Wednesday, June 17, 2026

In the Hot Seat

鹿妙夷 (Lù Miàoyí) – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
4th FIDE World Rapid Team Championship; Chessnut Nova – WR Chess; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; 香港 (Hong Kong), June 17, 2026
rr5k/p1p1Npp1/4b2p/b1p1P3/3pRP1B/8/PPP3PP/1K1R4 b - - 3 25

Position after 25. Re1-e4

The sudden inability of four-time Women’s World Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) to join the WR Chess Team gave Goryachkina the opportunity to sit just where she wouldn’t dare to venture without a clear invitation from the boss of WR Group, Wadim Alexandrowitsch Rosenstein. But the queen’s chair was too hot today, and the rising star of Chinese (women’s) chess, 鹿妙夷 (Lù Miàoyí), gave Goryachkina a hard time.
25. ... Rxb2+! 26. Kxb2 Rb8+ 27. Kc1 Bxa2 28. c4


28. ... Bb4? Goryachkina played very well so far, but here she misses the best way to make sense of her initiative: 28. ... Bc3! (Δ 29. ... Rb1+ 30. Kc2 Rb2+ 31. Kc1 Bb3−+) 29. Be1 Rb1 30. Kc2 Rb2+ 31. Kd3 Rb1 with a likely draw.
29. Nc6 Ba3+ 30. Kd2 Rb2+ 31. Ke1 Bxc4 32. Ra1 Bd3? 32. ... Rb3! 33. Ne7 Kh7! 34. f5 Bb2 35. Rxa7 Bc3+ 36. Kf2 Rb2+ 37. Kg3 Rb3∞ was Black’s last chance to hang on to a possible draw.
33. Rxd4 cxd4 34. Rxa3 Be4 35. Nxd4 Rxg2 36. Bg3 Rb2 37. Rxa7. Black has not enough for the piece. The rest is a matter of technique for 鹿妙夷 (Lù Miàoyí).
37. ... c5 38. Ne2 Bf3 39. Nc3 Kg8 40. Rc7 h5 41. Rxc5 h4 42. Bxh4 Rxh2 43. Bg5 Bg4 44. Nd5 Kh7 45. Ne7 Bd7 46. Rd5 Bg4 47. Rd2 Rh1+ 48. Kf2 Rh2+ 49. Ke3 Rh3+ 50. Kd4 Bd7 51. Ke4 Bg4 52. f5 Rh5 53. Kf4 Bh3 54. Rh2 g6 55. fxg6+ fxg6 56. Nd5 Kg7 57. Nf6 Rh8 58. Kg3 Be6 59. Rxh8 Kxh8 60. Bh6 g5 61. Bxg5 Kg7 62. Kf4 Kf7 63. Ne4 Ba2 64. Nc5 Ke8 65. Ke4 Kf7 66. Bf6 Kg6 67. Nd3 Kf7 68. Nf4 Bb3 69. Kd4 Ba2 70. Kc5 Bb3 71. Kd6 Ba2 72. Nd5 Bb3 73. e6+ Kg6 74. Bc3 Ba4 75. Nb6 Bb3 76. e7 Bf7 77. Kd7 Kf5 78. Nc8 Bh5 79. Nd6+ Kf4 80. Bb2 Bg4+ 81. Kc6 Bh5 82. Bf6 Bf3+ 83. Kd7 Bg4+ 84. Ke8 Be6 85. Kd8 1–0.

Si duo faciunt idem, non est idem. Photo: Michał Walusza/FIDE.

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