A Life Long Ago

Gina Biella was one of the adversaries of Clarice Benini in both the first two Italian Women’s Chess Championships in 1938 and 1939, but little or nothing is known of her. Nevertheless, a first mention of her — dating back to many years earlier — may be found in the chess column of Il Secolo XX. Rivista popolare illustrata, No. 11, November 1922, p. 814:

To celebrate the anniversary of the foundation of the Italian Chess Federation, engineer commendatore Luigi Miliani (the author of the well-known and highly valuable handbook) held in Varese on September 20, 1922, a simultaneous exhibition on 50 boards against players who came from Milan, Gallarate, Busto Arsizio (branches of Florentine clubs). The outcome could not have been more brilliant: he had only 5 lost games and 10 draws. It is interesting to note that some young women who were as youthful and pretty as they were skilled took part in the challenge. Two of them, Gina e Mina Biella of Milan, opposing with fearless confidence and tranquillity the insidious play of the master were able to take advantage of some of his weak moves to win, with great satisfaction also of their chivalrous opponent, who rather has very kindly allowed us to publish one of these games, knowing and approving the role that this column has always given to the fair sex.

Luigi Miliani – Gina Biella
50-board simultaneous exhibition; Varese, September 20, 1922
King’s Gambit Accepted C39

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ng5 Nf6 6. Bc4? d5! 7. exd5. The editor, to whom the punctuation is due, let the move in the text pass without a word or a mark, but comparatively better was 7. Bxd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 Qxd5 9. Qe2+ Be7 10. Nc3 Qf5 11. d3 h6 12. Nge4 Be6 13. Qf2 f3∓ 14. gxf3 Nc6? (14. ... gxf3) 15. fxg4 Qxg4 16. Nf6+ Bxf6 17. Qxf6 Qd4 18. Ne4 Qxf6 19. Nxf6+ Ke7 20. Rf1 Nd4 21. Rf2 Nxc2+ 22. Rxc2 Kxf6 23. Rxc7 Bd5 24. Be3 ½–½ Gunsberg – Maróczy, Vienna Gambit Tournament, Vienna 1903.
7. ... h6 8. Nxf7 Kxf7 9. d4 Bd6 10. 0-0 Nh5 11. Nc3 Qxh4 12. Bxf4 Nxf4 13. Ne2

13. ... g3! 14. Rxf4+ Bxf4 15. Nxf4 Qh2+ 16. Kf1 Qh1+ 17. Ke2 Bg4+ 0–1.

Five-Minute Blackout

Daniela Movileanu – Olga Zimina
44th Italian Women’s Chess Championship; Cosenza, December 10, 2017
6r1/kp3R2/p7/3R4/1b4P1/4Np1r/5P1P/6K1 w - - 4 43

Olga Zimina won the 44th Italian Women’s Chess Championship held in Cosenza, Italy ahead of Marina Brunello on tie-break – blitz games decided the title. In her last-round game against Daniela Movileanu, however, Zimina went very near to miss her coveted tie-break. 43. Rdd7! Rb8! 43. ... Bc5 44. Rxb7+ Ka8 45. Rb3 Bxe3 46. Rxe3 Rxg4+ 47. Kh1 Rg8 48. Rexf3 Rxf3 49. Rxf3 Kb7 only results in a drawn ending, so it’s understandable that Zimina – who needs to win at all costs – aims for a double-edged equality. 44. Nc4 a5 45. Ne5 Ka6 46. Nxf3 Rf8 47. Rxf8 Bxf8 48. Kg2 Rh8 49. g5 a4 50. Nd4 Bc5 51. Ne6 Bb4. Black is a Pawn down, but her duo of passers seems to run more quickly than White’s triad (for instance: 52. f4? a3!). 52. g6!? Maybe even White is playing to win, who knows. Simpler appears to be 52. Rd4(!) Ka5 (idem to say 52. ... Kb5 53. Rd7 Ka6 54. Rd4) 53. Rd5+ Kb6 54. Rd4 implying a draw by repetition. 52. ... Rg8 53. g7 Bc3. That’s the most Black has – probably not enough. 54. Rd8?? But Movileanu blunders away the game. 54. Nc5+? was not good as well, since after 54. ... Kb5! 55. Ne6 Kb6! White is in trouble (if 56. Rd3 then 56. ... Bb2). The right way seems, however, 54. Rf7(!) b5 55. Kf3 (55. Rf8?? loses to 55. ... Rxg7+!) with very good drawing chances; for instance: 55. ... a3 (55. ... Bxg7!? 56. Nxg7 a3 57. Ne6 Rc8 58. Nd4! a2 59. Nxb5 Kxb5 60. Ra7 Rc2 61. h4 Kb4! also draws) 56. Rf8! Rxg7 57. Nxg7 Ka7! 58. Ne6 a2 59. Nc7! and White should draw. 54. ... Rxd8 0 : 1. For after 55. Nxd8 Bxg7 56. Ne6 a3 the a-Pawn queens.

Half Step Up

Marina Brunello – Maria Palma
44th Italian Women’s Chess Championship; Cosenza, December 9, 2017
Sicilian Defence B40

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Qd3. Theory runs 6. e5 Nd5 7. Bd2 (or 7. Qg4) with plenty of complications as in most lines Black sacrifices the Exchange on f8 for a counter-attack on the dark squares. Brunello’s move shows that she was not ready to undertake the challenge. 6. ... 0-0. 6. ... Nc6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. e5 Nd5 9. f4 f5 is also satisfactory for Black, Walbrodt – Schiffers, Internationales Kaiser-Jubiläums-Schachturnier, Vienna 1898. 7. e5 Nd5 8. Bd2 d6 9. exd6 Qxd6 10. g3 Nc6 11. Bg2 Rd8 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Ne4 Qc7 14. Bxb4 Nxb4 15. Qb3 Rb8 16. 0-0 c5. Black seems to have equalised – more or less. 17. Rfd1 Bb7 18. Rxd8+ Rxd8 19. a3 Bd5 20. c4 Bxe4 21. axb4 Bxg2 22. Kxg2 Qb7+ 23. Qf3 Qc7? Really bad judgment as this loses the game. Instead 23. ... Qxb4 24. Rxa7 Rf8 25. b3 Qb8 appears to lead to an approximately equal endgame.

24. b5! Now White’s heavy calibers should not meet too many difficulties in dooming Black’s weak Pawns on a7 and c5. 24. ... g6 25. Ra6 Kg7 26. b3. 26. Qa3 eventually followed by Ra6-c6 seemed stronger. 26. ... Rd4 27. Qc6? 27. Rc6 Qe7 28. Rc8 would have kept the bind. 27. ... Qe5. Not 27. ... Qxc6+? because of 28. dxc6 Rd8 29. Ra5 and White must win. 28. Rxa7 Qf5? 28. ... Rd3! followed by ... Rd3xb3 would have probably saved Black. 29. Qf3! Qxf3+ 30. Kxf3 Rd3+ 31. Ke4 Rxb3 32. Rc7 Rb2 33. Rxc5 Rxf2 34. b6 1 : 0.

G+

Marina Brunello – Désirée Di Benedetto
44th Italian Women’s Chess Championship; Cosenza, December 7, 2017
Sicilian Defence B49

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Be2 b5 8. Nxc6 dxc6. The alternative is 8. ... Qxc6; for instance: 9. a3 Bb7 10. Qd2 Rc8 11. 0-0 Nf6 12. Bf3 Qc7 13. Bf4 e5 14. Bg5 Be7 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Rfd1 Rd8 17. Qe2 0-0 18. Nd5 Qc4 19. c3 Bc6 20. Qc2 Bg5 21. g3 g6 22. h4 Bh6 23. Be2 Qc5 24. b4 Qa7 25. a4 Qb7 26. axb5 axb5 27. Qb3 Kg7 28. Bf3 f5 29. exf5 gxf5 30. Bg2 f4 31. Be4 fxg3 32. fxg3 Be3+ 33. Kh1 Bf2 34. Rd3 Kh8 35. Qc2 Rf7 36. Qe2 Rg8 37. Rf1 Rgf8 38. Qh5 Rg7 39. Qe2 Rgf7 40. Kg2 Ba7 41. Rxf7 Rxf7 42. Qh5 d6 43. Kh2 Qd7 44. Rf3 Qe6 45. Qxf7 1 : 0 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Potkin, Eurasian Blitz Chess Cup, Almaty 2016. 9. f4 Bb7 10. Bf3 Be7. If 10. ... e5 then 11. fxe5 Qxe5 12. Bd4 Qg5 13. Qe2 and White stands better, Bologan – Morozevich, World Rapid Chess Championship, Berlin 2015. Maybe 10. ... Nf6 is the best option Black has; for instance: 11. e5 Nd5 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Bd4 Be7 14. 0-0 0-0 ½ : ½ Kosanović – Hulak, Pula 1990. 11. e5. For 11. Qe2 Rd8 12. 0-0 e5 see Riazantsev – Grachev, 67th Russian Chess Championship Higher League, Vladivostok 2014. 11. ... Nh6 12. Ne4 Nf5 13. Bc5 Rd8. 13. ... Bxc5 14. Nxc5 Rd8 15. Qe2 transposes into the game. 14. Qe2 Bxc5 15. Nxc5 Nd4 16. Qf2 Nxf3+ 17. gxf3! That’s the killer move! White opens the g-file and prepares for giving mate!

17. ... Rd5. Comparatively better is 17. ... 0-0, although after 18. Rg1 Kh8 19. Qh4 (Δ Rg1xg7) 19. ... h6 20. Ke2! White still retains a powerful attack. 18. Rg1 Kf8. Now it’s late for 18. ... 0-0 as after 19. Ne4 the curtain falls. 19. Rd1 Bc8 20. b4 Qd8 21. Ke2! f6 22. Ne4! Black’s position is totally hopeless and the end comes quick and easy. 22. ... fxe5. 22. ... Qe7 23. Qh4 makes no difference. 23. Qc5+ Qe7 24. Qxe7+ Kxe7 25. Rxg7+ Kd8 26. fxe5 Rxd1 27. Kxd1 h5 28. h4 Bd7 29. Nf6 1 : 0.

Late Afternoon

Tea Gueci – Marina Brunello
44th Italian Women’s Chess Championship; Cosenza, December 4, 2017
Sicilian Defence B90

As it was expected the game between Tea Gueci and Marina Brunello was a hard fight, back and forth, with some crazy side effects on both sides. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 0-0 10. 0-0-0 a5 11. a4 Nc6 12. g4 Nb4 13. Kb1 Nd7. Varying from 13. ... Rc8 14. g5 Nh5 15. Rg1 f5 16. gxf6 Rxf6 17. Bg5 Rf7? (17. ... Rxf3) 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Qxd6 which left Black a Pawn down for no compensation, Abrahamyan – M. Brunello, 32nd Reykjavík Open, Reykjavík 2016. 14. Rg1!? A new, but not very useful move. More to the point is 14. h4 Nb6 15. Qf2 Nc4 16. Bxc4 Bxc4 17. f4; for instance: 17. ... exf4 18. Bxf4 Bxb3 19. cxb3 Qd7 20. Qf3 Rfe8 21. Nb5 Ra6 22. g5 Bf8 23. Rhf1 Rc6 24. Bxd6! Bxd6 25. Nxd6 Rf8 26. Qf5 Qe7 27. Nxf7! Rc5 28. e5 Rd5 29. Rc1 Rdd8 30. e6 Rd5 31. Qe4 Re8 32. Nh6+! Kh8 33. Rf7 1 : 0 Lastin – Iskusnyh, 60th Russian Chess Championship Higher League, Krasnoyarsk 2007. 14. ... Nb6 15. Qf2 Nc4 16. Bxc4 Bxc4 17. Bb6 Qb8. Black sacrifices temporarily a Pawn in order to seize the initiative. 18. Nxa5 Be6 19. Nd5 Nxd5 20. exd5 Bd7 21. b3 Rc8 22. Rge1?! Gueci is not interested in Stockfish’s line 22. f4 Bd8 23. Nc4 Rxc4 24. bxc4 Rxa4 25. Bxd8 Qxd8 26. fxe5 Qa5 with a very likely draw by perpetual check. 22. ... Ra6! 23. Re4 Qa8 24. Nc4 f5?! A little too prudent. It came natural to dare 24. ... Bxa4! 25. bxa4 Rxa4 26. Na5 Rxa5 27. Bxa5 Qxa5 28. Qd2 Rc3! with plenty of compensation for the Exchange. 25. gxf5 Bxf5 26. a5! Bxe4 27. fxe4. Curiously enough, White ended up sacrificing the Exchange for only a Pawn, but quite good chances of counterplay on both wings. 27. ... Rf8 28. Qg2 Rf6 29. Qh3 Qe8 30. Ne3. Aiming for tricky tactics. 30. ... Ra8 31. Nf5 Bd8? This ambitious move is really antithetic. The place for the Bishop was at f8 (31. ... Bf8). 32. Rg1. And now, probably due to time pressure, Brunello commits harakiri: 32. ... Rg6? 32. ... g6∞ was imperatively called for. 33. Rxg6 Qxg6 34. Qc3? Gueci, too, must have been short of time, for otherwise she would have realized that 34. Bxd8 Qg1+ 35. Kb2 Rxd8 36. Nxd6! was completely winning. 34. ... Qf6 35. Qb4 g6 36. Nh6+ Kg7 34. Qc3 Qf6 35. Qb4 g6 36. Nh6+ Kg7 37. Be3? Both opponents are under time pressure. Here 37. Ng4 Qe7 38. Ne3 was still tenable. 37. ... Qe7 38. Bg5!? A last-ditch trick. 38. ... Qxg5? It worked! 38. ... Qd7 would have left White with no future. 39. Qxb7+ Kxh6 40. Qxa8. The ending is now extremely unclear, since White’s united passed Pawns excellently compensate for her material deficit. 40. ... Kh5 41. b4 Qg1+ 42. Ka2 Bg5 43. Qc8 Qd4 44. Qh3+ Bh4 45. Qf3+ Kg5 46. Kb3 h5 47. a6 Qb6 48. Qd3 Bf2 49. Qc4 Kf4 50. Qc6 Kxe4

51. a7? Gueci’s nerves eventually broke and she made her final mistake by throwing away the a-Pawn. Instead 51. Ka4 would seem naturally to grant at least a draw. Now Brunello does no longer miss her chance: 51. ... Qxa7 52. Qxd6 Qd4 53. Qxg6+ Kxd5 54. Qf7+ Ke4 55. Qxh5 Ke3 56. Qh6+ Ke2 57. Qa6+ Kd2 58. Qh6+ Be3 59. Qc6 e4 60. c3 Qd3 61. b5 Bd4 62. b6 Qxc3+ 63. Qxc3+ Bxc3 0 : 1.

Time clock

Désirée Di Benedetto – Elena Sedina
44th Italian Women’s Chess Championship; Cosenza, December 3, 2017
rq5k/3nb1pp/b3p3/1Npp3B/P4P2/1PB1P1rP/1Q4P1/2R2RK1 w - - 11 28

Position after 27. ... Rg6-g3

The position in the diagram shows what can happen when a Benkö Counter-Gambit goes wrong. White to move and win: 28. Rf3! Deflecting the Black Rook. 28. ... Rxf3. Any other move loses as well. 29. Bxg7+ Kg8 30. gxf3 Bxb5 1 : 0. And Black resigns without waiting for 31. Qg2! which would result in too serious heavy losses for her.

Across the Hall

Marina Brunello – Alessia Santeramo
44th Italian Women’s Chess Championship; Cosenza, December 3, 2017
Spanish Game C64

Since nothing particular happened on this day in the 77th Italian “unisex” Chess Championship, let’s take a look at what’s going on in the 44th Italian Women’s Chess Championship which started today in Cosenza. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. h3 a6 8. Ba4. The most “authorial” other way is 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. Re1 Re8 10. Nbd2 d5 11. exd5 Qxd5 12. Nb3 Bf8 13. c4 Qd6 14. Be3 Nd7 15. d4 e4 16. Nfd2 a5 17. a4 f5 (17. ... Qg6) 18. c5 Dg6 (18. ... Qe6 would have prevented, at least for a while, White’s next move) 19 Nc4 with a powerful edge, Carlsen – Grischuk, Candidates Tournament, London 2013. 8. ... h6 9. Re1 Ba7 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. d4 Ng6 12. Nf1 c6? A passive move that only loses time. For 12. ... b5 13. Bc2 c5 14. Ng3 Re8 15. Be3 Bb7 16. d5 c4 see Ortega Valle – Korneev, 2nd International Open, Sevilla 2006. Nevertheless, it’s also interesting 12. ... d5!? 13. exd5 exd4 14. Nxd4 Nxd5 15. Ng3 Ndf4 15. Ng3 Ndf4 16. Bxf4 Nxf4 17. Qf3 Ne6 18. Ndf5 Ng5 19. Qf4 Bxf5 20. Nxf5 Ne6 21. Qe4 Qd2 22. Re2 Qf4 (Jaracz – D. Isonzo, 3rd International Festival, Lido degli Estensi 2002) as 23. Ne7+ Kh8 24. Qxe6 is answered by 24. ... Qxa4 with roughly equal chances. 13. Ng3 Qc7 14. Bc2 Be6. Now and on the next few moves, Black would have done better to make self-criticism and play ... c6-c5. 15. Be3 b5. It was still time to play ... c6-c5 followed eventually by ... c5xd4 and ... Rf8-c8. 16. Qd2 Rfd8?! This suggests that Black is thinking about pushing the wrong Pawn. 17. a4! d5? And this opens up the game for the joy of White’s light-squared Bishop. 18. axb5 axb5 19. exd5 Bxd5 20. Bxg6. 20. Nxe5! Nxe5 21. Bxh6! might have been even stronger. 20. ... Bxf3? Stockfish’s 20. ... exd4 21. Bf4 dxc3 22. Qxd5 Nxd5 23. Bxc7 Nxc7 24. Be4 cxb2 25. Rb1 Nd5 26. Rxb2 leaves Black with insufficient compensation for the Knight, but the text allows Brunello to mount a devastating attack. 21. Bc2! exd4 22. cxd4 Bd5

23. Bxh6! gxh6 24. Qxh6 Bxd4 25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. Nf5 Ne4 27. Nxd4 Qe5 28. Bxe4 Qxd4. Or 28. ... Bxe4 29. Nxc6 and the curtain falls. 29. Bh7+ Kh8 30. Bf5+ Kg8 31. Re3 Bf3 32. Rxf3 1 : 0.