Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

René Magritte (Les Amants, 1928)

Light-in-Flight

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – 周健超 (Zhōu Jiànchāo)
Chinese Chess League Division A; 绍兴 (Shàoxīng), August 22, 2015
Sicilian Defence B96

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nf3 a6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Nbd7 8. Qe2 Qc7 9. 0-0-0 b5 10. a3 Be7 11. g4 Rb8 12. Bg2 h6 13. Bh4 Bb7. For 13. ... b4 14. axb4 Rxb4 15. Bf2 g5 see 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī) – Negi, 11th Asian Continental Chess Championship, Ho Chi Minh City 2012. 14. Rhe1 Nb6 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. e5 dxe5 17. Ndxb5. Very bold play by 韦奕 (Wéi Yì). 17. ... axb5 18. Nxb5 Qc5. Another modus vivendi was 18. ... Qe7 19. Bxb7 Kf8 with a very unclear position. 19. b4. The immediate 19. Nd6+ followed by Nd6xb7 is probably the best. 19. ... Qe7 20. Nd6+ Kf8 21. Bxb7 exf4 22. Qf3 Nc4 23. Nxc4 Qxb7 24. Qxb7 Rxb7 25. Ne5 h5 26. Rd7 Rxd7 27. Nxd7+ Ke7 28. Nxf6 Kxf6 29. gxh5 e5 30. b5 Kf5 31. a4 f3 32. b6? Sinking into the abyss. Necessary was 32. Kd2 Kf4 33. Rb1 e4 34. b6 Rd8+ 35. Ke1 e3 36. Rb4+ Kf5 transposing into the same position of the game. 32. ... e4? Losing a vital tempo, which gives White King time to rush toward the enemy Pawns. The immediate 32. ... Kf4! left White with no resource. 33. Kd2 Kf4 34. Rb1 e3+ 35. Ke1 Rd8 36. Rb4+ Kf5 37. b7

37. ... Rd2? 周健超 (Zhōu Jiànchāo) was in serious time trouble and overlooked one really good opportunity here: 37. ... f2+ 38. Ke2 Rd2+ 39. Kxe3 Nf1+ 40. Kf3 Nxh2+ 41. Kg3 (or 41. Ke3 Nf1+) 41. ... Nf1+ drawing by perpetual check. 38. Rf4+! Surprise! 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) finds himself also in Zeitnot, nonetheless he shows all the elegance of his play. 38. ... Kxf4 39. b8=Q+ Kf5 40. Qc8+ Ke5 41. Qc7+ Ke4 42. Qe7+ Kd4 43. Qb4+ Kd5 44. Qb7+ 1 : 0.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: sinochess (@sinachess)

Flying Colours

• 宋燕 (Sòng Yàn), 10岁学霸，全年级第一名半年里还拿了三个全国国象冠军, tznews.cn, August 12, 2015

沈居祺 (Chén Jūqí), ten-years-old, can conquer and wear a Triple Crown within six months: the “Lee Seng Tee Cup”, the Chinese Youth Team Chess Championship and the Chinese Youth Chess Championship. Furthermore, chess does not affect her school performance, since 沈居祺 (Chén Jūqí) was promoted with flying colours!

沈居祺 (Chén Jūqí)
Photo: xinghua.gov.cn

Lost and Found

According to her last 新浪微博 (Xīnlàng Wēibó) post 9th Women’s World Chess Champion 诸宸 (Zhū Chén) is about to move to 北京 (Běijīng) for a “new start”. Apparently she was involved to participate in training sessions for the Chinese players. 诸宸 (Zhū Chén) also says that her family is still in Doha, Qatar – she is married to Qatari Grandmaster Mohammed Ahmed Al-Modiahki.

诸宸 (Zhū Chén)
Photo: eladies.sina.com.cn

The Outsiders

Mariya Muzychuk – 章晓雯 (Zhāng Xiǎowén)
2nd Chess Women Masters Tournament; 无锡 (Wúxī), April 10, 2012
French Defence C11

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 gxf6 7. Nf3 f5 8. Nc3 a6 9. Qd2 b5 10. 0-0-0 b4 11. Na4 Bb7 12. Qe3 Qd5 13. Nc5 Bc6. The a2-Pawn is taboo: 13. ... Bxc5? 14. dxc5 Qxa2 15. Qd4 0-0 16. Ng5 Nd7 17. Bc4 (clearly not 17. Qxd7?? on account of 17. ... Rad8 and wins) 17. ... Qa1+ 18. Kd2 Qa4 19. Nxe6! fxe6 20. Bxe6+ Rf7 21. Rhe1 Nf8 22. Bxf7+ Kxf7 23. Qc4+ Kf6 24. Qh4+ Kg6 25. g4! with an irresistible attack. 14. b3 Bb5 15. a4 Bxf1 16. Rhxf1 Rg8. Out of the known track: 16. ... Nc6 17. Rfe1 Rg8 18. Nd3 (or 18. g3 Bd6 19. h3 a5 20. Nd3 0-0-0 21. Nde5 Rgf8 22. Nxc6 Qxc6 23. d5 exd5 24. Nd4 Qb6 25. Nxf5 Bc5 26. Qf3 Qf6 27. Kb1 c6 28. Re2 Rde8 29. Rde1 Re6 30. Qg4 Qg6 31. Qf4 Rfe8 32. Rxe6 Rxe6 33. Rxe6 Qxe6 34. Ne3 Bxe3 35. fxe3 Qxh3 36. g4 Qh1+ 37. Kb2 Qe4 38. Qxf7 Qxg4 39. Qxh7 ½ : ½ A. Muzychuk – Drozdovskij, 2nd Pfalz Open, Neustadt an der Weinstraße 2009) 18. ... Bd6 19. g3 Rg4 20. Nb2 Re4 21. Qd3 Bf8 ½ : ½ Bezgodov – Kiriakov, Russian Team Championship, Sochi 2007. 17. g3 Nc6 18. Rfe1 Rg4. This looks a bit committal. Black is hoping for 19. h3? Rxd4! with excellent chances for a dynamic advantage.

19. Rd2!! The most difficult move in the whole game. 19. ... Nxd4? Oblivious to the danger. At first sight, 19. ... Bd6 20. h3 Rg8 appears a lesser evil. 20. Nxe6! Now White, with a neat “petite combinaison”, wins first the Black e-Pawn and then the Black f-Pawn. 20. ... fxe6. Else 20. ... Qxe6 21. Nxd4 Qxe3 22. Rxe3 f4 23. Re4 Kf8 24. Nf5 Bf6 25. Rd7 and White totally dominates the board. 21. Rxd4 Rxd4 22. Nxd4 Bc5 23. Qxe6+ Qxe6 24. Nxe6 Bxf2 25. Nxc7+ Kd7 26. Re2 Kxc7 27. Rxf2 Rf8 28. Rf4. Black’s f-Pawn is doomed. 28. ... a5 29. g4 Kd6 30. Rxf5 Rxf5. Equivalent to resignation. 31. gxf5 Ke5 32. c3 bxc3 33. Kc2 Kxf5 34. Kxc3 h5 35. h4 Kg4 36. b4 axb4+ 37. Kxb4 Kxh4 38. a5 Kg3 39. a6 h4 40. a7 h3 41. a8=Q Kh2 42. Qf3 1 : 0.

Mariya Muzychuk
Photo: blog.sina.com.cn

The Cutting Edge

王晨 (Wáng Chén) – 韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
6th Hǎinán Dānzhōu Super GM Chess Tournament; 儋州 (Dānzhōu), July 10, 2015
Sicilian Defence B31

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. 0-0 Bg7 5. c3 Nf6 6. Qe2 0-0 7. h3 Qb6 8. Ba4. Another modus operandi is 8. Na3 d5 9. d3 h6 10. e5 Ne8 11. Be3 d4 12. cxd4 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 cxd4 14. Bxe8 Rxe8 15. Rfc1 Rd8 16. Nc4 Qb5 17. a4 Qb4 18. Ne1 Be6 19. Nc2 Qc5 20. b4 Qc7 21. N2a3 Rac8 22. Re1 ½ : ½ Kuzmin – Timoshchenko, 46th USSR Chess Championship, Tbilisi 1978. 8. ... d5 9. e5 Nd7 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. d3 f6 12. exf6 exf6 13. c4 Ba6 14. Qe6+ Rf7 15. Nc3 Nf8 16. Qe2 dxc4 17. dxc4 Qb4 18. Nd2 f5 19. Qf3 Rc8 20. a3 Qb8 21. Re1 Re8 22. Rxe8 Qxe8 23. Qe3? White is too far behind in development to afford the luxury of grabbing material! 23. ... Re7. “This is a difficult line to play, but Black seems to play it perfectly. After he gets the advantage he lets the White Queen take whatever it wants. White was way too greedy but the finish is impressive”, Marmot PFL said. 24. Qxc5? Most consistent but most disastrous as well. 24. ... Re1+ 25. Kh2 Ne6 26. Qxa7

26. ... Bd4! 27. Qxa6. Or 27. c5 Bd3 and wins. 27. ... Qb8+ 28. g3 Bxf2 0 : 1. For if 29. Nf1 there follows 29. ... Rxf1 30. Bf4 Bxg3+! 31. Kg2 Qxb2+ and mate in three moves.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: sports.sina.com.cn

慢慢来

王玥 (Wáng Yuè) – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
6th Hǎinán Dānzhōu Super GM Chess Tournament; 儋州 (Dānzhōu), July 6, 2015
Modern Benoni A72

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 0-0 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Nf3 exd5 9. cxd5 h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Nh5 12. Nd2 Nxg3 13. hxg3 Nd7. The alternative was 13. ... f5, e.g. 14. Nc4 Na6 15. exf5 Bxf5 16. 0-0 Nc7 17. g4 Bg6 18. Bd3 Qf6 19. Ne3 Rae8 20. Qc2 Bxd3 21. Qxd3 Qd4 22. Qc2 b5 23. Rae1 b4 24. Nf5 Rxf5 25. Qxf5 bxc3 26. Rxe8+ Nxe8 27. Qe6+ Kf8 28. Re1 ½ : ½ Ivkov – Hindle, Vrnjačka Banja 1967. 14. Nc4 Nf6 15. a4 b6 16. Qc2 Re8 17. 0-0 a6 18. Rfe1 Rb8 19. Ne3 Qe7 20. Bd3 h5 21. e5 dxe5 22. Ne4 Ng4 23. Nxg4 Bxg4 24. d6 Qd8 25. Bxa6 f5 26. f3 fxe4 27. fxg4 Qxd6 28. Rad1 Qh6 29. gxh5 e3 30. Qe4 Red8 31. Rxd8+ Rxd8 32. g4 Qf6 33. Rf1 Rd4 34. Qxe3 Rf4 35. b3 Qd8 36. Rxf4 gxf4 37. Qd3 Qh4 38. Qd5+ Kf8 39. Qd6+ Kg8 40. Qe6+ Kf8 41. Qd6+ Kg8 42. Bc4+ Kh8 43. Qb8+ Kh7 44. Bd3+ Kh6 45. Qd6+. A truly remarkable decision! 王玥 (Wáng Yuè) simplifies into an opposite coloured Bishop ending for only one extra Pawn. 45. ... Qf6 46. Qxf6+ Bxf6 47. Kf2 Bh4+ 48. Kf3 Kg5 49. Be2 Be1 50. Ke4 Bc3 51. Bf3 Bb4 52. Kxe5 Bc3+ 53. Kd5 Bd2 54. Kc6 Ba5 55. Bd1!! “What a beautiful idea by Wáng Yuè, 55. Bd1 then some b3-b4 will come and after ... cxb4 then Bd1-b3 blocking the Bishop. Brilliant!”, Grandmaster Francisco Vallejo Pons said. 55. ... Kh6

56. b4!! A very elegant problem-like move that justifies the strategy of 王玥 (Wáng Yuè) exchanging Queens, thus depriving Black of any counterplay. 56. ... cxb4. On 56. ... Bxb4 57. Kxb6 White equally wins. 57. Bb3 Kg5 58. Kd5 1 : 0.

王玥 (Wáng Yuè)
Photo: blog.sina.com.cn

Jonathan David Tisdall (GMjtis)

Power of the Dragonflame

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – Lázaro Bruzón Batista
6th Hǎinán Dānzhōu Super GM Chess Tournament; 儋州 (Dānzhōu), July 3, 2015
Sicilian Defence B85

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. Be2 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Qc7 7. 0-0 Nf6 8. Be3 Be7 9. f4 d6 10. Kh1 0-0 11. Qe1 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. Qg3 Bb7 14. a3 Rad8 15. Rae1 Rd7 16. Bd3 Qd8 17. Qh3 g6 18. f5 e5 19. Be3 Re8 20. fxg6! A straightforward move by 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) which turns out to be much more to the point than the “unimaginative” 20. Qf3 as in the game Alekseev – Jumabayev, 9th Ugra Governor’s Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2013. 20. ... hxg6? More prudent would have been 20. ... fxg6, although after 21. a4! White retains the initiative.

21. Nd5!! The beginning of a deep “bolt from the blue” combination! 21. ... Nxd5 22. Rxf7!! Kxf7. Black cannot refuse the gift, for if 22. ... Nf6 there follows 23. Qe6 and White wins. 23. Qh7+ Ke6 24. exd5+ Kxd5. Equally after 24. ... Bxd5 25. Bxg6 White’s attack is irresistible. 25. Be4+!! Another terrific shot! 25. ... Kxe4. Not 25. ... Kc4 26. Qf7+ d5 27. Bd3 mate. If, instead, 25. ... Ke6 then 26. Qxg6+ Bf6 27. Qf5+ with an overwhelming attack for White. 26. Qf7. All chess engines recommend 26. c4! Kd3 (or 26. ... bxc4 27. Qxg6+ Kd5 28. Qf7+ Ke4 29. Qxc4+ Kf5 30. Rf1+ Kg6 31. Qf7 mate) 27. Qxg6+ which would lead to mate in short order. But the text move is also good enough! 26. ... Bf6 27. Bd2+ Kd4 28. Be3+ Ke4 29. Qb3!! This move is the only one to win! 29. ... Kf5 30. Rf1+ Kg4 31. Qd3 Bxg2+. Desperation, for if 31. ... Rg7 then 32. h3+ Kh4 (else 32. ... Kg3 33. Bg5+ and mate next move) 33. Kh2! finis. 32. Kxg2 Qa8+ 33. Kg1 Bg5 34. Qe2+ Kh4 35. Bf2+ Kh3 36. Be1! 1 : 0. 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) puts the final touch on his magnificent attacking game!

韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: sports.sina.com.cn

Wildwood Flower

章晓雯 (Zhāng Xiǎowén) – 倪诗群 (Ní Shīqún)
Women’s Chinese Chess Championship; 兴化 (Xīnghuà), May 22, 2015
Russian Defence C42

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Qd2 Ne5 9. 0-0-0 0-0 10. h4 c6 11. Kb1 Qa5 12. Nxe5! Less trustworthy appears 12. Bg5 Be6 as in the game Michelle Catherina – 倪诗群 (Ní Shīqún), 32nd World Junior Chess Championship Girls, Pune 2014. 12. ... Qxe5. If 12. ... dxe5 then 13. Bc4 gives White a lasting initiative. The text move on the other hand is no better. 13. Bg5 Bxg5 14. hxg5 Bf5 15. f4. 章晓雯 (Zhāng Xiǎowén) rightly ignores the d6-Pawn and she focuses on developing her attack. 15. ... Qa5 16. Bd3. Intending g2-g4. 16. ... g6 17. Rh4! Bxd3 18. Qxd3 f5? Disastrous! In any case, after 18. ... Qf5 19. Qd4! Black cannot survive long.

“Position before White’s 19th move. What can one say? The open h-file and active White Queen spell mortal danger for the Black monarch... a good tactician needs no hint!”, Grandmaster Kevin Spraggett said. 19. Rxh7! Easily crushing! 19. ... Kxh7 20. Rh1+ Kg8 21. Qd4 Qd8 22. Rh8+ Kf7 23. Rh7+ Ke6 24. Qe3+ Kd5 25. Qd3+ Ke6. Or 25. ... Kc5 26. Qd4+ Kb5 27. Qb4+ Ka6 28. Qxb7+ Ka5 29. b4+ Ka4 30. Qa6+ and mate next move. 26. c4 d5. Helpmate, but other moves also lose very quickly. 27. Qe3+ Kd6 28. c5 mate.

章晓雯 (Zhāng Xiǎowén)
Photo: sports.sina.com.cn

Child King

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – 温阳 (Wēn Yáng)
64th Chinese Chess Championship; 兴化 (Xīnghuà), May 26, 2015
Spanish C88

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. a4 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Nbd2 Nb8 11. axb5 axb5 12. Rxa8 Bxa8 13. Nf1 Nbd7 14. Ng3 Nc5. Departing from 14. ... Re8 15. Nf5 Nc5 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Ba2 Bb7 18. Ng5 Rf8 19. b4 Na4 20. Bd2 Bc8 21. c4 c6 22. Bb3 h6 23. Nf3 Nb6 24. cxb5 cxb5 25. Be3 Qb7 26. h3 Be6 27. Bxe6 fxe6 28. Qb3 Re8 29. Rc1 Nfd7 30. Nd2 Kh7 31. Nb1 d5 32. Na3 Rc8 33. Nxb5 d4 34. Nd6 Rxc1+ 35. Bxc1 Qc6 36. Nc4 Nxc4 37. Qxc4 Qa4 38. Kh2 Qd1 39. Ba3 Nb6 40. Qxe6 Qxd3 41. Qxb6 Qxa3 42. Qe6 Qxb4 43. Qf5+ Kh8 44. Qxe5 d3 45. Qd5 Qd2 46. e5 Qf4+ 47. Kg1 Qc1+ 48. Kh2 Qf4+ ½ : ½ Stefansson – Plachetka, 21st International Open; Cappelle la Grande 2005. 15. Ba2 Bb7 16. Bd2 Qd7 17. Nf5 Ra8 18. Qb1 Ne6 19. Nxe7+ Qxe7 20. b4 h6 21. Bb3 Nf8 22. Qb2 Ng6 23. Ra1 Qe8 24. Ne1 Rxa1 25. Qxa1 Bc6 26. Qa6 Nf8 27. f3 Ng6 28. c4 Bd7 29. Qb7 bxc4 30. dxc4 Qd8 31. Nd3 Be6 32. Be3 Nf8 33. Kf1 N6d7 34. Ke2 Nf6 35. Kd2 Ne8 36. Kc3 Nf6 37. Ba4 Bd7 38. Bb3 Be6 39. Ba7 N6d7 40. b5 h5 41. g3 Kh7 42. Nb4 Nc5 43. Qb8 Qf6 44. Bd1 Qg5 45. Bxc5 dxc5 46. Nc2 Qe7 47. Be2 Qd6

Now 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) demonstrates that the initiative may be switched on even in apparently dull positions: 48. b6! Nd7 49. Qxc7 Qxb6 50. Qxb6 Nxb6 51. f4. The black King is far away from the hot spots. 51. ... g6 52. Ne3 f6? “One of very few moments when one can point to a mistake by Black. It was better not to waste time: 52. ... Kg7! (53. fxe5? Nd7) with drawing chances”, the staff of Chess-News.ru said. 53. f5 Bf7 54. fxg6+ Bxg6 55. Nd5 Nd7 56. Bf3 Kg7 57. Kb3. White’s King penetrates into the enemy camp. 57. ... Nb8 58. Ne7 Kf7 59. Nxg6 Kxg6 60. Ka4 Nc6 61. Bd1 Nd4 62. Ka5 h4 63. Kb6 hxg3 64. hxg3 f5! The only surrealistic chance of survival. 65. exf5+ Nxf5? “Better was the calm 65. ... Kxf5 66. Kxc5 Kf6! counting on the Knight: 67. g4 (67. Kd5? Nf5; 67. Kb6 e4 68. c5 Kd5 69. g5 Ke6) 67. ... Ke6 68. Ba4 Kf6 etc. Now White calculated a 13 move forcing variation and wins”, the staff of Chess-News.ru observed. 66. Bc2! Kf6 67. Bxf5! Kxf5 68. Kxc5 Ke4 69. Kd6 Kd4 70. c5 e4 71. c6 e3 72. c7 e2 73. c8=Q e1=Q 74. Qc5+ Kd3 75. Qd5+! 1 : 0. For after 75. ... Kc2 76. Qa2+ Kd3 77. Qb3+ Kd4 78. Qd5+ White forces the exchange of Queens. And thus 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) is the youngest Chinese Chess Champion of all time!

韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: qipai.org.cn

Stopp’t-Clock Yard

卢尚磊 (Lú Shànglěi) – 韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
64th Chinese Chess Championship; 兴化 (Xīnghuà), May 29, 2015
Sicilian Defence B30

1. Nc3 c5 2. e4 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. a3 e6 7. h4!? Naïve. The “book” line is 7. 0-0 Nge7 8. Ba2 0-0 9. Be3 Nd4 as in the game Zander – Schlage, 22nd DSB Kongress, Bad Oeynhausen 1922. 7. ... Nf6 8. Ba2 a6 9. Ne2 b5 10. Ng3 h6 11. c3 Bb7 12. d4 Qb6 13. 0-0 0-0-0? 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) imprudently castles on the opposite wing, when Black’s Kingside Pawns are a sitting target as well as His Majesty on the Queenside! It would have been safer to castle on the Kingside: 13. ... 0-0 as 14. h5 g5 15. d5!? leads to interesting complications. 14. a4 d5 15. axb5 axb5 16. e5 Ne4 17. Be3 Nxg3 18. fxg3 c4 19. Qd2 Kc7 20. Nh2 Rd7 21. Rae1 b4 22. Bb1 Kc8 23. Rf3 b3. Black’s King is now quite safe. 卢尚磊 (Lú Shànglěi) thus will break up Black’s Kingside. It should be noted that White’s Bishop pair is immensely stronger than Black’s one. 24. Ref1 Nd8 25. R3f2 Bc6 26. Ng4 h5 27. Bh6! A timely solution! 27. ... Bxh6 28. Nxh6 Rh7 29. Qg5 Ra7

30. g4! hxg4 31. h5! White plays the termination very energetically. 31. ... g3 32. Rf6 Be8 33. hxg6 fxg6 34. Rf8 Qc6 35. Ng8 Rhg7 36. Nf6 Rae7 37. Qh6! 1 : 0. 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) has been literally squeezed up!

卢尚磊 (Lú Shànglěi)
Photo: qipai.org.cn

Get Lucky

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – 刘庆南 (Liú Qìngnán)
64th Chinese Chess Championship; 兴化 (Xīnghuà), May 24, 2015
Pirc Defence B09

1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. f4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. e5 Ng4 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 9. h3 cxd4 10. Qxd4 Nc6 11. Qe4 Nh6 12. Be3 Nf5 13. Bf2 dxe5 14. fxe5 Qe6. Another way – not after all a better one – was 14. ... Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Qe6 16. 0-0-0 Bxe5 17. Rhe1 Bxc3 18. Qxb7 Qc8 19. Qxc8+ Rxc8 20. bxc3 Rc7 21. g4 Ng7 22. Bg3 Rb7 23. Re4 h5 24. Rc4 0-0 25. Rb4 Rb6 26. Rd7 hxg4 27. hxg4 Ra6 28. a4 Ne6 29. Rxe7 Nc5 30. Be5 Rc8 31. Rc7 1 : 0 Shirov – Zaragatski, Schachbundesliga 2014/2015, Eppingen 2015. 15. 0-0-0 Nxe5 16. Rhe1 Nc6 17. Qa4 Qc8 18. g4 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Ng7 20. Nd4 Ne6 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Qb3 Na5 23. Qb5+ Nc6 24. Be3 0-0 25. Bh6 Rf3 26. Rf1 Rxf1 27. Rxf1 Qc7 28. Rf2 Re8 29. Qe2 Ne5! 30. Qb5 Rd8 31. Qf1 Qc8 32. Rf4 g5! Black has defended very well and is still holding on his extra Pawn. 33. Rf2 Ng6 34. Qe1 Qc4 35. Kb2 Qb5+ 36. Ka1 Rd6

37. Rd2?? 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) committs a grave mistake that... wins the game! Objectively, White has nothing better than 37. Qf1 Qxf1 38. Rxf1 Rd5 defending the endgame a Pawn behind. 37. ... Rxd2?? Incredibly enough, White’s blunder worked out! The right course was 37. ... Rb6 38. Qc1 Qc4 virtually winning for Black. 38. Qxe6+! 1 : 0. For after 38. ... Kh8 39. Qc8+ – the move possibly overlooked by 刘庆南 (Liú Qìngnán) – there follows mate in three moves.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: sports.sina.com.cn

逆反票

• 全国国象锦标赛18日开赛 侯逸凡因故首度缺战, tznews.cn, May 19, 2015
• 64格·全国个人赛再战兴化, blog.sina.com.cn, May 19, 2015

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

• 李昕 (Lǐ Xīn), 国象夺冠后回归常态 侯逸凡等人备战全国个人赛, chinanews.com, May 11, 2015

• 葛会忠 (Gé Huìzhōng), 费拉托夫：国际象棋让青少年健康成长, sports.cn, May 11, 2015

Pokémon Damage Formula

• Johannes Fischer, Schacherfolg Made in China, Zeit Online, May 4, 2015

• Malcom Pein, China win chess World Team Championships, The Telegraph, May 10, 2015

---

Notes by International Master Malcom Pein

---

Yuniesky Quezada Pérez – Vladimir Akopian
10th World Team Chess Championship; Tsaghkadzor, April 21, 2015
Sicilian Defence B41

Black plays the Hedgehog, but 14. ... a5 is an unusual idea, as the wall of Pawns that protects Black’s position is compromised.
White takes advantage:

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Qc7 7. a3 b6 8. Be3 Bb7 9. f3 d6 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. 0-0 Be7 12. Qd2 0-0 13. Rfc1. For 13. b4 Rac8 14. Kh1 Rfe8 15. Rac1 Qb8 16. Rfd1 see Jumabayev – Diamant, 48th World Junior Chess Championship, Puerto Madryn 2009 – Ed. Note. 13. ... Rac8 14. a4 a5!? 15. Ndb5 Qb8 16. Rd1 Rcd8. 16. ... Ne8 17. Bf4 Rc6 18. Qc2 Nc5 19. Rd2 makes Black contort, but his position remains solid.

17. Nxd6!! White had to calculate very deeply to appreciate that this pawn grab is advantageous. 17. ... Ne5 18. Ncb5 Bc6. 18. ... Ne8 19. Qc3! Rxd6 20. Nxd6 Bxd6 21. c5! Bxc5 22. Bxc5 bxc5 23. Qxc5 Nc6 24. Bb5 Ne5 25. Qb6 and White dominates the board. 19. Qc3 Rxd6 20. Nxd6 Bxd6 21. Rxd6! Qxd6 22. c5 Qb8 23. cxb6 Ba8 24. Qxa5. The passed Pawns supported by the Bishop pair are unstoppable. Black takes desperate measures. 24. ... Bxe4. 24. ... Rc8 25. Qa7 Nfd7 26. Qxb8 Rxb8 27. a5 Kf8 28. a6 Nxb6 29. a7 Rb7 30. Ba6. 25. fxe4 Neg4 26. e5! Nxe3 27. exf6 Qd6 28. Rc1 gxf6 29. b7 1 : 0. (Malcom Pein, The Telegraph, May 10, 2015).

长征

• 国象男子世界团体锦标赛中国男队夺冠创造历史, sports.cnhubei.com, April 29, 2015

任務中失蹤

• 国象女团赛格鲁吉亚胜中国夺冠 侯逸凡赵雪缺阵, sports.sina.com.cn, April 28, 2015
• 国象世锦赛中国女队季军收官 名将侯逸凡未参赛, sports.workercn.cn, April 29, 2015

საქართველო (Georgia)

Georgia wins gold medals in Women’s World Chess Team Championship

Georgia über alles
Photo: Liu Yupeng

Georgia brilliantly concluded the event by defeating the host country and three-times World Champions China. Georgia took the gold medal with 17 match points, conceding only one tie to Russia. Still holding a hope for the gold medal in case of Georgia’s failure in the final round, Russia put up a powerful performance against USA, convincingly winning the match 3½ – ½ and the silver medal as well. China is third with 11 match points, winning the bronze.

Giving flowers
Photo: Liu Yupeng

People Help the People

• 刘旭辉 (Liú Xùhuī), 女子团体赛中国队首战告捷, news.jxnews.com.cn, April 20, 2015

The Chinese team
Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich

百慕達三角

广州日报2014年4月14日

• 施绍宗 (Shī Shàozōng), 出场费不足侯逸凡缺席联赛？ 王皓每盘1万最大牌, sports.sina.com.cn, April 16, 2015