Dragonite

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn)

4th FIDE World Rapid Team Championship; Dragon Chilling – Interstellar Club; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; 香港 (Hong Kong), June 19, 2026

Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bf4 dxc4 6. e3 a6 7. a4 Nb6 8. a5 Nbd5 9. Bxc4 Nxf4 10. exf4 Bd6 11. Ne5 0-0 12. 0-0 Bd7 13. Qf3. 13. Qb3 Rb8 14. f5 b5 15. Bxe6?! (15. axb6 Rxb6 16. Qa2⩲) 15. ... Be8! won a Pawn, but gave Black too much play in Rönkä – Kekki, 78th Finnish Chess Championship, Helsinki 2016.
13. ... Rb8 14. Rad1 b5 15. axb6 Rxb6 16. b3 Bb4? (16. ... Qa8 17. Nxd7 Nxd7 18. Ne4⩲)

17. d5! exd5? The losing mistake. After 17. ... Bxc3 18. Nxd7 (18. dxe6!? Bxe5 19. exf7+ Kh8 20. fxe5 is also attractive) 18. ... Nxd7 19. Qxc3 exd5 20. Rxd5 Qc8 21. Re1 White is clearly better, but the game is far from over.
18. Nxd5 Nxd5 19. Qxd5 Rd6 20. Nxf7 1–0. For after 20. ... Rxd5 21. Nxd8 White wins at least the Exchange.

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) is back on top after a long sabbatical leave! Photo: Michał Walusza/FIDE.

Revue

居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn)
51st Chinese Chess Championship; 兴化 (Xīnghuà), December 22, 2020
Slav Defence D12

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Be2 Nbd7 8. g3 Bd6 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. Qc2 Qe7 11. Bd2 a6!? Maybe a new move, but certainly not an epochal concept. In a previous game there followed 11. ... dxc4 12. Bxc4 e5 (Nguyễn Huỳnh Minh Huy – Arngrímsson, First Saturday GM November 2008, Budapest 2008) and now White’s best is probably to castle Queenside at once. 12. c5 Bc7 13. f4 Ba5 14. Nb1 Bc7 15. Bf3 g5 16. Nc3 gxf4 17. exf4 b6 18. b4 a5 19. Na4 axb4. Black now gives up a Pawn for a dynamic way to balance the game. 20. cxb6 Bd6 21. Qxc6 0-0 22. 0-0 Rfb8 23. Rfc1 Qf8?! It makes for a clumsy redeployment of Bishop and Queen. Better seems 23. ... g6 as after 24. Rab1 Kg7 Black will soon recover the Pawn with more or less equality. 24. Be2 Be7. As they say, “If you have said A, you must also say B”, but maybe it was not too late for the Black Queen to retrace its steps.

25. Rab1? Here, once again, 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) proves to be too cautious. With 25. b7 Ra7 26. Ba6 she would have consolidated both her extra Pawn and her own positional advantage. 25. ... g6? Luckily for her, however, Black misses 25. ... Nxb6! 26. Nxb6 Rxa2 regaining the piece with much interest (27. Rd1 Qd8). 26. Be1 Kg7 27. Bf1. Still very strong was 27. b7 Ra7 28. Ba6 with a powerful bind. 27. ... Rxa4 28. Qxa4 Nxb6 29. Qa7 Nc4 30. Bxc4 Ra8 31. Qb7 Rb8 32. Qc6 dxc4 33. Qxc4 Nd5 34. Qe2 Ra8 35. Rc2 Bf6 36. Qe4 Ra4 37. Rd1 Qa8 38. Qe2 Qa7 39. Kh1 Qa8 40. Kg1 Qa7 41. Rd3 Nc3

42. Rcxc3 bxc3 43. Bxc3 Rxa2 44. Rd2 Ra3 45. Bb2 Rb3 46. Kf1. Of course White cannot make any use of her extra Pawn and has to content herself with equality — it is interesting to note that 46. Rd3 could also serve well her purpose. 46. ... Qb7 47. Qg2 Rf3+ 48. Kg1 Qe4 49. Rf2 Qe1+ 50. Qf1 Qe3 51. Kg2 Rxf2+ 52. Qxf2 Qe4+ 53. Qf3 Qc2+ 54. Qf2 Qe4+ 55. Qf3 Qc2+ ½ : ½.

And 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) stoically continues her “fight for right” in the man’s world. Photo: Chinese Chess Association.

拔絲地瓜

Chess Grandmaster 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn) and Woman Grandmaster 谷笑冰 (Gǔ Xiàobīng) got married on Saturday, March 18, 2017 in 济南 (Jǐnán), 山东省 (Shāndōng province), China. The wedding ceremony was staged at 军悦世源酒店举行 (Jūnyuè Shìyuán Hotel), exhibiting a very charming chess theme, and was attended by a joyful plethora of friends and relatives, including 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), 李超 (Lǐ Chāo), 沈阳 (Shěn Yáng), 倪华 (Ní Huá), 王玥 (Wáng Yuè), 徐俊 (Xú Jùn), 余少腾 (Yú Shǎoténg), 田红卫 (Tián Hóngwèi), and 叶江川 (Yè Jiāngchuān), and so on. Photos: cca.imsa.cn.

Child King

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn)
1st China Chess Kings; match game 2; 台州 (Tāizhōu), November 25, 2015
Spanish C65

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. c3 0-0 7. Re1 Bd7 8. Nbd2 h6 9. Nf1 Re8 10. Ng3 Bf8 11. h3 Ne7 12. Bxd7 Qxd7 13. d4 Ng6 14. Qc2 Nh7. The alternative was 14. ... c6 15. Be3 b5 16. a4 a6 17. b3 Qb7 18. Rad1 Rab8 19. Rb1 Ra8 20. Rbd1 Rab8 21. Rb1 Ra8 22. Rbd1 Rab8 23. Rb1 ½ : ½ C. Balogh – Aleksandrov, 13rd International Open, Dubai 2011. 15. Be3 Be7 16. Nf5 Bf6 17. Rad1 Qe6 18. d5! Playing for a space advantage in the centre, as well on the Queenside. 18. ... Qd7 19. c4 Ne7 20. Ng3 Bg5 21. c5! b6 22. Nxg5 hxg5 23. cxd6 cxd6 24. Rc1 Rac8 25. Qd2 g4 26. h4 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 Rc8 28. Rxc8+ Qxc8 29. Qb4. Black has too many weaknesses for living peacefully with them. 29. ... Qd7 30. h5 f5. 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn) offers a temporary Pawn sacrifice hoping for a breath of fresh air. 31. exf5 Nf6 32. Bg5 Nxf5. 32. ... Nexd5 33. Qd2 followed by h5-h6 would also be unpleasant for Black. 33. Nxf5 Qxf5 34. Bxf6 g3!? The only chance. Both 34. ... gxf6 35. Qxd6 and 34. ... Qxf6 35. Qxg4 lead to untenable positions. 35. fxg3 Qxf6 Black is a Pawn down and can only hope for the Queen ending.

36. Qh4! Of course 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) is not willing to cooperate. 36. ... Qxh4? A terrible mistake! After the exchange of Queens White’s task is quite easy. Black should have played 36. ... Qh6 since after 37. Kh2 or 37. Qg4 a “mathematical” win is not yet in sight for White. 37. gxh4 Kf7 38. Kf2 Kf6 39. g4 Kf7 40. Kf3 Ke7 41. Ke4 Kf6 42. g5+ Ke7 43. Kf5 Kf7 44. g6+ Kf8 45. Kg5 Kg8 46. b3 1 : 0. A very elegant finish. When all moves are exhausted, Black will be forced to move the King to f8 or h8, after which White wins inexorably by h5-h6.

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

90年

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Notes by International Master Malcom Pein

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赵骏 (Zhào Jùn) – Maxime Lagarde
90th Hastings International Chess Congress; Hastings, January 1, 2015
Sicilian Defence B22

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 d6 7. a3 Bd7 8. Bd3 Bc6 9. 0-0 Nd7 10. Re1 Qc7 11. Bf1. 11. Bf1 is a new move, unambitious-looking, but suggesting that the Pawn on e5 gives White a good game. 11. ... Rd8 12. Nbd2 dxe5 13. dxe5 Nc5. 13. ... Nc5 provokes a fight, but Black’s position is suspect once the Bishop on c6 is exchanged and his Kingside remains undeveloped. Perhaps instead 13. ... Be7 14. b4 a5 15. b5 Nc3 16. bxc6 Nxd1 17. cxd7+ Rxd7 or 13. ... Be7 14. b4 a5 15. b5 Nc3 16. Qb3 Bd5 17. Nc4 Ne4 18. Qc2, but Black’s Knights look vulnerable. 14. Nd4 Nf4

15. Nxc6 bxc6. There was a crazy line: 15. ... Qxc6 16. b4 Ncd3 17. Re3 Be7 18. g3 Qh1+ 19. Kxh1 Nxf2+ 20. Kg1 Nxd1 21. Re1 Nd5 22. Rxd1 Ne3 23. Bb5+ Kf8 24. Rf1 Nxf1 25. Bxf1, but White is better in the endgame. 16. Qc2 Nfd3 17. Re3 Nxe5 18. b4 Ncd7 19. Bb2 Ng4 20. Rg3 Ndf6 21. Nc4. h2–h3 is a terrible threat. The Knight on g4 has no good squares and if 21. ... Be7 22. h3 Nh6 23. Be5 Qc8 24. Rxg7. 21. ... Rd5 22. h3 h5. Desperation. 23. hxg4 hxg4 24. Be5 Qd8 25. Re3 Nd7 26. g3 Qg5 27. Bg2 Nxe5 28. Bxd5 Nxc4 29. Bxc6+ 1 : 0. (Malcom Pein, The Telegraph, January 4, 2015).

病史

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn)
5th International Tournament; 儋州 (Dānzhōu), June 25, 2014
King’s Indian Defence E91

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. d4 Bg4 6. Be2 0-0 7. 0-0 Nfd7 8. Be3 Nc6 9. d5 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Na5 11. Be2 Bxc3 12. bxc3 e5 13. dxe6 fxe6 14. c5. The sacrifice of this Pawn enables White to considerably strenghten his positional initiative. If 14. Bh6 Rf7 15. f4 (Sbarra – L. Pantaleoni, game by correspondence, 1992) then 15. ... Nf6 16. e5 Ne4 17. Qd4 Nc5! (L. Pantaleoni). If instead 14. f4 may follow 14. ... Qe7 15. Qa4 b6 16. Rae1 Nb7 17. Bf3 Nbc5 18. Qc2 Rae8 with slight advantage to Black, Cuellar Gacharna – Tal, Interzonal Tournament, Leningrad 1973. 14. ... Nxc5 15. e5. Consistent play. On 15. Bxc5 dxc5 16. Qa4 b6 17. Rad1 Qf6 I’d prefer Black, Zielinska – Brustman, Augustow 1996. 15. ... b6 16. Bg4!? Possibly a novelty. No better is 16. exd6 cxd6 17. Bf3 Rc8 18. Re1 Re8 with roughly even play, P. Pelts – I. V. Ivanov, Chicago 1991. 16. ... Nab7 17. exd6 cxd6 18. Qd2 Qf6 19. Bg5 Qf7 20. Bh6 Rfe8 21. c4 Ne4 22. Qd4 Nf6 23. Bf3 e5 24. Qh4 e4 25. Be2 Nc5 26. f4 e3? Returning the Pawn for no reason. The proper play to White’s last move was 26. ... exf3 27. Rxf3 (or 27. Bxf3 Nfe4! Δ 28. Bxe4 Rxe4!) 27. ... Rxe2! 28. Rxf6 Qe7 29. Qd4 Qe5 with a slight edge for Black.

27. f5! Well played; White takes immediate advantage of his adversary’s slip. 27. ... Nce4 28. fxg6 Qxg6 29. Bxe3 Re7 30. Bd4. Black is completely tied up. 30. ... Rf8 31. Rae1 Rg7 32. g3! The simplest move and also the correct one. As they say, Black is “overloaded”. 32. ... Qg5. Preventing the deadly threat of Be2-d3, but by now Black is dommed. 33. Qxg5 Rxg5 34. Rf4 Rg7 35. Bf3 Ng5 36. Bg2 Rg6 37. h4 1 : 0.

吃苦

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn)
兴化 (Xīnghuà), 13 marzo 2014

图为侯逸凡再签城下盟约。

• 刘毅 (Liú Yì), 国象锦标赛（个人甲组）第三轮 局势起伏尽残酷, qipai.org.cn, 13 marzo 2014

席恩 (Syn)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn)
45th Chinese Chess Championship: 兴化 (Xīnghuà), March 13, 2014
French Defence C01

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Cc3 Ab4 4. exd5 exd5 5. Ad3 c6. Se 5. ... Cc6 cfr. Milliet – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), xxxvii Olimpiade femminile, Torino 2006. 6. h3. Per l’immediata 6. Df3 cfr. Romero Holmes – Mariotti, Torneo Zonale, La Vella 1987. 6. ... Cf6. In alternativa a 6. ... Ce7 7. Cf3 Af5 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Ce2 Cd7 10. Ag5 f6 11. Ad2 Ad6 12. Af4 Dc7 13. Axd6 Dxd6 14. Axf5 Cxf5 15. Dd3 Tfe8 16. Tae1 Ce7 ½ : ½ Marjanovic – Lobron, Zagabria 1985. 7. Ag5 0-0 8. Df3 Axc3+ 9. bxc3 De8+ 10. Ce2 Ce4 11. Ac1 f5 12. 0-0 Df7 13. h4 Cd7 14. Df4 Cdf6 15. f3 Ch5 16. Dh2 Cef6 17. a4 b6 18. a5 b5 19. Aa3 Te8 20. Ad6 Ae6 21. Tae1 Dd7 22. Cc1 Af7 23. Ae5 Ag6 24. Cb3 Te7 25. Cc5 De8 26. Rf2 Df7 27. Rg1 Tae8 28. Td1 f4! Interessante sacrificio di Pedone per la posizione! 29. Axf4 Cxf4 30. Dxf4 Ch5 31. Dxf7+ Rxf7 32. Tf2 Cf4 33. Af1 Te1 34. Txe1 Txe1 35. Cd7 Re7 36. Ce5 Rd6 37. Rh2. Il Bianco decide di restituire il Pedone per equilibrare la posizione. 37. ... Axc2 38. Cf7+. Avremmo preferito l’immediata 38. Txc2 Txf1 39. Rg3 dopodiché, per esempio, 39. ... Tc1 40. Txc1 Ce2+ 41. Rf2 Cxc1 42. Re3 Cb3 43. a6 c5=. 38. ... Re7 39. Ce5 Rd6 40. Cf7+ Rc7 41. g3 Cd3 42. Txc2. Probabilmente dopo 42. Axd3 Axd3 43. Ce5 Ab1 44. Rg2 Tc1 il vantaggio del Nero non è ancora irreversibile. 42. ... Txf1 43. Cg5 Tf2+ 44. Txf2 Cxf2 45. Cxh7 Cd1. La maggioranza nera ha già “doppiato” la concorrenza...

46. Cg5. Comunque dopo 46. Cf6!? Cxc3 47. Ce8+ Rd7 48. Cxg7 Re7 49. h5 Rf7 il Nero detta legge. 46. ... Rd7 47. f4 Cxc3 48. f5 b4 49. Ce6 Ce4 50. Cf4 b3 51. Cd3 Re7 52. Rg2 Cd6 53. g4 Cc4 54. Rf3 Cxa5 55. g5 Cc4 56. h5 b2 57. Cxb2 Cxb2 58. Rg4 Cc4 59. f6+ gxf6 60. g6 Cd6 0 : 1.

The Italian Game

 

 

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn)

兴化 (Xīnghuà), 19 aprile 2013

 Foto: qipai.org.cn

瑞高鋼琴 (Giuoco Piano)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 赵骏 (Zhào Jùn)
44th Chinese Chess Championship; 兴化 (Xīnghuà), April 19, 2013
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6. The Damiano Variation (1512). 5. d4 exd4 6. e5. Inernational Master Giorgio Porreca, in his “Manuale Teorico-Pratico delle Aperture” (“Theoretical-Practical Handbook of Openings”), Mursia & C., Milan, 1971-1974, p. 120, considered “Steinitz’s move 6. e5 to be lapsed, not because bad in itself but because it is incapable of bringing objective difficulties to Black”. But 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is not a blind believer... 6. ... d5 7. Be2. 7. Bb5 Ne4 is a “tabiya”, but as Porreca suggested (op. cit., p. 126), “The move [7. Bb5] can be replaced by 7. Be2, thus preventing the future pin on the f3-Knight”. 7. ... Ne4 8. cxd4

8. ... Nxd4?! A gambling Knight sacrifice with many incognitas. 8. ... Bb6 is the normal reply; for instance: 9. Nc3 0-0 10. Be3 Be6 11. Qc2 f5 12. exf6 Qxf6 13. Rd1 Rae8 14. 0-0 Ne7 15. Ne5 Nf5 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Qxe4 Bxa2 18. g4 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Bxd4 20. Qxd4 Qxe5 21. Bc4+ Bxc4 22. Qxc4+ Qe6 23. Qxe6+ Rxe6 24. Rd7 Re2 25. Rc1 ½ : ½ Schlechter – Réti, Baden bei Wien 1914. 9. Nxd4 Nxf2 10. Kxf2 Qh4+ 11. g3 Bxd4+ 12. Be3. 12. Ke1!? Qe4 13. Rf1 might be more promising. 12. ... Bxe3+ 13. Kxe3 Qh6+ 14. Kf3

14. ... 0-0. 14. ... Be6?! 15. Qa4+ c6 16. Qh4 Qg6 17. Rf1 Qf5+ 18. Qf4 Qh3 19. Nd2 f6 20. Kf2 Qxh2+ 21. Ke1 0-0-0? 22. Nf3 Qh3 23. exf6 gxf6 24. Kf2 Qh5 25. Nd4 Qh2+ 26. Kf3 Qh5+ 27. Ke3 Qe8 28. Kd2 Bd7 29. Nb5 cxb5 30. Rac1+ Bc6 31. Bg4+ Rd7 32. Qd6 Qd8 33. Rxc6+ bxc6 34. Qxc6+ Kb8 35. Bxd7 Qa5+ 36. Kd3 a6 37. Qd6+ Qc7 38. Rxf6 Rg8 39. g4 h5 40. gxh5 Rg3+ 41. Kd4 Qxd6 42. Rxd6 Kc7 43. Rg6 1 : 0 Jobava – 曾重生 (Céng Chóngshēng), 9th “弈诚杯” (“Yìchéng Cup”) Chinese Chess League, 天津 (Tiānjīn) 2013. 15. Qd4. 15. Qxd5 b5! would lead to nowhere, but 15. Qd2!? Qh3 16. Kf2 Be6 17. Nc3 might have offered more opportunities for an advantage. 15. ... Be6 16. Qf4 Qh3 17. Qh4 Qxh4 18. gxh4 f6 19. exf6 Rxf6+ 20. Ke3 Re8 21. Nc3 Bg4+ 22. Kd3 Bxe2+ 23. Nxe2 Rf3+ 24. Kd2 Rf2 25. Rae1 d4 26. Kd1 Re3 27. h3 c5 28. b3 Kf7 29. Nc1

29. ... Kf6? (29. ... Ref3! 30. Re5 Rb2 31. Rxc5 Rff2=) 30. Rxe3 dxe3 31. Ne2 Ke5 32. Rg1 Rf7 33. Rg5+ Ke4 34. Rg4+ Ke5 35. Nc3 Rf3 36. Rxg7 Rxh3 37. Rxh7 Rh2 38. Rxb7 Rh3 39. Rh7 Rh2 40. Rb7 Rxh4 41. Ke2 1 : 0.

Wrapped in her sky blue coat. Photo: 泰州新闻网 (Tàizhōu News Network).