45° à l’ombre

Vijay Raghav – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

100th Paris City Chess Championship; time control: 1 hour and 30 minutes plus 30 seconds per move at the finish; Paris, July 16, 2025

Sicilian Defence B32

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 5. Nb3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. 0-0 d6 8. Nc3 Bxc3!? Apparently, the advantage of the Bishop pair is not an absolute for 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán).
9. bxc3 Nf6 10. c4!? White sets fire to the powder with a bold sacrifice of a Pawn. Nevertheless, 10. Bd3, followed by Kg1-h1 and f2-f4, might have been a less committal way of implementing the claim to an advantage.
10. ... Nxe4 11. Bf3 Nf6 12. Bh6 Ne5 13. Re1

13. ... Bg4? This glaring error gives White two pieces for a Rook. Black should rather play 13. ... Nfg4! 14. c5! dxc5 15. Bg7 c4∞ with complex play.
14. Rxe5 dxe5 15. Bxg4 Rd8 16. Qe2 Nxg4 17. Qxg4 f6 18. Be3 Qa6 19. h4 Kf7 20. h5 Rc8 21. Nc5 Qc6 22. Ne4 Rhd8 23. Rb1 Qd7 24. Qh4 Rg8 25. Nc5 Qd6 26. Nxb7 Qc6 27. Nc5 Rc7 28. hxg6+ hxg6

29. Rb8! Rcc8 (29. ... Rxb8 30. Qh7+ Kf8 31. Bh6+ Ke8 32. Qg8#)
30. Rb7 Rh8 31. Qe4 Rcd8 32. Rb1 Qc8 33. Nd3 Rh5 34. f3 Rdh8 35. Kf2 Rd8 36. c5 Qe6 37. Rb3 Rh2 38. c6 g5 39. c7 Rc8 40. Kg1 Rch8 41. Qg4 Rh1+ 42. Kf2 Qc6

43. Nxe5+! fxe5 44. Qf5+ Kg7 45. Qxg5+ Kf7 46. Qf5+ Kg7 47. Qxe5+ Kg6 48. Qg5+ Kh7 49. Qf5+ Kg7 50. Bd4+ Kh6 51. Qf4+ Kg6 52. Qg4+ Kf7 53. Qf5+ 1–0.