人格

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Notes by Leonard Barden

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Fabiano Caruana – Peter T. Roberson
30th European Club Cup; Bilbao, September 15, 2014
Anglo-Indian Defence A15

Another, less known, Caruana bomb occurred at the European Club Cup in Bilbao where the Italian arrived straight off the plane from St. Louis as his team faced the English amateurs Grantham Sharks and their top board Peter Roberson, 25, who recently gained the international master title.

The opening 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 g6 5. d4 Bg7 6. 0-0 0-0, three fianchettoed Bishops and no central Pawn clashes, looked like shadow boxing until Caruana’s 7. d5!? showed that even in this routine position he was well prepared. Opening databases show that the unusual Pawn push has by far the best results of any move here. Moreover, it had been previously played by the élite GMs Étienne Bacrot, Alex Grischuk, and Vassily Ivanchuk, an excellent pedigree. And that was not all. After Black’s reply 7. ... Ne4 8. Qc2 f5

Caruana brought out 9. Rd1! a novelty in a position where world No5 Grischuk had won with 9. Bf4, then followed up with a small tactic to reach a position where he had the initiative and the better Pawn structure. It was possibly tenable with best play, but Roberson soon lost a Pawn and Caruana smoothly switched to a won Queen ending. 9. ... c6 10. Nd4 cxd5 11. cxd5 Bxd5 12. Nxf5 Rxf5 13. Bxe4 Bxe4 14. Qxe4 Nc6 15. Nc3 e6 16. Bf4 Rc8 17. Rd6 g5 18. Be3 Ne5 19. Rad1 Qf8 20. Qb7 Rf7 21. Ne4 h6 22. Bd4 Rc2 23. Bxe5 Bxe5 24. Rxd7 Rc7 25. Rxf7 Qxf7 26. Qa8+ Kg7 27. b3 Rd7 28. Rc1 Rc7 29. Rxc7 Qxc7 30. Qe8 Qc2 31. Qe7+ Kh8 32. Qf8+ Kh7 33. Qf7+ Kh8 34. Nf6 Qc1+ 35. Kg2 Qc6+ 36. e4 Bxf6 37. Qxf6+ Kh7 38. Qf7+ Kh8 39. Qg6 1 : 0. (Leonard Barden, The Guardian, October 3, 2014).

Coming to America

Fabiano Caruana – Michael Roiz
30th European Club Cup; Bilbao, September 17, 2014
Spanish C95

Notes by Grandmaster Ian Rogers, Chess Life Online, September 19, 2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. h3 Nb8. The Breyer Variation, an old Spassky favourite. The chess world has seen so many Berlin variations (3. ... Nf6) in recent years that the old main line seems like a pleasant novelty. 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6 15. a4 Nb6!? 15. ... c5 is more usual, though Roiz was no doubt expecting the standard reply to 15. ... Nb6, 16. b3. 16. a5!? Ed. Note: For 16. b3 Bg7 17. a5 Nbd7 18. d5 see Motylev – Ivanchuk, Russia vs. Rest of the World, Moscow 2002. 16. ... Nbd7 17. b4 Bg7? A serious mistake according to Caruana; the d6 Pawn needs support. 18. d5! Qb8 19. Bb3! Nf8 20. Ra2 c6. Without this Black will have no plan; with it, he activates White’s pieces. 21. dxc6 Bxc6 22. Rd2 Rd8 23. Rd3! Rd7. The more harmonious 23. ... Ra7 loses to 24. Nxe5!. 24. Ng5! Qc7 25. Be3 h6

26. Nxf7!! The point behind Caruana’s plan. Black will be tied in knots. 26. ... Rxf7 27. Rxd6 Be8 28. Bb6 Qb7. After 28. ... Qxc3 29. Bc5! the Black Queen will be trapped. 29. f4! N6d7 30. f5 Nxb6 31. axb6 Kh7 32. Bd5 Qb8 33. Bxa8 Qxa8 34. Rf1 gxf5 35. Rxf5 Qb8 36. Rxf7 Bxf7 37. Nf5 1 : 0. An early resignation, but White dominates the board.

• Leontxo García, Caruana es el príncipe, El País, September 19, 2014

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

The four best female players (by performance) of the 19th Women’s European Club Cup. From the left we recognise: Marina Evgenievna Guseva, Anastasia Sergeyevna Savina, Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo © ChessLive.com.

The first one: 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo © ChessLive.com.

呆河马

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) at the press conference.
Photo: Cathy Rogers

Alisa Galliamova – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
19th Women’s European Club Cup; Bilbao, September 19, 2014
Queen’s Pawn Game A40

Notes by Grandmaster Ian Rogers, Chess Life Online, September 19, 2014

Apart from the race for first place, the other side issue of interest was Hóu Yìfán’s race to overtake the newly retired Judit Polgár as the top woman in the world. Hóu was fortunate to defeat Anna Ushenina (against whom she won her most recent world title match easily) in the fifth round but her game the next day, which moved Hóu to within four points of Polgár, owed nothing to luck.

1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6!? “I just wanted a game”, said Hóu, channelling Carlsen. 3. e4 Bb7 4. d5!? Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+. “Probably Black should play 5. ... Qe7 but after 6. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 7. Qd2 I must exchange Queens and I wanted to keep Queens on the board”, explained Hóu. 6. Qxd2 d6 7. Nc3 Nd7 8. f4?! “Too ambitious”, said Hóu. “She should just develop her pieces”. 8. ... e5! 9. g3?! exf4 10. gxf4 Qh4+ 11. Qf2 Qxf2+ 12. Kxf2 Ngf6 13. Re1 0-0 14. Bh3 Nc5 15. Re3 Rae8 16. Kf3 c6! 17. Nge2 cxd5 18. exd5 b5!

19. Rxe8? Now White’s position collapses. 19. b4! was playable because Hóu’s intended 19. ... bxc4 fails to 20. Rxe8 Rxe8 21. bxc5 Nxd5 22. Rb1!. 19. ... Rxe8 20. Rd1 bxc4. The rest is easy for Hóu, with Galliamova adding time trouble to her woes. 21. Rd4 g6 22. Ng3 h5 23. Bf1 h4 24. Nge2 Ba6 25. Rd2 Nd3 26. Nd4 Ne1+ 27. Kf2 Ne4+ 28. Nxe4 Rxe4 29. Bg2 Nxg2 30. Kxg2 Rxf4 31. Nc6 c3! 32. bxc3 Bf1+ 33. Kg1 Bh3 34. Rd1 Rg4+ 35. Kf2 Rg2+ 36. Kf3 Rxa2 37. c4 Kg7 38. Kf4 Rc2 39. Rd4 Rxh2 40. Nxa7 Bd7 41. Nc6 Rg2 42. c5 Rg4+ 43. Ke3 Rxd4 44. Nxd4 dxc5 0 : 1.

Bilbao, September 18, 2014. Women’s World Chess Champion, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), playing for Cercle d’Échecs de Monte-Carlo. Photo: David Llada

欧洲联盟

At the prize giving, medals were also awarded for the best performances on individual boards. In the women’s section, the prizes went to Hóu Yìfán (board 1), Alexandra Kosteniuk (board 2), Anastasia Savina (board 3) and Marina Guseva (board 4). In the open section, the prizes went to Fabiano Caruana (board 1), Veselin Topalov (board 2), Pentala Harikrishna (board 3), Anish Giri (board 4), Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov (board 5) and Mateusz Bartel (board 6). [Read more].

• Peter Doggers, SOCAR wins all seven, europeanchessclubcup2014.com, September 20, 2014

Hóu Yìfán, whose performance in the women’s section has brought her up to 2673, just two points behind the newly retired Judit Polgár. Not too shabby! A good result in next month’s women’s world championship knockout tournament could very easily install her at #1 on the women’s list, and a great result could have her tickling the 2700 barrier. [Read more].

• Dennis Monokroussos, Bilbao 2014: Wrapping Up, The Chess Mind, September 21, 2014

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) 在 Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”
Florence, February 9, 2014

Hearts of the World

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Marsel Efroimski
19th European Women’s Chess Club Cup; Bilbao, September 20, 2014
English Opening A29

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nc3 Nb6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Rb1 a5 8. d3 Be7 9. 0-0 Be6 10. Be3 0-0 11. Rc1. The alternative is 11. Bxb6 cxb6 12. Nd2?! (12. Qa4 slightly favours White) 12. ... b5 13. Rc1 b4 14. Na4 Rc8 15. Nb3? (15. Nc4 was correct) 15. ... Nd4 16. Rxc8 Bxc8 17. Nac5 a4!-+ Gabriel – Ki. Georgiev, Altensteig 1995. 11. ... Nd5. Another try is 11. ... Re8 12. a3 h6 13. Nd2 Rb8 14. Nb3 Nd5 with approximately equal chances, L. B. Hansen – Romanishin, Polanica-Zdrój 1993. We believe, however, that White may improve somewhere. 12. Nxd5 Bxd5 13. Qa4. Colourless is 13. a3 a4= Carvalho – Granara Barreto, Montevideo 2004. 13. ... Rb8 14. Qb5 Re8?! This Pawn sac is hardly sound, if not decidedly wrong. We would have preferred 14. ... f6 15. a3 and Black’s game, although somewhat inferior, would still have been tenable.

15. Nxe5 Bxa2 16. Nxc6 bxc6 17. Qxa5 Rxb2 18. Bxc6 Bb4 19. Qa7 Rf8 20. Bf3 Bd5?? This is a grave blunder, as it gives White a clear chance to win a piece. However, even after 20. ... Bd6 21. Ra1 Be6 22. Rfb1 White remains with a clear Pawn ahead. 21. Qd4 1 : 0.

Silvia Bertini
Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”

Trampin’

19th Women’s European Club Cup; Bilbao, September 19, 2014
侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

• Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez, ECC 06: Winners!, Chess News, September 20, 2014

Marienkirche

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Elisabeth Pähtz
19th Women’s European Club Cup; Bilbao, September 16, 2014
French Defence C18

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nc6 7. Qg4 g6 8. Qd1 Qa5 9. Bd2 Qa4 10. Nf3 c4 11. h4 h6 12. Qc1. The alternative 12. Nh2 f6 13. f4 h5 does not promise any meaningful advantage to White, Volokitin – Ward, Copenhagen 2002. 12. ... Bd7 13. g3 0-0-0 14. Bg2 Kb8 15. 0-0 Ka8 16. Nh2. Vaguely similar is 16. Rb1 Rc8 17. Nh2 Nce7 18. Qb2 Bc6 19. Qa2 Re8 20. Rb4 Qa5 21. a4 Nc8 22. Ng4 Nb6 23. Ra1 Rc8 24. Qa3 Rh7 25. Ra2 Rh8 26. Ra1 ½ : ½ Zontakh – Kruppa, Kiev 2006. 16. ... Nce7 17. Ng4 Nf5 18. Qb2 Bc6 19. Rfb1 Qa5 20. a4 Nge7 21. Qc1 h5 22. Nf6 Nc8 23. Rb4 Qc7 24. Qa3 Qe7. Intending ... a7-a5. 25. Qa2 Qc7 26. Rbb1 Qa5 27. Rb4 Qc7 28. Rab1 Qa5 29. Qa3 Nb6 30. Ra1 Nc8 31. Bg5 Qc7 32. Bf3 Nb6 33. Rab1 Nc8 34. Kh2 Nb6 35. Be2 Nc8 36. f3 Rdf8 37. Kg2 Ng7 38. g4 Ne8 39. R4b2 Nxf6 40. Bxf6 Rhg8 41. a5 Re8 42. Kf2 a6 43. Qc5. The threat is Rb2xb7. 43. ... Qd7 44. Rg1 Trying to open up another front.

44. ... Rh8. An ingenious Exchange sacrifice, in order to counter the opponent’s Bishop pair and the strong grip on the dark squares. The text is reminiscent of Fischer’s 37. ... Rh8 in the epic partie Spassky – R. J. Fischer, Reykjavík 1972, match game 13. 45. Bxh8 Rxh8 46. gxh5 Rxh5 47. Qf8 Kb8 48. Rg4 Qc7 49. Ra2 Rf5 50. Rg5 Rxg5 51. hxg5 Qe7 52. Qh6 b6 53. f4 Kb7 54. Ke3 bxa5 55. Rxa5 Na7 56. Kd2 Nb5 57. Ra2 Be8 58. Qh1 Bc6 59. Qa1 Nc7 60. Qb2+ Nb5 61. Ra1 Be8 62. Qa2 Nc7 63. Rh1 Kb6 64. Ra1 Kb7 65. Bf3 Bb5 66. Rb1 Kb6 67. Ra1 Kb7 68. Qa5 Qf8 69. Rh1 Kc6 70. Rh6 Kb7 71. Qa1 Be8 72. Qa5 Bb5 73. Qb4 Qxb4 74. cxb4 Kc8 75. f5 exf5 76. e6 Nxe6 77. Bxd5 Nxg5 78. Ke3 Kd7 79. Kf4 Ne6+ 80. Ke5 Ng5 81. Kf6 Kd6 82. Bb7 Ne6 83. c3 Nd8 84. Bg2 Ne6 85. Kxf7 Nf4 86. Bf3. Maybe the most promising way is to return the Exchange, trying to exploit the passive position of the Black’s King and the Queen’s Bishop: 86. Rxg6+! Nxg6 37. Kxg6. 86. ... Bc6 87. Bxc6 Kxc6 88. Kf6 Kd5 89. Kg5 Ne2 90. Rxg6 Nxc3 91. Rxa6 Kxd4 92. Kxf5 Nd5 93. Rd6 c3 94. Ke6 Kc4 95. Rc6+. Of course, on 95. Rxd5 Kxb4 draws at once. 95. ... Kd4 96. b5 Nb4 97. Rc8 Kd3 98. b6 c2 99. b7 Na6 100. Rc6 Nb8 101. Rc8 Na6 102. Kd6 Kd2 103. Rc4 c1=Q 104. Rxc1 Kxc1 105. Kc6 Nb8+ 106. Kc7 Na6+ 107. Kb6 Nb8 108. Kc7 Na6+ ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Photo: Bilbao Chess

广播

19th Women’s European Club Cup; Bilbao, September 15, 2014
侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

• Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez, ECC 02: Demolitions and Surprises!, Chess News, September 16, 2014

火柴

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Brief notes of the Hunchback of Notre Dame

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Roberto Costantini – Petri Hokkanen
29th European Club Cup; Rhodes, October 22, 2013
Pirc Defence B07

Comments in quotation marks by Torre & Cavallo Scacco!, No. 12, December 2013, p. 18.

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 c6 5. h3!? b5 6. Bd3. Sharper is 6. e5!, e.g. 6. ... Nfd7 (or 6. ... dxe5 7. dxe5± Qxd1+ 8. Rxd1 b4? 9. exf6 bxc3 10. Bd4!+- Sveshnikov – Pribyl, Lvov 1983) 7. exd6 exd6 8. d5 b4 9. dxc6 bxc3 10. cxd7+ Nxd7 11. b3 Be7 12. Bh6 Bb7 13. Nf3 Qa5 14. Be2 g5 15. Bg7 Rg8 16. Bd4 h5 17. Qd3 g4 18. hxg4 hxg4 19. Bxc3 Qd5 20. Qxd5 Bxd5 21. Nd4 Rc8 22. Bb4 Bxg2 23. Rg1 Ba8 24. Rxg4 Rh8 25. 0-0-0 with advantage to White, A. Sokolov – Zakharevich, Elista 1995. 6. ... b4?! Another try is 6. ... Nbd7 7. Nf3 e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. 0-0 with a slight edge for White, Dang Vu Quang – Hoang Nam Thang, Hanoi 2002. 7. Nce2 Qa5?! “This move looks like a waste of time. 7. ... a5 8. Nf3 Bg7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Qd2 Ba6+/= [Ed. Note: As in the game Calzetta Ruiz – Valgmae, Catalan Bay 2010] makes more sense”. 8. Nf3 Nbd7 9. 0-0 Bg7 10. a3 bxa3 11. Rxa3 Qc7 12. Qd2 0-0 13. Ng3 Nb6?! “Black continues to play without constructive ideas: thus he allows White to eventually pushing to e5. Worth considering was the immediate 13. ... c5”. 14. Bh6 c5 15. e5 Nfd5? “It was almost forced 15. ... Ne8”. [Ed. Note: In any case, after 15. ... Ne8 16. Bxg7 Nxg7 17. dxc5 dxc5 18. Qh6 f6 19. Re1 White holds an iron grip].

White to play and win. 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Nh5+! 1 : 0. For after 17. ... gxh5 (else 17. ... Kh8 18. Qh6 Kg8 19. Ng5 and mate next move) 18. Qg5+ Kh8 19. Qh6 White mates in three moves.

加时赛 (Overtime)

Aleksandra Konstantinovna Kostenjuk – 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán)
Rodi, 23 ottobre 2013
Commenta il Maestro Internazionale Anton Sitnikov
ChessZone Magazine, n. 10. ottobre 2013, pp. 16-17

天天学中文

Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk – 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán)
18th European Women’s Chess Club Cup; Rhodes, October 23, 2013
Sicilian Defence B82

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be3 Nf6. 西西里防御斯维宁根体系是侯逸凡喜欢下的开局，但它与纳伊道夫变例的出子顺序不同，黑棋很快就面临着凯列斯攻击的考验。 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. 0-0-0 a6 10. h3?! 白棋此着为进兵g4做准备，有画蛇添足之嫌，似乎可以直接走10.g4，以下 10...Nd7 11.g5 b5，有先例可循，侯逸凡本人2008年在同扎瓦茨卡（Zawadska）的对局中就走过。 10. ... Rb8 11. g4 b5 12. g5 Nd7 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. Bg2 Bb7 15. Bd4?! 科斯坚纽克此着意图不明，在有些变例中象占据d4格非常管用，但本局并没有出现这种情况。 15. ... 0-0 16. Rhe1 Rfc8 17. Rd2 Qc7! 好棋！巧妙调动王后，对于西西里防御的反向移位，车控制b线，王后调动至a5格威胁很大，这里b7格的象同时对e4格构成巨大压力。 18. Kb1 Qa5 19. Qe3 b4 20. Ne2 e5. 西西里防御的典型阻击，证明白棋d4的象并不怎么管用。 21. fxe5 Nxe5. 若用兵吃，将是战术失误 ，例如21...dxe5? 22.Ba7后，d7格的马和b8格的车同时受到攻击。 22. b3 Ng6! 黑棋跳马捉兵，攻守兼备。通常黑棋不愿意吃掉白棋的王翼兵，因为打开通道，对手的车可能对王构成直接威胁。但本局，侯逸凡有充分的把握，一切尽在掌握之中。 23. h4 Nxh4. 白棋的g5兵还是保不住，而且白棋也很难用半开放线攻击黑王。 24. Bh1 Bxg5 25. Qg1 Ng6. 黑棋若改走25...Bxd2吃车，则白棋26.Qxg7#将杀。 26. Rd3 Rxc2!

抢时间，比速度，果断弃车，发起进攻，将优势转化为胜势。 27. Kxc2 Qxa2+ 28. Bb2 Bf6. 黑棋不但吃回弃子，而且奠定胜势。本局到此实际上已经结束。 29. Kd2 Qxb2+ 30. Ke3 h6 31. Red1 Bg5+ 32. Kf2 Nf4 33. Re3 Bc6 34. Rb1 Qf6 35. Ke1 Nxe2 36. Rxe2 Qc3+ 37. Kf2 Bb5. 至此，科斯坚纽克认输，侯逸凡获胜， 0 : 1. Notes by Guǎngdōng Chess Association.

加冕 (Coronation)

From left: Natalia Oleksandrivna Zhukova, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), and Alexandra Konstantinovna Kostenjuk. Photo: Chessdom.com. “Hóu Yìfán was a monster in this tournament with a 2736 performance. However her teammate Koneru had an equally good event with a 2725 TPR”.

• ECC Concludes in Rhodes, ChessBase.com, October 28, 2013

The Fairy with Turquoise Hair

Comunicato di Chessdom.com (25 ottobre 2013):

Cercle d’Échecs de Monte-Carlo won all matches in the first six rounds in Women section of the European Club Cup to secure the title of European Champion with one round to spare.
Standings on 12 match points the team is full three points ahead of the nearest follower Ugra.
This is the fifth title for CE Monte Carlo, after previously winning in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
The club is represented by the reigning World Champion GM Hóu​ Yì​fán 2609 CHN, former World Championship challenger GM Koneru Humpy 2607 IND, GM Muzychuk Anna 2585 SLO, GM Cramling Pia 2515 SWE and IM Skripchenko Almira 2441 FRA.

• 2013年国象欧俱杯赛收兵 侯逸凡率队全胜第五次折桂, sports.sina.com.cn, 27 ottobre 2013

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Anna Ušenina
Rodi, 22 ottobre 2013
Foto: sports.sina.com.cn

Lost & Found

Deimante Daulyte – 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán)

Rodi, 25 ottobre 2013

Siciliana B51

1. e4 c5 2. Cf3 d6 3. Ab5+ Cc6 4. 0-0 Ad7 5. c4 Cf6 6. Cc3 g6 7. Axc6 Axc6 8. d4 cxd4 9. Cxd4 Ag7 10. Cxc6 bxc6 11. Da4 Dc8 12. Cd5 Cd7 13. Ce3 0-0 14. Tb1 a5 15. Dc2 Cc5 16. Ad2 f5 17. exf5 gxf5 18. f3 e5 19. b3 De6 20. a3 f4 21. Cd1 a4 22. b4 Cb3 23. Txb3 axb3 24. Dxb3 e4 25. fxe4 Dxe4 26. Ac3 Ta7 27. b5 f3 28. c5+ d5 29. b6 Taf7 30. b7 Axc3 31. Dxc3 Txb7 32. gxf3 De2 0 : 1.

Deimante Daulyte vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán)
Foto: Chessdom.com

© Jose Diaz
UKM CATUR UNY

月光石 (Pietra di Luna)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Anna Ušenina

Rodi, 22 ottobre 2013

Siciliana B33

1. e4 c5 2. Cf3 Cc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Cxd4 Cf6 5. Cc3 e5 6. Cdb5 d6 7. Ag5 a6 8. Ca3 b5 9. Cd5 Ae7 10. Axf6 Axf6 11. c4 b4 12. Cc2 0-0 13. g3 a5 14. Ag2 Ag5 15. 0-0 Ae6 16. Dd3 Axd5. Dopo 16. ... Ce7 17. Cce3 Axe3 18. Cxe3 Dc7 19. Tad1 Tfd8 20. b3 Cc6 21. Cc2 a4 22. Td2 axb3 23. axb3 Db6 24. h4 Ta2 25. Tb1 h6 26. Rh2 Dc5 27. Ah3 Tda8 28. Rg2 Ce7 29. Axe6 fxe6 30. Tbd1 Tf8 31. Ce3 Ta6 32. h5 Rh8 33. Cg4 Cg8 34. De3 il Nero è nei guai, Nepomniashchi – Timofeev, Irkutsk 2010. 17. cxd5 Cb8 18. a3 (18. h4 Ah6!) 18. ... Ca6 19. axb4 Cxb4 20. Cxb4 axb4 21. h4 Ah6. Il Nero confida negli Alfieri di colore contrario, ma... come pontificò Siegbert Tarrasch: “Prima del finale, gli Dèi hanno messo il mediogioco”. 22. Dc4. 22. Ah3 Db6 23. Ad7 b3 24. Ac6 Ta2 25. Txa2 bxa2 26. Da3 Tb8 27. Dxa2 ½ : ½ Anand – Gelfand, Mosca 2012, 5ª del match. 22. ... Txa1? Se 22. ... Db6 allora 23. Dc6! (Shipov), ma è interessantissimo il sacrificio di Pedone 22. ... b3!? 23. Dxb3 Ad2! onde trasferire l’Alfiere sulla diagonale a7-g1. 23. Txa1 Db8 24. Ah3 g6 25. Ta6 Td8 26. Rg2 Ad2 27. Dc6 b3 28. Tb6 Da7 29. Tb7 Dd4? Addio alle armi. Più pervicace era 29. ... Dc5 30. Dxc5 dxc5 31. Txb3±. 30. Ae6!! Elegante e disgregante! 30. ... Dxe4+. L’Alfiere è tabù: 30. ... fxe6 31. Dc7+-. 31. Rh2 Tf8 32. Txf7! Mamma mia! 32. ... Txf7 33. De8+ Rg7 34. Dxf7+ Rh6 (34. ... Rh8 35. Df6 matto) 35. Df8+ Rh5 36. De7. Oppure 36. g4+! Rxh4 37. De7+! g5 38. Af5+-. 36. ... Rh6 37. Df8+ Rh5 38. Ah3 Dc2 39. Ag4+! Rxg4 40. f3+ Rh5 41. Rh3 1 : 0. Una chiusa elegante: 41. ... g5 (oppure 41. ... Df5+ 42. g4+ e matto alla prossima) 42. g4+ Rg6 43. h5 matto.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Anna Ušenina
Foto: Chessdom.com

Dronavalli Harika vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán)
Rodi, 21 ottobre 2013
Foto: Chessdom.com

羅得島太陽神銅像 (Colossus of Rhodes)

Dronavalli Harika – 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán)
18th European Women’s Chess Club Cup; Rhodes, October 21, 2013
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Bb4 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 0-0 9. Be2 Bd7 10. Qc2. If nothing else, 10. Qb3 has brought less luck to 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán): 10. ... dxc4 11. Qxc4 Bd6 12. 0-0 e5 13. d5 Na5 14. Qd3 Qe7 15. e4 a6 16. Rac1 b5 17. a3 f5 18. Nd2 f4 19. b4 Nb7 20. Rc2 Rf6 21. Rfc1 g5 22. h3 Qf7 23. Bg4 Bxg4 24. hxg4 h5 25. Qh3 Rh6 26. gxh5 Rxh5 27. Qg4 Kg7 28. Nf3 Kg6 29. g3 Rd8 30. Ne2 Rdh8 31. Rc6 Kf6 32. Qf5+ Kg7 33. Qxf7+ Kxf7 34. Rxc7+ Bxc7 35. Rxc7+ Ke8 36. Rxb7 Rh1+ 37. Kg2 g4 38. gxf4 gxf3+ 39. Kxf3 R8h2 40. fxe5 Rf1 41. Ke3 Rfxf2 42. Nd4 Rf1 43. Nf5 Re1+ 44. Kd4 Kd8 45. e6 1 : 0 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán), 41st Chinese Chess Championship, 兴化 (Xīnghuà) 2010. 10. ... dxc4 11. 0-0 Bd6 12. Bxc4 e5 13. Nd5 Qd8 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Rad1 c6 17. Nf4 Qc7. Or 17. ... Bxf4 18. exf4 Qc8 19. Rfe1 Bf5 20. Qc3 Re8 21. Re5 Rxe5 22. Qxe5 Bg6 23. h3 h5 24. Qe7 b5 25. Bb3 Qf5 26. Qb7 Rf8 27. Qxc6 Kh7 28. Qd5 Qxf4 29. Qxb5 Rb8 30. Qc5 Rb7 31. Qd6 Qg5 32. Qd5 Qe7 33. Qd2 Qe5 34. Re1 Qb5 35. Qc3 Qb6 36. Qe3 Qb4 37. Rd1 Re7 38. Qd2 Qe4 39. Bd5 Qe5 40. Bf3 Qf6 41. b4 Qb6 42. a4 Re5 43. Re1 Rxe1+ 44. Qxe1 Qd4 45. a5 h4 46. b5 Qb2 47. Bc6 Bd3 48. Qd1 Be2 49. Qa4 g5 50. Qe4+ Kg7 51. Qf5 Qd2 52. Qe5+ Kh7 53. Qe3 Qd1+ 54. Kh2 Kg6 55. Qe4+ Kf6 56. b6 Qd6+ 57. g3 axb6 58. axb6 Ba6 59. Qf3+ Ke7 60. Qe3+ Kf6 61. Bg2 hxg3+ 62. fxg3 Qb4 63. Qf3+ Kg7 64. b7 Qb2 65. h4 gxh4 66. Qg4+ Kh7 67. Qxh4+ Kg7 68. Qg5+ Kh7 69. Qf5+ Kg7 70. Qg4+ Kh7 71. Qe4+ Kg7 72. Qg4+ ½ : ½ Goryachkina – 翟墨 (Zhái Mò), 31st World Junior Chess Championship Girls U-20, Kocaeli 2013.

18. Ng6 Rfe8 19. Nxe5 Rxe5 20. Rd4 c5 21. Rd2 Bc6 22. Rfd1 b5 23. Bd5 Rxd5 24. Rxd5 Bxd5 25. Rxd5 Rd8 26. e4 Rxd5 27. exd5 Qe5 28. Qd2 Kf8 29. d6 Ke8 30. d7+ Kd8 31. Qa5+ Kxd7 32. Qxb5+ Kc7 33. Qa5+ Kb7 34. Qb5+ Kc7 35. Qa5+ Kb7 36. Qb5+ Kc7 ½ : ½.

罗得岛 (Isola di Rodi)

La Campionessa del Mondo 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán) è da ieri a Rodi (Grecia), in rappresentanza del Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo per la 18ª European Club Cup (ECC) (19-27 ottobre).

侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán) – Nataša Bojković

Rodi, 20 ottobre 2013

Siciliana B43

1. e4 c5 2. Cf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Cxd4 a6 5. Ae2 Cf6 6. Cc3 Dc7 7. 0-0 Ab4 8. Dd3 Cc6 9. Ag5!? Axc3. Il Nero sacrifica la “piccola Qualità”. Altre varianti sono 9. ... h6 10. Axf6 gxf6 11. Tad1 h5 12. Rh1 Cxd4 13. Dxd4 Ae7 14. f4 b5 15. e5 f5 16. Cd5!! exd5 17. e6 0-0! (Shirov – Ivanchuk, Tallin 1996) 18. exf7+ Txf7 19. Axh5 Dc4 (19. ... Ab7 20. Axf7+ Rxf7 21. Dd3±) 20. Axf7+ Rxf7 21. Dh8! con violento attacco (Shirov), 9. ... Ae7 10. Ah4 0-0 11. Tad1 Td8 12. Ag3 d6 13. Cxc6 bxc6 14. e5 dxe5 15. Axe5 Txd3 16. Axc7 Txd1 17. Txd1 Cd5 18. Aa5 con preferenza per il Bianco, Jakovenko – Vachier Lagrave, Mosca 2006 e 9. ... Ce5 10. De3∞. 10. bxc3. Per 10. Axf6 cfr. Beljavskij – Furman, 43° Campionato Sovietico, Erevan 1975. 10. ... De5 11. Axf6 Dxf6 12. f4 d5!? Anche se indietro nello sviluppo, il Nero contrattacca al centro. 13. Af3 Cxd4. E non 13. ... Dxf4? per via di 14. Cxc6 bxc6 15. Ah5 con effetti disgreganti. 14. cxd4 dxe4? Il Nero si espone a debolezze su entrambe i lati. Dopo 14. ... 0-0 15. c3 la posizione del Bianco è più armoniosa e spaziosa, ma per il Nero ancora sostenibile. 15. Axe4 g6 16. Tab1± De7 17. c4 0-0 18. c5 Td8 19. De3 a5 20. Af3 Td7 21. Tfc1! Xiăo Hóu è inesorabile: il Bianco minaccia c5-c6. 21. ... Ta6 22. Ae2 Ta8 23. Tb6. Il Bianco domina la scacchiera. 23. ... Dd8 24. Td1 a4 25. h3. Il computer (RobboLito) preferisce la karpoviana 25. a3, ma Yìfán non teme pericoli di contrattacco avversari. 25. ... a3 26. Tb4! Previene ... Ta8-a4 con successiva esecuzione del Pd4. 26. ... Dc7 27. Tdb1 Dd8 28. Af3 Ta7 29. T1b3! h5 30. De5! Minaccia De5-b8. 30. ... Ta6?? Nataša nel dramma dello Zeitnot! Più pervicace era 30. ... Tc7 31. Tb6±/+-. 31. Axb7 f6 1 : 0. Il perché è presto detto: dopo 32. De4+- il Bianco maramaldeggia.

侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán)
Foto: Chessdom.com

侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán) vs. Nataša Bojković
Foto: Chessdom.com