The Mirror’s Tale

[Event "5th Blitz «Tournament of Stars»"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2025.06.30"]
[Round "10.5"]
[White "侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) CHN"]
[Black "Sadhwani, Raunak IND"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B21"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[PlyCount "50"]

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qd3 g6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Nc3 d6 7.Be2 Nf6 8.O-O O-O 9.Nd5 Nd7 10.c3 e6 11.Ne3 Nc5 12.Qc2 f5 13.exf5 gxf5 14.Rd1 Qc7 15.Nf1 Kh8 16.Ng3 f4 17.Nh5 e5 18.Nxg7 Qxg7 19.Rxd6 Bh3 20.g3 Bf5 21.Qd1 Ne4 22.Rd5 fxg3 23.fxg3 Nxg3 24.Bg5 Nxe2+ 25.Qxe2 Bg4 0-1

Sneakers, jeans, and ponytail. Photo: chessstars.ru.

[Event "5th Blitz «Tournament of Stars»"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2025.06.30"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) CHN"]
[Black "Gunina, Valentina Evgenyevna RUS"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B23"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[PlyCount "93"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 e5 4.Ng3 d6 5.Bc4 g6 6.d3 Bg7 7.h4 h5 8.Bg5 Bf6 9.Qd2 Be6 10.Nd5 Bxd5 11.Bxd5 Bxg5 12.hxg5 Nge7 13.a3 Qd7 14.f3 Nxd5 15.exd5 Ne7 16.Ne4 O-O-O 17.Nf6 Qa4 18.O-O-O Kb8 19.g3 Rc8 20.Rh4 Qa6 21.Re4 Nf5 22.Qf2 c4 23.dxc4 Rxc4 24.Rxc4 Qxc4 25.Kb1 Rc8 26.Rd3 Qa4 27.Ne4 Qa6 28.Qd2 Nd4 29.Nc3 Qc4 30.f4 b5 31.fxe5 dxe5 32.Qe3 Re8 33.Qe4 a5 34.b3 Qc5 35.Re3 b4 36.axb4 axb4 37.Na4 Qd6 38.Rd3 Re7 39.Kb2 Rc7 40.Rd2 Rd7 41.Qd3 Qxd5 42.Nb6 Qa5 43.Nxd7+ Kc7 44.Nxe5 Nb5 45.Qd7+ Kb6 46.Qc6+ Ka7 47.Rd7+ 1-0

[Event "5th Blitz «Tournament of Stars»"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2025.06.30"]
[Round "12.5"]
[White "Alexandrovich Karjakin, Sergey RUS"]
[Black "侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) CHN"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[PlyCount "38"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Re8 11.Bf4 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Ne8 13.c3 d5 14.Bd3 g6 15.Nd2 c6 16.Qe2 Ng7 17.Re1 Bf5 18.Bxf5 Nxf5 19.Nf3 Qd7 1/2-1/2

[Event "5th Blitz «Tournament of Stars»"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2025.06.30"]
[Round "13.2"]
[White "侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) CHN"]
[Black "Goryachkina, Aleksandra Yuryevna RUS"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B45"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[PlyCount "93"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 e6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.O-O Nf6 9.Qe2 O-O 10.b3 Qc7 11.Bb2 Bd6 12.h3 d4 13.Na4 e5 14.c3 dxc3 15.Bxc3 Qe7 16.Rac1 Nd7 17.Bb2 Bb7 18.Qe3 Rfe8 19.Rfd1 Nf8 20.Nc5 Bc8 21.Bf1 Ng6 22.Rd2 Nf4 23.Ba3 Bxc5 24.Bxc5 Qg5 25.Kh2 Qh5 26.Qg3 Be6 27.Be3 Rac8 28.Bxf4 exf4 29.Qxf4 Qa5 30.Qe3 h6 31.Rc5 Qb4 32.f3 a5 33.Bc4 Bxc4 34.Rxc4 Qb5 35.Qc5 Qb8+ 36.Qd6 Qb6 37.Rdc2 Re6 38.Qd7 Rc7 39.Qd8+ Kh7 40.Rc5 Rg6 41.Re5 a4 42.Re8 Rf6 43.bxa4 c5 44.e5 Rfc6 45.Rh8+ Kg6 46.Qd3+ Kg5 47.Qe4 1-0

A geopolitical Eurasia in the making? Photo: chessstars.ru.

[Event "5th Blitz «Tournament of Stars»"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2025.06.30"]
[Round "14.4"]
[White "Lagno, Ekaterina Aleksandrovna RUS"]
[Black "侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) CHN"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B84"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[PlyCount "136"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 a6 4.a4 e6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Be2 Qc7 8.O-O b6 9.f4 Bb7 10.Bf3 Nbd7 11.Qe2 Rc8 12.Be3 Be7 13.f5 e5 14.Nb3 O-O 15.Rad1 Qb8 16.Nd2 Qa8 17.Bf2 Rfe8 18.Nc4 Qb8 19.Nd2 d5 20.exd5 Bb4 21.Nde4 Bxc3 22.bxc3 Nxd5 23.c4 N5f6 24.Nd6 e4 25.Nxe8 Rxe8 26.Bg4 Qc7 27.Bh3 Qc6 28.Bg3 h6 29.Rd6 Qc5+ 30.Kh1 Rc8 31.Rfd1 Bc6 32.Bf2 Qb4 33.Bh4 Bxa4 34.Bxf6 Nxf6 35.Rxf6 gxf6 36.Qxe4 Qxc4 37.Qe7 Bxc2 38.Re1 Kg7 39.Re3 Bd3 40.Rg3+ Kh7 41.Re3 Qc1+ 42.Re1 Qc4 43.Qxf6 Re8 44.Rg1 Qd5 45.Qc3 a5 46.f6 Bg6 47.Bg4 Qe5 48.Qc6 b5 49.Bf3 Re6 50.Qa8 a4 51.Rf1 Rxf6 52.h3 Bd3 53.Rc1 Bg6 54.Rc8 Rd6 55.Rc1 Qe3 56.Rf1 Qe5 57.Rc1 Qf4 58.Re1 Re6 59.Rd1 Qg3 60.Qa5 a3 61.Qxa3 Re1+ 62.Rxe1 Qxe1+ 63.Kh2 b4 64.Qb2 Qc3 65.Qe2 b3 66.Kh1 b2 67.Be4 Qc1+ 68.Kh2 Qf4+ 0-1

[Event "5th Blitz «Tournament of Stars»"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2025.06.30"]
[Round "15.3"]
[White "侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) CHN"]
[Black "Assaubayeva, Bibisara Erkhanovna KAZ"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[PlyCount "115"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Nd5 Nd7 11.Bc4 Rc8 12.Qe2 Nb6 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.Bxe6 Qxe6 15.a5 Nd7 16.b3 O-O 17.O-O Rc3 18.Rfd1 Rfc8 19.Rd2 Nf6 20.Rad1 Ne8 21.h3 h6 22.Nh4 g6 23.Nf3 Kg7 24.Nh2 R8c5 25.Ra1 Nf6 26.Ng4 Nxg4 27.hxg4 d5 28.exd5 Rxd5 29.Rad1 Rxd2 30.Rxd2 e4 31.Rd4 e3 32.f3 Qe5 33.Rd3 Rxd3 34.cxd3 Qd4 35.g3 g5 36.Kg2 Kf6 37.Qc2 Qb4 38.Kf1 Qxa5 39.Ke2 Qe5 40.Qc8 Qe7 41.Qf5+ Kg7 42.d4 b6 43.Qd3 a5 44.d5 Qd6 45.Qd4+ f6 46.Kxe3 Kf7 47.Qc4 Ke7 48.Qe4+ Qe5 49.Kd3 Kd6 50.Kc4 Qb2 51.Qe6+ Kc7 52.Qc6+ Kd8 53.Qxb6+ Ke8 54.Qe6+ Kd8 55.d6 Qc2+ 56.Kb5 Qd3+ 57.Kxa5 Qd2+ 58.b4 1-0

[Event "5th Blitz «Tournament of Stars»"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2025.06.30"]
[Round "16.3"]
[White "Tomashevsky, Evgeny Yuryevich RUS"]
[Black "侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) CHN"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D31"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[PlyCount "27"]

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 a6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bg5 Be6 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bd3 c6 9.Qc2 Bd6 10.Bf4 Qc7 11.Bxd6 Qxd6 12.O-O O-O 13.h3 Qe7 14.Rab1 1/2-1/2

[Event "5th Blitz «Tournament of Stars»"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2025.06.30"]
[Round "17.4"]
[White "侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) CHN"]
[Black "Artemiev, Vladislav Mikhailovich RUS"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B49"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[PlyCount "138"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Be2 b5 8.Nxc6 Qxc6 9.a3 Bb7 10.Bf3 Qc7 11.e5 Ne7 12.Be4 Ng6 13.f4 b4 14.axb4 Bxb4 15.Bxb7 Qxb7 16.O-O Bxc3 17.bxc3 O-O 18.c4 Rfc8 19.Qd3 Nh4 20.Rf2 Nf5 21.c5 a5 22.Rd2 Nxe3 23.Qxe3 h6 24.Qd4 Ra7 25.Rd3 Qc6 26.Rc3 a4 27.Raa3 Ra5 28.Rc4 Rxc5 29.Rxc5 Qxc5 30.Qxc5 Rxc5 31.Rxa4 Rxc2 32.Ra8+ Kh7 33.Rd8 Rd2 34.h3 g5 35.fxg5 hxg5 36.Kh2 Kg6 37.Kg3 f6 38.exf6 Kxf6 39.Rf8+ Kg7 40.Rd8 d5 41.Kf3 Kf6 42.g3 Rd4 43.Rf8+ Kg7 44.Re8 Kf7 45.Rd8 Rb4 46.Rc8 Ra4 47.Rd8 Kg7 48.Re8 Kf7 49.Rd8 Rc4 50.Ra8 e5 51.Ra6 Rb4 52.Rd6 Rb3+ 53.Kg4 d4 54.Kf5 Re3 55.g4 d3 56.Kxg5 Rxh3 57.Kf5 Re3 58.g5 Ke7 59.Rd5 e4 60.g6 Re1 61.g7 Kf7 62.Rd7+ Kg8 63.Kf6 Rf1+ 64.Kg6 Rg1+ 65.Kf6 Kh7 66.Kf5 Rxg7 67.Rd4 Re7 68.Kf6 Re8 69.Kf5 e3 0-1

[Event "5th Blitz «Tournament of Stars»"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2025.06.30"]
[Round "18.2"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour Boris oghlu AZE"]
[Black "侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) CHN"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B50"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[PlyCount "61"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.d3 e6 5.O-O Nf6 6.c3 Be7 7.Re1 a6 8.a4 O-O 9.Nbd2 b6 10.Nf1 Bb7 11.Bf4 Nh5 12.Be3 d5 13.exd5 exd5 14.Ba2 Nf6 15.Ng3 Qd7 16.Qd2 Rad8 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bxh6 gxh6 19.Qxh6 Nh7 20.d4 Qd6 21.Qd2 Bc8 22.Bb1 Bg4 23.Ne5 Nxe5 24.dxe5 Qc6 25.Qf4 Bc8 26.Nh5 Kh8 27.Nf6 Rg8 28.Qh6 Rg7 29.Bxh7 Bxf6 30.Bc2+ Kg8 31.exf6 1-0

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is thinking far and high. Photo: chessstars.ru.