Momentaneamente altrove

Overnight train to Shanghai from Beijing
Foto: Isadora Duncan

Anna

Group Chess Class

Nanotechnology

Villa San Lorenzo · Sesto Fiorentino, lunedì 25 ottobre

Il Dr. Giovanni Lucci analizza con il suo potente microprocessore

Pietro & Federico

Giacomo & Anna

Lunedì 25 ottobre

Queen of Tomorrow

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 许昱华 (Xǔ Yùhua)
FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2009–11; 5th stage; Ulaanbaatar, August 1, 2010
French Defence C07

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. 0-0 Nf6 8. Nb3 Nc6 9. Nfxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 a6 11. Re1 Bd7 12. Bg5 0-0-0 13. Re3 Bc6 14. Rd3 Be4 15. Rd2TN (15. Nb5 Qe7 16. Na7+ Kc7 17. Bf4+ e5 18. Be3 Bxd3 19. cxd3 Kb8 20. Rc1 Qd6 21. Bxf7 Be7 22. Qb3 Qb4 23. Qc2 Qd6 24. h3 Nd7 25. Qb3 Qb4 26. Qe6 Qd6 27. Qb3 Qb4 28. Qe6 Qd6 ½ : ½ Shirov – Sutovsky, 10th Karpov International Tournament, Poikovsky 2009)
15. ... Qc7? A catastrophic tactical blunder. ⌓ 15. ... Qb6 16. c3 Bd6 was much better.

16. Nxe6! Rxd2 17. Qxd2 Qd6. Clearly not 17. ... Qxc4?? on account of 18. Qd8# nor 17. ... fxe6 because of 18. Bxe6+ Nd7 (18. ... Kb8 19. Bf4 skewers King and Queen) 19. Rd1 winning material.
18. Nxf8 Qxd2 19. Bxd2 Rxf8 20. f3. White has emerged with an extra Pawn and a powerful Bishop pair, which proved enough for 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) to secure the win.
20. ... Bg6 21. c3 Rd8 22. Be3 Nd5 23. Bd4 Nf4 24. Re1 b5 25. Bf1 Nd3 26. Re2 Nc1 27. Rd2 Nxa2. Black has finally won back the Pawn, but her Knight ended up being stalemated.

28. Be3 Rxd2 29. Bxd2 Kb7 30. Kf2 Kc6 31. Ke3 a5 32. b4 axb4 33. cxb4 f6 34. Kd4 Bf7 35. Bd3 h5 36. h4 g6 37. g3 g5 38. f4 g4 39. Be4+ Kd6 40. Bc2 Kc6 41. Bd3 1 : 0. Black is in zugzwang.

It took only one mistake to turn a book line into a nightmare. Photo: FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2009–11.

Momentaneamente altrove

On the way to Bādálǐng
Foto: Isadora Duncan

Fasthand

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 张鹏翔 (Zhāng Péngxiáng)
40th Chinese Chess Championship; 兴化 (Xīnghuà), June 4, 2009
Sicilian Defence B45

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 e6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Be2 Bb4 7. 0-0 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Nxe4 9. Qd3 d5 10. Ba3

10. ... f5! A novelty in place of 10. ... Ne7 and 10. ... Qa5:
a) 10. ... Ne7 11. c4 0-0 12. cxd5 exd5 13. c4 Be6? (⌓ 13. ... Re8 14. Rad1 Ng6) 14. Bf3± Em. Lasker – N. N., 32-board simultaneous exhibition, Groningen 1923;
b) 10. ... Qa5 11. Nb5 a6 12. Nd6+ Nxd6 13. Bxd6 Qd8?! (13. ... Ne7! may be a critical improvement) 14. Qg3! with a powerful initiative, Gashimov – Belikov, 22nd Cappelle-la-Grande Open, Cappelle-la-Grande 2006.
11. f3 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Nf6 13. c4 Kf7 14. cxd5 exd5 15. g4 Re8 16. Bd3 fxg4 17. fxg4 Kg8 18. Rf4 Be6 19. Raf1 Qb6 20. Bc5 Qc7 21. Qf2

21. ... Rac8 22. Bxa7 Ne4 23. Qe3 Nc5 24. Bxc5 Qxc5 25. Qxc5 Rxc5= 26. Rb1 Rc7 27. g5 Bf7 28. Rfb4 Ree7 29. Kf2 Bg6 30. R1b2 Kf7 31. Rf4+ Ke6 32. Ke3 Ke5 33. h4

33. ... Rc3 34. Rb5 Bxd3 ½ : ½. For after 35. cxd3 Rxd3+ 36. Kxd3 Kxf4 37. Rxd5 a draw is inevitable.

The Invisible Hand

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 王瑜 (Wáng Yú)
6th “雅戈尔杯” “Youngor Cup” Chinese Chess League; 上海 (Shànghǎi), July 25, 2010
Spanish Game C78

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. d3 h6 9. Be3 Bg4 10. Nbd2 Qd7. A very old game continued 10. ... Ne7 and after 11. Bxc5 dxc5 12. Bxf7+ Kf8 13. Bb3 Qxd3 14. Bc2 Qd6 15. Qe2 Ng6 16. Qe3 Be6 17. Rfd1 Qe7 18. Nb3 Bxb3 19. axb3 Kf7 20. h3 Rhf8 21. Ra5 Kg8 22. Rda1 Qd6 23. c4 White finally won a Pawn, Blackburne – Skipworth, International Chess Tournament, London 1883.
11. h3 Bxe3 12. fxe3 Be6 13. Bc2 d5 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Qe1 0-0 16. Ne4 Qe7 17. d4 Rae8 18. Nc5 Bc8 19. Qf2 Qd6 20. Rae1 Re7 21. Nh4 Rfe8 22. Bf5 exd4 23. exd4 Rxe1 24. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 25. Qxe1

25. ... Bxf5?? After various vicissitudes, Black had managed to avoid the worst, and now after 25. ... Qd8 she could still have hoped for a draw. Instead, the text blunder loses at once:
26. Nxf5 Qf6 27. Qe8+ Kh7 28. Qe4 g6 29. Qxd5 gxf5 30. Nd7 Qe7 31. Qxc6 Qe3+ 32. Kh2 Qf4+ 33. g3 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán): one hand cups her cheek, and the other finds the best move. Photo: 樊璐璐 (Fán Lùlù)/Sina Sports.

The Portrait of a Miss

Clarice Benini did not deny herself anything in her time at “Aprile Scacchistico Milanese” in 1938. Besides participation in the 1st Italian Women’s Chess Championship as well as in the Blitz Tournament, she finally took part in the simultaneous exhibition given by Henri Grob, resulting among the seven players who managed to save their skin. Results: Grob +19 =6 (Miss Benini, Carena, Ciampoli, Castiglioni, Del Vecchio, Surace) –1 (Frezza). The source is L’Italia Scacchistica, April 1938, p. 86.

Overland Through Asia

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Juliana Sayumi Terao
39th Women’s Chess Olympiad; Khanty-Mansiysk, September 21, 2010
Sicilian Defence B43

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Qf3 d6 7. Be3 Nf6 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. 0-0 b6. Maybe 9. ... Ne5!? 10. Qg3 h5!? deserved consideration here.
10. Rae1 Bb7 11. Qg3 g6 12. f4 Bg7 13. Kh1 0-0 14. f5! e5 15. Nf3 b5 16. a3 Rfe8 17. Ng5 Nc5. 17. ... h6 18. Nxf7!? (18. fxg6 hxg5 19. gxf7+ Kxf7 20. Bxg5 Rf8 21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. exd5 Kg8 23. Bf5 Nh7 24. Be7 seems also good enough) 18. ... g5 19. Nxg5! hxg5 20. Qxg5 leaves White with three Pawns for the Knight and attack.
18. fxg6 fxg6 19. Bxc5 dxc5 20. Nd5 Nxd5? Thus the only defender of the Kingside leaves the board.
20. ... Bxd5 21. exd5 c4 22. Be4! wasn’t appealing, but Black had nothing better to do.
21. exd5 Bxd5

22. Nxh7!+− Re7. If 22. ... Kxh7 then 23. Qxg6+ followed by mate.
23. Qxg6 1 : 0.

双皮奶 (Double skin milk)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 沈阳 (Shěn Yáng)

6th “雅戈尔杯” “Youngor Cup” Chinese Chess League; 广州 (Guǎngzhōu), September 10, 2010

Spanish Game C65

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Ne4 6. 0-0 Be7 7. Nxd4 a6!? 8. Nxc6!? If 8. Ba4 then (by transposition) 8. ... 0-0 9. Nf5 d5 10. exd6 Bxf5 11. dxe7 Nxe7= Ljubojević – Karpov, International Tournament, Milan 1975.
8 . ... bxc6? (⌓ 8. ... dxc6!)
9. Bd3 Nc5

10. Qg4! g6?! (10. ... Kf8!? 11. Qf3 d5)
11. Bh6! d5 12. Qg3 Rb8 13. b3 Nxd3 14. cxd3 c5? (⌓ 14. ... Rb4!? 15. f4 Bf5)
15. Nc3 Bf5 16. Rac1 Qd7 17. Na4 Qb5 18. Rfd1 Be6

19. Bg7 Rg8 20. Bf6 Bf8 21. h3 g5 22. h4 g4 23. d4! c4 (23. ... cxd4 24. Rxc7+−)
24. Nc3 Qb4 25. bxc4 Qxc4

26. Bg5! Clearing the f6-square for the Knight.
26. ... Rg6 27. Ne4 Qxa2 28. h5 Rxg5 29. Nxg5 Bh6 30. Nxe6 fxe6 31. Rxc7 Qe2 32. Rf1 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), a star in the limelight. Photo: 樊璐璐 (Fán Lùlù).

Alone in a Crowd

周唯奇 (Zhōu Wéiqí) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
45th Chinese Chess Championship; 兴化 (Xīnghuà), May 26, 2010
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 e6 2. c4 d5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Qb3 c5 9. dxc5 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 0-0 11. Nd4 Be6 12. Qxb7 (12. Qa3 Rc8 13. e3 Nd7 14. c6 bxc6 15. Ba6 Rcb8 16. 0-0 Rb6 17. Be2 Qg6 18. Nxe6 Qxe6 19. Rab1 Rab8 20. Rb3 Nf6 21. Bd1 Qd7 22. Bf3 ½ : ½ Ivanchuk – Mitkov, 5th World Team Chess Championship, Yerevan 2001) 12. ... Nd7 13. c6 Rab8 14. Qxa7 (13. Qb4 Rab8 14. Qa3 Rfc8 15. e3 Qg6 leaves Black with powerful compensation: 16. f3 Nxc5 17. Kf2 Qf6 18. Rc1 Qe7 19. Kg1 Bd7 20. Re1 Rb1 21. Re2 Rcb8 22. g4 h5 23. h3 Qh4 24. Kg2 Nd3 25. Qd6 Ne1+ 26. Kg1 R8b6 27. Qe5 Rd1 28. Rhh2 Nd3 29. Qc7 Rbb1 0 : 1 Akobian – Mitkov, 17th Open, Chicago 2008) 14. ... Ra8 15. Qc7 Ne5 16. e3. Not 16. f3 on account of 16. ... Qf4! 17. Nxe6 Qe3! with irresistible attack (18. Nxf8 Nd3+ 19. Kd1 Rxa2!−+). 16. ... Rfc8

17. Qb6? This just opens the doors to Black’s breakthrough. Correct was 17. Qd6! Rxc6 18. Qb4 (18. Nxc6? Ng4!−+) 18. ... Ng4 19. Qb2 Rxc3! 20. Bb5 Rb3! 21. axb3 Qxf2+ 22. Qxf2 Rxa1+ 23. Ke2 Ra2+ with approximate equality. 17. ... Rcb8 18. Qc5 Rb2 19. f4 Rxg2 20. 0-0-0 Rgxa2 21. Be2 Nc4 22. Bxc4 dxc4 23. Rhg1 Ra1+ 24. Kd2 R8a2+ 25. Nc2 Rxd1+ 0 : 1.

Half a Day Off

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 诸宸 (Zhū Chén)
FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2009–11; 5th stage; Ulaanbaatar, August 7, 2010
Spanish Game C60

The gifted young 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) felt sick (probably due to food poisoning) before the eight round and played her game against 诸宸 (Zhū Chén) on the day off. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 4. c3 a6 5. Ba4 g6 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 b5 8. Bb3 Bg7 9. a4 b4 10. 0-0 Na5 11. Bc2 d6 12. Nbd2 0-0 13. Nb3 Nec6 14. h3 Nxb3 15. Bxb3 Na5 16. Ba2 Bb7 17. Bg5 Qb8? After this, Black immediately falls into a lost land. Correct was 17. ... Qd7! 18. Re1 Rae8 with a tenable game. 18. Re1 Re8 19. Bd2 c5 20. Rc1 Qa7. Now 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) unleashes the potency of her attack: 21. dxc5 dxc5 22. Ng5 Rf8 23. Be3 Rac8

24. Bxf7+. Of course 24. Nxf7 is also winning for White. 24. ... Kh8. Not 24. ... Rxf7 25. Nxf7 Kxf7 on account of 26. Qd7+ Kg8 27. Rxc5! winning handily. 25. Rxc5 Rxc5 26. Ne6. The elegant Queen sacrifice 26. Qd4!+− seems to be an even more effective finisher. 26. ... Qb8 27. Nxf8 Qxf8 28. Bxc5 Qxc5 29. Qd8+ Bf8 30. Rd1 Kg7 31. Bd5 Bc8 32. Qe8 Be7 33. Qf7+ Kh6 34. Qf4+ Bg5 35. Qg3 Qc2 36. Qf3 Qc5 37. g3 Qe7 38. h4 Bf6 39. Qe3+ Kg7 40. Qb6 Qd8 41. Qxb4 Nc6 42. Qc5 Bg4 43. Rc1 Ne7 44. Qc7 Qxc7 45. Rxc7 Kf8 46. b4 Be5 47. Ra7 Bc3 48. Rxa6 Nxd5 49. exd5 Bxb4 50. Rf6+ 1 : 0.

Momentaneamente altrove

Tempio di Confucio, Shànghăi
Foto: Isadora Duncan

Chess in Tónglĭ

Foto: Isadora Duncan

Chess in Bĕijīng

Foto: Isadora Duncan

Chess in Bĕijīng

Foto: Isadora Duncan

Through the Eye of a Needle

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Antoaneta Stefanova
Women’s Grand Prix 2009–2011; 4th stage; Jermuk, June 27, 2010
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3!? g6!? 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Be3 Qb6 6. Rb1 e5 7. Nge2 Ne7 8. Bf2!? This is a novelty, but nothing special with respect to 8. Qd2(!) exd4 9. Nxd4 which gives White an enduring edge, Lastin – Maslak, 62nd Russian Chess Championship (Higher League), Ulan-Ude 2009. 8. ... Qa5 (8. ... Qc7!?) 9. dxe5 Bxe5 10. Bh4? Dissatisfied with the opening’s outcome, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) goes for adventures, soon getting into trouble. 10. Bd4(!) was probably her best way to keep the balance. 10. ... dxe4 11. b4 Qc7 12. Nxe4 0-0 13. Bf6 Nd5 14. Bxe5 Qxe5 15. Qd4 Qxd4 (15. ... Nd7!?) 16. Nxd4 Rd8 17. Kf2 b5 18. Ne2 a5 19. bxa5 Bf5 20. Rd1 Nd7 21. N2g3 Bxe4 22. fxe4 Nc3 23. Rd3 b4? (23. ... Na4∓)

24. a3! What a turnabout! 24. ... c5. If 24. ... Rxa5 then 25. axb4 Ra3 26. Ke3 with a very pleasant Pawn up ending. 25. axb4 cxb4 26. Be2. White strangely decides to return her extra Pawn for reasons that are not intuitive. If nothing else, after 26. a6! Ra7! 27. Rd4± Black would have been compelled to suffer long. 26. ... Rxa5 27. Bg4 Ra7 28. Rd4 Kf8 (28. ... Rc7! 32. Ne2 Nxe2 33. Bxe2 Ra8=) 29. Ne2! Ke7? This can be definitely regarded as Black’s losing move. Correct was 29. ... Nxe2 30. Kxe2 Rc7 31. Rhd1 Rxc2+ 32. Ke3 f5! 33. Bh3 Rc7 34. exf5 g5 35. Rxb4 Re8+ 36. Kf2 h5 with a draw in sight. 30. Nxc3 bxc3 31. Rhd1. White simply threatens a general liquidation on d7 forcing a won King and Pawn ending. With her answer, Black only delays such an outcome. 31. ... f5. Also after 31. ... Nf6!? 32. Rxd8 Nxg4+ 33. Ke2 Nxh2 34. Rc8 White should win. 32. exf5 Rf8 33. Re1+ Kd8 34. Re3 gxf5 35. Be2 Rc7 36. Bb5 Rf7 37. Red3 Kc8 38. Bxd7+ Rcxd7 39. Rxd7 Rxd7 40. Rxd7 Kxd7. Here they are, after all! 41. Ke3 1 : 0.

A Tunnel Too Far

李超 (Lǐ Chāo) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

1st 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament; 儋州 (Dānzhōu), June 12, 2010

Sicilian Defence B82

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. f4 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qf3 e5. Very surprisingly, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) goes down a theoretical cul-de-sac. 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. f5 Rb8 11. 0-0-0 Qa5 12. Bc4 d5 13. exd5 Ba3. 13. ... Rxb2 14. Kxb2 (14. d6! Rb4! 15. Bb3! may be even stronger) 14. ... Qa3+ 15. Kb1 Qxc3 16. Bb3 cxd5 17. Bg5 is also quite unappealing for Black, Balashov – U. Andersson, 5th International West Germany Championship, Munich 1979. 14. bxa3 Qxc3 15. Bxa7! Qb2+ 16. Kd2 cxd5. Not 16. ... Rb7 on account of 17. Rb1! trapping Her Majesty. 17. Bxb8 Qxb8 18. Bxd5. White is winning easily. 18. ... 0-0 19. Kc1 Bd7!? Here is 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s uninfluential novelty. The première went with 19. ... Ba6 20. Rhe1 Qc7 21. Bb3 h6 22. Kb2 e4 23. Qg3 Qa5 24. Rd6 Kh7 25. Qc3 Qb5 26. a4 Qb7 27. Qc6 1 : 0 Timman – Liberzon, 22nd Chess Olympiad, Haifa 1976. 20. Rhe1 Qc7 21. Bb3 e4 22. Rxe4! White gives back the Exchange for coming out with three Pawns to the good. 22. ... Nxe4 23. Qxe4 Bc6 24. Qc4 Qb6 25. g4 h6 26. Rd6 Qe3+ 27. Kb2 Bf3 28. Qd4 Qg5

29. Rg6! 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) has ultimately lost the battle of the sexes held at the 新天地花园酒店 (Xīntiāndì Garden Hotel) in 儋州 (Dānzhōu), China. Photo: 樊璐璐 (Fán Lùlù).

Last Supper

• Kantathi Suphamongkhon, Burkle Fellow Dr. Kantathi Suphamongkhon: On An Icelandic Dinner with Bobby Fischer, The Nation, January 27, 2008

Burkle Fellow Dr. Kantathi Suphamongkhon: On An Icelandic Dinner with Bobby Fischer

Dr. Kantathi Suphamongkhon, The Nation, January 27, 2008

It was January 2, 2007 in Reykjavík, Iceland and I was visiting my Icelandic friend Mr. Thorsteinn Thorgeirsson.
There had been a change in government in Thailand and I was no longer Foreign Minister but I was then the President of Thailand’s Chess Association. Thorsteinn said to me that Bobby Fischer was in town and he would try to invite him to dinner. I agreed, even though it was well known that Bobby Fischer did not like to socialize.
Bobby Fischer accepted the invitation and arrived with his partner Miyoko Watai. He said that he came because he had goggled my name and found interesting information. He wanted to meet me.
He expressed his well known views on the United States and the Jewish community. He then impressed me with his knowledge about Thailand and the political situation there. He said that throughout the years, he would spend much time everyday listening to the BBC World Service.
On chess, he said that it was no longer a strategy game. Instead of coming up with original moves, players would only use strategies memorized from books. That was the reason he introduced what he called “Fischer Random”, which required pieces to be placed on the board randomly at the beginning of the game, so players cannot revert to old strategies from memory.
After returning to Thailand, Bobby Fischer began to email me. He had kind words for me, saying that “it was truly a great pleasure and honor” to meet me. He also said, “I’m glad to see that there are still some people in the heart of things who are full of good will!”.
He asked me about the “red rain phenomenon that fell over Kerala, India in 2001”, saying that I should check it out via Google. In his later email, he expressed concerned about news reports that Israel may have been planning a “Nuclear strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities”. He mentioned that one of the reasons why he was “so unpopular” to certain people was because he had “a long memory”.
In one of the last emails to me, he discussed the closing of the new airport in Thailand. He then asked me whether I had a Siamese cat. He said that Siamese cats were very different from western cats and that he remembered them from an old Walt Disney movie. He concluded that Siamese cats were “very aristocratic!”.
That was the side of Bobby Fischer that I got to know. It was a human side showing a man with deep interest in world affairs and with a sense of humor.

(Dr. Kantathi Suphamongkhon is the 39th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. He is presently the University of California Regents’ Professor at UCLA. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Burkle Center for International Relations in Los Angeles).

A Shining Star

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 王晓晖 (Wáng Xiǎohuī)
6th “雅戈尔杯” “Youngor Cup” Chinese Chess League; 宁波 (Níngbō), April 17, 2010
Modern Defence B96

1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Be3 c6 5. Qd2 Nd7 6. Nf3 Qa5 7. Bd3 Ngf6 8. Bh6 0-0 9. 0-0-0. 9. h4 Bxh6 10. Qxh6 Ng4 11. Qg5 Qxg5 12. hxg5 f6 13. gxf6 Ndxf6 14. Nd2 e5 15. Ne2 exd4 16. Nxd4 d5 17. exd5 Re8+ 18. Kf1 Nxd5 ½ : ½ 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Svidler, 3rd NH Chess Tournament “Rising Stars vs. Experience”, Amsterdam 2009. 9. ... e5 10. Bxg7 Kxg7

11. g4!? A straightforward Pawn sacrifice for the initiative. 11. ... Nxg4 12. Rhg1 Ndf6 13. h3 exd4 (13. ... Nh6 14. Rg5⩲↑) 14. Nxd4 Qb4? Here is evidently the cause of all Black’s trouble. The correct 14. ... Nh6 15. f3!? leaves White with enough compensation for the Pawn, but probably no more than that. 15. hxg4 Qxd4 16. f3 h6 17. Ne2 Qc5 18. g5 Nh7. This loses quickly, but 18. ... hxg5 19. Rxg5 followed by the doubling of the Rooks on the g-file would not hold out much longer. 19. gxh6+ Kh8 20. Nf4 g5 21. Nh5 Qe5 22. f4! gxf4 23. Qg2 Rd8

24. Qg7+! Qxg7 25. hxg7+ Kg8 26. e5! f5 27. exf6 Be6 28. f7+! Bxf7 29. Bxh7+ Kxh7 30. Nf6+ Kh6 31. Rd2! Bg6 32. Rdg2 Kxg7 33. Rxg6+ Kf7 34. Ne4 Ke7 35. Re1 d5 36. Nd6+ Kd7 37. Nxb7 Rg8 38. Nc5+ Kc7 39. Ne6+ 1 : 0.

Tea with the Queen

12th Women’s World Chess Champion Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk chats with Woman Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade — Chess Life, December 2008, pp. 26-27.