One Day Ahead

Akshita Gorti – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)
58th U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, March 28, 2019
Torre Attack D03

1. d4 d5 2. Bg5 Nf6 3. e3 g6 4. Nf3. It would seem that Gorti feels more at her ease with the Torre Attack than the Trompowsky Attack (4. Bxf6). 4. ... Bg7 5. Nbd2 0-0 6. Bd3 Nbd7 7. 0-0 b6 8. c4 dxc4 9. Bxc4. 9. Nxc4 c5 should not worry Black at all, Pelletier – van Der Weide, 2nd Julian Borowski GM Turnier (Group B), Essen 2000. 9. ... Bb7 10. Qe2 c5 11. Rfd1!? A new move instead of the previous 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Rfd1 Qe8 13. Rac1 a6 14. Bf4 Nfd7 15. Nb3 b5 with quite an even game, Speelman – de la Villa Garcia, 7th International Tournament, Pamplona 1996. 11. ... Rc8 12. Rac1 cxd4 13. Nxd4

13. ... Rc5! A pretty positional Rook lift which enables Black’s Queen to take control of the a8-h1 diagonal. 14. N2f3 Qa8 15. b4 Rcc8 16. Bb5 Rfd8. Black seems to have equalised. 17. Rxc8 Qxc8 18. Qe1!? Intending Rd1-c1. 18. ... Nb8? This artificial and convoluted move might have caused Black considerable problems. Better and safer seems 18. ... h6! and if 19. Rc1 then 19. ... Qa8 with approximately equal chances. 19. h3? Gorti chooses the most prudent approach, probably fearing some sort of trick from her opponent. However, after 19. Rc1! Qg4 20. h3 Qe4 21. Ba4! Black’s position does not seem enviable at all. 19. ... Be4 20. Ne5 a6 21. Ba4 b5 22. Bb3 Bd5 23. Rc1 Qb7. Both opponents are already seriously short of time, so they should avoid being overly speculative — or perhaps the exact opposite! 24. Bxd5!? Qxd5 25. Nec6!? Nxc6 26. Nxc6 Rd7 27. Bf4!? Qxa2 28. Nb8. 28. Ra1 Qc2! indirectly defends the a-Pawn. 28. ... Rd8 29. Nc6 Re8 30. Ra1 Qe6 31. Rxa6 Nd5 32. Bg3? A grave mistake and a sign of the imminent disintegration. There’s nothing better than 32. Qf1 Nc3 33. Qd3 h5 34. Nb8 Qc4! leaving Black with an easier ending, but probably nothing more than that. 32. ... Qc8 33. Qd2? After 33. Nb8 Qb7 Black gains two pieces for a Rook and can comfortably play for a win, and yet it was better than the text continuation, which gives up the Exchange for nothing. 33. ... Qxa6 34. Qxd5 Bf6 35. Be5 Bxe5 36. Nxe5 Rf8 37. h4 Qd6 38. Qe4. An endgame is unthinkable, but the middle game, too, proves to be a “terminus” for White. 于 (Yú)’s concluding attack is easy and merciless: 38. ... Rc8 39. g3 Rc1+ 40. Kh2 Kg7 41. h5 f5 42. Qf4 Qd1 0 : 1.

After Round Eight, 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) kept her sole lead with 7½/8, one point ahead of Anna Vitalievna Zatonskih. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

Other Voices

Akshita Gorti – 叶诗雯 (Carissa Yip)
58th U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, March 21, 2019
King’s Indian Defence E61

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. e3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. c4 0-0 5. Be2 d6 6. Nc3 c6 7. 0-0 a6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Rd1. A somewhat similar game continued 9. b4 b6 10. Bb2 Bb7 11. Rfd1 Qc7 12. Rac1⩲ Winants – Brenninkmeijer, 52th “Hoogovens” II International Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 1990. 9. ... Qc7 10. b4 c5 11. bxc5 dxc5 12. d5 Ne5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14. f4 Qf5 15. Bd3 Qh5 16. Bd2 e5. 16. ... b5!? was also interesting and quite consistent. 17. dxe6!? Bxe6 18. Rab1 Rad8. Black’s game may be a little easier to play, but after both 19. Be2!? and 19. h3!? White should somehow manage to hold her own together. In any event, nothing could be worse than what Gorti played: 19. Ne4? Nxe4 20. Bxe4 Qe2! That’s hard reality: Black is winning.

21. Bxb7. If 21. Bf3 then 21. ... Qxc4 22. Qxc4 Bxc4 23. Rxb7 Bd5! elegantly forcing the win, while 21. Rxb7 is also met by 21. ... Bf5! followed, after the exchange of the Bishops, by the doubling of the Rooks on the d-file. 21. ... Bf5 22. e4. Unlike the actual game, now 22. Qc1 Bxb1 23. Bf3 Qd3 24. Ba5 Qxe3+ 25. Qxe3 Rxd1+ 26. Bxd1 Bd4 would leave White the Exchange down and a comppletely lost position. 22. ... Bh3? Throwing away the win. With the same idea in mind, Black ought first to play 22. ... Bd4+! and after 23. Kh1 then 23. ... Bh3! 24. e5 Bf5! winning easily. Of course, 22. ... Bg4 23. e5 Rd4 (“adjudicated” as a definite win by most computer engines) was also possible. 23. e5 Bf5 0 : 1. And Gorti, like hypnotised, resigned! Indeed, after 24. Qc1 Bg4 (24. ... Bxb1? 25. Bf3 Qd3 26. Ba5! would end very badly for Black) 25. Bd5! Qxd1+ 26. Qxd1 Bxd1 27. Rxd1 the extra Pawn and the Bishop pair would provide White with more than enough compensation for the Exchange, and, most likely, it would be Black who should strive for a draw.

叶诗雯 (Carissa Yip) smiling for luck. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.