Варенье (Varenye)

Grand Finale at the World Junior Chess Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, September 16, 2015. They are the Champions: Mikhail Al. Antipov, Nataliya Buksa, Alina Bivol, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Francesco Rambaldi &c.

E più d’onore ancora assai mi fenno

Closing ceremony of the World Junior Chess Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, September 16, 2015. The Queen, Nataliya Buksa from Ukraine, and the King, Mikhail Al. Antipov from Russia, waiting for the golden medals as they are airily talking each other. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.

“E più d’onore ancora assai mi fenno; Ch’ei sì mi fecer della loro schiera, Sì ch’io fui sesto tra cotanto senno”. Congratulations to Italian superstar Francesco Rambaldi (second from right) on his splendid if not lucky performance! Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.

Прийшов, побачив, переміг (Veni, vidi, vici)

Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko (@poroshenko)

President of Ukraine Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko posted on his Twitter account: “I congratulate to Nataliya Buksa on her triumph in the World Girls Junior Chess Championship in Russia. Ukrainian women – they’re the best!”.

Frontier Girl

Nataliya Buksa – Alina Bivol
33rd World Girls Junior Championship; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 6, 2015
Sicilian Defence B80

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 Be7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. 0-0-0 b5 10. g4 Bb7 11. g5 Nfd7 12. h4 Nc6 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Ne2 Ne5. For 14. ... Qc7 15. Nd4 Rfc8 16. g6 hxg6 17. h5 see Feygin – Savchenko, Helmut-Kohls-Turnier, Dortmund 2013, while for 14. ... d5 15. Nd4 Bb7 16. Bh3 Ne5 17. Qe1 Nc4 see Short – Ljubojević, Reykjavík 1987. 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. h5 Rc8 17. Kb1 Qc7 18. Rg1 Nc4 19. Bxc4 Qxc4 20. f4 e5? “White got a formidable position out of the opening, but after a typical Scheveningen move such as 20. ... Rfe8 the whole struggle still lies ahead. How to start? 21. g6 fxg6 22. hxg6 h6 23. Qh2 Bf8, or 21. Qh2, or even 21. Qf2?“, wonders International Master Vladimir Barsky. 21. Nf5 Rfe8. No better is 21. ... Bxf5 22. exf5 with a “rollerball” coming. 22. Nxe7+ Rxe7 23. Qxd6 Qxc2+ 24. Ka1 Rce8 25. f5. Threatening f5-f6. 25. ... Bc8? A final blunder, but Black has no good moves left. After 25. ... Qxe4? 26. f6 White’s dream have come true, while if 25. ... Bc6 then 26. Rc1 Qxe4 27. Bb6 with an overwhelming advantage.

26. Qxe7! 1 : 0.

chess24.com (@chess24com)