无法满足 (I Can’t Get No Satisfaction)

13th Women’s World Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) speaks after winning her first game of the tournament: “I’m satisfied with the quality of my play”.

涅墨西斯 (Nemesis)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Baadur Jobava
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 23, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B15

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. c3 Qd5!? 7. Nf3 (7. Ne2!? Bd6 8. Nf4 Qe4+ 9. Qe2 Qxe2+ 10. Bxe2 0-0 11. Be3 Re8 12. Kd2 Nd7 13. Rae1 c5!=) 7. ... Bd6 8. Be2 (8. Bd3 0-0 9. 0-0 Bg4! Δ 10. Qc2? Bxf3 11. Bxh7+ Kh8 12. gxf3 g6 13. Bxg6 Rg8−+) 8. ... 0-0 9. 0-0 Bc7 10. h3 Bf5! 11. Re1 Nd7 12. Nh4 Be4 13. g3 Rfe8 14. c4 Qa5 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. Bc3 Rad8 17. Bg4 Nf8 18. Re3 c5 19. d5 Bg6 20. Qe2 Rxe3 21. Qxe3 Bd6 22. f4 Qc7 23. a4 Qb8 24. Re1 Bc2 25. Bd1 Bxd1 26. Rxd1 Qc8 27. Kg2 Re8 28. Qd3 Ng6 29. Nxg6 fxg6 30. b3 Kf7 31. Re1 h5 32. Rxe8 Qxe8 33. Bd2 b6 34. a5 bxa5 35. Qe3 Qd7 36. Bxa5 Qf5 37. Be1 h4 38. g4 Qc2+ 39. Kf1

39. ... Kg8?? This is indeed an inexplicable mistake, especially since Jobava wasn’t in zeitnot. After 39. ... Kf8 40. Bxh4 a5 41. Be1 a4! Black should be able to hold his own in the ending. 40. Qe6+ Kh7 41. Qxd6. Sic et simpliciter, as Black has no perpetual check. 41. ... Qxb3 42. Kg2 Qxc4 43. Qe6 a5 44. f5 gxf5 45. Qxf5+ g6 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Alina l’Ami.

月食 (Lunar eclipse)

Loek van Wely – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; The Hague, January 21, 2015
Sicilian Defence B31

1. e4. “Loek told me he wanted to catch the 1st bus home. I told him to play 1. e4 but I didn’t expect him to take me seriously!”, Magnus Carlsen said. 1. ... c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. 0-0 Bg7 6. Re1 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8. c4 Nc7 9. d4 cxd4 10. Qxd4 0-0 11. Qh4 f6 12. Nc3 Ne6 13. Ne4 fxe5 14. Nfg5 Nxg5 15. Bxg5 Qb6

16. c5! Sharp play on the part of White. For 16. Rad1 Qxb2 17. Rd2 (17. c5 transposes to the game, while if 17. g3 then 17. ... d5!?) 17. ... Qb6 18. c5 Qa5 19. f3 d5 20. cxd6 exd6 21. Rxd6 Bf5 22. Red1 Rab8 23. Be7 Bxe4 24. Bxf8 Bd5 25. Be7 Qxa2 26. Re1 Qd2 27. Rd7 Rb2 28. Qg3 Bh6 29. Rd8+ Kf7 30. Ba3 Rc2 31. Rd7+ Kg8 32. Rd8+ Kf7 33. Rd7+ Kg8 34. Kh1 Bf4 35. Rb1 Rc1+ 36. Rxc1 Bxg3 37. Rb1 e4 38. fxe4 Qd3 39. Rd8+ Kg7 40. Rb7+ Kh6 41. Bf8+ Kg5 42. hxg3 Qxe4 43. Rb2 Qe5 44. Rdb8 Qxg3 45. R8b4 a5 46. Rb7 a4 47. Be7+ Kh5 48. Bc5 h6 49. Rf2 Qc3 50. Bb4 Qe3 51. Kg1 a3 52. Re7 Qd4 53. Bxa3 Qa1+ 54. Kh2 Qxa3 55. Re5+ g5 56. Ref5 Qe3 57. Rf6 Qe5+ 58. Kg1 c5 59. R6f5 Qd4 60. Kh2 c4 61. g3 Qe4 0 : 1 Naiditsch – Sutovsky, 30th European Club Cup, Bilbao 2014. 16. ... Qxb2 17. Rad1 d5?! Black gives back one of her two extra Pawns in the vain hope to slow down the opponent’s initiative. Grandmaster Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez suggests 17. ... Qxa2 18. Bxe7 (18. g3!?) 18. ... Rf4 19. Qg3 a5!? with a double-edged position in which “Black could even consider sacrificing the Exchange on e4”. 18. cxd6 exd6 19. Rxd6. As a matter of fact the Black King’s position remains precarious. 19. ... Bf5 20. Nf6+ Bxf6 21. Bxf6 (21. Qc4+ Rf7 22. Rxf6 Rf8 23. Bh6) 21. ... Rab8?? A careless blunder, which is punished dramatically. The last hope of saving the game lay in 21. ... Qxa2 22. h3 a5, as pointed out by Ramírez Álvarez. 22. Qc4+. Sic et simpliciter. 22. ... Rf7 23. Red1! Black is doomed. 23. ... Qb1!? Sheer desperation, but also after 23. ... Rf8 24. Rd8 les jeux sont faits. 24. h3! Mercilessly. 1 : 0. “When you are Black, you normally should be worried about your King”, then Loek van Wely said.

Traveling by bus from Wijk aan Zee to The Hague. Photo: Evgeny Anatolyevich Surov.

Loek van Wely vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Alina l’Ami.

海牙 (The Hague)

The fourteen participants at the 77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament arrived today in The Hague. In the centre of the picture stands the only woman — 13th Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Chess-News.ru.

大钢蛇

Magnus Carlsen – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 17, 2015
Sicilian Defence B32

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. N1c3 a6 8. Na3 Be6 9. Nc2 Bg5 10. Be2 Bxc1 11. Rxc1 Nf6 12. 0-0 0-0 13. Qd2 Qb6 14. Rfd1 Rfd8 15. b3 h6 16. h3. Charmless is 16. Bf3 Qa7 ½ : ½ A. Kovacević – Grigore, 34th Chess Olympiad, Istanbul 2000. 16. ... Qa7 17. Bf3 Ne7 18. Ne3 Nc6 19. Bg4 Nd4 20. Bxe6 fxe6 21. Nc2 Nxc2 22. Rxc2 Rd7 23. Qe2 Rad8 24. Rd3 Qc5 25. Na4 Qc6 26. Re3 b6 27. Nb2 Rf7 28. Rd2 Nd7 29. Nd3 a5. “Where did 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) go wrong today? Only 29. ... a5 jumps out at me. Tough game to understand”, Jan Gustafsson tweeted. 30. Nb2 Nc5 31. Nd1 Rdf8 32. Qe1 Rd8 33. Nc3 Rfd7 34. Qd1 Na6 35. Qh5 Nc7 36. Rg3 Kh8 37. Rdd3 Re7 38. Rg6 Qe8 39. Rdg3 Rdd7 40. Nd1 Rf7 41. Qe2 Rf4 42. Qe3 b5 43. Nb2 Rdf7 44. c5! Qc6 45. Nd3 b4 46. Qe2 Rh4 47. R6g4 Rxg4 48. Qxg4 Kg8 49. Qh5 Nb5 50. Rg4? A serious slip. The immediate 50. Qxh6 Qxe4 51. Qxe6+− was called for. 50. ... Nc3 51. Qxh6

51. ... Nxe4? Correct was 51. ... Qxe4! for after 52. Rxe4 gxh6 53. Rg4+ Kh7 54. cxd6 Rd7 55. Nxe5 Rxd6 White is a Pawn ahead, but there’s still lots of play left. 52. Qxe6 Nxf2? From bad to worse, but also after 52. ... Nxc5 53. Nxe5 Nxe6 54. Nxc6 Rc7 55. Nxa5 Rc1+ 56. Kh2 Rc2 57. Rxb4 Rxa2 58. Nb7 White should win. 53. Nxe5! Nxh3+ 54. Kh2! 1 : 0. “Magnus has played incredibly well today, he has slowly outplayed her”, then Carlsen’s second Peter Heine Nielsen said to TV 2.

This time the “battle of sexes” was won by the man. Photo: Alina l’Ami.

东南亚 (Southeast Asia)

Wesley So – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Rotterdam, January 15, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 0-0 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. 0-0 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Qh5 Nc6 14. Nb3 Be8 15. a3. A sharp tactical skirmish begins. 15. ... f5 16. Qe2 Bxa3 17. bxa3 fxe4 18. Nc5 Ne5 19. Ba2 Nf3+ 20. Kh1

20. ... Qh4. “A somewhat strange game. A Ragozin turned into a strange structure where 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s attack on the Kingside (which came out of nowhere) netted her an extra Pawn, but with a dubious pawn structure. So did not respond in the best way and Black’s Bishop and potential passed Queenside Pawn promised her good chances in the endgame. After a mistake in time pressure, it was Hóu Yìfán who was against the ropes as she underestimated the danger against her exposed King”, Grandmaster Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez writes. 21. gxf3 Bh5 22. Bxe6+ Kh8 23. Bg4 exf3 24. Qb2 Bxg4 25. Rg1 Rf7 26. Qd4 h5 27. Nd3 Rd8 28. Qe4 Qe7 29. Qxe7 Rxe7 30. Nf4 Kh7 31. Rc5 g6 32. h3 Bf5 33. Nxh5 Bxh3 34. Kh2 Bf5 35. Nf6+ Kh6 36. e4 Rf8 37. e5 b6 38. Rd5 Kg7 39. Kg3 Be6 40. Rh1 Bg8 41. Kf4 Rc8 42. Rd4 b5 43. Re1 a5 44. Kxf3 Rc3+ 45. Kf4 Rxa3 46. Nxg8 Kxg8 47. e6 Ra4! Black forces the exchange of Rooks. 48. Rxa4 bxa4 49. Ke5 Kg7 50. Kd6 Kf8 51. Rc1. If, instead, 51. Rh1 then 51. ... Ra7! is sufficient to hold the draw. 51. ... Re8 52. Ke5 a3! 53. Kf6 a2! 54. Ra1. “54. f4! Rb8□ 55. Rd1! Ke8□ 56. Rh1! Kd8□ 57. Kf7! Rb1□ 58. e7+ Kc7 59. e8=Q a1=Q 60. Qe7+ Kc8 61. Qc5+ Kb7 White has the initiative and some practical chances here”, Dennis Monokroussos writes. 54. ... Rb8 55. f4 Rb4 56. f5 gxf5 57. Rxa2 Rh4 58. Rd2 Rh6+ 59. Ke5 Rh1 60. Kd6 Ke8 61. Rg2 Rd1+ 62. Ke5 Rh1 63. Rg6 Ke7 64. Rg7+ Ke8 65. Kf6 Rh6+ 66. Ke5 Rh1 ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Pro Shots/Martijn Buskermolen.

Anticonformity

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 13, 2015
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bc1 Nf6 8. Be3 Ng4 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Bg7 12. h3 Ne5 13. Be2. The alternative is 13. f3, e.g. 13. ... Nbc6 14. Bf2 Be6 15. h4 Rc8 16. hxg5 hxg5 17. Rxh8+ Bxh8 18. Qd2 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Qa5 20. a3 Nc4 21. Bxc4 Bxd4 22. Qxd4 Rxc4 23. Qd2 Qc5 24. 0-0-0 b5 25. Ne2 Qf2 26. b3 Rc5 27. Nd4 Qxd2+ 28. Kxd2 g4 29. Rh1 gxf3 30. gxf3 Kd7 31. Rh8 Rc8 32. Rxc8 Kxc8 33. Nxe6 fxe6 34. f4 Kd7 35. Kc3 Kc6 36. Kd4 a5 37. c3 Kc7 38. c4 Kc6 39. cxb5+ Kxb5 40. f5 exf5 41. exf5 1 : 0 Ivanchuk – Gelfand, 北京市 (Běijīng) 2014. 13. ... Nbc6 14. Nb3. No better looks 14. Nf5 Bxf5 15. exf5 0-0 16. Nd5 e6 17. Ne3 d5 18. fxe6 fxe6 19. 0-0 Ng6 20. Bg4 Qf6 21. c3 Nf4 22. Re1 Rad8 23. Qb3 Rf7 24. Rad1 ½ : ½ G. Szabo – Safarli, 10th European Individual Championship, Budva 2009. 14. ... b5 15. a4!? A novelty. The previous was 15. Nd5 Nc4 16. Bxc4 bxc4 17. Nd2 Bxb2 18. Rb1 Be5 19. Nxc4 Bxg3 20. fxg3 Be6 21. 0-0 Rb8 22. Rb3 Rb5 23. Kh2 0-0 24. Nce3 Ne5 25. c4 Rc5 26. Qh5 Kh7 27. Rb7 Re8 28. Nf5 Bxf5 29. exf5 Rf8 30. Nxe7 Qa8 31. Rfb1 Rb5 32. cxb5 Qxb7 33. f6 Qe4 34. Rf1 Rh8 35. Nf5 Kg8 36. bxa6 1 : 0 M. Adams – Vallejo Pons, xxii Torneo Ciudad de Linares, Linares 2005. 15. ... b4 16. Nd5 e6 17. Ne3 Bb7. “17. ... Ra7 followed by ... Ra7-d7 is interesting. It’s a manever I’ve seen in a few Sicilians, and it serves to shore up the somewhat weak Black d-pawn”, Dennis Monokroussos writes. 18. Qd2 Qc7 19. 0-0-0 0-0-0 20. Kb1 Kb8 21. f3. The simple means by which White obtained a clear positional advantage are noteworthy.

21. ... a5 22. h4! Chuky increases the pressure inexorably on both wings. 22. ... Na7 23. Nd4! Ng6 24. hxg5 hxg5 25. Rxh8 Bxh8 26. Bc4 Nf4 27. Bb3 Qc5. After the game Ivanchuk confessed to be suddenly fallen into a panic. He had completely overlooked 27. ... Bxd4 28. Qxd4 Ne2? with a double attack on Queen and Bishop, but luckily for him he realized that 29. Qxd6! would have won. 28. Nc4! Ba6? The fatal blunder. There was some hope in 28. ... Qxd4 29. Qxd4 Bxd4 30. Rxd4 Nc6, although after 31. Rxd6 White retains a huge advantage. 29. Bf2! Bxc4 30. Nb5! 1 : 0. For after 30. ... Qc6 31. Bxa7+ Ka8 (or 31. ... Kb7 32. Bxc4 Qxc4 33. Qxd6! winning) 32. Bxc4 Qxc4 33. Bb6 White wins. An impressive performance by Ivanchuk – just like a killing machine.

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Photo: Alina l’Ami.

Tea lady

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Anish Giri
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 13, 2015
Two Knights Defence C55

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. Re1 d6 7. a4 Kh8 8. h3. If 8. Nbd2 may follow 8. ... Ng4!? (otherwise 8. ... Ng8 Δ ... f7-f5) 9. h3 Nh6 10. Nf1 f5∞. Another try is 8. c3 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. a5! Rb8! 11. Nbd2 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Ne4! f6!∞ Spasov – Mozetić, Jagodina 1994. 8. ... Ng8 9. d4 f5 10. dxe5 fxe4 11. Rxe4

11. ... Bf5. The critical alternative is 11. ... Rxf3! 12. gxf3 Bxh3 13. f4 (13. Qd5!? dxe5 14. Qxg8+ Qxg8 15. Bxg8 Kxg8 was worth considering) 13. ... Bf5 14. Nc3 Qe8! as in the game Malakhov – Predojevic, Sarajevo 2006. 12. Re1 dxe5. Or 12. ... Nxe5 13. Nxe5 dxe5 14. Qxd8 Raxd8 15. Bb3 Bc5 as in the game Podgursky – Eletskikh, Kishinev 2010. 13. Qxd8 Raxd8 14. Nc3 Nb4 15. Rxe5 Nxc2 16. Ra2 Bd6 17. Re2 Nb4 18. Ra1 Nc2 19. Ra2 Nb4 20. Ra1 Nc2 ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Alina l’Ami.