Why Yesterday Tells of Tomorrow

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk – Evgenija Viktorovna Ovod
19th European Individual Women’s Chess Championship; Vysoké Tatry, April 13, 2018
French Defence C10

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Bd3 0-0 9. Qe2 b6 10. 0-0-0 Bb7 11. h4 Qd5 12. c4 Qh5 13. Rh3 c5! A significant improvement over 13. ... Bd6 14. Rg1 Rfe8? (14. ... Qg4 seemed called for) 15. g4! Qa5 16. Nd2 e5 17. g5 Nd7 18. d5 with an imposing position for White, Onischuk – Ivaschenko, 17th Ukrainian Team Chess Championship, Alushta 2010. 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. Bg5 Kh8 16. Rg3. Muzychuk appears a bit shocked by the opening outcome, and trying to hide it make her situation worse, pushing hard for an uncoordinated attack on the Kingside. 16. ... Bd6 17. Rh3 Bc5 18. Bd2 Ng8 19. Bc3 f6 20. Bc2 e5 21. Qd2? Nh6? They both are quite short of time, and that explains and justifies the continuous blackouts. Now, after 21. ... Bc8 22. Rhh1 Bf5 Black seems to stand well. The text gives White an opportunity that Muzychuk does not miss. 22. Ng5! Bc8. If 22. ... Bxg2 then 23. Rg3 Bc6 24. Nxh7 with wild complications. 23. Rhh1 Nf5? Ovod had to play 23. ... Bf5 24. Ne4 Qf7 25. b3 with a very slight edge to White.

24. Ne4? On her turn Muzychuk misses 24. Qd5 Rb8 25. g4 Qh6 26. Kb1 and Black should have to deal with too many threats. 24. ... Nd4 25. Nxc5 bxc5 26. f3 Be6 27. b3 a5 28. g4 Qf7 29. Bxd4 cxd4 30. Qd3 g6 31. a4 Qe7 32. Rde1 Bg8?? And here begins Black’s disaster. After 32. ... Qa3+ 33. Kd2 Ra7! (and if 34. h5 then 34. ... g5) White should have strived for survival. 33. Qxd4 Rfd8? 33. ... Rab8! 34. Qc3! Qa3+ 35. Qb2 Qxb2+ 36. Kxb2 Bxc4 was obviously Black’s best drawing possibility. 34. Qc3 Qa3+ 35. Qb2 Qb4 36. Rxe5! Muzychuk perfectly calculated her winning streak. 36. ... Bxc4 37. Re4 Qd2+ 38. Kb1 Bd3 39. Qxf6+ Kg8 40. Qe6+ Kh8 41. Qf6+ Kg8 42. Bxd3 Rxd3 43. Qe6+ Kh8 44. Rc1 Rxf3 45. Rc8+ Rxc8 46. Qxc8+ Kg7 47. Qc7+ Rf7 48. Qc2 Qd8 49. g5 Rd7 50. Qc3+ Kg8 51. Re2 Rc7 52. Qd2 Qa8 53. Qe3 Qb7 54. Qe6+ Kg7 55. Qf6+ 1 : 0.

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk playing her fifth round game the day before. Photo: Oleksandr Martynkov.

Tell the Driver

Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk – Evgenija Viktorovna Ovod
66th Russian Women’s Chess Championship; Novosibirsk, October 26, 2016
French Defence C16

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 b6 7. Qg4 Ng6 8. h4 h5 9. Qd1 Ba6 10. Bg5 Qd7 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. Ne2 Qa4 13. 0-0 Ne7 14. Ng3 g6 15. Bf6 Rg8 16. Re1 Kd7 17. Qd2 Nc6 18. Re3 Na5 19. Rf3 Nc4 20. Qc1 Kc8 21. Bg5 Rg7 22. Ne2 Kb7 23. Nf4 Rc8 24. Nh3 c5 25. Qb1 Rc7 26. Qb3 Qe8 27. a4 Na5 28. Qb5 Qc8 29. Bh6 Rh7 30. Bd2 Ka8 31. Be1 Nb8 32. Ng5 Rg7 33. Rf6 Qb7 34. Bd2 Nc4 35. Bf4 cxd4 36. cxd4 Nc6 37. Rd1 a6 38. Qb3 Rg8 39. Bc1 Rd8 40. Rd3 Ka7 41. c3 Rdd7 42. Rdf3 Nd8 43. Nh7 Rc8 44. Qd1 b5 45. Ng5 Rcc7 46. Kh2 Qc6 47. a5 Rb7 48. Nh7 Qc7 49. Bh6 b4 50. cxb4 Rxb4 51. Bf8 Rb5 52. Qc1 Qxa5 53. Ng5 Rbb7 54. Qf4 Qe1 55. Bc5+ Ka8 56. Rd3 Qe2 57. Rc3 a5 58. Rc1 Qb2 59. Ne4!? When you are in trouble you can’t be too picky!

After a ferocious struggle Ovod got concrete winning chances, and now she could exploit it by 59. ... Rb3! 60. Nd6 Ne3!!−+, but it was not so easy to renounce to the more naturally founded advance of the a-Pawn... 59. ... a4? 60. Nd6 a3 61. Rxc4! Now or never! 61. ... dxc4 62. Nxc4 Qb3? On the wrong foot. Correct was 62. ... Rd5! 63. Qg3 (White evidently cannot yet take the Pawn) 63. ... Qb3! 64. Nxa3 Qxg3+ 65. fxg3 Nc6 with a rough equality. 63. Nxa3 Nc6 64. Qc1! Qa4? Ovod dramatically loses the thread of her own affairs, and with it the game, too. 64. ... Nxd4 65. Bd6 Rd8 was still quite unclear. 65. Nc4 Nxd4 66. Nb6+ Rxb6 67. Bxb6+− Nc6 68. Rf4 Qb5 69. Bc5 Nxe5 70. Qa1+ Kb7 71. Qxe5 Kc6 72. Qc3 Qxc5 73. Rc4 Qxc4 74. Qxc4+ Kd6 75. Qb4+ Ke5 76. Qb2+ Kf5 77. f3 e5 78. Qc1 Rd6 79. g4+ hxg4 80. Qg5+ Ke6 81. fxg4 Ra6 82. h5 Ra2+ 83. Kg1 Ra1+ 84. Kf2 Ra2+ 85. Ke1 Rh2 86. hxg6 fxg6 87. Qxg6+ Kd5 88. Qd3+ Ke6 89. Qf5+ Kd5 90. g5 Kd4 91. Qg4+ Kd5 1 : 0. “Previously I only won one Russian championship, in 2005. For some reason I was strongly motivated by the special prize, the Renault car, while the same could not be said about the money. When I found out that the champions will receive this car, I recalled that I don’t have the Russian driver’s license. Hopefully after this tournament I will fix the formalities, otherwise my husband will have to drive me around”, Kosteniuk finally said.

Kosteniuk vs. Ovod. Photo: ruchess.ru,

“I am very pleased of winning again the Russian Women’s Championship, eleven years after my first time!”, Kosteniuk said. Photo: A. Zieler.

Thunder from the Sea

Evgenija Viktorovna Ovod – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
8th Russian Women’s Team Chess Championship; Dagomys, May 7, 2007
Nimzo-Indian Defence E58

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 Qc7 10. Bb2 Na5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Ne5 c4 13. Bc2 Ne4 14. f3 Nd6 15. h3 (15. e4 f6!) 15. ... Re8 (15. ... Bf5 16. a4 f6 17. Ng4 Rfe8 18. Ba3 Bxg4 19. hxg4 Rxe3 20. Qd2 Rae8 21. Rae1 Rxe1 22. Rxe1 g6 23. Kf2 Rxe1 24. Qxe1 Kf7 25. Qe3 Nc6 26. Qh6 Ke6 27. Qe3+ Kf7 28. Qh6 Ke6 29. f4 Qf7 30. f5+ gxf5 31. Qf4 Qc7 32. Bxf5+ Ke7 33. g5 fxg5 34. Qxg5+ Kf7 35. Qh5+ Kf6 36. Bxh7 Qf7 37. Qf3+ Kg7 38. Bxd6 Qxf3+ 39. Kxf3 Kxh7 40. Kf4 Kg6 41. g4 a6 42. g5 ½ : ½ Piket – Aleksandrov, 34th Chess Olympiad, Istanbul 2000) 16. Qe1 (16. Re1 f6 17. Ng4 Bf5 ½ : ½ del Río de Angelis – Arizmendi Martínez, 49th Spanish Team Chess Championship, Sant Lluís 2005) 16. ... f6 17. Ng4 Bf5

18. Rc1? This loses a Pawn without any return. Instead 18. e4! may well illustrate the difference between two ways of giving up a Pawn, as after 18. ... dxe4 19. Qg3 White can at least claim compensation. 18. ... Bxc2 19. Rxc2 Nf5 20. Bc1 Nb3 21. Rff2 h5 22. Nh2 Nxc1 23. Qxc1 Rxe3 24. Nf1 Re7. Black has gained a Pawn and dominates the e-file.

25. g4? White could do little to prevent her opponent consolidating her advantage (by ... Ra8-e8 followed by ... h5-h4), but certainly the text just makes things even worse. 25. ... Nh4−+ 26. gxh5 Rae8 27. f4 Re1 28. Qb2 (28. Qd2 Qd7−+) 28. ... Qd7 29. Kh2 (29. Rce2 Qxh3−+)

29. ... R8e3! 30. Nxe3 Rxe3 31. Rce2 Qxh3+ 32. Kg1 Rg3+ 33. Rg2 Nf3+ 34. Kf1 Qh1+ 35. Kf2 Qxg2+ 0 : 1. Because of 36. Ke3 Ng1+ 37. Kd2 Qxe2+ 38. Kc1 Qe1+ 39. Kc2 Rg2 mate.