Play to Win

丁亦昕 (Dīng Yìxīn) – Valentina Evgenyevna Gunina
China – Russia Match; 宁波市 (Níngbō), July 20, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B19

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. 0-0-0 Be7 13. Kb1 0-0 14. Ne4 c5 15. g4!? Dernier cri. 15. ... Nxg4 16. Rhg1 f5 17. Qc4 Qb6 18. dxc5!? Quite a novelty. If, instead, 18. d5 then 18. ... Qa6! and Black should hold, Baumegger – Kreisl, 55th Austrian Chess Championship, Zwettl 2012. 18. ... Qc6. Worth considering was 18. ... Nxc5 as after 19. Nxc5 Bxc5 20. Bc3 Rf7 21. Nd4 the position looks only slightly better for White. 19. Bc3 b5!? After 19. ... Rf7 20. Qe2 Qxe4 21. Qxe4 fxe4 22. Rxd7 Nf6 23. Bxf6 Bxf6 24. Rxf7 Kxf7 25. Nd2 White wins a Pawn. 20. Qe2 b4!? Now it’s too late for 20. ... Qxe4 21. Qxe4 fxe4 because of 22. Rxd7 Rf7 23. Rxg4 exf3 24. b4! and Black is completely tied up. 21. Bxb4 Rab8 22. Bc3 e5? The decisive mistake! Instead of this hasty move, necessary was 22. ... Rf7 though after 23. Nd4 Qxe4 24. Qxe4 fxe4 25. Rxg4 Nf6 26. Rg6 White stands better.

23. Rxd7! A destructive Exchange sacrifice! 23. ... Qxd7 24. Qc4+ Kh7 25. Nxe5 Qc8. Needless to say, after 25. ... Nxe5 26. Bxe5 White threatens both Rg1xg7+ and Be5xb8. 26. Ng6 Qc7 27. Qe6 Bxc5 28. Nxf8+ Rxf8 29. Qg6+ Kg8 30. Nxc5 Rf7 31. Ne6 1 : 0. For if 31. ... Ne5 then 32. Qxh6 finis. Thus 丁亦昕 (Dīng Yìxīn) won her first game!

丁亦昕 (Dīng Yìxīn) vs. Valentina Yevgenyevna Gunina
Photo: sinochess (@sinachess)

Guns N’ Roses

Valentina Gunina – Olga Girya
Women’s World Chess Championship; Krasnaya Polyana, March 20, 2015
Catalan Opening E05

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 0-0 6. 0-0 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bg5 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Rc8 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Nb3 c5 14. dxc5 Be4. For 14. dxc5 Bd5 15. Ne1 Bxg2 16. Nxg2 Nd7 see B. Larsen – A. Shneider, Aars 1995. 15. Qc3 Bd5 16. Rac1 Bxb3 17. Qxb3 Bxc5 18. e3 Qb6 19. Rc2 Rc7 20. Ne5 Rfc8 21. Rd1 g6 22. Rcd2 Be7 23. g4!? Gunina’s chess style! White has achieved nothing special, so she plays for the checkmate with the “crazy” 23. g4. 23. ... Rc5 24. Nd3 Rg5 25. h3 h5 26. gxh5 Rxh5 27. Nf4 Rhc5

28. Nxg6! A heavy blow against enemy the fortress. Olga was probably expecting 28. Nd3 Rg5 with an edge to Black. 28. ... fxg6 29. Rd6! Bxd6? Black collapses. After 29. ... Qc7 30. Qxe6+ Kf8 31. Rxa6 Re5 White has to demonstrate compensation for the sacrificed Knight. 30. Qxe6+ Kh7 31. Rxd6 Rc1+? The last mistake! Black should have played 31. ... Qc7 here, although after 32. Qxf6 Qg7 33. Qe6! Rc1+ 34. Kh2 R1c7 35. Rxa6 White’s advantage is obvious. 32. Kh2 Qc7 33. Qxf6 Rc2 34. Qxg6+ Kh8 35. Qh5+ Kg8 36. Bd5+ Kg7 37. Qh6 mate.

Valentina Gunina vs. Olga Girya
Photo: Boris Dolmatovsky

妈妈和女儿

王茜 (Wáng Qiàn) & 侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán)
Photo: 谷笑冰 (Gǔ Xiàobīng)

• 智英会国象女子超快棋赛 侯逸凡蝉联冠军赵雪第六, sports.sina.com.cn, December 15, 2014

The Girl with the Cat Tattoo

北京 (Beijīng), December 14, 2014. Prizes, medals and awards: 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is the Golden Girl! Photo: 王亮 (Wáng Liàng).

北京 (Beijīng), December 14, 2014. From the left: Valentina Gunina (Silver), 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (Gold) and Anna Olegivna Muzychuk (Bronze). Photo: 王亮 (Wáng Liàng).

北京 (Beijīng), December 14, 2014. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) on the top. Photo: 王亮 (Wáng Liàng).

金牌

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is the Golden Girl!
Photo: World Mind Games (Facebook)

It goes without say that in the women’s [blitz] event; Hóu Yìfán is the player to beat. Her play is astoundingly good and her winning streak unmatchable. This time around she beats Gunina with 22½ out of 30. When asked about the blitz event, she calmly said “there are so many different positions and you always need time to recover”. Pia Cramling came out in the last round and put in an impeccable performance to beat Muzychuk, who loses out on grabbing silver. [Read more]

World Mind Games (@WorldMindGames)

荣誉勋章

北京 (Beijīng), December 12, 2014. 4th SportAccord World Mind Games; Women’s Rapid Event Medal Ceremony. From the left: 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (Silver), Valentina Gunina (Gold) and Anna Ushenina (Bronze). Photo: sports.sina.com.cn.

Closing ceremony with the winners of two sections: Chess and Draughts
Photo: Alina l’Ami

再戰明天......
Photo: Alina l’Ami

• 智英会国象女子快棋赛 古尼娜蝉联冠军侯逸凡银牌, sports.sina.com.cn, December 12, 2014
• Alina l’Ami, Russian doublet, sportaccord2014.fide.com, December 12, 2014

鐵金剛勇破間諜網

Valentina Gunin(a) for Gold An epic contest took place at the chess tables this afternoon, a pure treat for spectators and viewers across the world. A young lady from Russia brought her A-game to Beijīng. Valentina Gunina (RUS), 25 years old, showed us how talented she really is, winning all her games of the second day of competition. The local favourite, Hóu Yìfán (CHN) was her challenger in round 6. The match was intense, gripping and one to watch. The two ladies knew that this was a decisive one to win. Gunina felt “lucky but happy” and shared that she always “loves to play Hóu Yìfán”. Having played chess since the age of 5, her father was always there to coach her and encourage her to along the way. Now Gunina awaits the Blitz competition, “it is definitely my favourite discipline” she explained with a delightful smile. [Read more].

4th SportAccord World Mind Games; 北京 (Beijīng), 11 – 17 December 2014

第六

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Notes by Alina l’Ami

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侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Valentina Gunina

4th SportAccord World Mind Games; Women’s Rapid Event; 北京 (Beijīng), December 12, 2014

Caro-Kann Defence B10

1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 e5 4. Ngf3 Bd6 5. d4 exd4 6. exd5 Nf6 7. dxc6 Nxc6 8. Be2 0-0 9. 0-0 Bg4 10. Nb3 Re8 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 Be5 13. a3 Qc7 14. Kh1 Rad8 15. Qd3 Ne7 16. Bd2 Ng6 17. Rae1 b6 18. Re2 h6 19. Rfe1 Re7 20. g3 a5 21. Bg2 a4 22. Nc1 Bd6 23. Rxe7 Bxe7 24. f4 h5 25. Ne2 h4 26. g4 Nd5 27. Qxd4

27. ... Bc5. We enter the game at the moment fortune is falling Gunina’s way. 28. Qc4? Simply 28. Qxa4, as mentioned later on by Hóu Yìfán herself, would have kept White’s advantage, though Black is definitely still kicking after 28. ... Be3!. 28. ... Bf2! 29. Qxc7. Hóu Yìfán had missed that after 29. Bxd5 Qxc4 30. Bxc4 Bxe1 31. Bxe1 Black wins with 31. ... Rd1!. 29. ... Nxc7. Hitting both the d2–Bishop and the Rook on e1. Suddenly Hóu Yìfán is in trouble. 30. Rf1. Or 30. Rd1 Be3!. 30. ... Rxd2 31. Rxf2 Rxc2 32. Kg1 Rxb2 33. Nc3 Rb3 34. Nxa4 b5 35. Nb6 Rxa3 36. Rc2 Nxf4!? Adding even more gas on the fire! There was also nothing wrong with the counter-attack 36. ... Ra6!. 37. Rxc7 Ra1+ 38. Bf1 Nxh3+ 39. Kh2 Ng5. At this point Hóu Yìfán was terribly short on time which made the task of defending this position even harder. 40. Bd3 g6 41. Nd5 Nf3+ 42. Kh3 (42. Kg2 Ne1+) 42. ... Rg1! Suddenly the White King is under very serious threats. The only way to avoid immediate disaster is by playing... 43. Nf6+ Kf8 44. Ne4. ... but after 44. ... f5! Black won the Knight and soon after, the game! 45. gxf5 gxf5 46. Be2 fxe4 47. Bxf3 exf3 48. Rc3 Ke7 49. Re3+ Kd6 0 : 1. (Notes by Alina l’Ami).

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Valentina Gunina

广播

19th Women’s European Club Cup; Bilbao, September 15, 2014
侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

• Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez, ECC 02: Demolitions and Surprises!, Chess News, September 16, 2014

Tsaritsa of Russia

From the left: Valentina Gunina, Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk, Natalia Andreevna Pogonina and Olga Girya.

快捷键

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Valentina Evgenyevna Gunina

SportAccord World Mind Games; Women’s Blitz Event; 北京市 (Běijīng), December 14, 2013

Caro-Kann Defence B18

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. 0-0-0 Be7 13. Kb1 0-0 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Nf6 16. Qe2 Qd5 17. Ne5 (17. Be3 Rfd8 18. Rhg1 Ng4=) 17. ... Rfd8. Or 17. ... Qe4 18. Qxe4 Nxe4 19. Be3 Rfd8 20. g4 c5 21. f3 cxd4 22. Bxd4 Bc5 23. Bxc5 Nxc5 24. c3 f6 25. Ng6 e5 26. Kc2 Kf7 27. Nh4 Ne6 28. Rh2 Rxd1 29. Kxd1 Rc8 30. Rd2 Rc7 31. Nf5 b6 32. Ke2 Kf8 33. Ke3 Kf7 34. Rd6 Nc5 35. Rd2 Ne6 36. c4 Nc5 37. b3 Nb7 38. Ke4 Ke6 39. Rd5 Nc5+ 40. Ke3 Nb7 41. Kd2 Kf7 42. Kc3 g6 43. hxg6+ Kxg6 44. Ng3 Rf7 45. b4 Kg5 46. Rd3 Kf4 47. Nh5+ Kg5 48. Rd5 Kh4 49. c5 bxc5 50. bxc5 f5 51. Rxe5 fxg4 52. fxg4 Kxg4 53. Kd4 Nd8 54. Kd5 Rd7+ 55. Kc4 Rf7 56. Kd5 Rd7+ 57. Kc4 ½ : ½ 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 周唯奇 (Zhōu Wéiqi), 44th Chinese Chess Championship, 兴化 (Xīnghuà) 2009. 18. Rhe1 c5 19. c4 Qd6 20. g4! More enterprising than 20. Bf4 cxd4 21. Nxf7 Qxf4 22. Qxe6 Kh7 with roughly even chances, Kulon – Gunina, Warsaw 2013. 20. ... cxd4. A year before, in the rapid event, Gunina preferred 20. ... Nd7 21. Ba5 b6 22. Qf3 Bf6! with equality, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Gunina, SportAccord World Mind Games, Women’s Blitz Event, 北京市 (Běijīng) 2013. But now, perhaps afraid of a fresh Chinese surprise, Valentina prefers to deviate. 21. g5 hxg5 22. Bxg5 Nd7

23. Nxf7! Aggressive play. After 23. Bxe7 Qxe7 24. Rxd4 Nxe5 25. Qxe5 Rxd4 26. Rg1 Rg4! 27. Rxg4 f6 the game is even. 23. ... Kxf7 24. Rxd4! A brilliant corollary to her 23th move! 24. ... Qb6. Nolens volens, as the Rook is taboo: 24. ... Qxd4 25. Qxe6+ Kf8 26. Bxe7+ Ke8 27. Bd6 mate. 25. Bxe7 Kxe7 26. Qg4 Rg8 27. Rde4 e5. Loses outright, but also 27. ... Nc5 28. Qg5+ Kd7 29. Rd4+ Kc7 30. Qf4+ Kc8 31. Qf7 is catastrophic. 28. Rxe5+! Breaking down the last defence! Although a whole Rook down, White’s attack is irresistible. 28. ... Nxe5 29. Rxe5+ Kd8 30. Rd5+ Kc7 31. Qf4+ Kc8 32. Qf7? A disappointment! Correct is 32. Qe5! (Δ Rd5-c5+) with an easy win. 32. ... Rd8 33. Qf5+ Kb8? The decisive mistake. After 33. ... Kc7 34. Qe5+ Kc6 35. Qe6+ Kc7 White has nothing better than a draw by perpetual check. 34. Qe5+ Kc8 35. Rc5+ Qxc5. Black must submit to the loss of her Queen or get mated, e.g. 35. ... Kd7 36. Qxg7+ Kd6 37. Qd4+ Ke7 38. Re5+ Kf7 39. Qf4+ etc. 36. Qxc5+ Kd7 37. Qd4+ Kc6 38. Qxg7 Rd1+ 39. Kc2 Rad8 40. Qg6+ Kc7 41. Qg3+ Kb6 42. Qe3+ Ka6 43. h6 R1d4 44. Kc3 Rh4 45. Qg5 Rh3+ 46. Kc2 Rd6 47. Qb5 mate.

From left: Valentina Evgenyevna Gunina, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), and Anna Muzychuk. Photo: qipai.org.cn.

阿佛洛狄忒 (Ἀφροδίτη)

Foto: sports.sina.com.cn

侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán)
Foto: 谷笑冰 (Gǔ Xiàobīng)

Amor fati

• Mind Games Day 5: Yifan, Karjakin gold, Chess News, 17 dicembre 2013

侯逸凡 (Hóu​ Yì​fán)
Foto: 谷笑冰 (Gǔ Xiàobīng)

领奖台 (Podio)

Da sinistra: 侯逸凡 (argento), Valentina Gunina (oro) e 居文君 (bronzo)

All photos courtesy of FIDE

银牌 (Medaglia d’argento)

• 刘襄琳 (Liú Xiāng Lín), 智英会侯逸凡再获快棋银牌 乌克兰棋手夺冠, sports.cn, 13 dicembre 2013

Da sinistra: 侯逸凡 (argento), Valentina Gunina (oro) e 居文君 (bronzo)
Foto: sports.cn

[Event "SportAccord World Mind Games (Rapid)"]
[Site "Běijīng CHN"]
[Date "2013.12.12"]
[Round "3.4"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Jū, Wénjūn"]
[Black "Hóu​, Yì​fán"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2514"]
[BlackElo "2629"]
[PlyCount "106"]

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Nd5 8. Bxb4 Nxb4 9. O-O a6 10. Ne5 Bd7 11. Nxc6 Nxc6 12. Qxc4 O-O 13. Nc3 Qe7 14. Rfd1 Rfd8 15. Rac1 Be8 16. e3 Na5 17. Qe2 Rac8 18. Ne4 Bb5 19. Qc2 b6 20. Nc3 Bc6 21. Bxc6 Nxc6 22. Qe2 Nb8 23. Ne4 h6 24. f4 c6 25. Nf2 a5 26. Nd3 Nd7 27. Rc2 Qd6 28. Rdc1 c5 29. b3 Rc7 30. Nb2 Rdc8 31. dxc5 Rxc5 32. Rxc5 Rxc5 33. Nc4 Qc7 34. a4 Nf6 35. Rd1 Rd5 36. Rc1 Qc5 37. Qc2 Qb4 38. Kg2 Nd7 39. Qc3 Qc5 40. Rc2 Nf6 41. Ne5 Qe7 42. Qc8+ Kh7 43. Qb8 Rd8 44. Qxb6 Nd5 45. Qc5 Qb7 46. Kh3 Qxb3 47. Nxf7 Rd7 48. Ne5 Rc7 49. Qxc7 Nxc7 50. Rxc7 Qxa4 51. Ra7 Qb5 52. Nf3 Qf1+ 53. Kg4 h5+ 0-1

[Event "SportAccord World Mind Games (Rapid)"]
[Site "Běijīng CHN"]
[Date "2013.12.12"]
[Round "4.2"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Hóu​, Yì​fán"]
[Black "Koneru, Humpy"]
[ECO "C90"]
[WhiteElo "2629"]
[BlackElo "2607"]
[PlyCount "66"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. O-O d6 8. c3 O-O 9. Re1 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. Nbd2 Nc6 12. Nf1 Nd7 13. Ne3 Nb6 14. h3 Be6 15. a3 Qc7 16. Bb3 c4 17. Bc2 Bf6 18. d4 Ne7 19. Ng4 Bxg4 20. hxg4 Ng6 21. Be3 Nd7 22. g3 Bd8 23. Kg2 Qb7 24. Rh1 Re8 25. g5 Bb6 26. Nh4 d5 27. Nf5 Re6 28. Qg4 Ndf8 29. Rh5 exd4 30. cxd4 dxe4 31. Rah1 Rae8 32. Qh3 f6 33. Rxh7 1-0