Once More Upon a Time

Mobina Alinasab – Antoaneta Stefanova

4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship; Qualifier 2 Knockout; Final match game 14; time control: 1 minute plus 1 second per move; chess.com, May 27, 2022

8/3kb2p/5p2/2p2p2/2Pp1P2/r2Np1P1/P1R1P2P/4K3 w - - 5 35

Position after 34. ... Ke6-d7?

It took 14 games for 11th Women’s World Chess Champion Antoaneta Stefanova to win her Final match against Iranian Woman International Master Mobina Alinasab, thus qualifying for the Main Event of the 4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship. In fact, Alinasab was still safe in the position in the diagram, because thanks to Black’s loss of time by ... Ke6-d7 (she should have played ... Ke6-d6, defending the c-Pawn), White is just in time to hold everything together. 35. Kd1! Kc6 36. Kc1 Bd8 37. Kb2 Ra4 38. Kb3 Ra7 39. Kb2 Rb7+ 40. Kc1 Ba5 41. Rb2 Ra7

42. Rc2? This loses the game and the match. Here Alinasab misses her way toward salvation: 42. Kb1! Bb4! 43. a4! (43. Nxb4+?? cxb4 44. Rxb4 d3−+) 43. ... Rxa4 44. Ra2 Rxa2 45. Kxa2 with a clear draw. 42. ... Bc3!−+ (Δ ... Ra7-a4) 43. Kb1 Rb7+ 44. Kc1 Ra7 45. Kb1 Ra4 46. Nb2 Bxb2 47. Kxb2 Rb4+ 48. Kc1 Kb6 49. h3 h5 50. a3 Ra4 51. Kb2 Kc6 52. Kb3 Ra8 53. a4 Rb8+ 54. Ka3 Rb1 55. a5 Ra1+ 56. Kb3 Rxa5 57. Rc1 Ra8 58. Rg1 Rg8 59. Kc2 Kb6 60. Kb3 Kc6 61. Kc2 h4 62. g4 fxg4 0 : 1.

Magic Spells

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk – Mobina Alinasab

Women’s World Chess Championship Knockout Tournament; match game 2; Khanty-Mansiysk, November 10, 2018

Queen’s Gambit Accepted D20

Today Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk got confirmation that superstition existed before FIDE. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Bxc4 Nc6 6. 0-0 Be6 7. Bb5 Bc5 8. b4 Bb6 9. a4 a6 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. a5 Ba7 12. Bb2 Qd6 13. Na3 Qxb4? This way to keep the extra Pawn seems very dangerous. Probably safer is 13. ... Rd8 14. Nc2 Bg4 15. h3 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Ne7 17. Rfd1 d3 18. Ra3 d2 19. Bc3 0-0 ½ : ½ Shishkin – Nyzhnyk, 8th Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov Memorial, Kiev 2010. 14. Qc1 Ne7 15. Nc2 Qc4 16. Ncxd4 c5!? Alinasab introduces her novelty, which, however, makes life even easier for the younger Muzychuk, while the other Muzychuk had had to struggle alone for her own livelihood: 16. ... Bxd4 17. Nxd4 Rb8 18. Qd2 c5 19. Nf5 Nxf5 20. exf5 Bxf5 (20. ... Qd5! might have been worth considering) 21. Rac1 Qg4 22. Rc3 Be6 23. Rg3 Qb4? (23. ... Rd8) 24. Bc3 Qc4 25. Rd1 Qa2 26. Qc1 (Black is doomed) 26. ... Rg8 27. Bxg7 Qe2 28. h3 Qh5 29. Qd2 Ke7 30. Rg5 Qh4 31. Qe3 Qb4 32. Qe5 Qxa5 33. Bf6+ 1 : 0 A. Muzychuk – Kalinina, 74th Ukrainian Women’s Chess Championship, Lviv 2014. 17. Nxe6 Qxe6 18. Bxg7 Rg8 19. Be5 0-0-0 20. Bg3 Nc6 21. Qf4 Rd7 22. h3 f6 23. Rfd1 Re7 24. Kh2 Rgg7. Not 24. ... Qxe4? because of 25. Qxf6 Kb7 27. Re1 with overwhelming preponderance. If, instead, 24. ... c4 there might follow 25. Rac1 Nxa5 26. Nd4 with great advantage to White. 25. Nh4 Rd7 26. Nf5 Rgf7

27. Ne3! Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Nxa5? A little better seems 28. ... Ne5, though even then 29. Nd5 c6 30. Nc3 c4 31. Na4 Rd7 32. Rc1 leaves White in full command of the board. 29. Nd5 Bb8. If 29. ... c6 then 30. Nc7 Qb3 31. Qg4+ Kb7 32. Ne6 winning easily. 30. Qe3 Ba7 31. Rb1 f5 32. Qc3 Nc6 33. Qh8+ Nd8 34. Rd1 Rd7 35. exf5 Qf7 36. Qe5 Nc6 37. Qe4 Kd8 (37. ... Kb7 38. f6+−) 38. Nxc7. Another finish would have been 38. Bh4+ Kc8 39. Ne7+! Nxe7 40. Qa8+ Bb8 41. Rb1 with mate coming. 38. ... Rxd1 39. Qxc6 Rd4 40. Ne6+ Ke7 41. Nxd4 cxd4 42. f6+ 1 : 0.

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk. Photo © Press service of the Women’s World Championship 2018.

Behind the Beyond

Mobina Alinasab – Monika Bobrowska-Soćko

Knockout Women’s World Chess Championship Tournament; match game 2; Khanty-Mansiysk, November 7, 2018

Pirc Defence B09

Iranian Woman International Master Mobina Alinasab keeps on winning and being in the limelight. Of course one must always believe a little of everything. 1. e4 g6 2. d4 d6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. f4 Nf6 5. Nf3 0-0 6. e5. A radical commitment. 6. ... dxe5 7. fxe5 Nd5 8. Nxd5. It seems a strange way to handle the opening. 8. Bc4 is regarded here as the critical continuation. 8. ... Qxd5 9. Be2 c5 10. c4!? If 10. c3 then 10. ... cxd4 11. Qxd4 Qa5= Opočenský – Plater, Bratislava 1957. 10. ... Qe4. 10. ... Qd8 11. d5 b5!? is another interesting option, Oganisjn – Peralta, 22nd Open, Montcada i Reixac 2014. 11. dxc5 Nc6 12. Qd5 Qg4 13. Ng5 Qd4 14. Nf3 Qg4 15. Ng5 Qf5! Of course, Bobrowska-Soćko must play to win only. 16. Rf1 e6 17. Qe4 Qxe5 18. Qxe5 Bxe5 19. Ne4 f5! 20. Nd6 Bxh2. Something went wrong in White’s opening, and now it is Black who is a Pawn ahead. 21. Bg5 Bg3+ 22. Kd2 Be5. Perhaps Black should have looked for a safe way to develop her Queenside by 22. ... Rb8 23. Bf3 Bd7. 23. Rab1 Bf6? That doesn’t seem necessary at all, and badly delays an answer to the Queenside issue — 23. ... a5(!) seems better suited to claim an edge. 24. Bxf6 Rxf6 25. Bf3 Bd7? This is Bobrowska-Soćko’s decisive mistake. 25. ... Ne5(!) was Black’s last and best chance to fight for holding the game. 26. b4! Rb8 27. b5 Na5. 27. ... Nd8 28. Kc3 makes little difference since White’s Queenside preponderance is anyway overwhelming. 28. Kc3 e5 29. Rbd1! Threatening Kc3-b4. 29. ... Be6 30. Kb4 b6 31. c6. The d6-Knight is defended. 31. ... Kg7 32. Bd5 Bd7 33. c5 bxc5+ 34. Kxc5 Rb6 35. cxd7 Rfxd6 36. Ba8 Rxd1 37. Rxd1 1 : 0.

Mobina Alinasab (seated) vs. Monika Bobrowska-Soćko (standing). Photo © Press service of the Women’s World Championship 2018.

Navār-chādor

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh – Mobina Alinasab
13th Iranian Women’s Chess Championship; Tehran, January 17, 2016
Queen’s Indian Defence E16

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 b6 5. g3 Bb7 6. Bg2 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 0-0 8. 0-0 d6 9. b3 Nbd7 10. Bb2 Qe7 11. Rfd1 Rfe8 12. Rac1 a5 13. a3 Rad8 14. b4 axb4 15. axb4 Be4 16. b5 Ra8 17. Qc3 Ra2 18. Ra1 Rxa1 19. Rxa1 Ra8 20. Rc1 Qd8 21. Bh3 Ra2 22. Nd2 Bb7 23. f3 Qa8 24. Nb3 e5 25. d5 Nc5. So far Alinasab played quite well. However, her last move looks a little too hasty. 26. Nxc5 bxc5 27. Bf5! Very elegant! Khademalsharieh repositions her Bishop to where it is the most dangerous for the Black King. 27. ... Bc8? An untimely reply which leaves White with a free hand on the Kingside. Comparatively best was 27. ... Qe8! and if 28. Bb1 then 28. ... Ra8 29. Qd3 g6 trying to consolidate. 28. Bb1 Ra7 29. Qd2 Nd7 30. f4 exf4 31. gxf4 Bb7 32. Qd3 g6 33. Qc3 f6

34. Kf2! Khademalsharieh is indeed a very strong positional player, but sometimes appears lacking in tactical resoluteness, especially when something unclear hinders her in carrying out her methodical strategy. In the present instance, however, she doesn’t go astray and aims directly at the King. 34. ... Qd8 35. Rg1 Kf7 36. Qh3 Nf8 37. f5 Kg7. No better is 37. ... g5 38. Qh5+ Ke7 39. Bxf6+! soon mating. 38. fxg6 hxg6 39. Bxg6 Nxg6 40. Qf5 Bc8 1 : 0.

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh. Photo: chesstehran.ir.