Disillusioned

Anna Vitalievna Zatonskih – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)
62nd U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 10, 2023
Queen’s Gambit Declined D31

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 Nc6 5. Nf3 a5 6. e3 Nge7 7. Bd2 0-0

8. a3. If 8. Rc1 then 8. ... a4 9. Qc2 a3 10. b3 e5 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. cxd5 Qxd5 13. Bxb4 Nxb4 14. Qd2 e4 15. Ne5? (15. Qxb4 exf3 16. Qc5⩲) 15. ... Qd6 16. Rc5 Nd5 17. Nc4 Qd8 18. Ra5 Be6∓ 19. Rxa3 b5 20. Rxa8 Qxa8 21. Na5 b4 22. Nc4 Nc3 23. Ne5? Bxb3!−+ Lputian – Giorgadze, Kropotkin 1995.
8. ... Bxc3 9. Bxc3 b6 10. Bd3 Ba6 11. 0-0 a4 12. Qa2 dxc4 13. Bxc4 Bb7 14. e4 Na5 15. Bd3 Ng6 16. Rfe1 Nf4 17. Bc2 f5 18. Bd2 fxe4 19. Bxe4 Bd5 20. Qb1

20. ... Nb3? Better was 20. ... Nh3+! 21. gxh3 Rxf3 22. Bxf3 Bxf3 23. Qd3 Qf6 24. Rxe6! Qxe6 25. Qxf3 Rf8 with good play for the Pawn.
21. Bxf4 Rxf4 22. Bxh7+ Kf8 23. Ne5

23. ... Rxd4? A mistake after which Black is doomed to a sad end. 23. ... Rf6! was the only move to defend.
24. Qg6 Qe8 25. Qg3 Ra7 26. Ng6+ Kf7 27. Rad1 c5 28. Rxd4 Nxd4 29. Qf4+ Nf5 30. g4 Qd8 31. gxf5 Qf6 32. fxe6+ Bxe6 33. Nh8+ Ke7 34. Bf5 g5 35. Qe4 1 : 0.

Another day another zero another bitter pill to swallow. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Back to Earth

于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) – Nazí Nodarovna Paikidze
62nd U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 10, 2023
Queen’s Indian Defence E16

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Qe7 5. g3 b6 6. Bg2 Bb7 7. 0-0 Bxd2 8. Nbxd2 0-0 9. Qc2 d6 10. e4 e5 11. d5 a5 12. Ne1 Na6 13. Nd3 Nc5 14. Nxc5 bxc5 15. Rae1 Nh5 16. Re3 g6 17. f4 exf4 18. gxf4 Rae8 19. Qc3

19. ... Qh4. With this Queen sortie Paikidze does not make any secret of her aggressive intentions, but, all things considered, one should wonder whether 19. ... f6 would not have been a safer policy.
20. Rh3 Qg4 21. Rhf3 Bc8

22. Kh1! Freeing the square g1 for the Rook. Black’s situation is anything but appealing, as she’s got nothing but trouble from her Kingside campaign, yet probably there’s still a path back she could have followed. Instead, Paikidze, with her next three moves, in an attempt to make sense of her fallacious strategy, literally disintegrates.
22. ... f5? 23. e5 g5? 24. e6 h6? 25. Bh3 Qh4 26. fxg5 hxg5 27. Bxf5 Nf6

And 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú), finally confident of her own strength, finishes forcefully with a mating attack.
28. Bg6! Ng4 29. Rxf8+ Rxf8 30. Rxf8+ Kxf8 31. Qf3+ 1 : 0.

Point of Return

Atousa Pourkashiyan – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)
62nd U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 8, 2023
Spanish Game C78

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3 Be7 8. c4 0-0 9. Nc3 bxc4 10. Bxc4 d6 11. a3 Nd4 12. Nxd4 exd4 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 a5 15. Qa4 Bf6 16. Re1 Ra7 17. Qd1 a4 18. b4 axb3 19. Qxb3 Qa8 20. Bd2 Ba6 23. a4 Rb8 24. Qc2 Rab7 25. Bxa6 Qxa6 26. a5 h6 27. Reb1 Bd8 28. Rxb7 Rxb7 29. Qc4

29. ... Qa8? Bad judgment, underestimating the strength of the passed Pawn. The Rook and Bishop ending ensuing from 29. ... Qxc4 30. dxc4 f5 offers much better chances for a draw.
30. h3 Rb2 31. Qc1 Rb3 32. a6!

32. ... Qxd5. Not 32. ... Rxd3? because of 33. Qc2 and the Rook is in trouble. If, instead, 32. ... Rb6 then 33. Qa3 Qa7 34. g3! followed by h2-h4, Bd2-f4 and Qa3-a4 or Qa4-a5 similarly to the game.
33. a7 Qa8 34. Qc4 Rb2 35. Bf4 Bc7

36. Qa4 Kh7 37. Qd7 Rb7 38. Bxd6 Ba5? Loses outright, but also after 38. ... Bxd6 39. Qxb7! the endgame an Exchange up is winning for White.
39. Qxb7 Qxb7 40. Rxa5 Qa8 41. Bxc5 Kg6 42. Bxd4 f6 43. Be3 Kf7 44. Rb5 1 : 0.

Another painful defeat for two-time U.S. Women’s Champion 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú), who can only hope to have hit rock bottom and bounce back. Photo: Crystal Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Lucky Strike

于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) – Thalia Cervantes Landeiro
62nd U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 7, 2023
3r4/8/5K2/6p1/2kn4/4R2P/8/8 b - - 39 88

Position after 88. Kf5-f6

The sorrows of reigning U.S. Women’s Champ 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) continue. In fact, she edged the abyss even in her game against Cervantes Landeiro, who repeatedly missed a technical endgame win, eventually allowing her opponent to save herself after 133 moves and over 6 hours.
The diagram represents the position previous to Black’s 88th move, when Cervantes Landeiro let slip her last chance of victory: 88. ... Rd5? The right move was 88. ... Nf3! with the obvious point of 89. Rxf3 Rf8+ or 89. Ke7 Rd3! winning in all cases.
89. Rg3! Once the g-Pawn falls, White’ll be through the day, whatever time it takes.
89. ... Rf5+ 90. Kg6 Rf3 91. Rxg5 Rxh3. With a theoretical draw. It just takes a while for Cervantes Landeiro to accept it.
92. Kf6 Kd3 93. Rg4 Rf3+ 94. Ke5 Rf5+ 95. Kd6 Kc4 96. Rg1 Rf6+ 97. Ke7 Ra6 98. Rg5 Nf3 99. Rf5 Nd4 100. Rf6 Ra7+ 101. Kd6 Ra5 102. Ke7 Kd5 103. Rf1 Ra6 104. Rd1 Ke5 105. Re1+ Kf5 106. Rf1+ Ke5 107. Re1+ Kd5 108. Rd1 Rb6 109. Re1 Nf5+ 110. Kf7 Nh6+ 111. Kg7 Ng4 112. Rd1+ Ke4 113. Kf7 Nh6+ 114. Ke7 Nf5+ 115. Kd7 Ke5 116. Re1+ Kd5 117. Rd1+ Nd4 118. Ke7 Ra6 119. Re1 Nf3 120. Re2 Ng5 121. Rd2+ Ke5 122. Rd1 Ra7+ 123. Rd7 Ra6 124. Rb7 Ra5 125. Rd7 Ne4 126. Rd1 Ra7+ 127. Rd7 Ra6 128. Rd1 Rh6 129. Kd7 Rh7+ 130. Kc6 Rh6+ 131. Kd7 Rh7+ 132. Kc6 Rh6+ 133. Kd7 ½ : ½.

Harvard Square

叶诗雯 (Carissa Yip) – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)
62nd U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 6, 2023
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. 0-0 h6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 g5 9. Ne1 Bg7 10. f4 gxf4? 10. ... Qc7 11. Nd3 b6 is, by transposition, a sounder form of Black’s line of defence; for example: 12. Be3 c5 13. dxc5 gxf4 14. cxb6 axb6 15. Bxf4 Ng6 16. Bg3 0-0 17. Nd4 Be4 18. c3 Ndxe5 19. Nf2 Qd8 20. Bh5 Qg5 21. Nxe4 dxe4 22. Qe2 e3 23. Bxg6 Nxg6 24. Nf3 Qc5 25. Rfe1 f5 26. Qxe3 Qxe3+ 27. Rxe3 f4 28. Rxe6 Kf7 29. Rxb6 fxg3 30. hxg3 Rfb8 31. Rxb8 Rxb8 32. Rf1 Ke6 ½ : ½ Domínguez Pérez – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), 10th World Team Chess Championship, Tsaghkadzor 2015.

11. Nd3! Ng6 12. Nxf4 Nxf4 13. Bxf4 Qe7 14. Qd2 Nf8

15. c4! dxc4 16. Na5! 0-0-0 17. Nxc4 Kb8 18. Nd6 Ng6 19. Bg3 Ka8 20. Bd3

Black is in a valley of tears, and her desperate gamble does nothing but precipitate the catastrophe:
20. ... Rxd6 21. exd6 Bxd4+ 22. Kh1 Qf6 23. Bxf5 exf5 24. Rad1 c5 25. Bf2 Qxd6 26. Bxd4 cxd4 27. Qxd4 Qxd4 28. Rxd4 f4 29. Rfd1 Kb8 30. Rd8+ Rxd8 31. Rxd8+ Kc7 32. Rd5 Ne7 33. Rh5 Kd6 34. Rxh6+ Ke5 35. Rh5+ Nf5 36. Kg1 Ke4 37. Rh3 Nd6 38. Rc3 a5 39. a4 Kd4 40. Rc7 Kd5 41. Kf2 b6 42. Kf3 Nc4 43. Rxc4 1 : 0.

叶诗雯 (Carissa Yip) has “picked up the baton” from the reigning U.S. Women’s Champ. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Summer to Fall

于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) – Tatev Abrahamyan
62nd U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 5, 2023
KIng’s Indian Defence E71

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 0-0 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 Na6 8. Bd3 Nc5 9. Bc2 a5 10. Nge2 Nh5 11. g4 Nf4 12. Nxf4 exf4 13. Bxf4. Less consistent is 13. Bd4 Nd7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Ne2 Qf6 16. Qd4 Ne5 with the initiative for Black, M. Rakić – Daulytė, 17th European Youth Chess Championship Girls U-18, Šibenik 2007.
13. ... Re8 14. Qd2

14. ... Bxc3. Black recovers the Pawn at once, but to the detriment of the fianchettoed Bishop.
15. Qxc3 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Rxe4+ 17. Be3 c6 18. dxc6 bxc6 19. 0-0-0 Ba6 20. b3 Qf8

21. h4. Straight to the jugular.
21. ... a4. Not 21. ... Rxg4? because of 22. h5! and White’s attack goes through. However, 21. ... d5 22. h5 Qb4 was at least worth considering.
22. h5 axb3 23. axb3 g5 24. Qf6 Qg7 25. Bxg5 d5

26. f3? Not a good idea, as from f3 the Black Rook attacks b3. Much stronger was 26. h6 Qxf6 27. Bxf6 Rf4 (27. ... Rxg4 28. Rhg1! Rg6 29. Rde1! with too many strong threats) 28. g5 Rxf2 29. Rhe1 dxc4 30. Re7± (30. ... cxb3? 31. Ra7!+−).
26. ... Qxf6 27. Bxf6 Rf4 28. g5 Rxf3 29. cxd5 cxd5 30. Rhe1 Rxb3 31. Rxd5 Rc8+ 32. Kd2 Rb5 33. Rd6 Ra5 34. Rb1 Ra2+ 35. Rb2 Rxb2+ 36. Bxb2 Bc4 37. Ke3 Re8+ 38. Kf4 Be2 39. h6 Bh5 40. Be5 Bg6 41. Rd5 Bh5 42. Rd7 Bg6 43. Bf6 Kf8 44. Bg7+ Kg8 45. Be5 Kf8 46. Bd6+ Kg8 47. Be7 Bh5 48. Ra7 Bg6 49. Ke5 Bh5 50. Kd6 Bg4 51. Ra4 Bf5 52. Rf4 Bc8 53. Rf2 Bg4 54. Rb2 Bf5 55. Rb7 Bg4 56. Ke5 Bh5 57. Kf6 Bg6 58. Rd7 Bh5 59. Rb7 Bg6 60. Rd7 Bh5 61. Rb7 Bg6 ½ : ½.

于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) will have to do her best to get the chance to defend her own title. Photo: Crystal Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Generation Y

A Second Time

King Kong

Needless to say, an aspiring filmmaker like Fabiano Caruana could not miss such an occasion! Photo © Austin Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

The Best Jennifer in the Galaxy

And finally, here she is, 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú), the best Jennifer in the galaxy! Photos © Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Second Time Around

于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) abandons herself to the uncontainable joy of victory, three years after her first title win in 2019. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Armageddon’s Arrow

Irina Borisivna Krush – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)

61st U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Armageddon game; time control: 5 minutes for White, 4 minutes for Black, with a 2 second increment after the 60th move; Saint Louis, October 20, 2022

King’s Indian Attack A07

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. 0-0 e5 5. d3 Ne7 6. Nbd2 0-0 7. e4 d4 8. Ne1 Nbc6 9. f4

9. ... Bg4?? A dramatic lapsus manus by 于 (Yú), by which a clear piece is lost! Now it should be only a matter of a few minutes for Krush, but, as Emanuel Lasker used to say, “The hardest game to win is a won game”.
10. Qxg4 f5 11. Qe2 Qd7 12. Nef3 Rae8 13. fxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. exf5 Nxf5 16. Ne4 b6 17. Bd2 c5 18. Rf2 Re7 19. Raf1 Rfe8 20. Bh3 Rf7

21. g4 Nd6 22. Nxd6 Bxh2+ 23. Kxh2?? White complicated things quite a bit, but after 23. Rxh2 Rxe2 24. Nxf7 she would still be winning. The move in the text gives Black unexpected chances.
23. ... Qxd6+ 24. Kh1 Rxe2 25. Rxe2 Qd5+? (⌓ 25. ... Qg3!)
26. Kg1 Rxf1+ 27. Bxf1 Qf3 28. g5! Qg4+ 29. Rg2 Qd1 30. Bf4 Qf3 31. Rf2 Qg4+ 32. Bg2 Qd1+ 33. Kh2 Qe1 34. Bd5+ Kg7 35. Bg3 Qe8 36. Kg2 h5 37. Rf7+ Kh8 38. Kf1 Qe3 39. Rf8+ Kg7 40. Rf7+ Kh8

41. Bf2?? 41. Bf4 Qe8 42. Rxa7 would have won easily for White, but alas for Krush, time is tyrant!
41. ... Qc1+ 42. Be1 Qxg5 43. Be4 Qg4 44. Bf2 Qd1+ 45. Kg2 Qg4+ 46. Kh2. At first Krush made an illegal move, as it left her King in check. Then the inflexible referee made her move her King and gave her a symbolic time penalty — as she had only a few seconds anyway — which consisted in 于 (Yú) getting two minutes added to her clock.
46. ... Kg8 47. Rf3 h4 0 : 1. White overstepped the time limit.

于 (Yú) played Krush four times in the 61st U.S. Women’s Championship to set the record of blundering a Bishop in two of their games: “Turns out I really dislike light squared Bishops”, she finally joked. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Bounceback

Irina Borisivna Krush – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)

61st U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; tie-break game 2; time control: 10 minutes plus 2 seconds per move; Saint Louis, October 20, 2022

Slav Defence D10

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nf6 5. e3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Qa5+ 7. Nc3 Bd7 8. Ne2 e6 9. 0-0 a6 10. Bd3 Be7 11. a3 b5 12. Nb1 Qb6 13. Nd2 Na5 14. b4 Nc4 15. Nb3 0-0 16. Nc5 Bxc5 17. dxc5 Qb7 18. Bc2 h6 19. Qd3 e5 20. Bg3 g6 21. Qc3 Rfe8 22. f3 Bc6 23. Bb3 Qe7 24. Rfe1 Rad8 25. Bh4 Qe6 26. Bf2 Nd7 27. a4 Nb8 28. axb5 Bxb5 29. Rec1 Qc6 30. e4 d4 31. Nxd4 exd4 32. Bxd4 Ne5

33. Bd5? White allows Black to take the upper hand. If 33. Bxe5 then 33. ... Rd3 34. Qb2 Rxb3 35. Qxb3 Rxe5 with an uneven balance of force and material.
33. ... Rxd5! 34. exd5 Qxd5 35. Re1

35. ... Nc4?? 于 (Yú) blunders away the game as she sounds the clarion call for Armageddon! With 35. ... Nbc6! Black would have consolidated her advantage.
36. Rxe8+ Bxe8 37. Bh8+− f6 38. Qxf6 Qf7 39. Qc3 Bb5 40. Rd1 Nc6 41. Bf6 Qe6 42. Re1 Qd7

43. h4 Nd2 44. Be5 Nxe5 45. Qxe5 Nc4 46. Qf6 Qf7 47. Qd8+ Kg7 48. Re7 1 : 0.

The second game was all another story: 于 (Yú) took too many things for granted and was mercilessly punished by Krush. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Just Ten Minutes

于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) – Irina Borisivna Krush

61st U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; tie-break game 1; time control: 10 minutes plus 2 seconds per move; Saint Louis, October 20, 2022

Benoni Defence A56

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e5 4. Nc3 d6 5. g3 g6 6. Bg2 Bg7 7. e4 0-0 8. Nge2 Nbd7 9. 0-0 Ne8 10. h3 f5 11. f4 Nc7 12. Be3 exf4 13. Bxf4 Ne5 14. b3 Bd7 15. Qd2 b5 16. exf5 gxf5 17. cxb5 Nxb5 18. Rae1 Qf6 19. Nd1 a5 20. a4 Nd4 21. Nxd4 cxd4 22. Nf2 Rfb8 23. Nd3 Re8 24. Rc1 Rab8 25. Rc7 Bc8 26. Nc1 Rb4 27. Re1 Qd8 28. Rc2 Ba6 29. Kh2

29. ... Qb6? Better is 29. ... d3! 30. Rc6! Nxc6 31. Rxe8+ Qxe8 32. dxc6 when White’s dangerous passed Pawn provides compensation for the Exchange.
30. Qf2? (30. Rc6!+−)
30. ... d3 31. Be3 Qb7 32. Rd2 Qd7 33. Bf4 Rbb8 34. Bxe5 Bxe5 35. Nxd3 Bxd3 36. Rxd3 Kh8 37. Rf3 Rg8 (⌓ 37. ... Qg7)

38. Rxe5! dxe5 39. Rxf5 Rxb3? (39. ... Rg7)
40. Rf7 Qd6 41. Be4 Rg7 42. Rf8+ Rg8 43. Rf7 Rg7 44. Rf8+ Rg8

45. Qf7! Qxf8 46. Qxh7# 1 : 0.

于 (Yú) showed all her strength of character as well as her fickle talent in the first game of the tie-breaker. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Today Is Another Day

Thalia Cervantes Landeiro – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)
61st U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 19, 2022
Queen’s Indian Defence E17

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Re1 a5 8. Bg5 Ne4 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nfd2 f5. The alternative is 10. ... Nxd2 11. Bxb7 Ra7 12. Qxd2 Rxb7 13. Nc3 Qb4 14. b3 d5 15. cxd5 exd5 16. Qc2 c6 17. e4 dxe4 18. Rxe4 Qd6 19. Rae1 Nd7 20. Re7 Rbb8 21. Qf5 Nf6 22. Qe5 Rbd8 ½ : ½ Miton – Rozentalis, 12th MetLife Amplico European Rapid Championship, Warsaw 2012 (time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move). But today 于 (Yú) cannot afford equality, as it would automatically mean renouncing the possibility, even theoretical, of winning the title.
11. Nxe4 fxe4 12. Nc3 d5 13. cxd5! Simpler and better than 13. Qb3 a4! 14. Nxa4 Qf6 15. e3 Qxf2+ 16. Kh1 dxc4?? (16. ... Nd7!⩱) 17. Qxc4 Bd5 18. Qxc7 Rf7? 19. Qd8+ Rf8 20. Qd6 Rxa4 21. Rf1 Nc6 22. Rxf2 Rxf2 23. Kg1 Rf8 24. Bxe4 Rd8 25. Qf4 Nxd4 26. exd4 Rxd4 27. Bxh7+ 1 : 0 Loiseau – R. E. Nielsen, 25th Open, Zadar 2018.
13. ... exd5 14. Qb3. Better first 14. f3 and only after 14. ... Nd7 (or 14. ... e3) then 15. Qb3⩲ with an edge for White.
14. ... Qb4! And not 14. ... Qf6? by reason of 15. Nxd5 Qxf2+ 16. Kh1 Qf7 17. Nxc7 Qxb3 18. axb3 Ra7 19. Nb5 with an overwhelming advantage for White.
15. Red1. 15. Qxb4? axb4 16. Nb5 c6 17. Nc7 (17. Nd6 Ba6∓) 17. ... Ra5 followed sooner or later by ... c6-c5 with manifest advantage to Black.
15. ... Na6. Black could play at once 15. ... Qxb3 16. axb3 Na6 analogously to the game. The difference is that now White could have avoided and perhaps should have avoided the exchange of Queens.
16. Rac1 Qxb3. But here they are, after all. The simplified position which now results is slightly in favour of Black, of course, even though still possibly drawable.
17. axb3 Rad8 18. Nb5?! The beginning of a Knight’s tour which does not seem to help the defence.
18. ... c6 19. Nc3 Nb4 20. Na4 Ba6 21. Bf1. 21. Nxb6 Bxe2 22. Rd2 Bb5 was not pleasant either.
21. ... Rb8 22. Kg2

22. ... g5! Black has considerably improved her position, greatly increasing her chances of winning the game.
23. e3 (23. f3 e3∓)
23. ... Bd3!? Maybe the only shadow in an otherwise superbly conducted endgame. The best seems to be 23. ... Bxf1+ 24. Kxf1 Rf3 similarly to the game.
24. Rd2? 24. Bxd3 was decidedly better, to which Black can reply with 24. ... exd3!⩱ (as 24. ... Nxd3 25. Rxc6 Rxf2+ 26. Kg1 b5 27. Nc3 does not seem to offer much).
24. ... Rf6 25. Kg1 Kf7 26. Bxd3 Nxd3 27. Rf1 Rf3

28. Rc2 Nb4 29. Rd2 Ke7 30. Rc1 Kd6 31. Rf1 Kc7 32. Nc3 Rbf8 33. Ne2 h5! 34. Kg2 c5! White is completely outplayed and can’t do anything but wait.
35. h4 gxh4 36. gxh4 Rg8+ 37. Ng3 Rg4 38. Rh1 Kd6 39. dxc5+ bxc5 40. Ra1 Nc6 41. Rc1

41. ... d4!? (41. ... Ne7−+)
42. exd4? 42. Rc3! was White’s best defence, with the idea of 43. ... d3? 44. Rcxd3+! saving the day. Therefore Black would have probably played 42. ... Rf8 43. Kh3 Rxg3+! 44. Kxg3 d3! 45. f4! Ne7!∓/−+ with good winning chances.
42. ... cxd4 43. Rc4 d3 44. Ra4 (44. Rxe4 Rfxg3+−+)
44. ... Ne5 45. Rxa5 Ng6 46. Ra6+ Kc7 47. Ra4 Nxh4+ 48. Kh3 Nf5 49. Rc4+ Kd6 50. Kh2 Nxg3 51. fxg3 Kd5 52. Ra4 Rgxg3 53. Ra5+ Kd4 54. Rxh5 Ke3 55. Rd1 Ke2 56. Ra1 d2 57. Rh4 e3 0 : 1.

Thanks to her last round of mastery technique, 于 (Yú) tied for the title with eight-time U.S. Women’s Champion Irina Borisivna Krush, so as to make her audiences keep up for another day before the last word — or tiebreaker, as it is technically called — will be spoken. Photo © Crystal Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Win-Win-Lose

于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) – Irina Borisivna Krush
61st U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 18, 2022
King’s Indian Defence E76

The jokes of fate can be cruel. Due to a curious coincidence, 于 (Yú) has both her closest rivals, Krush and Thalia Cervantes Landeiro, to meet in the last two rounds! This means, as arbiter Chris Bird says, that “even if 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) beats Irina Krush in rd 12 [today], it still might not guarantee her the 2022 U.S. Women’s Championship as she has to play Thalia Cervantes, who is on a 4 game winning streak, in the last round!”. Whether one believes in divination or not, it’s just the case to say that Cervantes Landeiro won today as well, thus raising to 5 the number of her winning streak.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. f4. The Four Pawns Attack, which does not sound exactly like a declaration of peace.
6. ... 0-0 7. Nf3 e6 8. dxe6!? fxe6 9. Be2. More reserved than 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. 0-0 Nd4 11. Ng5!? e5! 12. f5!? h6! 13. Nh3 gxf5 14. exf5 b5!?∞ Christiansen – Kasparov, Interzonal Tournament, Moscow 1982 — “Despite its age, this game is very important for an understanding of the line”, Grandmaster Viktor Petrovich Moskalenko writes in his book “An Attacking Repertoire for White with 1. d4: Ambitious Ideas and Powerful Weapons”, New In Chess, Alkmaar, 2019, p. 22.
9. ... Nc6 10. 0-0 b6 11. Ne1?! A novelty of doubtful value, which could be the fruit of improvisation. Theoretical subjects of study are as follows:
a) 11. Ng5 Nd4 12. Bd3 Qe7 13. Qe1 Bd7 14. Bd2 Rad8 15. Kh1 Nh5 16. Qd1 Bf6⇄ Fridman – Conquest, 4th EU Individual Open Chess Championship, Liverpool 2008;
b) 11. Kh1 Bb7 12. Be3 Qe7 13. Qd2 Rad8 14. Rae1 Kh8 15. f5 exf5 16. exf5 gxf5 17. Bg5 Qd7 18. Bd3 (Piket – Nunn, 54th Hoogovens International Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 1992) 18. ... Nb4 19. Bb1 Rde8⇄ (Bologan’s analysis).
11. ... Bb7 12. Be3 Nd4 13. Bd3 Qe7 14. Nc2 Nd7 15. Rb1 Rf7 16. Qd2 Raf8 17. Rbe1 e5

18. Nd5? An error of bad judgment, dropping a Pawn for no good reason. 18. f5! was almost an imperative.
18. ... Bxd5 19. exd5 Nxc2 20. Bxc2 exf4 21. Rxf4 (21. Bxf4 Qf6∓)
21. ... Rxf4?! Black should have taken on b2 at once. The interpolation of the moves that follow only helps White to give a sense to her opening flop.
22. Bxf4 Bd4+ 23. Kh1 Qf6. If 23. ... Rxf4? then 24. g3! and Black has nothing better than 24. ... Rf7 25. Rxe7 Rxe7 with an unbalanced equilibrium.
24. g3 Ne5 25. Qe2 Bxb2

Black has won a Pawn after all, but under less favourable circumstances, as now White can claim some compensation.
26. h4! Bd4 27. Kg2 Qe7 28. Rf1 Qd7 29. Bxe5 Re8? A wrong finesse which could cost Krush the game. Simply 29. ... Bxe5 would have kept the situation under control.

30. Qf3! Bxe5 31. Ba4?? A true pseudo-deflecting hallucination, which instead costs 于 (Yú) the point. The presence of Bishops of opposite colour just suggests that 31. h5!→ would have given White a virtually irresistible attack.
31. ... Qxa4 32. Qf7+ Kh8. Is it really possible that 于 (Yú) didn’t notice that the Black Rook is still defended? Yes. Apparently. Or maybe no.
33. h5 gxh5 34. Rf5 Bd4 35. Rg5 Qc2+ 36. Kh3 Qe4 37. Rxh5 Qh1+ 38. Kg4 Qe4+ 0 : 1.

于 (Yú)’s nerves betrayed her at last. Photo © Crystal Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Through the Eye of a Needle

Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)
61st U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 17, 2022
Russian Defence C43

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. 0-0 Bd6 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 0-0 10. Qh5 f5 11. c4 Qf6 (11. ... dxc4 12. Bxc4+ Kh8 13. Rb1 b6 14. Re1 Qf6 15. Bb2 Rae8= Kanarek – Kuzubov, 18th European Individual Chess Championship, Minsk 2017)
12. c3 dxc4 13. Bxc4+ Be6 14. Bd3 h6!? It’s curious to note that a game between computers from the early 2000s continued 14. ... Rae8 15. Bg5 Qf7 with balanced play, Shredder – Junior, Cadaqués Computer Tournament, Cadaqués 2001.
15. Re1 Rae8 16. Bd2 Re7 17. h4 Bd5 18. Be3 c6 19. c4 Be4

20. Bg5 Qf7. Obviously not 20. ... hxg5?? on account of 21. hxg5 threatening both the Queen and g5-g6.
21. Qxf7+ Rexf7 22. Bxe4 hxg5 23. Bc2 Bb4 24. Re6 gxh4 25. Rb1 a5 26. d5 cxd5 27. cxd5 Rd8 28. Rd1 Bd6 29. Rb1 Kf8 30. Kf1 Bb4 31. Rd1 Rfd7 32. Bb3 Re7 33. Rg6? (⌓ 33. g3)
33. ... a4? And here better was 33. ... Rd6! forcing the exchange of Rooks in much more favourable circumstances.
34. d6 Rxd6 35. Rgxd6 Bxd6 36. Rxd6 axb3 37. axb3 Kf7 38. Rb6 g6 39. Kg1 Kg7 40. Kh2 Kh6 41. Kh3 Kh5

42. g3 hxg3 43. Kxg3?? A grave blunder which throws which throws away the game. 43. fxg3 was the move, with a draw soon.
43. ... g5 44. Rb5 f4+ 45. Kf3 Rc7 46. Rb6 (46. Kg2 Kh4! 47. Rb4 Rc3! 48. Rxb7 f3+−+)
46. ... Rc3+ 47. Kg2

47. ... Kh4! 48. Rh6+ Kg4 49. Rb6 Rc7 50. Rb4 Kh4 51. Kh2 Rd7 52. Rb6 Rd2 53. Kg2 g4! 54. Rxb7 g3 55. Rh7+ Kg5 56. Rg7+ Kf6 57. Rg8 Rxf2+ 58. Kg1 Rb2 59. b4 Rxb4 60. Kg2 Rb2+ 61. Kf3 Rf2+ 62. Kg4 g2 63. Kh3 f3 64. Rf8+ Kg7 65. Rf5. Now 于 (Yú) must only be careful to avoid the last trap: 65. ... g1=Q?? 66. Rg5+!! with a draw, as after 66. ... Qxg5 White is stalemated.
65. ... Rf1! 0 : 1.

And finally 于 (Yú), by virtue of her strength of will and purpose, was able to get a win out of a drawish Rook ending. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Broadcast delay

于润荷 (Jennifer Yú) – 严锐阳 (Yán Ruìyáng)
61st U.S. Women’s Chess Championship; Saint Louis, October 6, 2022
Tarrasch Defence D32

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 c5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. d4 Nc6 7. Be2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5

9. Bf3 Ne5 10. 0-0 0-0 11. h3 Re8. 11. ... Bb6 12. b3 Re8 is also fine for Black, Bautista Sánchez – Striković, 51st Spanish Team Chess Championship — Primera División, Sabadell 2007.
12. Nb3 Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 Bb6 14. Rd1 Be6 15. Nd4 Rc8 16. Nde2 Ne4 17. Nf4 Nxc3 18. bxc3 Qf6 19. Bb2 Rc4. The object of Black is to sacrifice her d-Pawn for dynamic compensation.
20. Qh5 Rc5

21. Nxd5. “于 (Yú) bravely captures the extra Pawn despite landing her Knight in a pin”, Vanessa West wrote in her recap of day 2.
21. ... Bxd5 22. Rxd5 g6 23. Qd1 Rxd5 24. Qxd5 Rd8 25. Qb5 Rd2 26. Rf1 Qc6 27. Qb3

27. ... Qf6?! Obviously not 27. ... Bxe3?? because of 28. Bc1 winning at once, but stronger was 27. ... Re2! (actually threatening ... Bb6xe3) 28. c4 (28. Bc1 Qe4) 28. ... Bxe3! 29. Qc3 f6! with a perfectly playable game for Black.
28. Bc1 Rd3? Again Black should have played 28. ... Re2 29. Qc4 Rc2 30. Qc8+ Qd8 31. Qxb7 Rxa2 32. c4 when White has an extra Pawn, but a very hard technical challenge in order to make something of it.
29. Qb5 Rd8 30. c4 Rc8 31. Bb2 Qe6 32. Rc1 Rd8 33. c5. Finally White wins a second Pawn and the game.
33. ... Rd5 34. Qb4 Bc7 35. Qxb7 Qd7 36. Qa8+ Qd8 37. Qxd8+ Rxd8 38. Bd4 Rb8 39. g3 h5 40. Kg2 Rb5 41. g4 hxg4 42. hxg4 Kf8 43. Bf6 Ke8 44. c6 Rb6 45. g5 Ra6 46. Rc4 1 : 0.

Not by chance Tartakower defined a chess game as “a fairy tale of 1,001 mistakes”. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.