b3 Rfe8 15. Bb2 Ba3 16. Bc3 Bb4 17. Bb2 Ba3 18. Bc3 Bb4 19. Bb2 ½ : ½ Nakamura – Giri, 6th Online Speed Chess Championship Main Event, chess.com, December 6, 2021, Quarterfinal match game 1 (time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move)
8. ... hxg6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Rb1. If 10. Qb3 then 10. ... Qb6 with easy play for Black.
10. ... Bd6 11. Qc2 Qe7 12. a3 a5 13. Bd2 Nb6 14. a4?! White insists on her undeveloping policy, with consequences easy to guess.

14. ... Nbd7 15. Na2?! Ne4 16. Nc3?! f5 17. Bc1?! g5 18. Nxe4 fxe4 19. Ng1. Nearly all White’s pieces came back home.

19. ... g4 20. Qd1 g3 21. f4 exf3 22. Nxf3 Bb4+ 23. Ke2 If 23. Bd2 then 23. ... Qxe3+ winning a Pawn and remaining with a crushing positional superiority.

23. ... 0-0-0. One can note that both castles were good for Black.
24. Qd3 Nf6 25. Bd2 Ne4 26. Bxb4 Qxb4 27. Nd2 Rhf8 28. Rhf1. Obviously not 28. Nxe4? dxe4 29. Qxe4?? on account of 29. ... Rf2+ followed by mate.
28. ... Rxf1 29. Rxf1 Qxb2 30. Rf4 Rd6. White is more or less in zugzwang.

31. Rxe4 dxe4 32. Qxe4 Qa2 33. Qg4+ Rd7 34. Qxg3 Qxa4 35. Qf3 Qb5+ 36. Ke1 a4 37. Ne4 Kb8 38. Qf8+ Ka7 39. Nc5 Qb4+ 40. Kf1 a3 41. Qg8 Rd5 0 : 1.