On Canvas

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev
74th Russian Chess Championship Superfinal; Ufa, October 10, 2021
Semi-Slav Defence D45

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. b3 0-0 8. Be2 b6 9. 0-0 Bb7 10. Bb2 Qe7 11. Rfe1 Rfe8 12. e4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Qxe4 Bb4 (14. ... Nf6 15. Qc2 Rad8 16. Bd3 Ba3 17. Bc3 h6 18. Rad1 Bb4 19. Bxb4 Qxb4 20. c5 bxc5 21. Qxc5 a5 22. Ne5 Rd5 23. Qxb4 axb4 24. Bc4 Ra5 25. Nd3 Rxa2 26. Nxb4 Ra5 27. Ra1 Rea8 28. Rxa5 Rxa5 29. Nd3 Nd7 30. h3 ½ : ½ Rapport – Ragger, Szombathely 2011, match game 5) 15. Red1 Ba3 16. Bxa3 Qxa3 17. Ne5. A novelty by Goryachkina which secures White a lasting edge along the lines of the theoretical model: 17. Qf4 Nf6 18. Ne5 Qe7 19. Bf3 Qc7 20. Qe3 Rad8 21. b4 b5 22. Qc3 Rc8 23. Rdc1 Qb8 24. a4 bxc4 25. Qxc4 Nd5 26. Qc5 Red8 27. g3 Rd6 28. Nc4 Rdd8 29. Rab1 g6 30. h4 h5 31. Ne5 Ba8 32. Be4 Kg7 33. Rb3 Rc7 34. Kh2 Nf6 35. Bf3 Nd7 36. Qc3 Nxe5 37. dxe5 Rdd7 38. Qe3 Qd8 39. Rc4 a5 40. bxa5 c5 41. Qf4 Bd5 42. Bxd5 exd5 43. Rc1 d4 44. Rb6 d3 45. e6 fxe6 46. Rxe6 Qf8?? (⌓ 46. ... Rf7) 47. Rxg6+! Kxg6 48. Qxf8 c4 49. Re1 Rf7 50. Qg8+ Rg7 51. Qe6+ Kh7 52. Re5 1 : 0 Šarić – Pavasovič, 13th Open, Zadar 2006. 17. ... Nxe5 18. dxe5

18. ... Rad8 19. Bf3 Ba8 20. Qh4 Qf8. Black understandably doesn’t intend to surrender the d-file. 21. h3 h6 22. Be4

22. ... f5. Perhaps it is not so bad as it seems (subjectively, if not objectively). Also after 22. ... Re7 23. Rxd8 (otherwise ... Re7-d7 follows) 23. ... Qxd8 24. Bf3 Qc7 25. Qf4 Rd7 26. Rc1! Bb7 (hoping to free the Bishop by ... c6-c5) 27. c5⩲ White retains a slight pull. 23. exf6 Qxf6 24. Qg3 c5 25. Bg6. White is searching for a way to turn Black’s isolated Pawn at e6 and his weak white squares around the King into a tangible gain. 25. ... Rf8 26. Rab1 Bc6 27. Rxd8 Qxd8? And indeed this is the only and most serious mistake committed by Motylev — which suddenly makes Goryachkina’s dreams come true. Simply 27. ... Rxd8! 28. Re1 Rd4! eventually followed by ... Rd4-f4 should hold (almost) everything together. 28. Re1 Rf6 29. Re3 Qe7 30. a4 Kf8 31. Qe5. Powerful centralisation, white square domination, a weak Black isolani are nothing more than a prediction of how the game will end.

31. ... Rf6 32. Rg3 Rf8 33. Bc2 Rf6. (⌓ 33. ... Qf6 34. Qe3±) 34. Rd3. White has added also the d-file to her assets — now she is ready to break through the Queenside and finally create the passed c-Pawn. 34. ... Rf8 35. Rd6 Bd7 36. a5 bxa5 37. Qxc5 Bc8 (37. ... Rc8 38. Qd4+−) 38. Rc6 Qd8. It is manifest that exchanging Queens would have cost Black a Pawn and the game.

39. Rc7 a6 40. Kh2 Bd7 41. Qa7! And now 41. ... Rf7 42. Bg6 Re7 43. Rb7 is an agony without hope, as Goryachkina herself quite sadistically demonstrated after the game: 43. ... Qf8 (hoping for a perpetual check after 44. Rxd7?? Qf4+) 44. Qb8 e5 45. Qxf8+ Kxf8 46. Rb8+ Be8 47. h4⊙ — Black resigned. 1 : 0.

Goryachkina scored the only victory of the day and took the headlines — not only in Cyrillic. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili/Russian Chess Federation.

Snow Joke

Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev – Dmitry Vladimirovich Andreikin
17th Poikovsky Karpov Chess Tournament; Poikovsky, July 24, 2016
French Defence C10

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Be3 Bb4 5. e5 f6 6. Bd3 fxe5 7. Qh5+ Kf8 8. dxe5

8. ... d4. Experience teaches. If, instead, 8. ... Qe8? there might follow 9. Qh4 Nge7 10. Nf3 Kg8 11. 0-0 Bd7 12. Ne2! and White stands much better (even though then he managed to lose the game!), Andreikin – Bocharov, Siberian Bank Cup, Novosibirsk 2012. 9. Qf3+ Ke8 10. Qh5+ Kf8 11. Qf3+. Of course, Andreikin knows better than anyone what is happening: ½ : ½ Tomczak – Andreikin, 47th World Junior Chess Championship, Gaziantep 2008. 11... Ke8 12. Qh5+ ½ : ½. Just a joke!

Dmitry Vladimirovich Andreikin. Photo: Russian Chess Federation.

Yellow Submarine

Nigel David Short – Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev
European Rapid Chess Championship; Minsk, December 20, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3. Of course, Sir Short is faithful to his system. 4. ... e6 5. a3 Ne7 6. Nc3 Ng6. For 6. ... Nd7 7. Be3 Bg6 8. Nh4 c5 9. dxc5 Nc6 see L. Vajda – Vedmediuc, Romanian Team Chess Championship, Mamaia 2015. 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 c5 9. 0-0 Nc6 10. Re1 cxd4 11. Nb5 Bc5 12. b4 Be7 13. Nbxd4 Rc8 14. g3 Nf8 15. c3 Nd7 16. h4 0-0 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Kg2 a6 20. Re2 Rc7 21. Qe3 Rfc8 22. Rd1 Nxd4 23. cxd4 Nf8? A surprisingly passive move. Much better looks 23. ... Nb6 intending ... Nb6-c4. 24. Rd3 Qd7

25. g4!! Maybe not the best move in absolute terms, but from a practical point of view it turns out to be the decisive turning-point. White creates out from nothing a metaphorical attack against the enemy King. 25. ... Qb5 26. h5 Nh7 27. Red2 Rc1 28. g5 hxg5 29. Nxg5 Ra1 30. Nh3! Prophylaxis combined with attack. 30. ... Rcc1 31. h6 g6 32. Rc3 Qf1+ 33. Kg3 Qh1! With the terrible threat of ... Nh7-g5. Now Short must walk the tightrope. 34. Rxc1 Rxc1 35. Rd3! Re1 36. Qf3 Qxf3+ 37. Rxf3 Rc1 38. Rb3 Rc4. 38. ... b5 39. a4! is also very unpleasant for Black. 39. b5! a5 40. b6! White’s main idea is Rb3-b5-c5. 40. ... Rxd4 41. Rb5 Rd3+ 42. f3 f6. If 42. ... Rxa3 then 43. Rc5! (the pointe) and Black cannot hold the endgame anyway. 43. Rxa5 fxe5 44. Ra8+ Kf7 45. Ra7 g5 46. Rxb7+ Kg6 47. a4 Nf6 48. h7 Nxh7 49. a5 Nf6 50. a6 Rd2 51. Nf2 Nh5+ 52. Kg2 g4 53. a7 Ra2 54. Rb8 Nf4+ 1 : 0. A splendid game.

David Nigel Short (@nigelshortchess)

The Mirage

Vladislav Mikhailovich Artemiev – Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev
68th Russian Chess Championship; Chita, August 11, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Accepted D20

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 e5 4. Bxc4 exd4 5. exd4 Bd6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. 0-0 0-0 8. h3 Nc6 9. Nc3 Bf5 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 g5

12. Nxg5!? Theoretical novelty, nineteenth century style: Vladislav Mikhailovich sacrifices his Knight for two Pawns pursuing the mirage of an attack. So far, the accepted continuation was 12. Bg3 Bxg3 13. fxg3 Bg6 14. Ne5 with an edge for White, Liiva – Hübner, 14th Pühajärve Rapid Chess Tournament, Pühajärve 2013. “I could not resist”, then Artemiev said. 12. ... hxg5 13. Bxg5 Re8 14. Qd2 Nxd4. Bad news for Artemiev: Black wins back a Pawn. 15. Rad1 c5 16. b4 b6 17. bxc5 bxc5 18. Rfe1 Rxe1+ 19. Qxe1 Be6?? The crisis. A shocked Motylev falls right into a nightmare. Instead 19. ... Be7! and if 20. Qe5 only then 20. ... Be6! would set White the extremely difficult task of struggling to prove compensation for his sacrifice. 20. Bxe6 fxe6 21. Rxd4! Bh2+? From bad to worse, but also after 21. ... cxd4 22. Qxe6+ Kg7 23. Nd5 Nxd5 24. Qh6+ Kf7 25. Qh5+ Ke6 26. Qg4+ Kf7 27. Bxd8 Rxd8 28. Qxd4 White should win in the short-mid-long run. 22. Kxh2 Qxd4 23. Qxe6+ Kg7 24. Ne2! 1 : 0.

Epaulettes

Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev – Evgeniy Yuryevich Najer
22nd Russian Team Chess Championship; Sochi, May 6, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B11

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 Nf6 6. d3 e6 7. Bd2 Qb6 8. 0-0-0 d4 9. Ne2 c5 10. e5 Nfd7!? A novelty. For 10. ... Nd5 11. Qe4 Nc6 12. Kb1 0-0-0 13. g4 c4 14. dxc4 Ba3 see Domínguez Pérez – Rodshtein, 30th European Chess Club Cup, Bilbao 2014. 11. Qe4 Nc6 12. f4 0-0-0 13. c4 h5 14. g3 f5 15. exf6 Nxf6 16. Qxe6+ Kb8 17. Ng1 Re8 18. Qf5 Nb4 19. Bxb4 cxb4!? Preparing for a sharp Pawn sacrifice. 20. Nf3 b3!? 21. axb3. White accepts the challenge. 21. ... Re3 22. Ne5 Qxb3 23. Ng6? White makes his first serious error which can be blamed for his defeat. After the immediate 23. Rh2 Bb4 Black would have compensation for the Pawn, but probably nothing more. 23. ... Bb4!! 24. Rh2. The tactical justification is 24. Nxh8 Bd2+! and mate in three moves. 24. ... Rc8 25. Ne5 a6. The straightforward 25. ... a5 – intending ... a5-a4-a3 – is still stronger. 26. Nd7+? Motylev aims to exchange pieces, but his basic rules of survival will be demolished by tactical means. The comparatively best is 26. Qe6, although after 26. ... Rc7 Black’s position appears most imposing anyway. 26. ... Nxd7 27. Qxd7

27. ... Rxc4+!! A well-calculated disrupting sacrifice! 28. dxc4 Rc3+! 29. bxc3. Or 29. Kb1 Qxd1+ 30. Ka2 Rc1 and wins. 29. ... Ba3+ 0 : 1. For if 30. Kd2 then 30. ... Qxc3+ 31. Ke2 Qe3 mate. Just a taste of delicious “epaulette mate”!

时差问题

快棋赛表演侯逸凡战平男子特级大师莫特列夫
侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev

• 刘毅 (Liú Yì), 侯逸凡感慨太忙生物钟紊乱 将为APEC做志愿服务, sports.sina.com.cn, November 9, 2014

Quaestio

• Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Alvarez, MVL one point ahead in Biel, Chess News, 18 luglio 2014

Steinitz exchange lemma

Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
47th International Chess Festival “In Memoriam Hans Suri”; Biel/Bienne, July 18, 2014
Sicilian Defence B48

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 Nf6 8. 0-0-0 Be7 9. f3 b5 10. g4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bb7 12. g5 Nh5 13. Be5 Qxe5 14. Qxd7+ Kf8 15. Qxb7 Bxg5+. Another try is 15. ... Qb8 16. Rd7 Qxb7 17. Rxb7 g6 18. a4 b4 19. Na2 Bxg5+ 20. Kb1 a5 21. Bc4 Nf4 22. Rd1 Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 24. Nc1 h5 25. Nd3 Nxd3 26. cxd3 g5 27. d4 g4 28. Be2 Bf6 29. e5 Bh4 30. fxg4 hxg4 31. Rb8+ Kg7 32. Rxh8 Kxh8 33. Bxg4 Bf2 34. d5 exd5 35. e6 fxe6 36. Bxe6 d4 37. Kc2 Kg7 38. Kd3 Kf6 39. Bg4 Ke5 40. b3 Bh4 41. h3 ½ : ½ Khairullin – Jumabayev, Moscow 2014. 16. Kb1 Qb8 17. Rd7 Qxb7 18. Rxb7 Bf6 19. a4 Bxc3 20. bxc3 bxa4

21. Bc4. “Theory” contemplates 21. Bxa6 g5 22. Bb5 Kg7 23. Rd1 Rhb8 24. Rxb8 Rxb8 25. c4 Nf4 26. Kb2 Ng6 27. Ka3 Ne5 28. Kxa4 Nxf3 29. c5 Ne5 30. c6 Rc8 31. Rd6 Kf6 32. Kb4 g4 33. Kc5 Ke7 34. Rd1 h5 35. Kb6 Rb8+ 36. Kc5 Rc8 37. Kb6 Rb8+ 38. Ka6 Nxc6 39. Bxc6 Rb2 40. Ba4 Rb4 41. Bb5 Rxe4 42. Rc1 h4 43. c4 Re2 44. c5 Rxh2 45. c6 Rd2 46. c7 Rd8 47. cxd8=Q+ Kxd8 48. Be2 f5 49. Rc4 Kd7 50. Bxg4 fxg4 51. Rxg4 Kc6 52. Ka5 Kd5 1 : 0 Ter-Sahakyan – J. Polgár, Yerevan 2014. 21. ... g6 22. Rd1 Rc8 23. Ba2. On 23. Bxa6 Rxc3 24. Rdd7 Rxf3 25. Bc4 Kg7 26. Bxe6 Rf8 with roughly even play. 23. ... Rg8 24. Rd6 g5 25. Rxa6 Rg6 26. Raa7 Rf6 27. e5. If 27. Bxe6 then 27. ... Rxe6! 28. Rxf7+ Kg8 29. Rxh7 Ra6! with equality. 27. ... Rxf3 28. Bxe6 Rf1+ 29. Ka2 fxe6 30. Rxh7 Kg8 31. Rxh5 Rf5 32. Rxa4 Rxc3 33. Rg4 Rxc2+ 34. Kb3 Re2 35. Rgxg5+ Rxg5 36. Rxg5+ 36. Rxg5+ Kh7 37. h4 Re4 38. h5 Kh6 39. Rg6+ Kxh5 40. Rxe6 Kg5 41. Re8 ½ : ½. A fierce defence by Miss 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán).

Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Biel/Bienne, July 18, 2014
Photo: bielchessfestival.ch