Friday, August 2, 2024

Double Down

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Humpy Koneru
2nd FIDE World Rapid Team Chess Championship; WR Chess Team – Chessy; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Astana, August 2, 2024
Richter–Veresov Attack D01

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 a6 4. e3 h6 5. h4 c5 6. dxc5 Nc6 7. Nf3 Bg4 8. Be2 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 e5 10. Bg3 e4 11. Be2 Bxc5 12. Qd2 d4 13. exd4 Bxd4 14. 0-0-0 Qe7


侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s unorthodox opening got her into trouble quite early, but with her next move she delivers herself into her opponent’s hands:
15. Rhe1? Both 15. Bf4 and 15. Qf4 should have been considered.
15. ... 0-0 16. Bd3?! This clumsy maneuver only makes thing worse, but other moves would not promise an easier time either; for example: 16. Bc4 Rfd8 (16. ... e3! is also worth considering) 17. Bb3 Qc5 with overwhelming advantage.
16. ... Qb4 17. Bf1 Rfd8 18. Bc7 Rd7 19. Bg3 Rad8


White’s position is now very compromised, and Koneru has easy play in turning it into a winning one.
20. a3 Qc5 21. Na4 Bxb2+ 22. Kxb2 Rxd2 23. Rxd2 Qa5 24. Rxd8+ Qxd8 25. Nc3 Qb6+ 26. Ka2 Qa5 27. Re3 Ng4 28. Rxe4 Qxc3 29. Re8+ Kh7 30. Bd3+ g6 31. h5 Nge5 32. hxg6+ fxg6 0–1.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) was never in the game, suffering her second consecutive loss of the day. Photo: Niklesh Jain/ChessBase India.

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