One Time

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Alexey Vasilyevich Sarana
74th Russian Chess Championship Higher League; Cheboksary, July 5, 2021
Nimzo-Indian Defence E32

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 0-0 5. e4 d5 6. e5 Ne4 7. Bd3 c5 8. Nf3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nd7 10. Bf4 Ndc5 11. 0-0 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nxd3. The alternative is 12. ... Bd7 13. Be2 Na4 14. cxd5 exd5 15. f3 (the 3rd game of the 2013 Women’s World Chess Championship match ended in a disaster for the defending Champion after 15. c4 Rc8 16. Qb3 dxc4! 17. Bxc4? Nac3∓) 15. ... Nec5 16. Rfc1 Rc8 17. Qd2 a6 18. c4 dxc4 19. Bxc4 Qe7 20. Qe3 Rfe8 21. Bg3 b5 22. Bb3 b4 23. f4 Nc3 24. f5 a5 25. Rf1 Nxb3 26. axb3 Qc5 27. Kh1 a4 28. f6 axb3 29. Qg5 g6 30. Nxb3 Qf8 31. Ra7 Be6 32. Nd4 h6 33. Qe3 b3 34. Nxe6 Rxe6 35. Rb7 Kh7 36. Rxb3 Nd5 37. Qf3 Qc5 38. h3 Qc6 39. Rd1 Nb6 40. Qxc6 Rcxc6 41. h4 h5 42. Rd8 Rc8 43. Rxc8 Nxc8 44. Rb8 Rc6 45. Bf4 Rc4 46. g3 Kg8 47. Bh6 Kh7 48. e6 Nd6 49. Bf4 Rxf4 50. gxf4 fxe6 51. Kg2 Nf7 52. Kf3 e5 53. Rf8 1 : 0 Goryachkina – Dzagnidze, FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2019–21, 2nd stage, Monte Carlo 2019. It may be useful to add that the game was annotated by Shahid Ahmed for the ChessBase website. 13. Qxd3 b6 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Rfd1 Bb7 16. f3!? Most usual is 16. c4 and if 16. ... Qd7 there may follow 17. f3 Nc5 18. Qe3 Qa4 19. Nb5 Qxc4? (⌓ 19. ... Bc6) 20. Nd6 Qa4 21. Rd4 Qd7 22. Ne4 Qe8 23. Nf6+! gxf6 24. Bh6 Kh8 25. Bg7+! 1 : 0 Abbasov – Ibrahimov, 64th Azerbaijani Chess Championship, Baku 2009. 16. ... Nc5 17. Qe3 Qc4 18. Rab1 Rad8

19. h4! Rd7! 20. h5 h6 21. Rb4. Of course there is nothing wrong with 21. Bxh6! immediately, but after 21. ... gxh6 White should play 22. Rb4 anyway (else 22. Qxh6? f5!) 22. ... Qxa2 23. Qxh6 a5! 24. Rxb6 f6!∞ with a complex but roughly balanced position. 21. ... Qxa2 22. Rd2 Qa3

23. Bxh6! Audentes fortuna iuvat. 23. ... gxh6 24. Qxh6 Qc1+? This turns out to be the losing move. It was necessary to play 24. ... Qxc3 at once, for after 25. Nc6 f5 White appears to have nothing better than a draw by perpetual check. 25. Kh2 f5. Now it’s too late for 25. ... Qxc3 on account of 26. Nc6! f5 27. Rxd7 Nxd7 28. Qxe6+ Kh8 29. Qh6+ Kg8 30. Rc4!! Qxc4 31. Ne7+ Kf7 32. Nxf5+− winning in all variations. 26. Nxe6 Nxe6 27. Qxe6+ Rdf7 28. Rd7 Qg5 29. Rxb7 Qxh5+ 30. Kg1 Kg7 31. Qf6+ Kg8 32. Rxf7 Qxf7 33. Qd6 Re8 34. Rd4 f4. No better is 34. ... Qe6 35. f4 Qxd6 36. Rxd6 with an easily won ending for White. 35. Qh6 Rxe5 (35. ... Rf8 36. Rd6+−) 36. Rxf4 Re1+ 37. Kf2 1 : 0.

Goryachkina made history in Chuvashia: not only she broke through the 2600 barrier in the Elo ratings, but she also tied for second place in the Higher League, thus qualifying for the absolute (all-gender) Russian Chess Championship Superfinal! Photo: Anastasia Domchenkova/Russian Chess Federation.

Fast and Slow

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Alexandr Alexandrovich Predke
74th Russian Chess Championship Higher League; Cheboksary, July 4, 2021
Modern Defence A40

1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. c4 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be2 exd5 7. exd5 Ne7 8. Nf3 0-0 9. 0-0 h6 10. Bd2. In fact, theoretically speaking, Goryachkina aims at improving White’s strategy effectiveness, at least in terms of results, if not necessarily in terms of planning: 10. h3 g5 11. Re1 Nd7 12. Ne4 Nf6 13. Nxf6+ Bxf6 14. Bd3 Kg7 15. Qc2 b5 16. cxb5 Nxd5 17. Bd2 Rb8 18. Rad1 a6 19. a4 axb5 20. axb5 Be6 21. Bc4 Re8 22. Bxg5 hxg5 23. Bxd5 Rxb5 24. b3 Bxd5 25. Rxe8 Bxb3 26. Qe4 d5 27. Qe2 Qd7 28. Re1 Bc4 29. Qe3 d4 30. Qc1 Bd3 31. Qa3 Bh7 32. Ra8 d3 33. Qc1 Qd5 34. Rae8 c4 35. Qa3 d2 36. Rd1 c3 37. Qf8+ Kg6 38. Rc8 Qb3 39. Rc6 Qxd1+ 40. Kh2 Qxf3 41. gxf3 d1=Q 0 : 1 Gelfand – Ponomariov, 3rd Chess World Cup, Khanty-Mansyisk 2009, Final match tie-break game 4 (time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move). 10. ... g5 11. h4 g4 12. Ne1 f5 13. Nd3 Nd7 14. Nf4 Ne5 15. h5 Kh7 16. Bd3 Ng8 17. Nce2

17. ... b5?! Black deliberately sets himself to transform his not-too-good Benonitype position into a kind of decidedly bad Benkö Counter-Gambit, leaving Goryachkina with a decisive strategic advantage. Probably best was 17. ... Nxd3 18. Nxd3 Nf6 19. Ndf4 Ne4 20. Qc2⩲ with an edge for White. 18. cxb5 Nf6 19. Bc3 Ne4 20. Bxe4 fxe4 21. Bxe5 Bxe5 22. Ng6 Rf5 23. Nxe5 Rxe5 24. Ng3 Bb7. Insufficient, but if 24. ... Qe7 then White plays 25. b4! opening up new fronts. 25. Qxg4 Qe8 26. Rad1 Bxd5 27. Nf5 Qg8. No better is 27. ... Qf7 28. Nxd6 Qxh5 29. Qxh5 Rxh5 30. Rfe1 a6 (30. ... Re5? 31. f4!+−) 31. b6 Rb8 32. Nxe4 Bxe4 33. Rxe4 Rxb6 34. b3+− with the same ending as in the game.

What now follows is an impressive display of technique by Goryachkina: 28. Qg6+! Qxg6 29. hxg6+ Kxg6 30. Rxd5! Rxf5 (30. ... Kxf5 31. Rxd6+−) 31. Rxd6+ Kg5 32. Rfd1 Re8 33. R1d5 c4 34. Rxf5+ Kxf5 35. Rd7 Re5 36. a4 e3 37. Kf1! Kg6 38. Rxa7 Rf5 39. f3 Rd5 40. Ke2 Rd2+ 41. Kxe3 Rxg2 42. Rc7 1 : 0.

With a little help from her friends, Goryachkina has finally succeeded in joining the élite group of women who broke through the 2600 barrier in the Elo ratings, she being the sixth woman in history to do so — after (in alphabetical order) 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), Humpy Koneru, Anna Olehivna Muzychuk and Judit Polgár. Photo: Anastasia Domchenkova/Russian Chess Federation.