馬尾 (Ponytail)

朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr) – Dinara Mergenovna Dordzhieva-Wagner
FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2022–23; 1st stage; Astana, September 19, 2022
Sicilian Defence B54

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. f3 e5 6. Nb3 d5 7. Bg5 Be6 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. exd5 Qxd5 10. Qxd5 Bxd5 11. Nc3 Be6 12. 0-0-0 Nd7 13. Nb5 Bh6+ 14. Kb1 Ke7 15. Nc7 Rac8. Probably better is 15. ... Rad8 16. Nd5+ Bxd5 17. Rxd5 Nc5 18. Bc4 Rxd5 19. Bxd5 Rd8 20. c4 Nxb3 21. axb3 Be3 22. Kc2 b5 23. Ra1 Rb8 24. Bc6 Rd8 25. Bxb5 Rd2+ 26. Kc3 Rxg2 27. Kb4 Rxh2 28. c5 a5+ 29. Kc4 Rc2+ 30. Kd3 Rxc5 31. Rxa5 Bd4 32. Ra7+ Kd6 33. Ra6+ Ke7 34. Ra7+ Kd6 35. Ra6+ Ke7 ½ : ½ Magem Badals – Summerscale, 19th French Team Chess Championship, Toulouse 1998.
16. Nd5+ Bxd5 17. Rxd5 Nb6 (17. ... Ke6 18. Ra5 Be3 19. Bd3 h5 20. Be4 Rc7 21. Bd5+ Ke7 22. Re1 Bb6 23. Rb5 f5 24. a4 Rb8 25. Rb4 Nf6 26. Rb5 Nxd5? 27. Rxe5+ Kf8 28. Rbxd5 Rbc8 29. c3 Rc4 30. a5 Bc7 31. Rxf5 Ke7 32. Rxh5 Rg8 33. g3 1 : 0 Sión Castro – Martín González, 48th Spanish Team Chess Championship — Primera División, Ciudad Real 2004)
18. Rb5. 18. Ra5 a6 19. Bd3 also gives White a lasting edge, which, however, does not guarantee in itself a win: 19. ... Nc4 20. Ra4 Nd2+ 21. Nxd2 Bxd2 22. Rd1 Be3 23. Rb4 Rc7 24. Bf5 h6 25. Rb3 Bc5 26. Rbd3 Rb8 27. Rd7+ Rxd7 28. Rxd7+ Ke8 29. c3 a5 30. Kc2 b6 31. g4 Rd8 32. Rb7 Be3 33. Bd3 Rd6 34. h3 Re6 35. b4 axb4 36. cxb4 Re7 37. Rb8+ Kd7 38. Be4 Kd6 39. Kd3 Bd4 40. Kc4 Ra7 41. Kb3 Rc7 42. Ka4 Ra7+ 43. Kb3 Rc7 44. a3 Rc3+ 45. Ka4 Be3 46. Rb7 Rc7 47. Rxc7 (White is content with a draw) 47. ... Kxc7 48. Bd5 f5 49. Bxf7 fxg4 50. hxg4 Bc1 51. Be8 Kd6 52. Bf7 Kc6 53. Kb3 b5 54. Be8+ Kb6 55. Bg6 Kc6 56. Bd3 Kb6 57. Bb1 Kc6 58. Bh7 Kb6 59. Be4 Ka6 60. Bd3 Kb6 61. a4 bxa4+ 62. Kxa4 Bf4 ½ : ½ Magem Badals – Martín González, 58th Spanish Chess Championship, Linares-Bilbao 1993.
18. ... Rc7 19. Bd3 Nc8 20. Re1 Nd6 21. Rb4 Kf8 22. a4 Bg5 23. g3 Re7 24. h4 Bh6 25. Rd1

25. ... Rd7? This is the losing move. 25. ... Be3 26. Bf1 Re6! was to be preferred.
26. Bf5 Rd8 27. Na5 Ke8. If 27. ... Ke7 then 28. Nxb7 Nxf5 29. Nxd8 Rxd8 30. Rb7+ Ke8 31. Rxd8+ Kxd8 32. Rxa7 and the ending is won for White.

28. Rxd6! A brilliant Exchange sacrifice, which ensures White a winning endgame.
28. ... Rxd6 29. Rxb7 a6 (29. ... Kf8 30. Nc4 Rd4 31. b3+−)

30. Nc6! Threatens Rb7-b8+ followed by mate.
30. ... Kf8 (30. ... Rxc6 31. Bd7++−)
31. Ne7 Be3 32. Be4 Rb6 33. Rc7 Rb8 34. Nf5 Bb6 35. Rd7 Bd4 36. b3 h5 37. Nd6 Bc5 38. Rxf7+ Kg8 39. Rxf6 Rd8 40. Nf5 a5 41. Bd3 1 : 0.

As 朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr) continues to progress, she is more and more confident that the best is yet to come. Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE.

Hey, Edna, do you think another bank will hire you, now that you have become a global millionaire?

Artwork © jordi (@jordi_planellas)

Once Upon A King

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Polina Sergeevna Shuvalova
FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2022–23; 1st stage; Astana, September 18, 2022
Scotch Game C45

1. e4 e5. Being asked about who first caught the other one by surprise, Goryachkina answered: “I think we surprised each other”.
2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 8. Bxc6. If, dogmatically, 8. Nxc6?! then 8. ... bxc6 9. Bd3 Bc5! 10. Bxe4 Qh4! leaving Black with the Bishop pair and a crushing initiative, Lichtenhein – P. C. Morphy, 1st American Chess Congress, New York 1857.
8. ... bxc6 9. 0-0 Be7 10. f3 Nc5. Not less objectionable is 10. ... Ng5 11. f4 Ne4 12. f5! c5 13. Ne2 Bb5 14. Na3! Bc6 (14. ... Ba6? 15. c4!±) 15. c4! d4 16. Nf4 Bg5 17. Nd3 Rb8 18. Qe2 h6 19. Bf4 Rb6 20. Rae1 Ba8 21. Qg4± Sveshnikov – Ferčec, 1st Open, Nova Gorica 1996.
11. Be3 0-0 12. Nc3 a5 13. Qd2 a4 (13. ... Ra6 14. Nb3⩲ Ninov – Chudinovskikh, 6th Open, Prague 2007)
14. Rad1 a3 15. b3 Na6

16. Nde2 Bf5?! Black’s move loses time and ends up helping White to regroup her Knights to get at new targets on the Kingside. 16. ... Re8 17. f4 Bb4 18. h3 f6= seems to be preferable.
17. Ng3 Be6 18. Nce2 c5 19. c3 Qd7?! (19. ... c4!? 20. bxc4 bxc4 21. Qe1 Qe8 22. Nd4⩲)
20. Nh5! Threatens Be3-h6.
20. ... Kh8 21. Bg5 Rad8?! (21. ... d4!? 22. cxd4 Nb4 23. h4⩲)

22. Qc1! With an eye to both wings.
22. ... Nb8 23. h3! Nc6 24. Bxe7 Qxe7 25. f4 Bc8. If 25. ... c4 then 26. f5! and the Black Bishop must retreat to c8 anyway.
26. Qxa3 f6 27. exf6 gxf6 28. Neg3 Qe3+ 29. Kh2 Qxc3 30. Rc1 Qb4 31. Qxb4 Nxb4 32. Rxc5

32. ... Nxa2? Sheer desperation. Black gives up the Knight to advance the d-Pawn to queen, but White’s mating attack comes first. It is just the case to note, however, that the endgame — or, to say it more properly, the semi-endgame — was close to a technical win for White, whatever Black played.
33. Rxc7 d4 34. Ra1 d3 35. Rxa2 d2 36. Raa7 1 : 0

Goryachkina being about to make her first move, the one Bobby Fischer used to call “best by test”. Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE.

No question, Edna, they continue to obsessively want to replace you with someone who doesn’t have the same magic you have, and so they will end up being cursed by you, which is a lifetime experience that can only end in the worst of ways

Artwork © DexStewart13

Globally Speaking

Alireza Firouzja – Fabiano Caruana

5th Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX; tie-break game 1; time control: 10 minutes plus 2 seconds per move; Saint Louis, September 16, 2022

qrkrnbbn/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/QRKRNBBN w DBdb - 0 1

Position #878

1. b4 Ng6 2. Nf3 f6 3. e4 e5 4. c4 a5

White’s last two moves were incongruent, to say the least, and Black didn’t miss his chance to seize the upper hand.
5. b5 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 Nd6 8. f3 Bf7 9. Qc3 0-0 10. Kb2 Ne5 11. Ka1. At least White managed to castle by hand in the far corner.
11. ... Bb4 12. Qc1 Nexc4 13. Bxc4 Nxc4 14. Nf5 d5 15. Bd4 Bg6 16. Nhg3 Rbe8 17. h4 Qc8

With his last move, Black showed his obliviousness or indifference to his opponent’s threats. In the specific, White’s pseudo-sacrifice of the Knight at g7 calls everything into question again.
18. Nxg7 Kxg7 19. h5 Ne5 20. hxg6 hxg6 21. f4 Ng4 22. e5 c5 23. bxc6 Qxc6 24. exf6+ Kf7 25. Qb2 Ne3 26. Rdc1 Nc4 27. Qf2 Rh8 28. Rh1 Na3 29. Rhc1 Nc4 30. Qf3 Rh4 31. Nf1 Qd7 32. g3 Rh3 33. Rd1 Rc8 34. Qg2 Rhh8

35. Nh2! Na3! 36. Nf3 Nc2+ 37. Kb2?? In the end, they both running utterly short of time, Firouzja very melodramatically falls into a self-mate. The only move was 37. Qxc2 Rxc2 38. Ne5+ Ke6 39. Nxd7 Kxd7 with roughly even chances.
37. Ba3+ 0 : 1. Mate follows after 38. Kb3 a4# (idem to say 38. ... Qb5#).

And thus, in his own words, Caruana “Was just crowned Global Chess 9LX Champion of St. Louis!” after winning a heartbreaking tiebreaker against Firouzja. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

Sure, Edna. Not to be outdone by Cinderella, you lost one shoe of a pair at both here and there

Artwork © Drawing 10 minutes a day (@drawing_10_minutes_a_day)

In the After

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov

1st Online Global Chess Championship Knockout Tournament; round of 64 match game 4; time control: 15 minutes plus 2 minutes per move; chess.com, September 16, 2022

Vienna Game C26

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Nc6 7. Nf3 Bd6 8. 0-0 0-0 9. d3 h6 10. Rb1 Rb8

11. Re1. And yet 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) couldn’t help but know that Radjabov himself was aware of what was going on: 11. Nh4 Be6 12. Qh5 Ne7 13. f4 exf4 14. gxf4 Nd5 (14. ... Bxa2 15. f5! Bxb1? 16. f6!→) 15. Bxd5 Bxd5 16. Nf5 Bc6? (Radjabov – Karjakin, FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15, 2nd stage, Tashkent 2014) and now 17. Kf2! wins in all lines.
11. ... Re8 12. h3 Be6 13. a4 Qd7 14. Kh2 b6

15. d4. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) must win at all costs, even the cost of losing, and Radjabov doesn’t have to work too hard to take advantage of her univocal obligation. Perhaps 15. a5!? might have been considered here.
15. ... exd4 16. cxd4 Bd5 17. Be3 Na5 18. Qd3 Qc6 19. Bd2 Nc4

20. Rb5. She is still hoping to catch him in a trap: if now 20. ... a6?? then 21. Rxd5! Qxd5 22. Ng5! winning. But he does not bite the bait:
20. ... Nxd2 21. Qxd2 Bxf3 22. d5 Qc4 23. Bxf3 Qxa4 24. Rb3 Rxe1 25. Qxe1 Re8 26. Qd2 Qc4 27. Rd3 a5 28. Rd4 Qf1 29. Rg4 Bc5 30. Bg2 Qxf2 31. Qxf2 Bxf2 32. Bf1 h5 33. Rf4 Bc5 34. Bb5 Re5 35. Bc4 Bd6 36. Kg2 a4 37. Rf3 Re4 38. Ba2 Re2+ 39. Rf2 Rxf2+. Not even the Bishops of opposite colour can now save White.
40. Kxf2 f5 41. Kf3 g5 42. c3 Kg7 43. Bb1 a3 44. h4 g4+ 45. Kf2 Kf6 46. Ba2 Ke5 47. Kg2 Ke4 0 : 1.

The missed win in the third game just proved too big of a blow to 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Screenshot from the live stream.

Unlucky Charm

Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

1st Online Global Chess Championship Knockout Tournament; round of 64 match game 3; time control: 15 minutes plus 2 minutes per move; chess.com, September 16, 2022

Queen’s Indian Defence E15

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 g6 5. 0-0 Bg7 6. d4 e6 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Nxe4 Bxe4 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bf4 0-0 11. Qd2 f5 12. Rfd1 Nc6 13. d5 Na5 14. Rac1 Bxf3 15. exf3 e5 16. Bg5 Qe8 17. Re1 Nb7 18. Bh6 Bxh6 19. Qxh6 Qe7 20. Rc3 Rae8 21. Rce3 Nd6 22. R3e2 Qf6 23. Qc1 f4 24. Qc3 Nf7 25. c5 d6 26. b4 Kg7 27. Qa3 Ra8 28. Rc2 a5 29. cxb6 cxb6? This concedes White a big advantage. Better was 29. ... axb4 30. Qxb4 cxb6 31. Qxb6 Rfb8 with good compensation for the Pawn.

30. b5 Rae8 31. Rc6 e4 32. fxe4 fxg3 33. hxg3 Ne5 34. Rc7+ Re7 35. Rxe7+ Qxe7 36. f4 Ng4 37. e5 Re8 38. Bf3 Nh6 39. Qc3 Kg8 40. Kg2 Nf5 41. Bg4 Ng7 42. Re2 Qf7 43. Qc6 h5 44. Bd7 Rd8 45. e6 Qe7

46. Qxb6? An oversight which throws away any advantage. Of course White first ought to play 46. Rf2 and only then capture the Pawns on b6 and a5.
46. ... Rxd7 47. Qxa5 Rd8 48. b6 Nf5? (⌓ 48. ... Qb7 49. Qb5 Rb8)
49. Qc3? (49. Qa7+−)
49. ... Rb8 50. Rc2? After 50. Rb2 Qb7 51. Qc6 Qa6 the game is still fairly balanced.
50. ... Qb7 51. Qf6? Ne3+ 52. Kh3 Nxc2−+ 53. e7 Qd7+ 54. Kh2

54. ... Qf5?? (54. ... Qe8−+)
55. Qxd6 Ne3? Another mistake, which loses the game. She should have played 55. ... Re8 56. Qd8 Kf7 57. b7 Qe4 58. b8=Q Qe2+ with a draw by perpetual check.
56. Qxb8+ Kh7 57. Qh8+ Kxh8 58. e8=Q+ Kg7 59. Qxe3 Qxd5 60. Qe5+ Qxe5 61. fxe5 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) missed an incredible opportunity, but alas, no! As the saying goes, history is not made up of ifs and buts. Screenshot from the live stream.

To the Last Pawn

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov

1st Online Global Chess Championship Knockout Tournament; round of 64 match game 2; time control: 15 minutes plus 2 minutes per move; chess.com, September 16, 2022

Spanish Game C65

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 0-0 6. 0-0 d5 7. Nbd2 dxe4 8. dxe4 a5 9. h3. Or 9. Qe2 Qe7 10. h3 Nb8 11. Re1 Bd7 12. Bd3 Re8 13. Nf1 Nh5 14. Bg5 Qd6 15. Kh2 h6 16. Be3 Nc6 17. Rad1 Bxe3 18. Qxe3 Nf4 19. Bb5 Qe7 20. g3 Ng6 21. Qe2 Qe6 22. Ng1 Rad8 23. Ne3 Nce7 24. Bc4 Qb6 25. Rd2 Be6 26. Red1 Rxd2 27. Rxd2 Bxc4 28. Nxc4 Qc5 29. Nf3 f6 30. Ne3 Nf8 31. Qd3 Ne6 32. Qd7 Kf7 33. Rd5 Qc6= with equality (but after further 66 moves White resigned!), 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié), 2nd “一带一路” (“One Belt One Road”) Women’s World Chess Summit, 西安 (Xī’ān)/chess.com, December 5, 2020 (time control: 15 minutes plus 5 seconds per move).
9. ... Qe7 10. Ba4 h6 11. Re1 b5! 12. Bc2 (12. Bxb5? Bxf2+ 13. Kxf2 Qc5+)
12. ... Rd8 13. Qe2 b4 14. Bb3 Nh5 15. Nf1 Ba6 16. Bc4

16. ... Bxf2+ 17. Kxf2 Qc5+ 18. Ne3 Nf4 19. Qf1 Nd3+ 20. Bxd3 Bxd3 21. Qg1 Bxe4

22. Kg3. “I look at this position, I think I’m more nervous for Black than I am for White!”, Grandmaster Robert Hess commented.
22. ... f5 (22. ... Bxf3 23. gxf3 bxc3 24. Nf5 Nd4)
23. Nxf5 Qxg1 24. Nxh6+ gxh6 25. Nxg1 Bg6 26. Bxh6 bxc3 27. bxc3 Rd5 28. Rad1 Rad8 29. Rxd5 Rxd5 30. Nf3 Rc5 31. Bd2 Bd3 32. h4 a4 33. Re3 Rd5

34. Kf2 Bb1 35. a3 e4 36. Nd4 Ne5 37. Rg3+ Kf7 38. Bf4 Nc4 39. Bc1 c5 40. Ne2 e3+ 41. Bxe3 Nxa3 42. Rg5 Rxg5 43. Bxg5 Nc4 44. Nc1 a3 45. Nb3 a2 46. Na1 Bf5 47. Be3 Na3 48. Bc1 Nb5 49. Be3 Nxc3 50. Kf3 c4 51. g4 Bd3 52. h5 Nd5 53. g5 c3 54. g6+ Kg7 55. Bd4+ Kh6 56. g7 Kh7 57. h6 c2 58. Bb2 Kg8 59. Kf2 Kh7 60. Ke1 Bf5 61. Kd2 Ne7 62. Nxc2 Bxc2 63. Kxc2 Nf5 64. Kb3 Nxh6 65. Kxa2 Nf5 66. Bc3 Nxg7 ½ : ½.

A stoic performance by 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) Screenshot from the live stream.

It’s Only The Beginning

Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

1st Online Global Chess Championship Knockout Tournament; round of 64 match game 1; time control: 15 minutes plus 2 minutes per move; chess.com, September 16, 2022

Queen’s Indian Defence E12

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. d4 e6 5. g3 Bb4 6. Bg2 0-0 7. 0-0 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Be4 9. Ba3 d6 10. Bh3 c5

11. Nd2 Bb7 12. Re1 Nc6 13. Bg2 Na5 14. e4 Rc8 15. Rc1 e5 16. d5 Ba6 17. Bf1 Qd7 18. Rb1 g6 19. Bd3 Nh5 20. Bc1 f6

21. Nb3 Bxc4 22. Nxa5 Bxd3 23. Qxd3 bxa5 24. Qa6 Rb8 25. Bh6 Rfc8 26. Be3 a4 27. Qe2 Rb6 28. Rxb6 axb6 29. Rb1 Rb8 30. c4 Ng7 31. f4 Rb7 32. fxe5 dxe5

33. Qb2 Qg4 34. Qc2 Qd7 35. Qb2 Qg4 36. Qc2 Qd7 37. Qb2 ½ : ½.

You ain’t seen nothing yet! Screenshot from the live stream.

Around the World in One-Half Day

李雪怡 (Lǐ Xuěyí) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

16th Chinese Chess League Division A Regular-Standard “武陵山大裂谷杯” (“Wǔlíng Mountain Great Rift Valley Cup”); time control: 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move; 重庆 (Chóngqìng), September 16, 2022

Queen’s Indian Defence E16

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5 5. Bg2 0-0 6. Nf3 b6 7. 0-0 Bb7 8. Bc1 Be7 9. b3 c5 10. dxc5 bxc5 11. Nc3 d5 12. cxd5 exd5

A sound position with hanging Pawns has arisen.
13. Ba3 Na6 14. Na4 Rc8 15. Ne5 Re8 16. Bb2 Rc7 17. e3 Bd6 18. Nf3 Rc8 19. Rc1 h6 20. Bh3 Rb8 21. Bg2 Bc6 22. Nc3

22. ... a4. This Pawn sacrifice seems quite inopportune.
23. Nxa4 Bxa4 24. Bxf6 Qxf6 25. bxa4 Nb4 26. a3 Na2 27. Rc2 Nc3

28. Qa1 (⌓ 28. Qd3 Rb3 29. Rfc1 d4 30. Nd2±)
28. ... d4 29. exd4 cxd4. ⌓ 29. ... Ne2+ 30. Kh1 Nxd4 seems to give Black better chances for a draw.
30. Nxd4 Nxa4 31. Nc6 Qxa1 32. Rxa1 Rb3 ½ : ½. Of course White could insist upon her extra Pawn, but she felt happy enough of drawing against the woman No. 1, who, on her part, was anxious to get back to her hotel room as soon as possible in order to focus on her first-round match for the Global title with Azerbaijani Grandmaster Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov.

A woman at the edge of two worlds. Photo: 我要有耐心 (I have to be patient).

Elemantary, Edna, it’s all going as planned: you just let them win their pyrrhic victories before your triumphal comeback

To Castle or Not To Castle

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Shakhriyar Hamid oglu Mamedyarov

5th Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX; time control: 20 minutes plus 5 seconds per move; Saint Louis, September 15, 2022

qrnkrbbn/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/QRNKRBBN w EBeb - 0 1

Position #590

1. f4 d5 2. g3 f6 3. d4 Nd6 4. Nd3 Ng6 5. Bh3 e6 6. Nhf2 b6 7. Bg2 e5! 8. dxe5 fxe5

Of course, they both could have castled a-side, but thought they did not need such things. What is certain, however, is that Black has already obtained a very comfortable game.
9. e4? It was necessary to exchange on e5, although 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. fxe5 Rxe5⩱ leaves Black with the better Pawns.
9. ... dxe4 10. Nxe4 Bd5 11. Nxd6? The interpolation of 11. 0-0-0 0-0-0 may make a little difference, but in the end Black’s superiority should tell.

11. ... Bf3+! A killer zwischenzug, which leaves Black without resource.
12. Kd2 Bxd6 13. Bh3 e4 14. b4. If the Knight moves, then the Queen check at d5 follows.
14. ... Re7 15. Nc5

15. ... Nxf4! 16. gxf4 bxc5 17. bxc5 Bxf4+ 18. Kc3 e3 19. Red1+ Ke8 20. Rxb8+ Qxb8 21. Rd4 c6 22. Kd3 Qb5+ 23. c4 Qb4 24. Kc2 e2 25. Rxf4 e1=N+! 0 : 1. For if 26. Kc1 then 26. ... Nd3+ 27. Kc2 Re2+ 28. Kxd3 Qd2#.

Between Lost and Found

袁烨 (Yuán Yè) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

16th Chinese Chess League Division A Regular-Rapid “武陵山大裂谷杯” (“Wǔlíng Mountain Great Rift Valley Cup”); time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; 重庆 (Chóngqìng), September 15, 2022

Queen’s Pawn Game A40

1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. e4 Bb7 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nb4 6. 0-0 Nxd3 7. Qxd3 d6 8. Nc3 Ne7 9. Bg5 h6 10. Be3 a6 11. b4 Ng6 12. Rab1 Be7 13. Nd2 0-0 14. f4 f5

15. d5 Bc8 16. exf5 Rxf5? (⌓ 16. ... exf5 17. Nb3⩲)
17. dxe6 Bxe6 18. g4 Rf6 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. Qxd5+ Kh8 21. Ne4 Rf8 22. Qh5 Nh4 23. Bd4 Kh7 24. Ng3 Qd7 25. Rbe1 Rae8

White has a big advantage, but the difference in strength between the two may easily make it less and less big.
26. h3? And the underdog, too hesitant and shy, let her chance go by. She ought to have played 26. g5! Nf5 27. Qh3 Qc8 28. g6+! Kg8 (28. ... Kxg6?? 29. Qg4+ Kh7 30. Nxf5+−) 29. Nxf5 Qxf5 30. Qxf5 Rxf5 31. Kg2 and White stands much better.
26. ... Bf6! 27. Bxf6 Rxe1 28. Bxh4 Rxf1+ 29. Nxf1 Rxf4 30. Qd5 b5 31. Ne3 bxc4 32. Bg3 c6 33. Qd1 Re4 34. Nxc4 d5 35. Ne5 Qa7+ 36. Bf2 Qc7 37. Nd3 Qf7 38. a3 Qg6 39. Nc5 Rc4 40. Qd2 h5 41. g5 Qf5 42. Qe3 Rf4

43. g6+?? And White finally collapses, she being hard-pressed by the lack of time. 43. h4 was now called for, with still a tenable game.
43. ... Qxg6+ 44. Kh2 Qf5 45. Bg3? (45. Kg2 d4 46. Qe2 a5−+)
45. ... Rf3 46. Qe2 h4 47. Bc7 (47. Bxh4 Rxh3+−+)
47. ... Qxh3+ (47. ... Rf2+−+)
48. Kg1 Qg4+ 49. Qg2 Qd4+ 50. Kh1 Rf2 51. Qg1 Qe3 52. Qb1+ Kh8 53. Qd1 Qh3+ 0 : 1.

法式千層酥 (Mille-feuille)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 张潇 (Zhāng Xiāo)

16th Chinese Chess League Division A Regular-Standard “武陵山大裂谷杯” (“Wǔlíng Mountain Great Rift Valley Cup”); time control: 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move; 重庆 (Chóngqìng), September 15, 2022

Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3. The Fantasy Variation.
3. ... Qb6. If 3. ... dxe4 then 4. fxe4 e5 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. c3! Nd7 then 7. Bd3! Bd6 8. 0-0 Ngf6 9. h3 Bh5 10. Nbd2 0-0 11. Nc4 Qc7 12. Qc2 Bg6 13. Bg5⩲ 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Danielian, FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2011–12, 1st stage, Rostov-on-Don 2011.

4. Nc3 dxe4 5. Nxe4. More usual is 5. fxe4 e5 6. Nf3 exd4 7. Nxd4 Nd7 8. Be2 Ne5 9. Bf4 Ng6 10. Be3 Qxb2?? 11. Na4? (11. Ndb5!+−) 11. ... Qb4+ 12. c3 Qa5 13. 0-0 with more than enough for the Pawn, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Ruck, 18th Corsican Circuit, Bastia 2014, Semifinal tie-break game 2 (time control: 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move).
5. ... Nf6 6. c3 Bf5 7. Bd3 Bg6 8. Qe2 Qc7 (8. ... e6 9. Nh3 Nbd7 10. Be3 Nxe4 11. fxe4 e5 12. 0-0 Be7 13. Kh1⩲ Timofeev – Gagunashvili, 10th European Individual Chess Championship, Budva 2009)
9. Nh3 Nxe4 10. Bxe4 e6 11. Ng5 Bd6 12. Bd2 Bf4 13. 0-0-0 Bxg5 14. Bxg5 Qa5

White now sacrifices a Pawn or two for the initiative:
15. d5! 0-0 16. Bxg6 hxg6 17. h4 cxd5 18. h5 d4 19. f4 dxc3? The move that loses the game — more or less. After 19. ... Qxa2 20. hxg6 fxg6 21. Qe4 dxc3 22. bxc3 Qa3+ it doesn’t seem that White can escape a draw.
20. hxg6 cxb2+ 21. Kb1 Qf5+ 22. Kxb2 fxg6? This loses right off, but 22. ... Qxg6 23. Rd3 followed by the doubling of Rooks on the h-file did not offer any hope either.

23. g4 Qf7 24. Qh2 Qc7 25. Qh7+ Kf7 26. Rh6 Qb6+ 27. Ka1 Qe3. Or 27. ... e5 28. fxe5+− (Δ Bg5-f6).
28. Qxg6+ Kg8 29. Qh7+ Kf7 30. Rf6+ Ke8 31. Qg6+ 1 : 0. Mate follows next move.

The only thing that seems the same after such a long absence is the bare board. Photo: 我要有耐心 (I have to be patient).

No, Edna, it’s never easy to say exactly what goes well or goes wrong in a fictional dystopian world

Artwork © Spleens

Two Lines

Hikaru Nakamura – Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi

5th Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX; time control: 20 minutes plus 5 seconds per move; Saint Louis, September 14, 2022

rkbbnqnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RKBBNQNR w HAha - 0 1

Position #725

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Qxf4 Ne7 4. Ne2 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Qf3 Nef6 7. h3 Qd6 8. d4 Re8 9. Nd3 Ne4 Nepomniachtchi does not hesitate to sacrifice a couple of Pawns for the sake of initiative.
10. Ne5?! 10. Qxf7 Ndf6 11. Qxg7 a5! 12. a4 Ra6! gives Black enough compensation — which is what he wanted, after all.

10. ... Rxe5! Of course Nepomniachtchi doesn’t need be told twice!
11. dxe5 Qxe5 12. Rf1?! Now 12. Qxf7?? is refuted by 12. ... Bf6! threatening ... Ne4-d2+ followed by mate. White’s best seems to be 12. c3 Bf5 13. Bc2, although after 13. ... Bf6 followed by ... 0-0-0 Black is fine.

12. ... a5! 13. Qd3? (13. a4 Ra6⩱↑)
13. ... Ra6!

14. c4? Indeed White cannot afford such luxury, but anyway after 14. Qd4 Qe6 15. a4 Rd6 Black has too many threats.
14. ... Nb4 15. Qxd8 Rd6 16. Qxd6. Desperation, but if 16. Qf8 then 16. ... Nd2+ followed by mate in a few moves.
16. ... Qxd6 17. b3 Nd2+ 18. Bxd2 Qxd2 19. a3 (19. g4 Nd3 20. Bc2 Ne1 21. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 22. Nc1 Qe3−+)
19. ... Bf5+! 0 : 1. For after 20. Rxf5 Qxd1+ mate follows next move.

The rapid development of Black’s forces is well reminiscent of Morphy’s style of play. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.