Games
[Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Mezioud, Amina"] [Black "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B10"] [WhiteElo "2055"] [BlackElo "2558"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 g6 4. Ngf3 Bg7 5. g3 e5 6. Bg2 Nd7 7. O-O {LiveBook: 12 Games} Ngf6 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nf1 (9. exd5 $14 {was preferrable.} Nxd5 10. Nc4) 9... Re8 $11 10. Nh4 a5 11. Be3 b6 12. c3 Bb7 13. h3 c5 14. Qc2 (14. exd5 $15 Bxd5 15. Nd2) 14... Nf8 ({Better is} 14... d4 $17 15. Bg5 h6) 15. Rad1 Ne6 ({ Black should try} 15... d4 $17 16. Bd2 Ne6) 16. f3 $2 {[#]} (16. Nf3 $15) 16... Nh5 17. exd5 Bxd5 18. c4 Bb7 19. f4 exf4 20. Bxb7 {[#] Bxf4 is the strong threat.} fxe3 21. Nxe3 (21. Bxa8 {only move.} Nd4 22. Qg2) 21... Ra7 $19 22. Qg2 (22. Bd5 $142) 22... Nxg3 23. Qxg3 {aiming for Bc6.} Rxb7 24. Nhf5 $2 (24. Nd5 {was necessary.}) 24... gxf5 25. Nxf5 Qf6 26. Nd6 Rbe7 27. Nxe8 Rxe8 28. Rd2 Qg6 29. Qxg6 hxg6 30. Kh2 Bd4 31. Rde2 Kg7 32. Kg3 Rh8 33. Rf1 (33. Rxe6 $142 fxe6 34. Rxe6) 33... Rh5 {A strange result} 0-1 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Stefanova, Antoaneta"] [Black "Marrero Lopez, Yaniet"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2512"] [BlackElo "2255"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 e6 2. c4 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 d5 5. O-O c6 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. d3 O-O 8. Nc3 { LiveBook: 9 Games} Bc7 9. e3 (9. cxd5 $14 exd5 10. a3) 9... b6 (9... dxc4 $11 10. dxc4 Na6) 10. b4 {White is better.} a5 11. b5 c5 {[#]} (11... Bb7 $16) 12. d4 $1 $18 Ne4 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Rd1 Bb7 15. Ba3 Nxc3 16. Qxc3 Nd7 17. cxd5 Bxd5 18. Bxc5 Nxc5 19. Qxc5 Bb6 20. Qc3 Rc8 21. Qb2 Qe7 (21... Qd6 {was worth a try. } 22. Ne5 Bd8 23. Bxd5 exd5) 22. Ne5 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 Qb7+ 24. Kg1 Qe4 25. Nc6 Rc7 26. Qe5 Qxe5 27. Nxe5 Rb7 28. a4 Bc7 29. Nc6 g5 $2 {[#]} (29... Rf7 {was necessary.} 30. Rd2 g5) 30. Rd7 {White is clearly winning.} Rf7 31. Rad1 Bb6 32. Ne5 Rfxd7 33. Rxd7 {Endgame KRB-KRN} Rb8 34. Rd6 Bc5 35. Rxe6 Rd8 36. Rc6 Rd1+ 37. Kg2 Be7 38. b6 Rb1 39. Nc4 f4 40. gxf4 gxf4 41. exf4 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Martinez, Ayelen"] [Black "Zhao, Xue"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2234"] [BlackElo "2505"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 c5 7. Bg5 { LiveBook: 8 Games} Qa5+ 8. Ned2 cxd4 9. O-O {The position is equal.} Nc5 10. b4 ({Not} 10. Nxd4 $2 Nxd3 11. Bxf6 Nxb2 $19) (10. Nc4 $142 Qc7 11. Re1 (11. Nxd4 Bd7 $11)) 10... Qxb4 $11 11. Rb1 Qa5 $1 12. Bb5+ Bd7 13. Bxd7+ Nfxd7 14. Nc4 ( 14. Nxd4 $15 h6 15. Be3) 14... Qa6 $1 $17 15. Qxd4 f6 16. Bf4 {[#]} O-O-O $1 $36 {Threatens to win with ...Ne5. Black has strong initiative.} ({But not} 16... Qxa2 $6 17. Rfe1 $11) 17. Bd6 e5 18. Qd5 Qc6 19. Qxc6+ bxc6 20. Rb4 {[#]} (20. g3 $17 {keeps fighting.}) 20... Bxd6 $1 $19 21. Nxd6+ Kc7 22. Nf7 (22. Ne4 $142) 22... Rb8 23. Rg4 Rhg8 24. Rd1 Nb7 25. Nh4 Rbf8 26. Nf5 Rxf7 27. Nh6 f5 28. Rg5 Rgf8 29. Nxf7 Rxf7 30. Rg3 Nb6 31. Ra3 a5 32. Rb1 {With the idea Rab3.} a4 33. Rh3 h6 34. Rh4 {Black should prevent Rhb4.} e4 {Black is clearly winning.} 35. f3 Nd6 36. Kf2 Nd5 37. g3 Rf6 38. Rh5 Nc4 39. Re1 Ne5 40. fxe4 fxe4+ 41. Kg2 Ng4 {A strange result} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Lane, Nancy L"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2583"] [BlackElo "1848"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bb5 {LiveBook: 71 Games} Ne4 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Nd2 {The position is equal.} f5 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Qa4 Bxg3 (12... cxd4 $14 {is more appropriate.} 13. Bxd6 Qxd6) 13. hxg3 $16 cxd4 14. cxd4 Bd7 {[#]} 15. Qa3 $1 Qc7 16. Nc4 Rab8 (16... Rac8 $142) 17. Rc1 Qb7 18. O-O Be8 19. Rc2 Qc7 20. Rfc1 g5 21. Ne5 Rb6 22. b4 Qb7 23. Rc4 Rf6 24. Qc3 h5 (24... Qe7 $142 25. Rc5 Ra6) 25. Nxc6 $18 Bxc6 26. Rxc6 Rxb4 $2 {[#]} (26... Qxc6 27. Qxc6 Rxc6 28. Rxc6 Kf8) 27. d5 $1 Rf8 (27... exd5 28. Qxf6) 28. Rc7 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Pogonina, Natalija"] [Black "Zhou, Qiyu"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2487"] [BlackElo "2287"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nge2 c5 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 b6 10. O-O Ba6 11. f3 Re8 12. Ng3 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Nc6 14. Bb2 Rc8 15. Rae1 {LiveBook: 20 Games} Rc7 16. e4 $1 dxe4 17. fxe4 {White is better.} ({ But not} 17. Nxe4 $6 Nxe4 18. Rxe4 Rxe4 19. Qxe4 cxd4 $11) 17... Ne5 18. Qd1 ( 18. Qe2 $16 cxd4 19. cxd4) 18... cxd4 (18... Rd7 $1 $14) 19. cxd4 $16 Ng6 20. Qb3 Rce7 21. d5 Ng4 {[#]} (21... Nxe4 $16 {keeps fighting.} 22. Nf5 Nd6 23. Nxe7+ Rxe7) 22. h3 (22. Nf5 $1 $18 {and the rest is easy.}) 22... N4e5 23. Nf5 Rd7 24. Qg3 (24. a4 $16) 24... f6 $14 25. Rc1 Kh8 {[#]} (25... Qb8 $14) 26. a4 (26. h4 $142 $1 {Hoping for h5.} h5 27. Ne3) 26... b5 (26... a6 $142) 27. axb5 $16 Qb6+ 28. Bd4 Qxb5 29. Rc3 h5 (29... a5 $16 30. Rfc1 h6) 30. Rfc1 Qe2 31. Bxe5 (31. Be3 $142) 31... Nxe5 32. Rc7 Red8 33. Qe3 ({Much worse is} 33. Nxg7 h4 34. Qxh4+ Kxg7 $17) (33. Rxd7 $14 Rxd7 34. Qf4) 33... Qxe3+ $11 34. Nxe3 Kg8 35. Nf5 Kf8 36. Nd4 {Ne6+ is the strong threat.} Rxc7 37. Rxc7 {Endgame KRN-KRN } Rd7 38. Rc8+ Kf7 39. Ne6 a5 40. Ra8 Nc4 41. Kf2 g6 (41... f5 $11) 42. Ra6 ( 42. Ke2 $14) 42... f5 43. exf5 gxf5 44. Nf4 h4 45. Rh6 a4 {The position is equal.} 46. Rxh4 a3 47. Rh7+ Ke8 48. Rh8+ Ke7 {Black wants to play ...Nb6.} 49. Ra8 Rb7 50. Ke2 Rb5 {Threatens to win with ...Ra5.} 51. Nd3 Rxd5 52. Ra4 Rxd3 53. Rxc4 {KR-KR} Rb3 54. Ra4 Kf6 55. h4 Kg6 56. g4 fxg4 57. Rxg4+ Kh5 58. Ra4 Rb2+ 59. Kd3 Rh2 60. Kc3 Rxh4 61. Rxa3 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Gvetadze, Sofio"] [Black "Batsiashvili, Nino"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2285"] [BlackElo "2492"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. d3 Nc6 6. e4 d6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. h3 Bd7 9. Be3 {LiveBook: 12 Games} Rc8 10. Qd2 Re8 11. Bh6 {The position is equal. } Nd4 12. Bxg7 Nxf3+ 13. Bxf3 {aiming for Qh6.} Kxg7 14. Bg2 b5 15. f4 b4 16. Ne2 Qb6 17. c4 bxc3 18. bxc3 ({Much worse is} 18. Qxc3 c4+ 19. d4 Bc6 $15) 18... c4+ 19. d4 d5 20. exd5 Qd6 21. Kh2 (21. Rf2 $11) 21... Nxd5 22. Ng1 Bf5 23. Rfe1 (23. Bxd5 $11 {remains equal.} Qxd5 24. Nf3) 23... Rb8 24. Qc1 Nf6 25. Nf3 Be4 26. Ne5 Bxg2 27. Kxg2 Qd5+ 28. Kh2 Ne4 29. f5 {[#]} (29. Re2 $11 { and White is okay.}) 29... f6 $1 $19 30. Ng4 (30. Nf3 $142) 30... Qxf5 (30... Ng5 $19 {has better winning chances.} 31. Rf1 Nf3+ 32. Rxf3 Qxf3 33. fxg6 Qe2+ 34. Kg1 hxg6 35. Qh6+ Kf7 36. Qh7+ Ke6) 31. Rf1 (31. Re2 $17) 31... Qd5 32. Qc2 Ng5 {...Nf3+ is the strong threat.} 33. Qe2 Qe4 34. Ne3 (34. Qf2 {is a better defense.}) 34... Rb6 $2 (34... Qe6 $19 {and Black stays clearly on top.} 35. h4 Qh3+ 36. Kg1 Ne4) 35. h4 $2 {[#]} (35. Rae1 $17) 35... Reb8 $1 {And now ...Rb2 would win.} 36. Rf2 {[#]} Rb2 $1 37. hxg5 $2 (37. Nc2 Rb1 38. Qxe4 Nxe4 39. Rxb1 Rxb1 40. Na3) (37. Qxb2 Nf3+) 37... Rxe2 38. gxf6+ exf6 39. Rxe2 Rb5 { ( -> ...Rh5+)} 40. g4 {If White can now play Nf5+! this consolidates a bit.} Qd3 41. Rae1 Rb1 42. Rxb1 Qxe2+ {Endgame KQ-KRN} 43. Ng2 Qf3 44. Re1 Qxc3 45. g5 fxg5 46. Re7+ Kf8 47. Rxa7 Qxd4 48. Rxh7 c3 {A strange result} 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Ni, Viktorija"] [Black "Gunina, Valentina"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2199"] [BlackElo "2524"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. Nf3 e6 4. e4 d6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Be7 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O a6 9. Be3 Qc7 10. Qd2 b6 11. Rfc1 Bb7 12. f3 Nbd7 13. b4 Rac8 14. Rab1 { LiveBook: 13 Games} Rfe8 15. Qe1 Qb8 16. Qf2 (16. Na4 $11) 16... Bf8 17. Na4 Ba8 (17... d5 $1 $11 {is superior.}) 18. Nb3 d5 19. e5 (19. Nxb6 Nxb6 20. Bxb6 dxe4 $15) (19. Bxb6 dxe4 20. Bc5 exf3 21. Bxf3 Be4 22. Bxe4 Nxe4 $17) (19. exd5 $1 $14 Bd6 20. g3 (20. Nxb6 Bxh2+ 21. Kf1 Nxb6 $17)) 19... Qxe5 $15 20. c5 b5 21. Nb2 Qb8 22. Na5 (22. Bd2 $15) 22... e5 $1 $17 23. c6 d4 (23... Bxb4 24. cxd7 Nxd7 25. Nb3 $11) 24. Bg5 Bxc6 (24... Nb6 $17 {...Nfd5 is the strong threat.} 25. Bxf6 gxf6) 25. Rxc6 $11 Bxb4 ({Black should play} 25... Rxc6 $15 26. Nxc6 Qd6) 26. Rxa6 Nc5 $1 27. Nc6 (27. Rxf6 $1 $16 {Hoping for Nc6.} Bxa5 28. Qg3) 27... Qd6 28. Nxb4 Nxa6 29. Nxa6 Nd5 (29... Qxa6 $11 {remains equal.} 30. Qf1 Qxa2 31. Bxb5 Rb8) 30. Bxb5 $16 {Threatens to win with Re1.} Nc3 31. Qf1 (31. Bxe8 $142 Nxb1 32. Bb5) 31... Nxb5 (31... Nxb1 $2 32. Qxb1 Re6 33. Bd2 $18) 32. Qxb5 Qg6 (32... Re6 $142) 33. Re1 ({White must play} 33. Nd3 $1 $16 Qxg5 34. Nac5) 33... Qxg5 $11 34. Nd3 h6 (34... Qd2 $14) 35. Nc7 $2 {[#]} ({ But not} 35. Nxe5 $2 {[#]} d3 $1 36. Qxd3 Rxe5 37. Rxe5 Qxe5 $19) (35. f4 $1 $16 Qd8 36. Rxe5 (36. Nxe5 d3 37. Qxd3 Qb6+ 38. Kh1 f6 39. Qd5+ Qe6 $17) (36. fxe5 Rc2 $16)) 35... Red8 ({Better is} 35... Qd2 $1 $17 {White must now prevent ...Re7.} 36. Rf1 Rb8) 36. Rxe5 ({White should try} 36. Nd5 $15 Rc2 37. Nf2) 36... Qd2 $19 37. Re7 $2 (37. Nd5 $17 Rb8 38. Nb6) 37... Rb8 38. Qe5 Qxd3 39. h4 {intending Ne6!} Qe3+ 40. Qxe3 dxe3 41. Rxe3 {Endgame KRR-KRN} Rd2 { Strongly threatening ...Rbb2.} 42. Re4 (42. Rb3 $142 Rbd8 43. Rb5) 42... f5 43. Re7 {If only White now had time for Ne6....} Rb7 44. Kh2 Kf8 45. Re8+ Kf7 46. Rc8 f4 47. Kh3 h5 {aiming for ...Rb1.} 48. Na6 Rb1 49. Rc7+ Kg8 50. Kh2 Rbb2 ( 50... Rdd1 $142 51. Rc8+ Kh7 52. Rh8+ Kxh8 53. g3 Rd2+ 54. Kh3 Rh1#) 51. Rc8+ Kh7 {Black mates.} 52. Rc5 Rxg2+ 53. Kh1 Rh2+ 54. Kg1 Rbg2+ 55. Kf1 Rxa2 56. Rxh5+ Kg8 0-1 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Dzagnidze, Nana"] [Black "Mona, Khaled"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A09"] [WhiteElo "2525"] [BlackElo "2150"] [PlyCount "128"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 e5 5. d3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. O-O Nf6 8. Na3 O-O 9. Nb5 {LiveBook: 4 Games} Re8 10. Bg5 Be7 $1 11. e3 {Black is slightly better.} h6 12. Bxf6 $1 Bxf6 13. exd4 exd4 14. Nd2 (14. Re1 $15 Rxe1+ 15. Nxe1) 14... Ne5 15. Qc2 c6 16. Na3 Bg4 {...Be2 is the strong threat.} 17. Rae1 Qd7 ( 17... Bf5 $15 18. Ne4 Be7) 18. f4 $14 Ng6 19. c5 Bh3 (19... Rxe1 $14 20. Rxe1 Be7) 20. Nac4 ({Better is} 20. Bxh3 $16 Qxh3 21. Nac4) 20... Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Rxe1 22. Rxe1 {Threatens to win with Nb6.} Qd5+ 23. Ne4 Bd8 {next ...f5 is good for Black.} 24. Qb3 b5 25. Ncd2 (25. Nb6 $14 Bxb6 26. cxb6) 25... Qd7 $1 $11 26. a4 $1 Bc7 27. axb5 ({White should try} 27. Nd6 $11) 27... cxb5 ({Black should play } 27... a4 $1 $15 28. Qc2 cxb5) 28. Qd1 (28. Nd6 $1 $11) 28... Re8 29. Kf1 Ne7 30. Nf3 Nf5 $36 {aiming for ...Ne3+. White is under strong pressure.} 31. Kf2 ( 31. Qe2 $17 {is a better defense.} Ne3+ 32. Kg1) 31... Ne3 $19 32. Qc1 (32. Qd2 $17) 32... Qh3 33. Rxe3 dxe3+ 34. Qxe3 {And now Nf6+! would win.} Qd7 {White must now prevent ...f5.} 35. f5 (35. Qd4 {might work better.} Qc6 36. Qc3) 35... Rd8 36. d4 Qxf5 37. Ned2 Kf8 38. Qc3 (38. Qe4 {was the only defense.} Qxe4 39. Nxe4) 38... Re8 39. Qb3 $2 (39. Nf1 Re6 40. Ne3) 39... g5 40. Qxb5 g4 41. Qc6 Bb8 $2 (41... Re6 42. Qxc7 gxf3 43. Nxf3 Qc2+ 44. Kg1 Qd1+ 45. Kg2 Qe2+ 46. Kh3 Qf1+ 47. Kg4 Re4+ 48. Qf4 Rxf4+ 49. Kxf4 Qc1+ 50. Ke4 Qxb2) 42. Qxh6+ Ke7 $1 43. Qg5+ Qxg5 44. Nxg5 {Endgame KRB-KNN} f5 45. Nc4 Kf6 46. h4 Rd8 $1 47. Nxa5 {Hoping for Nc6.} Rxd4 48. Nc6 (48. Nh7+ $142 Kg7 49. Nc6 Rd2+ 50. Ke3 Rxb2 51. Nxb8 Rxb8 52. Ng5) 48... Rd2+ 49. Ke3 Rxb2 50. Nxb8 Rxb8 {KR-KN} 51. Kd4 Rd8+ 52. Kc4 Ke7 53. c6 Rd1 54. c7 Rc1+ 55. Kd5 Rxc7 56. Ke5 Rc5+ 57. Kf4 Kf6 58. Nh7+ Kg7 59. Ng5 Kg6 60. Ne6 Rc4+ 61. Ke5 Re4+ 62. Kd5 Kf6 (62... Re3 $142 63. Nd4 Rxg3 64. h5+ Kxh5 65. Ke5 Re3+ 66. Kxf5 g3 67. Kf4 {[#]} g2 $1 68. Kxe3 g1=Q+ 69. Ke4 Qg6+ 70. Ke5 Qg3+ 71. Ke4 Kg5 72. Kd5 Kf6 73. Kc4 Qg2 74. Kc5 Ke5 75. Nc6+ Ke4 76. Nb4 Qg5+ 77. Kc4 Qc1+ 78. Kb5 Kd4 79. Nc6+ Kd5 80. Nb4+ Kd6 81. Na6 Qf1+ 82. Kb4 Qxa6 83. Kc3 Kc5 84. Kc2 Qc4+ 85. Kd1 Kd4 86. Ke1 Ke3 87. Kd1 Qc8 88. Ke1 Qc1#) 63. Nf8 Re7 (63... Re3 $142 64. Nd7+ Ke7 65. Nb6 Rxg3 66. Kd4 Rh3 67. Nd5+ Kd6 68. Ne3 Ke6 69. h5 {[#]} Rxe3 $1 70. Kxe3 Ke5 71. Kd3 Kf6 72. Ke3 Kg5 73. h6 Kxh6 74. Kf4 Kg6 75. Ke3 Kg5 76. Kf2 f4 77. Kg2 f3+ 78. Kg3 Kf5 79. Kf2 Kf4 80. Ke1 Ke3 81. Kd1 f2 82. Kc2 g3 83. Kc3 f1=Q 84. Kb4 Kd4 85. Ka5 Kc5 86. Ka4 Qd3 87. Ka5 Qb5#) 64. h5 {[#]} f4 $1 0-1 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Black "Latreche, Sabrina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2549"] [BlackElo "2057"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 Bc5 6. O-O b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 Bg4 9. c3 O-O {LiveBook: 45 Games} 10. Qe2 (10. axb5 {is superior.} axb5 11. Rxa8 Qxa8 12. Bg5) 10... b4 11. a5 bxc3 {Black has an edge.} 12. bxc3 Rb8 13. Nbd2 Nh5 14. g3 Qf6 15. Kg2 {[#]} (15. Ba4 $15 Nxa5 16. Bc2) 15... Bxf3+ $2 ({ Better is} 15... Ne7 $1 $17 {Hoping for ...Ng6.} 16. Bc4 Qh6) 16. Qxf3 $14 Qxf3+ 17. Kxf3 Rb5 $2 {[#]} (17... Na7 $14) 18. Ba4 $1 $18 Na7 19. Bxb5 Nxb5 20. Bb2 f5 21. exf5 Rxf5+ 22. Kg2 Nf6 23. Rab1 d5 24. c4 dxc4 25. Nxc4 Ng4 ( 25... Nd7 $142 26. f3 Bd6) 26. h3 {White is clearly winning.} Nh6 27. Nxe5 ({ Much less strong is} 27. Bxe5 Rf8 28. Bb2 Nf5 $18) 27... Nf7 28. f4 Nfd6 (28... Bf8 $142 29. Rbc1 Nd8) 29. g4 1-0 [Event "World women chess championship (1.1)"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Guramishvili, Sopiko"] [Black "Khademalsharieh, Sara"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 $5 {Sopiko, unlike Anish's style, plays very uncompromising chess. It'd be a mistake to think of her recent result in Tata Steel as an indicator of her strength. This move, suggests that she is up to her task to make the most out of her white pieces.} c5 $5 {Interestingly, Sara is up for the challenge and chooses the most committal and complicated continuation. When I was her coach long ago we were conceding to much safer, yet a bit passive, d5.} 5. d5 O-O 6. e4 d6 {we soon will get a form of what is known as snake-Benoni. I have to confess that I personally am not a fan of this set up.} 7. Nge2 Ba5 {This move has only been player once before, however it was played between two corresponding chess GMs. It means that the two parties must have thoroughly analyzed it. However, from human standpoint, I really cannot understand where black is heading to with this move. This is a very difficult position to play as black. It is not something I'd pick for an event with such brutal format. But it seems that Sara is up for the task.} ( 7... a6 {Here is a beautiful victory from Aronian in this line against current world no.2 Wesley So.} 8. a4 Ba5 9. Bd2 exd5 10. cxd5 Nh5 11. g3 Nd7 12. Bg2 b5 13. g4 b4 14. Nb1 Qh4+ 15. Kf1 Ne5 16. Be1 Qf6 17. gxh5 Nxf3 18. Bf2 Bg4 19. Qc1 Nd4 20. Nxd4 cxd4 21. e5 dxe5 22. Nd2 Rac8 23. Qb1 b3 24. Nxb3 Bb6 25. a5 Ba7 26. Kg1 Bf5 27. Be4 Qg5+ 28. Kf1 Qf4 {0-1 (28) So,W (2779)-Aronian,L (2765) Saint Louis 2015}) 8. Ng3 a6 {Change in plans?} (8... b5 $5 9. cxb5 exd5 10. exd5 Bb7 11. Bd2 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 Bxd5 13. Bxa5 Qxa5+ 14. Qd2 Qxd2+ 15. Kxd2 Rd8 16. a4 Nd7 17. h4 Rab8 $132 {1/2-1/2 (60) Papenin,N (2687)-Clever,H (2520) ICCF email 2013}) 9. Bf4 $146 exd5 10. cxd5 b5 $6 (10... Nbd7 {is possible.} 11. Bxd6 $4 Qb6 {and loss of b2 and winning the knight on c3 leads to disaster for white.}) 11. Be2 Ne8 12. O-O Nd7 (12... f5 {is a move hard to play but the position calls for it. Although, white is still mich better after it.}) 13. Kh1 (13. a4 b4 14. Nb1 {[#]}) 13... Rb8 14. Qc1 Ne5 15. Nd1 (15. a4 b4 16. Nd1 { might have been better.}) 15... Ng6 16. Be3 Qc7 17. f4 f5 18. Nxf5 Bxf5 19. exf5 Ne7 20. g4 Nxd5 (20... h5 21. h3 Nf6 {is preferred by engines. However, it is hard for human to voluntarily enter this position.}) 21. Bf3 $1 {white has an eye on d5 square.} Qf7 $2 {The queen does not belong to this square. Black had to remove his knight.} 22. Nf2 {This knight will land on g5 one way or another.} Nef6 23. Nh3 Nc7 24. Bg1 Qe8 25. Qc2 {white is strategically winning.} Kh8 26. Rad1 Rd8 27. b3 {From here till the end of the game, Sopiko Guramishvili, slowly but surely, converts her advantage into a full point. Her technique is rather impressive.} Qf7 28. a3 Bb6 29. Ng5 Qg8 30. Rfe1 Rfe8 31. b4 Rxe1 32. Rxe1 Qf8 33. Qa2 Rd7 34. Bc6 Re7 35. Rxe7 Qxe7 36. Nf7+ Kg8 37. Nxd6+ Kf8 38. Nc8 {Have an eye on their return match tomorrow!} 1-0 [Event "World women chess championship (1.1)"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Hejazipour, M."] [Black "Bodnaruk, A."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "2r2b1R/R7/3ppk2/1N3p2/5P2/3B1b2/KPP5/6r1 b - - 0 37"] [PlyCount "2"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {[#] After a tupsy-turvy game, through which, Bodnaruk had the upper hand the players are reaching 40th move in a somewhat balanced position but it is white who has to be cautious. In time pressure, Bodnaruk had a number of safe choices to enter a slightly better ending, however, time pressure took its toll and she blundered right away} 37... Kg6 $4 {a painful loss for Bodnaruk} ( 37... Rh1 38. Rg8 Rb8 39. Nd4 Bd5+ 40. b3 Rh4 {Mitra needed to find} 41. c4 { in order to keep the balance.}) ({Or} 37... Rb8 38. Rhh7 Ra8 39. Rhf7+ Kg6 40. Nd4 Rxa7+ 41. Rxa7 Be4 42. Bxe4 fxe4 43. Nxe6 Bh6 {when black's passed pawns are more dangerous.}) 38. Rg8+ 1-0 [Event "World women chess championship (1.1)"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Dazgnidze, N."] [Black "Khaled, M."] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "128"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 e5 5. d3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. O-O Nf6 8. Na3 O-O 9. Nb5 Re8 10. Bg5 Be7 11. e3 h6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. exd4 exd4 14. Nd2 Ne5 15. Qc2 c6 16. Na3 Bg4 17. Rae1 Qd7 18. f4 Ng6 19. c5 Bh3 20. Nac4 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Rxe1 22. Rxe1 Qd5+ 23. Ne4 Bd8 24. Qb3 b5 25. Ncd2 Qd7 26. a4 Bc7 27. axb5 cxb5 28. Qd1 Re8 {[#] Mona Khaled outplayed Dzagnidze out of opening and as the game went through Dzagnidze bounced back and got a much better position, however, a couple of inaccuracies caused her advantage to fizzle out and Mona got the upper hand again. Here, black is slightly better but what happens next is Dzagnidze get herself into trouble in a couple of moves.} 29. Kf1 $2 { planning to play knight f2? probably} Ne7 $1 {Great piece play by Mona Khaled. This knight is heading to e3.} 30. Nf3 $2 {Dzanidze plans a piece sacrifice but her plan does not work at this instance.} Nf5 31. Kf2 Ne3 32. Qc1 Qh3 ( 32... f5 $19) 33. Rxe3 dxe3+ 34. Qxe3 Qd7 35. f5 $6 Rd8 $1 {wins a pawn.} 36. d4 Qxf5 {and Mona Khaled converted her advantage gradually.} 37. Ned2 Kf8 38. Qc3 Re8 39. Qb3 g5 40. Qxb5 g4 41. Qc6 Bb8 42. Qxh6+ Ke7 43. Qg5+ Qxg5 44. Nxg5 f5 45. Nc4 Kf6 46. h4 Rd8 47. Nxa5 Rxd4 48. Nc6 Rd2+ 49. Ke3 Rxb2 50. Nxb8 Rxb8 51. Kd4 Rd8+ 52. Kc4 Ke7 53. c6 Rd1 54. c7 Rc1+ 55. Kd5 Rxc7 56. Ke5 Rc5+ 57. Kf4 Kf6 58. Nh7+ Kg7 59. Ng5 Kg6 60. Ne6 Rc4+ 61. Ke5 Re4+ 62. Kd5 Kf6 63. Nf8 Re7 64. h5 f4 0-1 [Event "World women chess championship (1.1)"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Kosteniuk, A."] [Black "Latereche, S."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 Bc5 6. O-O b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 Bg4 9. c3 O-O 10. Qe2 b4 11. a5 bxc3 12. bxc3 Rb8 13. Nbd2 Nh5 14. g3 Qf6 15. Kg2 {[#] The Alegerian player had pressed with black pieces so far against one of the strongest female player in the world, however in the next two moves, she goes astray.} Bxf3+ $4 {Not only losing her chances to get a huge advantage. This move also gives white a huge positional advantage.} (15... Qh6 $1 16. Bd1 Nf6 (16... Bh3+ 17. Kh1 Bxf1 18. Nxf1 Qg6 {winning an exchange is also a choice.}) 17. h4 Qg6 {and black's pin looks very deadly. Specially when Nh5 and f5 are coming next!}) 16. Qxf3 Qxf3+ 17. Kxf3 Rb5 $4 {final blunder.} 18. Ba4 Na7 (18... Rxa5 19. Nb3 $18) 19. Bxb5 Nxb5 20. Bb2 f5 21. exf5 Rxf5+ 22. Kg2 Nf6 23. Rab1 d5 24. c4 dxc4 25. Nxc4 Ng4 26. h3 Nh6 27. Nxe5 Nf7 28. f4 Nfd6 29. g4 1-0 [Event "World women chess championship (1.1)"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Salome, M."] [Black "Atalik, E."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Nbd2 Nb6 9. b4 Be7 10. b5 Na5 11. Nxe5 Naxc4 12. Ndxc4 Nxc4 13. Nxc4 a6 14. bxa6 Rxa6 15. Re1 Be6 16. Bf4 Bf6 17. Ne5 Ra3 18. Qc2 Qa8 19. d4 Rd8 20. Qb2 c6 21. h3 h6 22. Re3 c5 23. dxc5 Qa4 24. Bg3 h5 25. Nf3 Rxa2 26. Rxa2 Rd1+ 27. Kh2 Bxa2 {[#]} 28. c6 $1 {Black queen is overloaded and white cuts its way to e8 while opening up b-file for a final brekthbreakthroughher rook and queen.} bxc6 29. Re8+ Kh7 30. Qb8 Bd5 31. Rh8+ Kg6 32. Qg8 {simple and effective. The check on h7 is decisive.} Kf5 (32... Bxf3 33. Qh7+ Kg5 34. h4+ Kg4 35. Qxh5#) 33. Rxh5+ Ke4 {The king is rushing to join other black's pieces but Melia Salome seals the deal with this cute tactic.} 34. Qh7+ g6 35. Rh4+ {A queen up is enough! you can checkmate the king later!} 1-0 [Event "World women chess championship (1.1)"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.02.12"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Zhao, Xue"] [Black "Martinez, Ayelen"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r5k1/5p1p/2p4b/2p1nr2/4B3/6P1/7P/3RR1BK b - - 0 38"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {[#]} 38... Rh5 (38... Bc1) 39. Re2 $2 (39. Bxc5 Ng4 40. Bg1 Ra2 41. Rd8+ Bf8 42. Bf3 Re5 43. Re8 {would have maintained equality and possibly a simple draw for Zhao Xue. Instead she destroyed her position in two moves.}) 39... c4 40. Bc2 Nf3 41. Rf1 Nxg1 42. Kxg1 Bg7 {Black has two pawns more and great winning chances. Ayelen Martinez gradually converted her advantage with some extra help from Zhao Xue.} 43. Rf4 c5 44. Rxc4 Bd4+ 45. Kg2 Ra1 46. Be4 Kg7 47. Rcc2 Rh6 48. Bd3 Bg1 49. h3 Bd4 50. Bc4 Rf6 51. Re4 h5 52. Rh4 Rf5 53. Re4 Rg5 54. Re7 Rg1+ 55. Kf3 R5xg3+ 56. Kf4 Rxh3 57. Bxf7 Rf1+ 0-1 [Event "World women chess championship "] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.02.12"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Mona, Khaled"] [Black "Dzagnidze, N."] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {I really would like to see Mona Khaled's mood tomorrow. After winning the first game with black, she got a completely winning position in this game and was about to deliver a 2-0 win against none other than Georgian no.1 GM Nana Dzagnidze. But things went very wrong for the Egyptian toward the end and "out of form" Dzagnidze used her immense experience to level the match. This is for sure the most dramatic game of the round.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. Bf4 {The solid London System. A good choice aginst a much higher rated player when you know a draw is more than enough!} Bb7 4. e3 Nh5 {This is a good move. e3 maybe considered a bit inaccurate.} 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 g5 7. Nfd2 Nf6 (7... Nf4 { is an interesting move!}) 8. Bg3 h5 $6 {but this is too much!} 9. h3 (9. h4 g4 10. c4 {gives a close to clear advantage to white.}) 9... d6 10. c4 Nbd7 11. Nc3 e6 12. Nf3 h4 13. Bh2 Rg8 {Dzagnidze is playing overly uncompromising. I guess she has to since she needs to win with black pieces to stay in the tournament!} 14. d5 {A good practical decision} g4 15. Nxh4 (15. hxg4 Nxg4 16. Bg1 Be7 17. Nd4 {followed by f3 and e4 looks very promising for white.}) 15... gxh3 16. g3 {What an agony for the bishop on h2.} b5 $1 {Strong sense of dynamic. Black breaks white's wall by addressing the weakness of d5 pawn. The game become so dynamic and critical all of a sudden.} 17. Bxh3 bxc4 18. Bg2 Rb8 19. b3 exd5 $6 (19... Ng4 20. O-O Ba6 21. dxe6 fxe6 {followed by Qg5 and Be7 gives black close to winning advantage.}) 20. Nxd5 Bg7 (20... Nxd5 21. Bxd5 cxb3 22. axb3 Qg5 23. Bxb7 Rxb7 {would have given black the upper hand thanks to 'almost' like a pawn bishop on h2.}) 21. Rc1 Nxd5 22. Bxd5 Bxd5 23. Qxd5 cxb3 24. axb3 Be5 25. Nf5 Rh8 $2 {This is a serious mistake!} 26. f4 Bf6 27. g4 {the knight on f5 is such a beast!} Kf8 $2 {Had Mona won this game, Dzagnidze wouldn't have forgiven herself for this blunder} 28. g5 Bg7 29. Bg1 $2 {Hasty} (29. Kf2 {was simpler.}) 29... Rxh1 30. Qxh1 Nc5 $4 {game over?} 31. Qh7 Bb2 32. Nh6 $4 {not yet.} (32. Rc2 Ba1 33. Rh2 Ke8 (33... Bc3+ 34. Kf1 Rxb3 35. Qh8+ Bxh8 36. Rxh8#) 34. Qg8+ Kd7 35. Qxf7+ Kc6 36. e4 {with winning attack}) 32... Qe8 33. Rc2 Rxb3 34. Kf1 Qe6 $2 {loses a piece.} 35. Rxb2 Qc4+ 36. Re2 Ne4 {Ok, this is not as easy as the previous one. Bf2 and then Be1 would have covered white's king and had sealed the deal but....} 37. Qh8+ Ke7 38. Nf5+ ( 38. Ng8+ Kd7 39. Nf6+ {was still winning.}) 38... Kd7 39. Nd4 {White needs to bring stronger artillery ( the queen ) to defense herself.} Ng3+ (39... Rb1+ 40. Kg2 c5 {is better but it is easy to say this one with engines on. Isn't it? }) 40. Kf2 Nxe2 41. Nxe2 $2 {This move is not wrong but I give this a question mark due to practical matters. Nxb3 would have simplified matter and had given Mona the path key to the next stage.} a5 {Position is even but white needs to be accurate.} 42. Qg7 Kc8 $1 {good positional play. King is safe now and the a-pawn is unstoppable. I would like to ask our dear readers to pay attention to miserable bishop on g1!} 43. Qg8+ Kb7 44. g6 Qe4 $1 {Dzagnidze has enough time on her clock so she sees that she is faster than white at this moment.} 45. Kg3 (45. gxf7 Qxe3+ 46. Kf1 Qf3+ 47. Ke1 Rb1+ 48. Kd2 Rb2+ 49. Kc1 Rxe2 50. f8=Q Qf1#) 45... Qxg6+ {The endgame is just winning now!} 46. Qxg6 fxg6 47. Nd4 a4 48. Bf2 c5 49. Nc2 Rc3 50. Na1 Rc1 51. e4 Rxa1 52. f5 gxf5 53. exf5 Kc6 0-1 [Event "World women chess championship (1.1)"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.02.12"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Bodnaruk, A."] [Black "Hejazipour, M."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {Mitra was Caissa's choice of day one.However, by picking Dzagnidze, it seemed that Caissa forgot about Mitra entirely. In a tough game, Hejazipour cave in as Bodnaruk's pieces activity became too much to handle.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 d5 5. Nbd2 Nc5 6. c3 Be7 7. Nb3 Ne6 8. Qc2 c5 9. Be3 b6 10. Rd1 Bb7 11. Bc4 {Like Dzagnidze, Bodnaruk is all in!} Nc7 12. Bd3 h6 13. O-O Nd7 14. Bf5 Ba6 $2 {I do not understand the idea of this move. It looks like an inviting move for white's rook to land on e1 comfortably.} 15. Rfe1 Nf8 $5 { The only practical solution} 16. e6 $1 {white opens the game up indeed.} Nfxe6 17. Ne5 (17. Bxe6 Nxe6 18. Nxc5 Bxc5 19. Qa4+ Qd7 20. Qxa6 O-O 21. Ne5 { gives white some clear long-term edge.}) 17... Bf6 $2 (17... O-O {looks just fine.}) 18. Bf4 (18. Nxc5 bxc5 19. Bxe6 Nxe6 (19... fxe6 20. Qg6+ {and mate follows soon}) 20. Qa4+ Kf8 21. Nd7+ Kg8 22. Nxf6+ Qxf6 23. Qxa6 Rd8 24. Qxa7 d4 25. cxd4 cxd4 26. Bc1 Kh7 {Gives white good winning chances.}) 18... Bxe5 19. Bxe5 O-O 20. Nd2 Bb7 21. Ne4 Ne8 22. Ng3 {So far, Mitra has managed to handle the game but lack of an active plan has caused her a lot of psychological pressure. She tries to solve her problems immediately instead of gradually and she gets herself into a losing position.} Qg5 (22... Nf6 { was needed one way or another.}) 23. Qa4 Qe7 24. Bb1 Nd6 {final blunder} (24... g6 {[#] was needed.}) 25. Qg4 {now all of white's pieces are aiming at black king and f4-f5 plan looks overwhelming. White is completely winning.} Ne4 26. Bxe4 dxe4 27. Bd6 Qf6 (27... Qg5 {was Mitra's best practical chance although it is losing anyways.}) 28. Bxf8 Rxf8 29. Nxe4 Qe7 30. Rd7 $1 {Nice finish by Bodnaruk!} 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.13"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Guramishvili, S."] [Black "Buksa, N."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "3r2k1/1b3ppp/1n1P1q2/p1p1r3/P1p1P2P/1pN1b1P1/1P4BN/RQ1R2K1 w - - 0 30"] [PlyCount "37"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {After a neat performance, the 2015 World Junior champion, Natalia Buksa, starts to go VERY wrong from this moment. [#]} 30. Kh1 Qf2 $2 {This throws away a lot of advantage but it does not through away the winnning chances entirely.} (30... h5 {was my initial blitz reaction.}) 31. Rf1 Qxg3 $2 (31... Qc2 32. Ng4 Qxb1 33. Raxb1 Bd4 34. Nxe5 Bxe5 35. Rf5 Bxc3 36. bxc3 Nxa4 { was still an elementary win.}) 32. Rf3 Qxh4 33. Rxe3 Rxd6 34. Qe1 {White has a piece for four pawns but what happens next is a heart-breaking blunder.} Qh6 35. Rh3 $2 Qd2 $4 {This loses another exchange and gives White a winning position.} (35... Qg6 {and Black is still clearly better.}) 36. Qxd2 Rxd2 37. Nf3 Rxg2 38. Kxg2 Bxe4 39. Kf2 Bxf3 40. Rxf3 Rh5 41. Rd1 g6 42. Rd6 Rh2+ 43. Kg3 Rxb2 44. Rxb6 Rc2 45. Rb8+ Kg7 46. Rb7 h5 47. Rfxf7+ Kg8 48. Ne4 {A heart-breaking loss for Buksa. I hope she manages to have a good fight tomorrow. I also hope to see Sopiko playing good chess like her match against Sara.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.13"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Zhu, Chen"] [Black "Wenjun, Ju"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 O-O 7. cxd5 exd5 8. e3 Nh5 9. g4 $4 {an unbelievable blunder by Zhu Chen!} (9. Qc2 Re8 10. g4 { and only now g4 because the queen on c2 would parry the attack along e1-h4.} Nf4 11. h4 c5 12. Kf2 {with a complex fight!}) 9... Qh4+ 10. Kd2 Ng3 11. Qe1 Nxf1+ {I think this is the move she missed. Now white's king is stuck in the center with a lot of "holes" in light squares around it.} 12. Qxf1 f5 $1 13. gxf5 {sad necessity.} Bxf5 14. c4 c5 $1 {This obviously tears apart White's meager shelter for her king.} 15. Bb2 cxd4 16. Bxd4 Nc6 {The game is over.} 17. Ne2 dxc4 18. Qg2 Bg6 19. Rac1 b5 20. f4 Nxd4 21. Nxd4 Rad8 22. Rhf1 Qf6 23. Qg1 Qa6 24. Rc3 b4 25. axb4 Qa2+ 26. Kd1 Qb1+ 0-1 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.13"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Zimina, O."] [Black "Dzagnidze, Nnana"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {Nana Dzagnidze was back in her element today and managed to outplay Olga Zimina in a complicated game.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 c6 4. c4 e6 5. O-O Nd7 6. d4 Bd6 7. Qb3 Qb6 8. Nc3 Ngf6 9. c5 Qxb3 10. axb3 Bc7 11. b4 Ne4 12. Re1 Bxf3 $6 (12... Nxc3 13. bxc3 O-O 14. Bf4 Bxf4 15. gxf4 Bxf3 16. Bxf3 a6 { with a bit of advantage for White.}) 13. Bxf3 (13. exf3 $5 Nxc3 (13... Nef6 14. b5 $16) 14. bxc3 O-O 15. Bf1 a6 16. Bd3 Rfe8 17. f4 g6 18. Bd2 {with some advantage for White. This one is better and more lasting.}) 13... f5 14. Bxe4 fxe4 15. b5 a6 16. b4 Kf7 17. bxc6 bxc6 18. Ra4 e5 19. Be3 $6 (19. e3 $1 {[#]}) 19... Nf8 20. b5 Ne6 21. b6 {this is over-optimistic.} (21. bxc6 exd4 22. Bxd4 {was necessary.}) 21... exd4 22. Bxd4 Nxd4 23. Rxd4 Be5 {From here till end of the game, Dzagnidze proved that White's pawn on b6 is not enough compensation for the exchange.} 24. Red1 a5 25. e3 Bxd4 26. exd4 a4 27. Ra1 a3 28. Ra2 Ke6 29. f3 exf3 30. Kf2 Rhf8 31. Nb1 Kd7 32. Nd2 g5 33. h3 h5 34. g4 hxg4 35. hxg4 Ra4 36. Nxf3 Rxd4 37. Rxa3 Rxg4 38. Ke2 Rg2+ 39. Ke1 Re8+ 40. Kf1 Rg4 41. Ra7+ Ke6 42. Rc7 Kf5 43. b7 Rb8 44. Kf2 Rb4 45. Rf7+ Ke4 46. Re7+ Kd3 47. Ne5+ Kc3 48. Nxc6 Rb2+ 49. Kf3 R8xb7 50. Re3+ Kc4 51. Na5+ Kd4 52. Nc6+ Kxc5 53. Ne5 R2b3 54. Nd7+ Kd6 55. Nf6 Rxe3+ 56. Kxe3 Rb4 0-1 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.13"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Gunina, V."] [Black "Ni, Shiqun"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "1q2r1k1/3n1pp1/2p2n1p/1pP5/1B1PP3/3Q4/6PP/N3R1K1 b - - 0 24"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {[#]} 24... Qf4 {Gunina's play was too optimistic and risky up to this point which had caused her this 'headache' before you.} 25. Bd2 Qg4 26. h3 $2 { This loses a pawn and the game is strategically over.} (26. e5 Nd5 27. Nb3 { was necessary. White has to put her knight on a5 to block the file and stay tight. Black's advantage is clear and even may lead to a win but it was the only way to put up a long-term resistance.}) 26... Qg6 27. d5 Nxd5 $1 {Now both c5 and e4 will be falling. The game is over and Shiqun converts her advantage without much of a fuss.} 28. Nb3 N5f6 29. Qd6 Rxe4 30. Rf1 Re6 31. Qc7 Qc2 32. Rf3 Nxc5 33. Nd4 Qxd2 34. Nxe6 Qe1+ 35. Kh2 Qxe6 36. Rc3 Nfe4 37. Rc1 Kh7 38. Rd1 b4 39. Rd8 b3 40. Qb8 Nd7 41. Qb7 Qe5+ 42. Kg1 b2 43. Rg8 0-1 [Event "FIDE Women's World Championship"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2017.02.12"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Mezioud, Amina"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2055"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "Algeria"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] [BlackTeamCountry "ALG"] [WhiteClock "0:46:46"] [BlackClock "0:48:04"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bf4 O-O 7. Be2 Re8 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. O-O-O Nc5 10. f3 a6 11. g4 Ne6 12. Be3 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 c5 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Qxd6 Qa5 16. Nd5 Qxa2 17. Nxf6+ gxf6 18. Qxf6 Be6 19. Qg5+ Kh8 20. Qf6+ Kg8 {A draw would be enough to secure a place into the next round but the level headed Muzychuk plays the following classy move} 21. Kd2 Qa5+ 22. Ke3 { Ironically the king is completely secure in the centre.} c4 23. h4 {With the exchange of queens it is a trivial win} Rad8 24. Qg5+ Qxg5+ 25. hxg5 b5 26. Rxd8 Rxd8 27. Ra1 Rd6 28. f4 Bc8 29. e5 Rb6 30. Rd1 Rc6 31. Rd8+ Kg7 32. f5 1-0 [Event "Tehran, Iran"] [Site "Tehran, Iran"] [Date "2017.02.12"] [Round "2.24"] [White "Padmini, Rout"] [Black "Danielian, Elina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [Annotator "Jovi"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:18:16"] [BlackClock "0:09:10"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O h6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 Qc7 9. Bd2 a5 $5 {Preventing White from playing Bb4 but the pawn advance comes at the cost of weakening the b5 square.} (9... g5 10. Bb4 Ng6 11. Bxf8 Rxf8 12. Ne1 Ne7 13. Bd3 c5 14. Bxf5 Nxf5 15. c3 O-O-O 16. Nc2 c4 {Led to a tense position that later ended in a draw in(49) Dominguez Perez,L (2739)-Riazantsev, A (2671) Doha QAT 2016}) ({Manouevring the knight} 9... Nc8 10. Rc1 $1 { The trickiest try.} Be7 11. Ne1 Ncb6 12. Bd3 Nc4 13. Bxf5 exf5 14. Qf3 g6 15. Nd3 Nf8 {Black has good pieces.}) 10. a4 g5 11. Ne1 c5 {Following the Caro-Kann rules that when white plays the knight to e1, black should advance the c-pawn up one square. However, here with a pawn on g5 and the black king on e8, Danielian needs to tread with extra caution} 12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. dxc5 Bg7 14. Bb5+ Kf8 15. Bc3 {Black needs to extra vigilant about White bursting open the position with a well-timed f4.} Qxc5 $2 (15... Bxe5 $1 16. Bxe5 Qxe5 17. c3 Kg7 18. Bd3 Qc7 {and black may at least count on the possiblity of an extra pawn for her troubles}) 16. Nf3 $1 Kg8 $2 {Danielian plays as though she has all the time in the world but White's plan is simple; to open up the kingside with a well timed f2-f4} (16... Nc6 $1 {Keeping the knight on f3 is vital} 17. Bxc6 $2 bxc6 18. Nd4 Bg6 19. f4 {loses its sting when there is no white light squared bishop on the board} Kg8 20. Kh1 gxf4 21. Rxf4 {The black bishop on g6 is a marvellous defensive piece}) 17. Bd3 $1 {Excellent play by Padmini Rout - understanding that the bishop on f5 needs to be exchanged in order to weaken the defences around the black king.} Bg6 $2 (17... Bg4 $1 18. h3 Bh5 {Had to be tried}) 18. Nd4 $1 Kh7 19. g3 Rhf8 20. Qd2 (20. Bxg6+ Nxg6 21. Qd3 { Followed by f2-f4 is also possible}) 20... Qc7 21. Rae1 Kh8 22. Bxg6 Nxg6 23. f4 $1 gxf4 24. gxf4 Rg8 25. Kh1 Ne7 26. f5 $1 Nxf5 (26... Bxe5 {Fails to} 27. Qxh6#) 27. Nxf5 exf5 28. Rxf5 Qc6 29. Rf6 {A beautiful motif ends in the game - a very clean game by white!} 1-0 [Event "Tehran, Iran"] [Site "Tehran, Iran"] [Date "2017.02.12"] [Round "2.23"] [White "Ushenina, Anna"] [Black "Ziaziulkina, Nastassia"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D12"] [Annotator "Jovi"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:24:10"] [BlackClock "0:30:07"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 8. Qb3 Qc7 9. Bd2 Be7 10. g3 Bh5 11. O-O-O g5 (11... Nfd7 12. Be2 {Leads to quieter play}) 12. g4 $1 gxh4 {Unbelievably this is the critical mistake} 13. gxh5 Nxh5 $2 {A critical error} (13... dxc4 {Is absolutely necessary} 14. Bxc4 Nbd7 15. f4 {Black has to be careful as moves such as} O-O-O {Can quickly get into trouble after} 16. f5 $1) 14. cxd5 $1 cxd5 {From nowhere White begins an attack with} 15. e4 $1 Nf6 16. Bb5+ Nbd7 $2 ({better defence would have been} 16... Nc6 17. exd5 exd5 18. Bg5 O-O-O 19. Kb1 Kb8 20. Bxh4 {The presence of the two bishops will cause black to suffer for a half point}) 17. e5 (17. exd5 $5 Nxd5 (17... exd5 18. Rhf1 $1) 18. Kb1 Nxc3+ 19. Bxc3 Rg8 20. f4 O-O-O 21. Rc1 {Leaves Black with no joy}) 17... Nh5 18. Rhg1 O-O-O 19. Kb1 Nb8 ({Running away with the king} 19... Kb8 {Does not help either} 20. Rc1 Qa5 21. Ne4 Qb6 22. Qa4 $1 a6 23. Bxd7 dxe4 24. Ba5 {Winning}) 20. Rc1 $1 Nc6 21. Bxc6 bxc6 22. Nb5 Qb8 (22... Qb7 23. Nxa7+ Qxa7 24. Rxc6+ Kd7 25. Qb5 {White will checkmate}) 23. Rxc6+ Kd7 24. Rc7+ Ke8 25. Rb7 Qc8 26. Nc7+ 1-0 [Event "Tehran, Iran"] [Site "Tehran, Iran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.25"] [White "Melia, Salome"] [Black "Atalik, Ekaterina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [Annotator "Jovi"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:01:23"] [BlackClock "0:02:47"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Nbd2 Nb6 9. b4 Be7 10. b5 Na5 11. Nxe5 Naxc4 12. Ndxc4 Nxc4 13. Nxc4 a6 14. bxa6 Rxa6 15. Re1 Be6 16. Bf4 Bf6 17. Ne5 Ra3 18. Qc2 Qa8 19. d4 Rd8 20. Qb2 c6 21. h3 h6 22. Re3 c5 23. dxc5 Qa4 24. Bg3 h5 25. Nf3 Rxa2 26. Rxa2 Rd1+ { We join the position on move 27, White stands better on account of the extra material but Black's bishop pair give her more than enough compensation to hold the balance} 27. Kh2 Bxa2 $4 {Not sensing the danger- now white has a beautiful sacrifice that turns the situation right on its head.} (27... Qxa2 28. Qxb7 Qa1 29. Bh4 {Forced, otherwise Black will play h4 herself} (29. Bd6 h4 $1) 29... Bxh4 30. Nxh4 g5 31. Qb8+ Kh7 32. Qe5 gxh4 33. Qxh5+ Kg7 34. Qxh4 { White is better}) 28. c6 $3 bxc6 ({Of course} 28... Qxc6 {Is not possible as the bishop is loose} 29. Qxa2 $1) 29. Re8+ Kh7 30. Qb8 Bd5 (30... Kg6 31. Rh8 Bb3 32. Qg8 Qa1 33. Qh7#) (30... g6 {Brings no salvation after} 31. Be5 $1) 31. Rh8+ Kg6 32. Qg8 $1 {The Queen check on h7 is deadly} Kf5 33. Rxh5+ Ke4 34. Qh7+ g6 35. Rh4+ 1-0 [Event "Tehran, Iran"] [Site "Tehran, Iran"] [Date "2017.02.11"] [Round "1.28"] [White "Saduakassova, Dinara"] [Black "Nechaeva, Marina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D12"] [Annotator "Jovi"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:22:12"] [BlackClock "0:15:27"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 8. Qb3 Qb6 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. Bd2 Nbd7 11. Kf2 Be7 12. Qxb6 axb6 13. a4 O-O 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Bd3 Rfd8 16. g4 Ne8 17. h4 Nf8 18. g5 Ne6 19. Ne2 c5 20. Bc3 Nd6 21. Bc2 Rac8 22. dxc5 bxc5 23. Rad1 Nf5 24. e4 dxe4 25. Bxe4 b6 26. Bxf5 gxf5 27. f4 c4 28. h5 Bf8 29. Kf3 Ra8 30. Nd4 Nxd4+ 31. Rxd4 Rxd4 32. Bxd4 Rxa4 33. Re1 Ra8 34. Bxb6 Rb8 35. Bd4 Bd6 36. Rd1 Rb3+ 37. Bc3 Bb4 38. Rc1 Bxc3 39. bxc3 Rb6 40. Re1 Rd6 41. Re3 Rd2 42. Re8+ Kh7 43. Rf8 Rh2 44. Rxf7 Rxh5 45. Kg2 { Marina Nechaeva has been under pressure for the whole game but has been defending resiliently.} Rh4 $4 {Throwing away the draw.} ({Black has a fantastic defensive resource after} 45... Kg6 $1 46. Rc7 Rh4 47. Kg3 (47. Rxc4 Kh5 $1 48. Kf3 Rh3+ $1 49. Ke2 Kg4 50. Kd2 Rh2+ {White cannot make progress}) 47... Kh5 48. Rxg7 Rg4+ 49. Kf3 Rg3+ {A beautiful stalemate!} 50. Ke2 Kg4 { with a draw}) 46. Rxf5 Kg6 47. Rf8 Rh7 48. Rc8 Kf5 49. Kg3 Rh1 50. Rc5+ Ke4 51. Rxc4+ Ke3 52. f5 1-0 [Event "Tehran, Iran"] [Site "Tehran, Iran"] [Date "2017.02.12"] [Round "2.14"] [White "Paehtz, Elisabeth"] [Black "Pourkashiyan, Atousa"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Jovi"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:47:07"] [BlackClock "0:34:15"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. c4 Be7 6. d4 O-O 7. Bd3 d5 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nd7 11. O-O Nb6 12. Bb3 Bg4 13. Re1 Bf6 14. Qd3 Re8 15. Rxe8+ Qxe8 16. Bf4 Bxf3 17. Qxf3 c6 18. a4 Rd8 19. a5 Nd5 20. Bd2 Qd7 21. g3 b5 22. axb6 axb6 23. Re1 b5 24. Kg2 Qd6 25. h4 Qa3 26. Bxd5 cxd5 27. Bg5 Bxg5 28. hxg5 Qd6 29. Re5 {It is no doubt that Atousa Pourkashiyan will have to suffer to hold the balance but there is no need for this:} Kf8 $4 { Blundering a pawn} (29... Qd7 $1 30. Qe3 Kf8 {White has to still work hard to grind out the point}) 30. Qd3 Re8 $2 {A blunder again} (30... g6 31. Qxb5 Kg7 32. Qb7 Qd7 {Perhaps Black will have some chances to hold}) 31. Rxe8+ Kxe8 32. Qxb5+ Kd8 33. Qb4 Qe6 34. Qf8+ Kd7 35. Qxg7 {The position is beyond saving now. } Qe4+ 36. Kh2 Qf3 37. Qf6 Qxc3 38. Qxf7+ Kd6 39. Qf6+ Kd7 40. Qf5+ Ke8 41. Qxd5 Qc2 42. Kg2 Qb1 43. Qe6+ Kf8 44. d5 Qb7 45. Qf6+ Kg8 46. Qc6 1-0 [Event "Tehran, Iran"] [Site "Tehran, Iran"] [Date "2017.02.12"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Khaled, Mona"] [Black "Dzagnidze, Nana"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A47"] [Annotator "Jovi"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. Bf4 Bb7 4. e3 Nh5 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 g5 7. Nfd2 Nf6 8. Bg3 h5 9. h3 d6 10. c4 Nbd7 11. Nc3 e6 12. Nf3 h4 13. Bh2 Rg8 14. d5 g4 15. Nxh4 gxh3 16. g3 b5 17. Bxh3 bxc4 18. Bg2 Rb8 19. b3 exd5 20. Nxd5 Bg7 21. Rc1 Nxd5 22. Bxd5 Bxd5 23. Qxd5 cxb3 24. axb3 Be5 25. Nf5 Rh8 26. f4 Bf6 27. g4 Kf8 28. g5 Bg7 29. Bg1 Rxh1 30. Qxh1 Nc5 31. Qh7 Bb2 32. Nh6 Qe8 33. Rc2 Rxb3 34. Kf1 Qe6 $2 {A huge blunder overlooking} 35. Rxb2 $1 Qc4+ (35... Rxb2 {Loses on the spot to} 36. Qh8+ $1) 36. Re2 Ne4 {Played instantly by Dzagnidze} ({ Unfortunately} 36... Rb2 {fails to the basic} 37. Qh8+) 37. Qh8+ $5 (37. Bf2 { Funnily enough this little defensive move gives Whte a beautiful win. The key is that the black Queen cannot be used to effectively attack the white king as it is needed to guard the f7 square against mate!} Nc3 38. Kg2 Nxe2 39. Qg8+ Ke7 40. Qc8 Qc6+ (40... Nxf4+ 41. Kh2 $1) 41. Kh2 Qe8 42. Nf5+ Kf8 43. Qxc7 Rb6 44. Nxd6 Qe6 45. Qd8+ Kg7 46. Ne8+ Kg6 47. Nf6 {with the win.}) 37... Ke7 38. Nf5+ $2 (38. Ng8+ $1 {gives Khaled the keys to the second post.} Kd7 (38... Ke6 39. Qh6+ Kd5 40. Nf6+ {leads to the same thing}) 39. Nf6+ Nxf6 40. Qxf6 Rb1+ 41. Kf2 Rxg1 42. Kxg1 Qxe2 43. Qxf7+ Kc6 44. Qe6 {Is the more human solution to the problem.}) 38... Kd7 39. Nd4 Ng3+ 40. Kf2 Nxe2 41. Nxe2 a5 42. Qg7 Kc8 43. Qg8+ Kb7 {The black king is safe and White's pieces unco-ordinated, the chance has passed} 44. g6 Qe4 45. Kg3 Qxg6+ 46. Qxg6 fxg6 47. Nd4 a4 48. Bf2 c5 49. Nc2 Rc3 50. Na1 Rc1 51. e4 Rxa1 52. f5 gxf5 53. exf5 Kc6 0-1 [Event "Tehran, Iran"] [Site "Tehran, Iran"] [Date "2017.02.12"] [Round "2.16"] [White "Bodnaruk m, Anastasia"] [Black "Hejazipour, Mitra"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C43"] [Annotator "Jovi"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:00:46"] [BlackClock "0:01:40"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 d5 5. Nbd2 Nc5 6. c3 Be7 7. Nb3 Ne6 8. Qc2 c5 9. Be3 b6 10. Rd1 Bb7 11. Bc4 Nc7 12. Bd3 h6 13. O-O Nd7 14. Bf5 Ba6 15. Rfe1 Nf8 16. e6 Nfxe6 17. Ne5 Bf6 18. Bf4 Bxe5 19. Bxe5 O-O 20. Nd2 Bb7 21. Ne4 Ne8 22. Ng3 Qg5 23. Qa4 Qe7 24. Bb1 {Bodnaruk has placed the black position under a lot of pressure on the position and is not easy to come up with a move that deals with the threatened knight jump into f5. Hejazipour tries to untangle with the natural} Nd6 $2 (24... Nf6 {Fails to} 25. Nf5 $1) ({ Preventing White's threatened Nf5 with the ugly} 24... g6 {was the best continuation}) 25. Qg4 $1 Ne4 (25... Rfd8 {Fails to} 26. f4 $1) 26. Bxe4 dxe4 27. Bd6 Qf6 28. Bxf8 Rxf8 29. Nxe4 Qe7 $4 {The final straw} 30. Rd7 1-0 [Event "chess24.com"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2017.02.13"] [Round "4.5"] [White "Buksa, Nataliya"] [Black "Hoang, Thanh Trang"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2300"] [BlackElo "2468"] [Annotator "Jovi"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "Hungary"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] [BlackTeamCountry "HUN"] [WhiteClock "0:25:10"] [BlackClock "0:25:10"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 b6 8. Qe2 Nc6 9. O-O cxd4 10. cxd4 Nb4 11. Bb5 a6 12. Ba4 b5 13. Bb3 Bb7 14. Rd1 Qb6 15. Nf1 a5 16. a3 Nc6 17. Ng3 Ba6 18. Qe3 a4 19. Ba2 b4 20. axb4 Nxb4 21. Bb1 Bc4 22. Bd2 Nc6 23. Bc3 Bb3 24. Rc1 Na5 25. Bxa5 Qxa5 26. Nd2 Bc4 27. Nxc4 dxc4 28. Rxc4 Nb6 29. Rc1 Nd5 30. Qf3 O-O 31. Be4 Rfd8 32. Rd1 Qb4 33. Nh5 Rab8 $2 { Buksa is a very tactical player so it was no surprise she spotted the tactical blow} ({Ironically the greedy} 33... Qxb2 {also defends} 34. Bxh7+ Kxh7 35. Qxf7 {There is no rook lift} Bf8) 34. Bxh7+ Kxh7 35. Qxf7 Rg8 (35... Bf8 { Gives no relief} 36. Rd3 Qxb2 37. Nf6+ Nxf6 38. Rh3+ Nh5 39. Rxh5#) 36. Ra3 $2 ({This is a rapid game so its entirely understable White overlooked} 36. Nf6+ Nxf6 37. exf6 {White is threatening checkmate on h5 or a rook lift. Black is lost.}) 36... Bg5 37. Rh3 (37. Qxe6 {Is also rather tasty}) 37... Bh6 38. Qxe6 $2 ({Missing} 38. Ng3 {With the devastating threat of 39...Rxh6!}) 38... Ne7 $4 {The last error} 39. Nxg7 Ng6 40. Nf5 {Checkmate is unavoidable.} Rh8 1-0 [Event "Playchess.com"] [Site "Playchess.com"] [Date "2017.02.15"] [Round "11.15"] [White "Goryachkina, Aleksandra"] [Black "Pham, Le Thao Nguyen"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2466"] [BlackElo "2351"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "138"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Rc1 Qg6 10. Qc2 Qxc2 11. Rxc2 Rd8 12. a3 Bf8 13. Be2 (13. Nb5 Rd7 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Bd3 a6 16. Nc3 Na7 17. Bf5 (17. g4 $5 Rd8 18. Rg1 Nc6 19. h4 g6) 17... Rd8 18. Bxc8 Nxc8 $11 {1-0 (65) Wang,H (2717)-Movsesian,S (2653) Huaian 2016}) 13... Na5 14. c5 Nc6 15. b4 g5 16. b5 $146 (16. g4 e5 $1 17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 a5 19. O-O axb4 20. axb4 c6 21. Rd1 Bg7 22. f4 Re8 {With great position for black. 0-1 (50) Krasenkow,M (2610)-Hammer,J (2695) Stockholm 2016} ) 16... Ne7 17. O-O Bg7 18. h3 f6 19. Rd1 Bd7 20. a4 a5 21. bxa6 bxa6 22. Rb2 Be8 23. Ne1 Nc6 24. Bd3 Kf8 25. Nc2 {white has a clear edge!} Ke7 26. g4 Rab8 27. Rbb1 Rxb1 28. Rxb1 Ra8 29. Kf1 Kd8 30. Ke2 Ne7 31. f3 a5 32. e4 Bc6 33. Bb5 Bb7 34. Ne3 dxe4 35. fxe4 Bc8 36. Kd2 $2 (36. d5 $1 Ng6 37. Rd1 Ke7 38. dxe6 $1 Nf4+ 39. Kf3 Bxe6 40. Ncd5+ {and white is winning.}) 36... f5 37. exf5 Bxd4 $2 (37... c6 {was necessary.}) 38. f6 $2 {Goryachkina dropped win for the second time.} (38. Rd1 $1 c6 39. Ke2 e5 40. Bc4 {with close to winning advantage for white.}) 38... Bxf6 39. Rf1 Ng8 40. Ne4 Ke7 41. Nc4 Bg7 42. c6 $2 {and the third time.} (42. Ned6 $1 Nf6 (42... cxd6 43. cxd6+ Kd8 44. Ne5 $18) 43. Nxc8+ Rxc8 44. Nxa5 Rd8+ 45. Ke2 Rd5 46. Nc6+ Kf8 47. Rc1 $18) 42... Nf6 43. Nxf6 Bxf6 44. Ke3 Bc3 45. Ke4 Ba6 46. Rf3 (46. Rd1 {is more accurate.}) 46... Bb4 47. Ne5 Bxb5 48. axb5 Kd6 {the position is equal now but Goryachkina loses objectivity and starts to over push} 49. Rf7 Kc5 {white's pawn start to fall and white's knight would be dominated by now strong black bishop.} (49... Bc3 $1 {seems to be winning for black.}) 50. Rxc7 Kxb5 51. Rb7+ Kc5 52. Rh7 (52. c7 Rc8 {does not work.}) 52... Bc3 53. c7 $2 {This was one of the last moment which could keep Goryachkina's chances alive.} (53. Rxh6 a4 54. Rxe6 Rc8 55. Nd7+ Kb5 56. Kd3 {with great drawing chances.}) 53... Rc8 54. Rd7 Kb6 {Pham returns the favor.} 55. Rd6+ (55. Nc4+ Kc6 56. Rd6+ Kxc7 57. Kd3 {should be enough to hold the draw.} Bb4 58. Rxe6) 55... Kb7 56. Rxe6 Rxc7 {The game and tournament is over for young Aleksandra.} 57. Kd5 Bxe5 58. Rxe5 Rc6 59. h4 gxh4 60. Rh5 a4 61. Rxh4 a3 62. Rh2 Ra6 63. Ra2 Kc7 64. Kc4 Kd6 65. Kb3 Ke5 66. Re2+ Kf4 67. Ka2 Kxg4 68. Re8 h5 69. Rg8+ Kh3 0-1 [Event "FIDE Women's World Championship"] [Site "Playchess"] [Date "2017.02.15"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Kashlinskaya, Alina"] [Black "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2418"] [BlackElo "2558"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "rn4k1/2p1pp2/2Pr3p/1P4p1/2R5/p5P1/2K1NPP1/R7 b - - 0 24"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {[#]} 24... Kg7 25. Nd4 $6 {White is still better but} (25. Kb3 Rd2 26. Ra2 { looks like a decisive advantage for White since the knight on b8 is doomed ever since the game had started.}) 25... Rf6 (25... Rd5 $1 26. b6 cxb6 27. c7 Na6 28. c8=Q Rxc8 29. Rxc8 Rxd4 30. Rxa3 Nb4+ 31. Kc3 e5 {should be holdable.}) 26. f4 $6 (26. f3 {seems safer to me because b6 is a threat now.}) 26... gxf4 27. gxf4 Rg6 28. g3 Kh7 29. Rc3 Rd6 30. Kd3 a2 31. Ke3 Ra4 32. Nc2 e5 33. Ra3 exf4+ 34. gxf4 Rc4 35. R1xa2 Re6+ 36. Kf3 Rf6 37. Ra8 Rcxf4+ 38. Ke3 Rf3+ 39. Ke2 Rf2+ 40. Ke3 R2f3+ 41. Ke2 Rf2+ {It is funny that Muzychuk did not touch her knight on b8 for the entire game!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Women's World Championship"] [Site "Playchess.com"] [Date "2017.02.15"] [Round "11.9"] [White "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Black "Ushenina, Anna"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D19"] [WhiteElo "2502"] [BlackElo "2444"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 {In a "must-win situation" against ex-world champion Anna Ushenina, Tan Zhongyi showed great control over her nerves and pulled out a superb strategic victory.} c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 {A well-known thread in the Slav. I have seen a few games of Ushenina in the past and I can tell you that she knows her openings to the tee.} 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 $5 {A harmless opening with a clear plan. Does Tan Zhongyi have something up her sleeve? She needs to win!} e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qe2 O-O 10. e4 Bg6 11. Bd3 Bh5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Qe3 {These moves have all been played before. I personally have 5 games on the white side in this position in the database!} Be7 15. Ne1 Bg6 16. f4 f5 $6 {I do not like this move. Black self-imposes a long-term agony over her bishop on g6.} (16... Rc8 17. g4 h6 $6 (17... Bxd3 18. Nxd3 Rc4) ( 17... Nc5 $5 $146 18. f5 Nb3 19. fxg6 hxg6 $1 20. Bxg6 Qb6 21. a5 Qxd4 $1 22. Qxd4 Nxd4 23. Bd3 Nb3 {and Black is clearly better.}) 18. Bxg6 fxg6 19. Nd3 Qb6 20. Bd2 Qb3 21. Rf2 Nb6 22. Raf1 Nc4 23. Qe2 Nxb2 24. Nxb2 Qxb2 25. Qd3 Qc2 26. Qb5 Bh4 27. Rg2 Qe4 28. Qxb7 Qxd4+ 29. Kh1 Rc2 30. Qb4 Qd3 31. Rfg1 Qf3 32. Rb1 Be7 33. Qb3 Qxb3 34. Rxb3 g5 35. f5 exf5 36. gxf5 Rxf5 37. Re2 g4 38. Kg2 Bg5 39. Rb8+ Kh7 40. e6 d4 41. Rb5 d3 42. Rxf5 dxe2 43. Be1 Bh4 {0-1 (43) Jakovenko,D (2736)-Wang,Y (2697) St Petersburg 2012}) 17. Bd2 Nb8 18. b4 Nc6 19. Nc2 $14 {White is better and going to expand on both flanks.} a6 20. Kh1 Qb6 21. Rab1 Rfc8 22. Rg1 {Tan Zhongyi is taking her time and builds things up gradually.} Bf8 23. h3 Qd8 24. a5 Rc7 25. Ne1 $1 {This knight is heading to g5. } b6 $6 {Ushenina feels obliged to do something and she starts to confuse herself.} 26. Nf3 b5 27. g4 fxg4 $2 {A decisive blunder. Black had to stay still and wait. Now White's pawns are unstoppable.} 28. Ng5 $1 {A thematic maneuver in this kind of position.} Qe8 29. hxg4 h6 30. f5 Bf7 31. Nf3 $18 { The game is strategically over.} Ne7 32. Rg2 Kh8 33. Rh2 Ng8 34. Rf1 Rac8 35. f6 Rc4 36. g5 Bxb4 37. Bxb4 Rxb4 38. fxg7+ Kxg7 39. gxh6+ Kh8 40. Qg1 {A great come back by Tan Zhongyi.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.18"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Ni, Shiqun"] [Black "Pogonina, Natalija"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2399"] [BlackElo "2487"] [PlyCount "153"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Nc3 Nge7 7. Qe2 O-O 8. Be3 {LiveBook: 43 Games} Bxe3 9. Qxe3 d6 10. O-O-O a6 11. f4 Qe8 12. Bd3 b5 13. Rhe1 Bd7 (13... Bg4 $14) 14. Kb1 Kh8 15. Qf3 Qc8 16. h3 b4 17. Nd5 a5 18. Nxe7 Nxe7 {[#]} 19. e5 $1 Ng6 20. Nc1 a4 21. Qe4 (21. Be4 $16 Rb8 22. Nd3 (22. exd6 f5 23. Bc6 cxd6 24. Rxd6 Bxc6 25. Rxc6 Qb7 $16)) 21... Rb8 22. exd6 cxd6 23. Qd4 Bf5 (23... a3 $11 {keeps the balance.}) 24. g4 Bxd3 25. Rxd3 (25. Nxd3 $16 f5 26. g5 (26. Qxd6 fxg4 27. hxg4 b3 28. cxb3 axb3 29. axb3 Qxg4 $11)) 25... f5 26. g5 Qc5 27. Re6 Rbc8 28. Rd2 Qc4 29. Rxd6 Nxf4 30. h4 Nh5 31. b3 ({White should try} 31. Qxc4 $14 Rxc4 32. R6d4 Rxd4 33. Rxd4) 31... axb3 32. axb3 ({ Don't play} 32. Nxb3 $6 Qf1+ 33. Nc1 Ng3 $11) 32... Qc3 33. Ne2 (33. Na2 $16 Qh3 34. Kb2 (34. Nxb4 f4 $14)) 33... Qf3 {[#]} (33... Qh3 $1 $11) 34. Rd8 $3 Rcxd8 35. Qxd8 Kg8 36. Qe7 Qh1+ (36... Qe4 $14 37. Qxe4 fxe4) 37. Kb2 Qa8 ( 37... Qe4 $16 38. Qxe4 fxe4) 38. Rd7 $2 (38. Qxb4 $18 {Rd7 is the strong threat.} f4 39. Nd4) 38... Qe8 $1 39. Nd4 f4 $2 {[#]} (39... Qxe7 $11 40. Rxe7 f4) 40. Nf3 $2 (40. Qd6 $1 $18 Qc8 41. Kb1) 40... Qc8 $2 (40... Qxe7 $11 { and Black has nothing to worry.} 41. Rxe7 Rb8) 41. Rc7 Qd8 42. Qe6+ Kh8 43. Qc4 Qd6 44. Rc8 g6 45. Rc7 Ng7 46. Rb7 Rb8 $18 (46... Rc8 $2) 47. Ra7 (47. Rxb8+ Qxb8) 47... Rf8 $1 48. Qb5 (48. Ra4 $18 {is more deadly.}) 48... Rb8 49. Qc4 ( 49. Qa5 $14) 49... Rf8 50. Rc7 Nf5 51. Rc5 Rb8 $2 {[#]} (51... Ne3 $16 52. Qxb4 Kg8) 52. Rd5 (52. h5 $142 $1) 52... Qb6 (52... Qe7 $142) 53. Rd7 Qe3 $2 (53... Rf8 54. Qxf4 Qa5) 54. Qc7 $2 (54. Qf7 Qc3+ 55. Kb1) 54... Rf8 55. Rd3 (55. Rxh7+ Kg8 56. Ne5 f3 57. Nxf3 Qc3+ 58. Kb1 Qxf3 $17) 55... Qe7 56. Qxe7 Nxe7 57. Rd4 h6 (57... Rb8 $16 {keeps fighting.} 58. Rxf4 Nd5) 58. Rxb4 hxg5 59. hxg5 Nd5 60. Rd4 Ne3 61. c4 Ng2 62. c5 Re8 63. Kc3 Kg8 64. b4 Ra8 65. c6 Kf7 66. b5 Ke6 67. Kb4 Ne3 68. Kc5 Ra1 69. Rxf4 Rc1+ 70. Kd4 Nf5+ (70... Nd5 $142) 71. Kd3 Kd5 72. Rb4 Nd6 (72... Ne7 $142 73. Nd2 Nxc6 74. bxc6 Rxc6 75. Rb5+ Ke6 ) 73. Nd2 Rc5 $2 (73... Kc5 $14 74. b6 Kxc6) 74. Ne4 Nxe4 75. Rd4+ Ke5 76. Rxe4+ Kf5 77. Rc4 {Ke4 Kxe4} 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.16"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Dzagnidze"] [Black "Shen, Yang"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. cxd5 cxd5 {And unexpected choice by Nana. Does it mean that she just wants to make a draw? I believe that this is more of a good psychological idea against Shen Yang.} 4. Bf4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. e3 a6 7. Bd3 { The most accurate move order.} Bg4 8. Nge2 e6 9. O-O Be7 10. Rc1 Rc8 (10... O-O 11. Na4 Nd7 12. a3 e5 13. dxe5 Ndxe5 14. h3 Bh5 15. Bb1 Bf6 16. Qc2 Bg6 17. Qb3 $14 {1-0 (46) Sargissian,G (2686)-Laznicka,V (2679) Dubai 2014}) 11. Bg3 (11. a3 {is the most common.} O-O 12. Na4 Nd7 13. b4 e5 14. dxe5 Ndxe5 15. h3 $14 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Bxe2 17. Qxe2 d4 18. Rfd1 $14 {1/2-1/2 (72) Sargissian,G (2671) -Artemiev,V (2524) Khanty-Mansiysk 2013}) 11... Bh5 12. f3 Bg6 13. Nf4 Bxd3 14. Nxd3 Nd7 15. Na4 O-O 16. Rf2 $146 (16. Qd2 Qa5 17. Qxa5 Nxa5 18. Kf2 f6 19. Ke2 b5 20. Nac5 Nxc5 21. dxc5 Nc6 22. Rfd1 Rfd8 23. Bf2 Kf7 24. g4 e5 25. a3 a5 26. h3 Ke6 27. f4 g6 28. Bg3 Ra8 29. Rf1 b4 30. a4 e4 31. f5+ gxf5 32. Nf4+ Kf7 33. gxf5 d4 34. Ne6 Rg8 35. Rg1 d3+ 36. Kd2 Ra7 37. Bd6 Raa8 38. Rg4 Rxg4 {1/2-1/2 (38) Adla,D (2492)-Dreev,A (2680) ICC INT 2000}) 16... Qa5 $6 {Shen Yang mixing up plans.} (16... Bg5 17. f4 Be7 18. Rfc2 Na7 19. b4 (19. Rxc8 Nxc8 20. Qb3 b6 21. Ne5 $14) 19... Rxc2 20. Rxc2 a5 21. a3 axb4 22. axb4 Nb5 23. Nac5 b6 24. Nxd7 Qxd7 25. Qc1 h6 26. h3 Ra8 27. Ne5 Qb7 28. Be1 Bd6 29. Qd1 Bxe5 30. fxe5 Na3 31. Rf2 Nc4 32. Rf3 Ra3 33. Bf2 Qa6 $19 {1-0 (48) Stefanova,A (2486) -Ushenina,A (2501) Beijing 2013}) 17. a3 Bg5 $6 {This move is just a waste of time in this position.} 18. f4 Be7 19. b4 Qb5 $6 {Third inaccuracy which gives white huge advantage. Shen Yang is playing with fire. Her queen is misplaced and white's advantage is increasing every other move.} (19... Qd8 {was necessary so black can stay still and hope to hold.}) 20. f5 $1 {this move is justified both tactically and stratigically.} a5 $6 {this was black's last moment to stay in the game and Shen Yang lets it go with this over-optimistic move.} (20... exf5 {loses to} 21. Nc3 Qb6 22. Nxd5 Qd8 23. Rxf5) (20... Na7 { was necessary.}) 21. Nac5 $1 {Strong and effective. From here onward, Nana does not give black any second chance for come back.} Bxc5 22. Nxc5 Nf6 23. fxe6 fxe6 24. Nxe6 Rf7 25. Nxg7 $1 {Human way of delivering the full point.} Kxg7 26. Rxf6 Rxf6 27. Qg4+ Kf7 28. Qxc8 axb4 29. Qd7+ Kg8 30. Qe8+ Rf8 31. Qe6+ Rf7 32. axb4 Nd8 33. Qg4+ Kf8 34. h3 Ke8 35. Bh4 {Dzagnidze's best game so far.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Pham, Le Thao Nguyen"] [Black "Muzychuk, A."] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. c3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. cxd4 d5 5. e5 Bg7 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. h3 f6 8. exf6 exf6 9. Nf3 Nge7 10. Be2 O-O 11. O-O g5 $5 {In a very interesting and rich position, Pham takes a weird path with her knight.} 12. Ne1 $6 (12. Re1 Bf5 13. Be3 Bg6 14. Rc1 $14 {1-0 (49) Adams,M (2640)-Dzindzichashvili,R (2545) New York 1994}) 12... h6 13. Be3 Be6 14. Nc2 Qd6 15. Qd2 Rae8 16. Nb5 $6 {It is hard for me to imagine this can lead to anything for white but waste of time.} Qd7 17. Nb4 $2 {But this is terrible.} Nxb4 18. Qxb4 a6 19. Nc3 (19. Nd6 Nc6 $19) 19... f5 20. f4 Nc6 21. Qb6 Bf7 22. Bf2 Re6 $1 {White's queen is very uncomfortable and black is going to win some material now, especifically d4 pawn.} 23. Bd1 Nxd4 24. Qc5 b6 25. Qa3 b5 26. Kh1 Qe7 27. Qxe7 Rxe7 28. Bxd4 Bxd4 29. Bb3 Bxc3 30. bxc3 g4 31. hxg4 fxg4 32. Rad1 Re3 33. f5 Rxc3 34. Kh2 $4 {white HAD to take on d5.} Rd8 35. Rd4 h5 36. Rfd1 Kg7 37. Bxd5 Rxd5 38. Rxd5 Bxd5 39. Rxd5 Ra3 {The game is over.} 40. Rd6 b4 41. Rg6+ Kf7 42. Rh6 a5 43. Rb6 h4 44. Rg6 Rxa2 45. Rxg4 Kf6 46. Rxh4 b3 47. Rh6+ Kxf5 48. Rb6 a4 49. Kh3 b2 50. g4+ Ke5 51. g5 Ra3+ 0-1 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.18"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Pham, Le Thao Nguyen"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2351"] [PlyCount "149"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 a6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 Nc6 8. Na3 e5 {LiveBook: 3 Games} 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Nc4 Re8 {The position is equal.} 11. a4 h6 12. b4 Bg4 13. h3 Bd7 14. Be3 Nh5 (14... Be6 $1 $11) 15. Bf1 Qc8 {[#]} ( 15... Be6 $14) 16. Qd2 $1 $16 g5 {[#]} 17. b5 $1 Nb8 18. b6 Bc6 19. bxc7 Qxc7 { intending ...Nd7.} 20. Nb6 Nd7 21. Nxa8 Rxa8 22. Qc2 Ndf6 23. Nd2 g4 (23... Nf4 $142 24. a5 Rc8) 24. g3 $18 gxh3 25. Bxh3 Bd7 26. Bxd7 Qxd7 27. Kg2 Qg4 28. Qd1 Qg6 29. Qf3 Rd8 30. Qf5 Nf4+ 31. Bxf4 Qxf5 32. exf5 exf4 33. Ne4 fxg3 34. fxg3 ({But not} 34. Kxg3 Nxe4+ 35. Rxe4 Bxc3) 34... Nxe4 35. Rxe4 Bxc3 {Endgame KRR-KRB} 36. Rb1 Rd7 37. Rb6 Kh7 38. Rh4 Bd2 39. Kf3 a5 (39... Kg7 {keeps fighting.} 40. Re4 Bg5) 40. Rh1 {Strongly threatening Rd1.} Rc7 41. Ke2 Bg5 ( 41... Rc2 $142 42. Rxb7 Kg7) 42. Rhb1 Rc2+ 43. Kf3 Rc3+ 44. Kg2 Ra3 45. Rxb7 Kg7 46. R1b6 Rxa4 47. Rg6+ Kf8 48. Rb8+ Ke7 49. Ra6 Rb4 50. Rba8 Rb7 51. Rxa5 Kf6 52. R8a6+ Kg7 53. Ra7 Rb2+ 54. Kh3 Rb3 (54... h5 $16 {is a better defense.} 55. R5a6 Kg8) 55. R5a6 Bf6 56. Rc6 Rb8 $2 (56... Be5 $16) 57. Rcc7 Rf8 58. Kg4 Bg5 59. Kh5 Bf6 60. Rc6 Rb8 61. Raa6 Bg5 62. f6+ Kh7 63. Rc7 Rf8 $2 64. Raa7 $2 (64. Rac6 {mates} Bd2 65. Rc8 Rxc8 66. Rxc8 Bb4 67. Rc7 Kg8 68. Kxh6 Bf8+ 69. Kh5) 64... Kg8 ({Not} 64... Bxf6 $2 65. Rxf7+ Kg8 66. Rxf8+ (66. Kxh6 Rxf7 67. Rxf7 Kxf7 $11) 66... Kxf8 67. Kxh6 $18) 65. Rd7 Be3 (65... Bxf6 $142 66. Kxh6 Be5) 66. Rac7 Bg5 67. Rb7 Be3 $2 (67... Bxf6 68. Kxh6 Be5) 68. Kg4 Bc1 69. Kf5 Bg5 70. Rbc7 Be3 71. Rd3 Bb6 72. Rc6 Ba5 73. Ra6 Bb4 74. Ra4 Bc5 75. Rg4+ 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.17"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Black "Padmini, Rout"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2502"] [BlackElo "2387"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 {Padmini goes for the Semi Tarrasch. A solid opening that was even tried by Fischer in the first game of the 1972 Match.} 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ {Black is low on space, so it makes sense to exchange another pair of pieces.} 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 O-O 11. Bc4 Nd7 {The knight is better placed here. It could go to f6, or in some lines, the rook could slide to e8 and the knight settles on f8, protecting the king.} (11... Nc6 12. O-O b6 13. Rad1 Bb7 14. Rfe1 {leads to the famous game Polugaevsky-Tal. 1969. Guys, if you haven't seen that game, please do so immediately. You are missing out on a gem!}) 12. O-O b6 13. Qe2 Bb7 14. Ba6 {As far as my understanding goes, after this move, White cannot hope for an advantage.} Bxa6 15. Qxa6 Qc8 16. Qe2 Qb7 (16... Nf6 {Looked pretty natural.} 17. Rac1 Qb7 18. e5 Nd5 {And Black has no problems.}) 17. e5 $5 {Tan Zhongyi makes a committal decision. She takes away the f6 square from the knight, but gives away the d5 square. You give some, you take some that's the usual case. In this scenario I feel that Black shouldn't have any issues.} Qd5 18. Rfd1 h6 {Padmini tries to prevent the Ng5-e4 manoeuvre, but the knight finds it's way to e4 via d2.} (18... Rfc8 19. Ng5 h6 20. Ne4 Rc4 $1 {Black is already pushing.} 21. Qe3 Nxe5 $1 $17) 19. Nd2 Rac8 20. Qe3 (20. Ne4 Rc4 $1 $17 ) 20... b5 21. Ne4 Nb6 $6 {Padmini is slowly but surely improving her position. But the knight is doing some key roles on d7. Most importantly keeping the king on g8 protected. Moving it to b6 doesn't look like the best idea.} (21... b4 $1 22. Rd3 a5 {With the knight on d7, the king is safe and Black makes use of his queenside majority.}) 22. Rd3 Nd7 $1 {I give an exclamation for the fact that Padmini had the courage to accept her mistake. It's not often that people are able to say to themselves, look I went wrong, I will correct it. Good, flexible thinking.} 23. h3 f5 {Moving the f-pawn does make the black king safe, but it also creates some other issues, like the e6 weakness. It's a double edged move.} 24. Nd6 $1 (24. exf6 Nxf6 $11 {is nothing at all for White. }) 24... Rc7 25. Qf3 (25. Rc3 {was another strong move, taking control of the c-file.} Rxc3 26. Qxc3 a6 27. Rc1 Qxa2 28. Qc7 $36) 25... Qxf3 26. Rxf3 a6 27. Ra3 Nb8 {As we already know by now the amazing saves that Padmini has made. So this is not going to be too difficult to defend.} 28. Rd1 f4 29. Re1 g5 30. Rd3 Nd7 31. d5 $1 {Before Black settles in with Nb6-d5, White breaks in the centre. } Nb6 $5 32. dxe6 Re7 33. Ne4 Rxe6 34. Nc5 Rc6 35. Nxa6 Nc4 $2 (35... Re8 $1 36. Nb4 Rce6 37. Nd5 Kf7 38. Nxb6 Rxb6 39. Rd5 Ke6 $11 {This would be a draw.}) 36. Nb4 Re6 37. Rd5 $16 {White is just a pawn up!} Rfe8 38. Nd3 Rb6 39. Nc5 Kf7 40. e6+ Kg6 41. Red1 (41. e7 {was already looking very scary for Black} Kf7 42. Rf5+ Rf6 43. Rxf6+ Kxf6 44. Re6+ Kg7 (44... Kf7 45. Rxh6) 45. Nb7 Kf7 46. Nd8+ Kg7 47. Kf1 $18) 41... Rc6 42. h4 Nb6 43. Rd8 Rxd8 44. Rxd8 Nc8 $1 {Padmini is not giving up. Defending with all that she has got.} 45. Nb3 Ne7 46. Nd4 Ra6 47. h5+ Kf6 48. Rf8+ Ke5 49. Nxb5 Rxa2 50. Rh8 g4 51. Rf8 (51. Rxh6 g3 52. fxg3 fxg3 53. Kf1 Rf2+ $11 {Black manages to hold.}) 51... g3 52. fxg3 fxg3 53. Rf1 Kxe6 {Black has defended admirably. It is White who has to be a tad careful here!} 54. Re1+ Kf6 55. Nc3 Ra3 56. Ne4+ Kf7 57. Nd6+ Kf6 58. Ne4+ Kf7 59. Nd6+ Kf6 60. Ne4+ {A game of fighting chess. As always Padmini hung in there. She was worse in the middlegame, but did not give up. A draw might not be the best result for Tan Zhongyi as now she has to face Padmini's music with the black pieces.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.02.17"] [Round "3"] [White "Guramishvili, Sopiko"] [Black "Dronavalli, Harika"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A47"] [WhiteElo "2357"] [BlackElo "2539"] [Annotator "Bhakti Kulkarni"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2016.09.03"] [SourceDate "2017.02.17"] {Sopiko has been playing various openings and dynamic play is her forte. (Remember her breath taking draw against Lu Shanglei from Tata Challengers?) On the other hand Harika believes in solid play and on her technique. Her confidence in her rapid and Blitz prowess is overwhelming. So the game was going to be interesting.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 {A first surprise from Sopiko. She had never played this.} b6 $1 {Tit for tat from Harika! She had played ..d5 against Foisor in World Online Blitz.} 4. Nbd2 Bb7 5. e3 c5 6. c3 Be7 7. Bd3 $6 {I feel this is a slight inaccuracy from Sopiko. Accurate is 7. h3 making a hiding place for the Bishop.} cxd4 8. exd4 O-O $6 {Harika missed 8. ...Nh5 which would have given near equality to her.} (8... Nh5 $1) 9. h3 d6 10. O-O Re8 {This is very comfortable position for black with good results according to the statistics.} 11. Re1 Nbd7 12. Qc2 a6 13. a4 Rc8 14. Qb3 Qc7 15. Bh2 $6 (15. Bg3 {I feel this was more precise than Bh2 as white had to waste a move later on with Bg3 to vacate the h2 square.}) 15... h6 $1 16. Rac1 {The Rook is apparently misplaced on this square. The Rook belonged on d1 taking into account Harika's future e6-e5 plans.} Bf8 17. Bb1 {Last few moves (and few hereafter) are indicative of Sopiko's lack of understanding of this particular position.} Bc6 18. Qa3 b5 $5 19. a5 e5 {All black's pieces are well placed and active so its time to break the centre with e5!} 20. b4 Qb7 { taking control over the light squares!} 21. Qb2 exd4 $6 {I feel that Harika is avoiding complications and waiting for Sopiko to err.} (21... e4 22. Nh4 g6 23. Bc2 d5 24. Bb3 Be7 {is pleasant for Black as White has to find only moves to stay alive}) 22. cxd4 Bd5 {A beautiful square for the bishop.} 23. Bd3 Nb8 $1 { Wow! A move of a Maestro!! The Knight is going for more useful position which will attack the weak (b4-d4).} 24. Bg3 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Rc8 (25... Bxf3 $5 26. Nxf3 Nc6 27. Qb3 Rc8 {Would have put more pressure on white but its difficult choice to give up the good looking bishop on d5.}) 26. Rxc8 Qxc8 27. Ne1 Qe6 { Black is slowly repositioning her pieces toward the center.} 28. Nc2 Ne4 $2 { I think Harika overestimated her chances and ruined a beautifully played position. Bringing Nb8-c6 was natural and strong.} 29. Bxe4 Bxe4 30. Ne3 $2 { Sopiko hands over the advantage back to Harika. The Bishop is so strong that taking it immediately is forced.} (30. Nxe4 Qxe4 31. Qc3 Nc6 (31... Qc6 32. Qxc6 Nxc6 33. d5 Ne7 34. Ne3 $11) 32. f3 Qe8 (32... Qd5 33. Ne3 Qg5 (33... Qxd4 34. Qxc6 Qxe3+ 35. Kh2 d5 36. Qxa6 Bxb4 37. Qxb5 Bc5 38. Qb8+ Kh7 39. Qb1+ $14) 34. Nf1 {close to equal.}) 33. d5 {and the main difference is that white has got his pawn on d5.}) 30... Nc6 31. Kh2 (31. Nxe4 Qxe4 32. Nc2 Qd3 33. f3 Be7 34. Be1 Bf6 35. Qc3 (35. Bf2 Bg5 36. Be1 Bd2 37. Bxd2 Qxd2 38. Qb3 Kf8 { White's pieces are tied down for the defense of the weak pawns and black has all the scope to improve her pieces.}) 35... Bxd4+ 36. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 37. Qxd4 Nxd4 $17 {and Harika is quiet capable to pocket the point.}) 31... d5 {Fixing the weakness and last member on f8 has joined in the attack!} 32. Nxe4 Qxe4 33. Qc3 Qe6 $2 (33... Nxb4 {was obvious} 34. Be5 Nd3 35. Bg3 b4 36. Qc8 b3 37. Bd6 b2 38. Qxf8+ Kh7 39. Qb8 Nxf2 40. Qxb2 Qxe3 41. Qb7 Qe6 {would be clear pawn up- though not so easy}) 34. Nc2 {Now Sopiko defends admirably} g6 35. f3 h5 36. Kg1 Kh7 37. Kf1 Kg8 38. Be1 Be7 39. Qd2 Bd6 40. Qc3 Bf8 41. Bd2 Be7 42. Be1 Kf8 43. Qd2 Kg7 44. Qd3 Bf6 45. Qd2 Ne7 46. Qc3 Nf5 {Provoking g4 weakness.} 47. g4 hxg4 48. hxg4 Ne7 49. Qc7 Qc6 {Harika played a very good positional game but unfortunately could not convert it. She tried to create some weaknesses but it was too late. Sopiko defended well and earned the precious half point. Tomorrow Harika would be white and let us hope to see some fireworks and interesting opening surprises from both the fighters!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.02.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Black "Dzagnidze, Nana"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C07"] [Annotator "Tania Sachdev"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [SourceDate "2017.02.20"] {Clash of the titans! One has led India in team championships for many years and the other has spearheaded the Georgian team. Two of the world's top female players are facing each other in Iran. One of them will be eliminated from the race to the coveted title of the Women's World Champion. Harika is a naturally solid player with a strong positional understanding. She doesn't take risks but waits for her opponent to go wrong. A pragmatic approach. Nana has a contrasting style, she is not one to shy away from taking risks and her natural inclination is towards aggressive positions. Given such contrasting styles, this match up promises combative play. Both players are extremely experienced in the match play format and with their similar rating strength it's going to be a real fight. Harika is extremely confident in her rapid and blitz ability. She has no hesitations about going into tie breaks. Until now, all her matches have been decided in tie breaks despite her being a clear favourite. If this match goes into tie breaks, there would be no clear favourite. Nana, like Harika, is a very strong Rapid player. For this match if I had to bet on one of them, for purely chess reasons alone, it would be very difficult to do. I do believe their playing strength is level. Therefore, cheering for Harika!} 1. e4 {A mini surprise By Harika. She plays 1.e4 but rarely. We see 1.d4, 1.Nf3 1.c4 often from her.} e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 a6 { A rare move. I highly doubt Harika had prepared this.} 4. Ngf3 {The main move} c5 5. Bd3 {Not the most accurate. The way for white here is to dissolve the central tension before developing the bishop.} (5. exd5 exd5 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. Nb3 Bb6 8. Bd3 {or}) (5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. Bd3 Nc6) 5... Nc6 {The drawback with Bd3 is that it gives black the additional option of} (5... c4 6. Be2 b5 {As demonstarted in Birnboim,N (2367)-Hammer,J (2689) Gjakova KOS 2016 0-1.}) 6. exd5 exd5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. O-O Bg4 9. Nb3 {And now we have the IQP. One of the most common pawn structures where blacks static pawn weakness of d5 is compensated with dynamic elements such as piece activity along the e and c file, a7-g1 and b8-h2 diagonals, the knight often jumps to e4 and c4. Both sides have their trumps and plans.} Bd6 10. h3 Bh5 11. c3 Nge7 12. Re1 Qc7 13. Be3 Ne5 $1 14. Be2 Nc4 15. Bg5 $1 {Provoking a pawn move which weakens squares, before returing to c1} (15. Bxc4 {Would be a dubious exchange as this hands over the double bishop pair to black as well as solves her structural problems. }) 15... f6 (15... Nxb2 $2 16. Bxe7 $3 {Spectacular!} Nxd1 {loses to} (16... Bxe7 {is less catastrophic for black but white is doing great after the simple} 17. Qxd5) 17. Bb5+ axb5 18. Bxd6+ Kd7 19. Bxc7 $18 {And white ends up with an extra piece}) 16. Bc1 O-O 17. Nfd4 Bf7 18. Bg4 Kh8 (18... Rfe8 {Is the engine suggestion, the point is to avoid giving the double bishop advantage to white. Though the computer says black is doing absolutely fine, I feel its still easier to play with white and the dangers are far from over for black. For eg.} 19. Ne6 Qb6 20. Nbd4 g6 (20... Nxb2 $4 21. Qf3 Nc4 22. Nxg7 $3 Kxg7 23. Bh6+ $3 Kg8 (23... Kxh6 24. Qxf6+ Bg6 25. Ne6 {is lost for black}) 24. Be6 {Whites attack is unstoppable. Simply wants to take on f6 next} ({White wants to play} 24. Qxf6 {threatening mate on g7. But it doesn't work directly due to the discovered} Bh2+) 24... Bxe6 25. Qxf6 $18 {is game over.}) 21. b3 Ne5 22. Be3 $14) 19. Ne6 Bxe6 20. Bxe6 {White has the 2 bishops and the d5 weakness. Black has a strong knight on c4 and better placed pieces. A dynamically balanced position. White must regroup fast} Rad8 {Making the d5 pawn immune with the discovered threat of Bh2} 21. Nd4 {Blacks knight on c4 is a pain and for white to make any progress he needs to get rid of it with b3. We also see how important it was to provoke f6 weakening the e6 square. The white knight eyes this jarring hole in blacks position} Nc6 {Black wants to get rid of this knight as quickly as possible to avoid any Ne6 nightmares} 22. b3 Nxd4 23. cxd4 Na5 24. Bb2 $14 {The doubles bishop pair give white an edge} Nc6 25. Bg4 Qa5 { Black plans to regroup his pieces} 26. a3 Bb8 27. Qd3 Rfe8 28. b4 Qc7 29. g3 Ba7 {The bishop has done his job on the b8-h2 diagnoal by provoking g3 and creating some weakness. Now it transfers to the other one putting pressure in d4} 30. h4 {Building pressure on the kingside} g6 (30... Re4 $6 {Tempting as it leads to exchanges but runs into} 31. Rxe4 dxe4 32. Qxe4 Bxd4 33. Bxd4 Nxd4 34. Rd1 $1 {And now the natural looking} Nc6 $2 {Fails to the beautiful} 35. Rd7 Qb6 $2 (35... Qb8 36. Qd5 $16 {with a lot of pressure}) 36. Qe6 Rf8 37. Be2 $1 {No way for the blacks queen to come back to the game!}) 31. Rxe8+ Rxe8 32. Bf3 Qd6 33. Kg2 Kg7 34. Bc3 (34. h5 $142 {Would have increased whites advantage } f5 35. hxg6 hxg6 36. Rh1 Rh8 37. Rxh8 Kxh8 38. b5 {With too many weaknesses in blacks position}) 34... Rc8 {Black aims at putting pressure on the d4 pawn} 35. Re1 (35. h5 {White must play this to create additional weaknesses. Its also important for white to act quickly as black wants to increase pressure against the d4 pawn}) 35... Ne7 36. Bb2 Rc4 37. Qe2 Nf5 38. Bg4 Bxd4 39. Bxf5 { A practical chance taken by Harika. Ironically this move solves all blacks problems instantly but black must find the right way to respond. Not an easy task when the clock is running low.} (39. Bxd4 Rxd4 40. Bxf5 gxf5 41. Qe7+ (41. Qe8 Re4) 41... Qxe7 42. Rxe7+ Kg6 43. Rxb7 Rd3 44. a4 f4 {With a slightly better endgame for white but black should be able hold this without too many problems}) 39... gxf5 $4 {A big big blunder by Nana! completely missing the danger on blacks king. The natural hand move pretty much loses on the spot!!} ( 39... Bxb2 $1 {The correct way} 40. Bd3 (40. Qxb2 gxf5 $15) 40... Rc1 $1 { Neutralises immediately} 41. Qe7+ Qxe7 42. Rxe7+ Kh6 $11) 40. Qe8 $3 $18 { In true Harika style, she immediately punishes her opponent! Black is lost after this and the game finished quickly} Bxb2 41. Re7+ Qxe7 {The only move} ( 41... Kh6 42. Qf8+ Kh5 43. Rxh7+ Kg4 44. Qg7#) 42. Qxe7+ Kg6 43. Qe8+ Kg7 44. Qd7+ Kg6 45. h5+ Kh6 46. Qxd5 Rc2 $4 {Everything is lost but this loses on the spot} 47. Qb3 $1 {and black loses the bishop. Nana ended the suffering and resigned. With white Harika kept a slight pressure through out with the the 2 bishops. Not a big significant edge but a constant nagging one, and eventually her opponent collapsed. This happens ever so often in chess. A huge win for Harika and now she needs a draw tomorrow to qualify for the Semis. A dream situation. Nana has the white pieces and must win to stay in the race. She has to go all out! Get ready for the excitement tomorrow :)} 1-0 [Event "Tehran"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.20"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Stefanova, Antoaneta"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2512"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Bg5 h6 15. Bh4 Qc8 16. dxe5 dxe5 {LiveBook: 8 Games} (16... Nxe5 $6 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Nd4 $18) 17. N3d2 Nh7 18. Ne3 Nc5 {White is slightly better.} 19. Nd5 a5 20. a4 bxa4 21. Bxa4 Nxa4 22. Qxa4 Re6 23. Nc4 Bc6 24. Qd1 a4 25. Bg3 f6 26. b4 axb3 27. Rxa8 Bxa8 ({Much worse is} 27... Qxa8 $6 28. Nxc7 Qa4 29. Nb6 $16 (29. Nxe6 Qxc4 30. Nxf8 Nxf8 $16)) 28. Qxb3 Ng5 29. Ra1 Bxd5 30. exd5 Re8 31. Ra7 Bc5 32. Rb7 {[#] Threatens to win with d6.} Nxh3+ 33. Kf1 {d6 is the strong threat.} Nf4 $2 (33... Kh8 $11 34. gxh3 Qxh3+ 35. Ke2 Qg4+ 36. Kd2 Qf3) 34. d6 $1 $36 { White is in control.} Qe6 (34... Qf5 $16 {keeps fighting.} 35. Bxf4 Qxf4 36. Nb2+ Kh8) 35. dxc7 $18 Nd5 36. Qb5 Bf8 {[#]} 37. Nb6 $1 Nxb6 $2 (37... Nxc7 38. Rxc7 Rd8) 38. Rxb6 ({Not} 38. Qxb6 Qxb6 39. Rxb6 Rc8 $14) 38... Qg4 39. f3 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.20"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Black "Ju, Wenjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2502"] [BlackElo "2583"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "163"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 {??.} Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 c5 9. dxc5 Be6 ({But not} 9... Bxc5 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Nxd5 $14) 10. e3 Nbd7 11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. Qxc3 g5 {[#] Threatens to win with ...Ne4.} 13. Bg3 { And now Nd2 would win.} Ne4 14. Qc2 Bf5 15. Qd1 Ndxc5 16. Nd4 (16. Be2 $14) 16... Bg6 $11 17. f3 Nxg3 18. hxg3 Qe7 19. Qd2 h5 20. b4 Ne6 21. Kf2 Rac8 22. Be2 Qf6 23. Rac1 Nxd4 24. Qxd4 Qxd4 25. exd4 Kg7 26. Rc5 Rxc5 27. dxc5 { Endgame KRB-KRB} Kf6 28. Rd1 Rd8 29. Rd4 Bf5 30. Bc4 Be6 31. f4 b6 32. c6 Ke7 33. Bd3 f6 34. b5 Kd6 35. Be2 g4 36. Rd1 a6 (36... Bf5 $1 $11 {remains equal.}) 37. bxa6 $16 Kxc6 {[#]} 38. Rh1 $1 d4 39. Bd3 (39. a4 $16) 39... Bf7 (39... b5 $1 $14) 40. Re1 (40. Rc1+ $16 Kd6 41. Be4) 40... Ra8 41. Re7 Bd5 42. a4 Rh8 43. Bb5+ Kd6 44. Re8 Rxe8 45. Bxe8 $14 {KB-KB} Kc7 $1 46. Bxh5 Be6 47. Be8 Kb8 48. Bb5 Ka7 49. Ke2 Bf5 50. Kd2 Be4 51. Be2 Bf5 52. Bb5 Be4 53. Bf1 Bg6 54. Bc4 $1 Be4 55. Bb5 Bb1 56. Bd7 Kxa6 57. Bxg4 Ka5 58. Bd1 ({White should play} 58. Bd7 $14) 58... b5 $1 $11 59. axb5 Kxb5 60. g4 Kc5 61. Bc2 Ba2 $1 62. g3 Be6 63. Bf5 Bc4 64. Be4 Be6 65. Bf3 Bc4 66. Be2 Be6 67. Ke1 Bd7 68. Kf2 d3 (68... Be8 $11) 69. Bxd3 $14 {aiming for Bf5.} Bxg4 70. Ke3 Kd5 71. Be2 (71. Bg6 $14) 71... Bd7 (71... Bxe2 $1 $11 72. Kxe2 f5) 72. g4 Kd6 73. Kf3 Ke7 74. Bc4 Kf8 75. Be2 ({ Better is} 75. Bb3 $14) 75... Bc6+ (75... Ke7 $11) 76. Ke3 {White is slightly better.} Ke7 77. Bf3 Bd7 78. f5 Bb5 79. Kf4 Bc4 80. Be4 Bb5 81. Bd5 Bd7 82. Bc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.20"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Ni, Shiqun"] [Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2399"] [BlackElo "2549"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Re1 Nf6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. e5 Ne8 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. d3 Nc7 10. Ne4 Ne6 11. Be3 b6 12. Qd2 Re8 {LiveBook: 16 Games} 13. Re2 Nd4 14. Nxd4 cxd4 15. Bf4 Qd5 16. Ng3 c5 17. b3 Bb7 {[#]} 18. f3 b5 19. Rae1 a5 20. Bh6 Bh8 21. Qf4 Qe6 22. h4 a4 23. h5 axb3 24. axb3 (24. cxb3 Rec8 $15) 24... c4 25. bxc4 ({Much worse is} 25. Qxd4 Red8 26. Qe3 cxd3 27. cxd3 Qxb3 $11) 25... bxc4 26. dxc4 Rac8 ({Don't go for} 26... Qxc4 $2 27. e6 Bf6 28. Bg5 $18) 27. hxg6 hxg6 ({But not} 27... Qxg6 $2 28. Nf5 Rxc4 29. e6 $18) 28. Qxd4 (28. Qg5 $1 $14) 28... Rxc4 $11 29. Qf2 Rec8 30. Nf1 Ba6 31. Rd2 R4c5 32. f4 Bxf1 $1 33. Rxf1 Qf5 34. Rfd1 {Hoping for Qh4.} Rxc2 35. Rd8+ Rxd8 (35... Kh7 $5 36. Qh4 $8 Qh5 37. Qxh5 gxh5 $11) 36. Rxd8+ Kh7 37. Qh4 {[#] White wants to mate with Bg5+.The position is equal.} Qh5 38. Bg5 {Rd7 is the strong threat.} f6 39. exf6 Qxh4 40. Bxh4 Bxf6 41. Bxf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Women's World Championship"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2017.02.21"] [Round "29.4"] [White "Dzagnidze, Nana"] [Black "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A14"] [WhiteElo "2525"] [BlackElo "2539"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 {With a lot at stake -maintaining a chance to reach semi-final or going home- Nana Dzagnidze once more showed us that why we should not condone her immense resourcefulness and high will to win.} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. b3 $5 {Nana avoids any opening debate as early as move three. Although, chess theory is developed that much that even in such cases there is a huge body of theory out there. However, the question is, is Harika prepared for it?} d5 4. Bb2 Be7 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 c5 7. O-O Nc6 8. e3 b6 {Ok, all these have been played zillions of times before.} 9. d4 $5 {A rare choice.} (9. Nc3 Bb7 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. d4 Qf5 (12... Rad8 $6 {black gets into some trouble after this natural move.} 13. Ne5 Qd6 14. dxc5 Qxc5 15. Nd7 Qf5 16. e4 Qg5 17. h4 Qh6 18. Bc1 g5 19. hxg5 Qg7 20. e5 Nb8 21. Nf6+ Bxf6 22. exf6 Rxd1 {[#]} 23. Rxd1 $3 { a beautiful queen sacrifice. After which white dominates the entire board.} Qg6 24. Bxb7 $18 Qf5 25. Ba3 Re8 26. Be7 Qxg5 27. Rd3 h5 28. Rad1 Qe5 29. Rd8 Rxd8 30. Rxd8+ Kh7 31. Bd6 Qd4 32. Kg2 h4 33. gxh4 Qxf6 34. Be4+ Kh6 35. Rxb8 e5 36. Bf8+ Kh5 37. Bb4 Kxh4 38. Rg8 Qf4 39. Be7+ f6 40. Bf3 Qf5 41. Rh8+ {1-0 (41) Khotenashvili,B (2490)-Tan,Z (2438) Jiangsu Wuxi 2012}) 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. Bxb7 Rad8 15. Qe2 Qd3 16. Ba6 Qxe2 17. Bxe2 cxd4 18. Bxd4 Nc6 19. Bc3 Ba3 20. Rab1 Nb4 21. Bb2 Bxb2 22. Rxb2 Nd3 23. Rc2 {1/2-1/2 (25) Ipatov,A (2657) -Mchedlishvili,M (2604) Izmir 2016} Nb4 24. Rb2 Nd3 25. Rc2 {1/2-1/2 (25) Ipatov,A (2657)-Mchedlishvili,M (2604) Izmir 2016}) 9... cxd4 10. Nxd4 Bb7 $6 { I believe that after this move black is uncomfortable for the entire game. I believe that taking on d4 was necesarry.} (10... Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Ba6 {with the idea to play Rc8 and Bc5.}) 11. Nc3 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Bc5 13. Qd3 Ba6 {Harika switches to my idea two moves later but white has already developed and she is going to be faster in the center. White has serious inititive.} 14. Rfd1 Rc8 15. Qb1 $2 {Nana worries about the pin but c2 is in fact better than b1. Queen is too passive on b1 and this could have cost Nana the match.} (15. Qc2 Qe7 16. cxd5 exd5 17. Qd2 Rfd8 18. Nxd5 Nxd5 19. Bxd5 Qg5 20. e4 Qg4 21. Qf4 $16) 15... Qe7 16. a3 $1 Rfd8 $2 {This loses a pawn without counter play.} (16... dxc4 $2 {loses a piece to} 17. b4 Bd6 18. b5) (16... Ng4 $3 {was Harika's last chance.} 17. h3 $1 (17. cxd5 $2 Qf6 18. Ne4 Qh6 19. h4 (19. h3 Nxf2) 19... Nxf2 20. Nxf2 Qxe3 21. Rf1 Bxf1 22. Qxf1 Qxf2+ 23. Qxf2 Bxf2+ 24. Kxf2 Rc2+ {and black wins.} ) 17... Nxf2 18. Kxf2 Qg5 19. Qc1 f5 20. h4 Qh6 21. b4 f4 22. bxc5 fxg3+ 23. Kxg3 Qg6+ 24. Kh3 Rf2 25. Rg1 Qf5+ 26. Kg3 Rf8 27. Nd1 Qg6+ 28. Kh3 (28. Kh2 $4 Qg4 29. Nxf2 Rxf2 {and Qxh4 mate follows.}) 28... Qf5+ 29. Kg3 {with a draw.}) 17. cxd5 exd5 18. Nxd5 Nxd5 19. Rxd5 Rxd5 20. Bxd5 Rd8 (20... Bxe3 $3 {is a surprising piece sac that may just be equal!} 21. fxe3 Qxe3+ 22. Kh1 Qf2 $11 { You can click on the engine feature of this game replayer and check all the lines for yourself to better understand why this is equal.}) 21. Qe4 Qxe4 22. Bxe4 {The dust has settled and the goal has been achieved. Dzagnidze has a winning pawn up endgame. From here, she shows a lot of patience and grind down her winning endgame to force a tie-break tomorrow!} g6 23. Bf6 Rd6 24. Bc3 Rd7 25. a4 Bf8 26. Bd4 Bg7 27. Rd1 Bb7 28. Bxb7 Rxb7 29. Kf1 Rc7 30. Ke2 Bxd4 31. Rxd4 Rc2+ 32. Rd2 Rc3 33. Rb2 b5 34. axb5 Rc5 35. Kd3 Kf8 36. e4 Rxb5 37. b4 Ke7 38. f4 Rb6 39. Kc4 f6 40. b5 Rb7 41. Ra2 Rc7+ 42. Kb4 Kd8 43. Ra6 {The optimum place for the rook. Look at the game Rubinstein-Lasker St Petersburg 1909!} Re7 44. Kc5 Ke8 45. Kd6 Rb7 46. Ke6 Rxb5 47. Kxf6 Rb7 48. e5 Rf7+ 49. Kg5 Rf5+ 50. Kg4 Rf7 51. h4 Kf8 52. h5 Kg7 53. Kh4 Kh6 54. Ra4 Kg7 55. g4 Kh6 56. hxg6 hxg6 57. Kg3 Kg7 58. Ra6 Kh7 59. Kf3 Rb7 60. f5 g5 61. Ke4 Kg7 62. Rg6+ Kf8 63. f6 a5 64. Rh6 Kg8 65. e6 a4 66. f7+ Kg7 67. Rh7+ {A fine victory for Nana.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.23"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Black "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2549"] [BlackElo "2558"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "128"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. dxc5 Nf6 6. Ngf3 Bxc5 7. Bc4 Qc6 8. Qe2 O-O 9. Nb3 {LiveBook: 5 Games} Bd6 10. Nbd4 Qc7 11. Nb5 {White is slightly better.} Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Bb4 13. c3 Be7 14. Bf4 a6 15. b4 (15. Nc7 $1 $16 Ra7 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. Bxe6) 15... Qa4 (15... Bxb4 $11 16. cxb4 Qxb4+ 17. Bd2 Qb2) 16. Nc7 $16 Ra7 17. Nd4 (17. Nxe6 $1 $16 Bxe6 18. Bxe6) 17... Nc6 $15 18. Nc2 Nb8 ( 18... Nxb4 $15 19. cxb4 Bxb4+ 20. Nxb4 Qxb4+ 21. Bd2 Qd6) 19. Nxa6 bxa6 (19... Rxa6 $2 20. Bb5 (20. Bxb8 Bd7 $16) 20... Nd5 21. Bxa4 $18) 20. Bxb8 Ra8 21. Be5 Bb7 22. Nd4 (22. O-O $1 $16) 22... Bd5 $14 (22... Bxg2 23. Rg1 Bb7 24. Qe3 $18) 23. Bb3 Bxb3 24. Nxb3 Rfc8 25. O-O Qb5 26. Qe1 Rc4 27. Nd2 Rc6 28. a4 Qd3 29. Nf3 Rac8 (29... Nd5 $14) 30. Bd4 $36 {aiming for Ne5. White is on the roll.} Nd7 31. Rd1 Qf5 (31... Qc4 $16 32. Bxg7 Kxg7) 32. Qe2 Rc4 (32... Qh5 {might work better.} 33. Rfe1 Bf8) 33. Kh1 (33. Bc5 $18 R4xc5 34. Rxd7 (34. bxc5 Nxc5 35. Rd4 f6 $16)) 33... R4c6 (33... Bf8 $16 {was worth a try.} 34. Kg1 R8c7) 34. Rd3 g6 35. Rfd1 {And now Be3 would win.} R6c7 (35... Qh5 $142 36. R3d2 a5) 36. h3 $1 $18 h5 37. Re3 Bf6 38. Bxf6 $1 (38. Qxa6 $6 e5 $16) 38... Nxf6 39. Nd4 $1 (39. Qxa6 Qc2 40. Rd2 Qb1+ 41. Re1 Qb3) 39... Qg5 40. Rg3 Qh4 {Black wants to play ...Ne4.} 41. Nxe6 Rxc3 (41... Re7 {was necessary.}) 42. Rxc3 (42. Qxa6 Ne4 43. Rxc3 Rxc3 $11) 42... Rxc3 {[#]} 43. Nd4 $2 ({Inferior is} 43. Qxa6 Rxh3+ 44. gxh3 Qxh3+ 45. Kg1 Qg4+ 46. Kh2 Qh4+ 47. Kg1 Qg4+ 48. Kh2 Qh4+ 49. Kg1 Qg4+ $11) (43. Kg1 $1 $18 {and the rest is easy.} Qc4 44. Qe5) 43... Rc8 44. Nf3 ( 44. Qxa6 $2 Rd8 45. f3 Rxd4 46. Rxd4 Qxd4 $17) 44... Qxb4 45. Qxa6 Qc3 46. Qb7 Re8 47. Kg1 Qc2 {[#]} 48. Ra1 $1 Qc3 49. Rb1 Kg7 50. g3 (50. Qb3 $16 Qc5 51. Qa2) 50... Qa5 (50... Ne4 $1 $11 51. Qb3 Qxb3 52. Rxb3 Ra8) 51. Rb4 $16 Rd8 52. Qb5 Qa8 53. Qe2 Re8 54. Qd1 Ne4 55. Qd4+ Kg8 56. Ne5 $2 (56. Kh2 $16 {keeps the pressure on.}) 56... Ng5 $19 57. Rb3 (57. Qb2 $17 {is a better defense.}) 57... Nxh3+ 58. Kh2 {[#] Threatens to win with Nd7.} Nxf2 $1 {( -> ...Qh1#)} 59. Qxf2 Rxe5 {KQR-KQR} 60. Qb2 Qxa4 61. Rf3 Qb5 62. Qc3 $2 (62. Qxb5 $19 Rxb5 63. Ra3) 62... Re2+ 63. Kg1 Qb1+ (63... Qb6+ $142 64. Kf1 Rh2 65. Qb3 Qa7 66. Qa3 Qd4 67. Qa8+ Kg7 68. Rxf7+ Kxf7 69. Qb7+ Kf6 70. Qc6+ Kg5 71. Qc1+ Rd2 72. Qe1 Rd1 73. Qxd1 Qxd1+ 74. Kf2 Qd3 75. g4 Kxg4 76. Ke1 Qc2 77. Kf1 Kf3 78. Kg1 Qg2#) 64. Rf1 Qb6+ 0-1 [Event "FIDE WWCC 2017"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.23"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Black "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E54"] [WhiteElo "2502"] [BlackElo "2539"] [Annotator "Swati Ghate"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [SourceDate "2003.06.08"] {First game of Semi Final Match between players from two Asian power houses in chess. Only one player from India or China will go into the finals which I think will be a history in the World championship. Tan Zhongyi looks in good form as she crushed comfortably, talented and second highest rated player Ju Wenjun in Quarter final. Harika also won convincingly with white in classical game but had to go to rapid games to cruise into the semi-finals.} 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 {Harika shows good preparation going into various new set ups. Normally she employs this mostly against Nf3 set ups.} 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O (4... b6 { is also played here.}) 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 d5 7. O-O cxd4 8. exd4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b6 {Both the players are going for main lines without fearing home preparation. Black tries to play on white squares and three pawn islands whereas white gets double bishops, center, and activity.} 10. Bg5 Bb7 11. Qe2 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nbd7 13. Bd3 Qc7 14. Rac1 Ng4 15. Be4 Rfe8 {Very few games with this move order.} 16. h3 Bxe4 17. Qxe4 Ngf6 18. Qe2 Rac8 (18... h6 {this looks interesting immediately asking question to the bishop and making room for the knight.}) ( 18... e5 $5 {would have been a very interesting break with the following lines} 19. dxe5 (19. Bxf6 exd4 20. Be7 d3 21. Qe3 Nf6 22. Rfe1 Nd5 23. Qxd3 Nxe7 $11) 19... Nxe5 20. Bxf6 Ng4 $1 $11) 19. c4 Qb7 {Typical idea putting pressure on white squares and doubling on c file targetting c4.} (19... h6 {During the game I really thought this was necessary and it proved fatal afterwards.}) 20. Rfe1 Qa6 (20... h6) 21. Ne5 Nxe5 22. dxe5 Nd7 23. Qg4 Kh8 {I would prefer Nf8 first. Still the position is dynamically equal. White has attack but same time has to cover pawn weakness.} (23... Nf8 24. h4 h5 $1 25. Qe4 (25. Qxh5 Rxc4 26. Qe2 Rxc1 27. Bxc1 Qxe2 28. Rxe2 Rc8 $15) 25... Ng6 26. Qe2 Rc5 $15) 24. Qh5 Kg8 25. Qg4 Kh8 {A repetition?} 26. Re4 Qa3 $2 {Gives free hand for White to build pressure.} (26... Rc5 27. Qh5 Kg8 28. Qe2 Qa5 29. Re1 f5 $1 $15) 27. Rd1 Nf8 28. h4 Qc3 (28... h6 $5 {I think was the last chance to save.} 29. Qh5 (29. Bxh6 $2 gxh6 30. Rf4 Qe7 31. Rf6 Nh7 32. Rxh6 Rg8 33. Qe4 Rg7 $17 {and Black saves the day.}) 29... Nh7 30. Be3 Rc7 31. Red4 Qxa2 32. Rd8 (32. Rd7 Rxd7 33. Rxd7 Rf8 34. Rxf7 Rxf7 35. Qxf7 Qa1+ 36. Kh2 Qxe5+ 37. g3 Nf6 $17) 32... Qa4 $11) 29. h5 h6 30. Bh4 Rc7 31. Red4 Qc2 32. R1d3 Rc5 (32... Rec8 33. Kh2 $1 { Prophylactic move.} (33. Bf6 $2 gxf6 34. Rg3 (34. exf6 Qc1+ 35. Kh2 Qg5 $19) 34... Qb1+ 35. Kh2 Qh7 $17) 33... Rxc4 34. Bf6 $1 gxf6 (34... Ng6 35. Rd8+ Rxd8 36. Rxd8+ Kh7 37. hxg6+ fxg6 38. Qxe6 $18) 35. exf6 $18) 33. Rg3 Qh7 {[#]} 34. Rf4 $6 (34. Qf4 $1 {White missed chance for tactical finish Qf4. For me this looks clearly winning.} Qb1+ (34... Rc7 35. Bf6 (35. Bd8 Rb7 36. Bf6 $18)) ( 34... Qf5 35. Bf6 $16) 35. Kh2 Qf5 36. Bf6 Qxh5+ (36... Qxf4 37. Bxg7+ Kh7 38. Rxf4 Rc7 (38... f5 39. Rd4 Rc7 40. Bxf8 Rxf8 41. Rg6 Re7 42. Rd6 Rfe8 43. g3 $18) 39. Rf6 $18) 37. Rh3 Ng6 38. Qg3 Qf5 39. Rxh6+ Kg8 40. Rdh4 $3 gxh6 41. Rxh6 Qxf6 42. exf6 $18 {A beautiful variation.}) 34... Rc7 35. Qf3 Nd7 36. Qe2 Rf8 (36... Rec8 37. Rxf7 Rxc4 38. Rxd7 Rxh4 39. Qd1 Rhc4 40. Rgxg7 Qxg7 41. Rxg7 Rc1 42. Rd7 Kg8 43. g3 b5 44. Rd8+ Kf7 45. Rxc8 Rxd1+ 46. Kg2 {Is the best chance for Black. A pretty difficult choice to make on the board during knock out games!}) (36... Nf8 37. Rfg4 $16) 37. Be7 Rg8 38. Bd6 Rcc8 39. Rxf7 Qb1+ 40. Kh2 Nc5 41. Qe3 Qh7 42. Rg6 a5 43. Be7 Rc7 44. Rxh6 {White played really well and deserved to win in this game but as we all know, Harika is well known for her fighting spirit and will power. Let us keep fingers crossed and wish to see her in the tie-break games. All the best Harika!!} 1-0 [Event "Tehran"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.24"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Black "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2539"] [BlackElo "2502"] [Annotator "Amruta Mokal"] [PlyCount "323"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [SourceDate "2003.06.08"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. O-O Bd7 5. Re1 Nf6 6. c3 a6 7. Bc4 {the latest trend} (7. Bf1 {is more popular}) 7... b5 (7... Bg4 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Bd5 Qb6 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. Be3 Qxb2 14. Nbd2 Rd8 15. Qa4 Be7 16. Rab1 Qa3 17. Qxa3 Bxa3 18. Nc4 Be7 19. Ncxe5 Rc8 20. Rb7 h6 21. h3 Be6 22. Nd4 Bxa2 23. Ra1 Bd6 24. Nef3 c5 25. Nf5 {1-0 (25) Safarli,E (2678) -Aravindh,C (2543) Biel 2016}) 8. Bf1 e5 9. d4 Be7 10. d5 Na7 11. Nbd2 O-O 12. Bd3 $5 {A very interesting idea. In closed positions to strategize regrouping of pieces is not so easy. Makes way for knight to come from f1 to g3} Nc8 $1 { This knight starts its journey too!} 13. Nf1 Nb6 14. h3 Qc7 15. Ng3 a5 16. Bg5 ({The move loved by many} 16. Nh4 $1 {would have been possible as the usual tactic} Nfxd5 $2 {doesnt work because of} (16... Nxe4 $2 17. Rxe4 f5 18. Nhxf5 Bxf5 19. Nxf5 Rxf5 20. Rg4 Rf7 21. Bxb5 $16) (16... g6 {would be the best way to answer but then white would be happy to have provoked it and simply go back to f3 and then use blacks weak dark squares.}) 17. exd5 Bxh4 {and now the simple reverse/counter tactic} 18. Qh5 $1 $16 {with double attack and a clear advantage}) 16... Rfe8 (16... Na4 $5 17. Rb1 c4 18. Bc2 Nc5 19. Nh5 Nxh5 (19... Kh8 20. Nxf6 Bxf6 21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. Nh4 Rg8 23. Re3 $13) 20. Bxe7 Rfe8 21. Nxe5 Rxe7 (21... dxe5 22. d6 Qb7 23. Qxh5 $16) (21... Nf4 22. Nxd7 Qxd7 23. Bg5 Nfd3 24. Re2 Nxe4 25. Be3 Nec5 26. b3 $1 $13) 22. Nxd7 Qxd7 23. Qxh5) 17. Qc1 (17. Qe2 c4 18. Bc2 h6 19. Be3 Rab8 20. Nd2 Rec8 21. f4 $36 {was a possibility.}) 17... h6 18. Be3 ({The first question any Sacrifice lover would ask himself is, "Will the sacrifice work?"} 18. Bxh6 gxh6 19. Qxh6 Nh7 (19... Qd8 20. Qg5+ Kh8 21. Nf5 Bf8 22. N3h4 $15) 20. Nf5 Bxf5 21. exf5 Bf8 22. Qh4 c4 23. Bc2 Qd8 $19) 18... c4 19. Bc2 b4 (19... Na4 $1 {looks like a typical bookish move.} 20. Bxa4 bxa4 21. Nd2 Rab8 22. Nb1 $1 Nxe4 $1 23. Nxe4 f5 24. Bxh6 fxe4 25. Be3 { A very weird position with tremendous complications}) 20. Qd1 {Harika makes subtle queen moves in order to provoke weaknesses in opponents camp} Reb8 $6 { This move looks logical because after the capture on b4 the a8 rook will have a ready made open file and other rook is needed on b-file. But here it was important to understand that c4 is a bit weak considering Nb6 is always under pressure and that placement of rooks on b8-c8 would be more useful with the pawn tension still being maintained.} 21. Nd2 Nh7 (21... Rc8 {There was still time to rectify the rook position.}) 22. Qe2 Rc8 {Now it's already late} (22... Bg5 $142 23. Bxb6 Qxb6 24. Nxc4 Qc5 {Almost like the game but rook on b8 helps in maintaining some pressure and gaining time to improve the pieces.} 25. Bd3 Nf6 $44 {with ideas like Nh5-f4 and Bb5.}) 23. Bxb6 Qxb6 24. Nxc4 {White has won some material but still not so easy to convert because of the quality of blacks pieces and weak pawns for white} Qc5 25. Bd3 bxc3 26. bxc3 Bg5 27. Rab1 Rab8 28. Nf1 (28. Rb2 $142 Nf6 29. Reb1 Rxb2 30. Qxb2 $16 {and the b-file remains in white's control}) 28... Nf8 29. Kh2 h5 $2 (29... g6 {maybe she was calculating g6-h5 with the idea of improving the position on KS slowly to cramp white's king and h5 was just a blunder?! I cannot understand otherwise!}) 30. Qxh5 Bf4+ 31. Kg1 Bb5 $2 32. Qe2 (32. Rxb5 $1 Rxb5 {This is definitely easy to consider. But white probably missed} (32... Qxb5 33. Nxd6 Qxd3 (33... Qd7 34. Nxc8 Rxc8 $18) 34. Qxf7+ Kh7 35. Nxc8 Rxc8 36. Qf5+ Kg8 37. Qxc8 $18) 33. g3 $3 {the idea is beautiful} (33. Nxd6 {does not work} Rb2 34. Qxf7+ Kh8 35. Qh5+ Kg8 36. Qf7+ $11 {and white must settle for a draw which Harika would not go for.}) 33... Bh6 (33... g6 34. Qh4) 34. Nxd6 Rb2 (34... Qxd6 35. Bxb5 Rxc3 36. Rb1 $18) 35. Qxf7+ {and now the queen supports f2 only because of whites 33. g3 move!} Kh8 36. Nxc8 Qxc8 $18) 32... Bxc4 33. Rxb8 Rxb8 34. Bxc4 Qa3 35. Bb5 Qxc3 36. a4 {After fixing the pawns, we see it is a fight between the weaknesses a4-e4-f2 vs a5-d6-f7. And not to forget, Black being a pawn down on h-file his king is weak.} Rc8 37. g3 Bg5 38. Ne3 Qb4 (38... Bxe3 39. Qxe3 Rc5 {This could be not so bad try for black, though I am not sure.}) 39. Nc4 Nd7 40. Nxa5 (40. Qf1 $1 {A chance to keep up with the reputation of whites middlegame which consisted subtle moves! Here the idea is Rb1 and Black is in grave problems}) 40... Rc2 (40... Qxa5 41. Bxd7 Qxe1+ 42. Qxe1 Rc1 43. Qxc1 Bxc1 44. a5 Ba3 45. a6 Bc5 46. Kg2 Kf8 47. f4 Ke7 48. Bc6 $18 {would be a technically winning opposite colours endgame. It would be interesting to study how to convert this!}) 41. Qxc2 Qxe1+ 42. Kg2 Nc5 43. Nc6 $1 Bd2 (43... Nxe4 44. Qe2 $1 {forcing queen exchange} Qxe2 45. Bxe2 $18 {and white has his a-pawn rolling}) 44. Bd3 (44. Nxe5 dxe5 45. Qxc5 {One must remember in opposite coloured bishops the one who is in attacking position enjoys the advantage sometimes as much as a piece up!} Qxe4+ 46. f3 {Practically a kind of position one would avoid as black has perpetual chances, as it seems on the surface. Surprisingly, the assessment is white's king is safer than black's! Firstly e2 square is controlled and secondly, because of Bishop on d2 black has no check and less time to arrange for it as white has strong threats.} Qe1 47. Qc8+ Kh7 48. Qe8 Be3 49. Bd3+ $18 {with a winning position}) 44... g6 45. h4 $1 {On the way to create a new weakness.} (45. Nxe5 Nxd3 46. Nxd3 Qxe4+ 47. f3 Qe3 $18 {But I would say having the light-squared bishop with the d-pass pawn was a better version than this}) 45... Bc3 46. Be2 (46. Ne7+ {also possible} Kg7 47. Nc8 Nxd3 48. Qxd3 Bd4 49. Qf3 Qb4 (49... Bc5 50. h5 gxh5 51. Ne7 {with the idea of Nf5. Queen and knight combination would be too strong along with the a-pass pawn}) 50. h5 Bc5 51. a5 $1 Qxa5 52. h6+ Kxh6 53. Qf6 $18 {would be devastating}) 46... Nxa4 (46... Bd4 47. Bf3) 47. Ne7+ ({Here white had a real beauty. And of course, it's subtle again!} 47. Qd3 $3 Nc5 48. Qf3 Bd4 49. Qf6 $18 {What a queen! Beautiful!}) 47... Kf8 48. Nc8 Bd4 49. Bf3 Qb4 50. h5 gxh5 $2 (50... Qc5 51. Qxa4 Qxc8 52. Qc6 Qd8 53. hxg6 fxg6 $16) 51. Qc1 (51. Qc7 Qd2 52. Qe7+ Kg7 53. Nxd6 Qxf2+ 54. Kh3 Qxf3 55. Nf5+ $18) 51... Bc5 52. Qh6+ $2 (52. Qg5 $1 Qb7 53. Qd8+ Kg7 54. Ne7 {will lead to mate in some moves.}) 52... Ke8 53. Bxh5 Qxe4+ 54. Bf3 Qg6 55. Qh4 Kd7 56. Be4 f5 57. Ne7 $2 (57. Qe7+ Kxc8 58. Bd3 {white missed a forced mate of Ba6}) 57... Qf7 58. Bxf5+ Kc7 59. f3 Nb6 60. Be6 Qg7 61. Nf5 Qf8 62. Qh7+ Kb8 63. Ne7 Nc4 64. Nc6+ Ka8 65. Qg8 Qxg8 66. Bxg8 Kb7 67. g4 Be3 68. Nd8+ Kc7 69. Ne6+ Kd7 70. g5 Ke7 71. Bh7 Nb6 72. g6 Nxd5 73. g7 Nf6 74. g8=Q Nxg8 75. Bxg8 Kd7 76. Nf8+ Kc6 77. Ng6 Bg5 (77... Kc5 78. Kg3 Kd4 79. Ne7 e4 80. Nf5+ Kd3 81. Nxe3 Kxe3 82. f4 $18) 78. Kh3 Kc5 79. Kg4 Bd8 80. Nf8 Ba5 81. Ne6+ Kc4 82. Kf5 Kd3 83. Ng5 Kd4 84. Ba2 Bb4 85. Ne6+ Ke3 86. Bd5 Ba5 87. Ng5 Kd4 88. Ke6 Bc7 89. Ne4 Ke3 90. Nxd6 Kf4 91. Be4 Ba5 92. Nb7 Bc3 93. Nc5 Kg5 94. Nd3 Bd2 95. Kxe5 Bc3+ 96. Ke6 Bd2 97. Bc6 Kg6 98. Ke5 Kg5 99. Ke4 Kf6 100. Nf2 Ke6 101. Bd5+ Kd6 102. Ba2 Kd7 103. Ng4 Bg5 104. Ne5+ Kc7 105. Bb3 Bh6 106. Nc4 Bg5 107. Ba4 Kd8 108. Ne3 Kc7 109. Bb5 Kd6 110. Nf5+ Kc5 111. Be8 Kb4 112. Nd4 Bh6 113. Ne2 Kc5 114. Bf7 Bg5 115. Ba2 Bh6 116. f4 Bxf4 117. Nxf4 Kb4 118. Kd4 Kb5 119. Bd5 Kb4 120. Bc4 Ka3 121. Nd3 Ka4 122. Kc5 Ka3 123. Be6 Ka4 124. Nb4 Ka3 125. Kc4 Kb2 126. Bg4 Kc1 127. Kc3 Kb1 128. Nc2 Ka2 129. Be6+ Kb1 130. Ne3 ({The easiest way to checkmate is the following} 130. Bd5 Kc1 131. Ba2 Kd1 132. Nd4 Ke1 (132... Kc1 133. Ne2+ Kd1 134. Kd3 Ke1 135. Ke3 Kf1 136. Nf4 Ke1 137. Bb3 Kf1 138. Bc2 Kg1 139. Bd3 Kh2 140. Kf2 Kh1 141. Bf5 Kh2 142. Ne2 Kh1 143. Ng3+ Kh2 144. Nf1+ Kh1 145. Be4#) 133. Kd3 Kf2 134. Ne2 Kf3 135. Be6 $18 {The king is blocked and now it is easy to win.} Kf2 136. Kd2 Kf3 137. Bf5 Kf2 138. Bg4 Kf1 139. Ke3 Ke1 140. Nf4 Kf1 141. Be6 Ke1 142. Bb3 Kf1 143. Ba4 Ke1 144. Ng2+ Kf1 145. Kf3 $18) 130... Ka1 131. Nc4 Kb1 132. Nd2+ Ka1 133. Nb3+ Kb1 134. Bf5+ Ka2 135. Be4 Ka3 136. Bb1 Ka4 137. Nd4 Ka5 138. Kc4 Kb6 139. Bg6 Kc7 140. Kd5 Kd7 141. Nc6 Kc7 142. Kc5 Kd7 143. Bf7 Kc8 144. Be6+ Kc7 145. Ne5 Kb7 146. Bd5+ Kc8 147. Kd6 Kd8 148. Bf7 Kc8 149. Kc6 Kd8 150. Ng6 Kc8 151. Bd5 Kd8 152. Kd6 Ke8 153. Bb3 Kd8 154. Ba4 Kc8 155. Bc6 Kd8 156. Ne5 Kc8 157. Bd7+ Kb7 158. Nc4 Ka6 159. Kc7 Ka7 160. Bb5 Ka8 161. Nb6+ Ka7 162. Nc8+ {Everyone in the chess world was on the edge of their seats. Five moves were left, but Harika managed to checkmate her opponent! What a game! Well done Harika.} 1-0 [Event "Tehran"] [Site "Tehran"] [Date "2017.02.24"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2549"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 {??.} Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bc5 7. Nxc6 bxc6 {[#]} (7... dxc6 $11 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8) 8. e5 $1 $16 Ng8 9. Ne4 Qb6 10. Nxc5 Qxc5 11. Qd6 Qxd6 12. exd6 a5 13. b3 Nf6 14. f3 O-O 15. Be3 Ne8 16. O-O-O e5 ({ Better is} 16... g6) 17. Bd3 g6 18. Bh6 Ng7 19. Rhe1 f6 20. f4 Re8 21. fxe5 fxe5 22. Rd2 Re6 (22... Nf5 $16 {was worth a try.}) 23. c5 $18 {[#] Bc4 is the strong threat.} Ba6 24. Bxa6 Rxa6 25. Bxg7 Kxg7 {KRR-KRR} 26. Rde2 Kf6 (26... Ra7 $142 27. Rxe5 Rxe5 28. Rxe5 Kf6) 27. Rf1+ Kg7 $2 (27... Kg5 28. Rf7 Ra7) 28. Ref2 {White is clearly winning.} e4 29. Rf7+ Kh6 30. Re7 1-0 [Event "FIDE Women's World Championship"] [Site "ChessBase"] [Date "2017.02.27"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Tan, Z."] [Black "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 {A solid approach by Anna Muzychuk. She had choses different openings in this championship but Slav is by far the most solid of all.} 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Qd3 $5 {An interesting choice. Modern theory consider this move as harmless.} dxc4 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qd3 a6 8. e4 (8. Bg5 c5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 $1 10. d5 Bb7 11. dxe6 Qxd3 12. exf7+ Kxf7 13. exd3 Rg8 {½-½ (47) Aronian,L (2792)-Giri,A (2782) Leuven 2016 Gave enough compensation to Giri in order to hold against Aroninan.}) 8... c5 9. dxc5 $5 {Very rare! Does Tan Zhongyi play for a draw of this is a psychological surprise?} (9. e5 cxd4 10. Nxd4 {Or} (10. Nxb5 axb5 11. exf6 Nc6 12. fxg7 Bxg7 13. Be2 $5 {1/2-1/2 (46) Tregubov,P (2627) -Gelashvili,T (2547) Dubai 2002}) 10... Nd5 {Are two interesting alternatives.} ) 9... Bxc5 (9... Qxd3 10. Bxd3 Bxc5 11. e5 Nfd7 12. Be4 Ra7 13. O-O O-O { looks harmless for black}) 10. Qxd8+ (10. e5 {was played by Ex-top 10 Chinese GM, Wang Hao.} Ng4 11. Qxd8+ Kxd8 12. Bg5+ Kc7 $2 (12... Ke8 $1 13. Ne4 (13. O-O-O $2 {Is creative but risky and ex-world champion Vladimir Kramnik punished his opponent effortlessly. Even if he is a strong player like David Navara.} Nd7 14. Ne4 Bb7 $1 $17 15. Nxc5 Nxc5 16. Bh4 Ne4 17. Rd4 Rc8+ 18. Kb1 Nexf2 19. h3 Nxh1 20. hxg4 h5 21. g5 g6 22. Be2 Ke7 23. Be1 h4 24. Nxh4 Rhd8 25. Rf4 Ng3 26. Bxg3 Rd2 27. Bg4 Rcc2 28. Be1 Rxb2+ 29. Kc1 Rdc2+ 30. Kd1 Rc4 31. Rxc4 bxc4 32. a3 Kd7 33. Bd2 Ra2 34. Bc1 Bc6 35. Be2 Ba4+ 36. Ke1 Ra1 { 0-1 (36) Navara,D (2672)-Kramnik,V (2788) Prague 2008}) 13... Bb4+ 14. Bd2 Bxd2+ 15. Nexd2 Nd7 16. a4 bxa4 17. Nc4 Ke7 18. h3 Nh6 19. Rxa4 Bb7 20. Be2 Rhc8 21. O-O Nf5 $11 (21... Bd5 {0-1 (86) Hernandez Carmenates,H (2580) -Jakovenko,D (2737) Dresden 2008})) 13. Ne4 Bb4+ 14. Ke2 Bb7 15. Rc1+ Kb6 16. h3 Bxe4 17. hxg4 Bc5 18. b4 Bxb4 19. Be3+ Kb7 20. Ng5 Bg6 21. g3 Nc6 22. Bg2 Rac8 23. Rhd1 h6 24. Rd7+ Kb8 25. Bxc6 {1-0 (25) Wang,H (2724)-Potkin,V (2626) Ningbo 2010}) 10... Kxd8 11. Bd3 Bb7 (11... Nbd7 {was Gelfand's choice against Tregubov.} 12. O-O Bb7 13. e5 Nd5 14. Ne4 Ke7 15. Bg5+ f6 16. exf6+ gxf6 17. Bh6 Kf7 18. Rae1 Be7 19. Bb1 Rad8 20. Re2 Nf8 21. g3 e5 22. a3 Ne6 23. Ba2 $14 {1/2-1/2 (67) Tregubov,P (2612)-Gelfand,B (2713) Sochi 2005}) 12. e5 $1 { [#] A strong and meaningful novelty. From here till the end of the game, Anna had to deal with the problem this knight posed to her.} Ng4 $2 {A serious mistake. Now, Anna has a very bad knight!} (12... Nd5 13. Ne4 (13. Bg5+ f6 14. exf6 gxf6 15. Nxd5 fxg5 16. Nc3 (16. Nxg5 $4 Bxd5 17. Nf7+ Ke7 18. Nxh8 Nc6 $19 ) 16... Bxf3 17. gxf3 Nd7 $13) 13... Nd7 $1 14. O-O Ke7 15. Bg5+ f6 16. exf6+ gxf6 17. Bh6 {and similar to Gelfand's game against Tregubov, black should be able to hold here after some difficulty of course!}) 13. Ne4 $1 {A strong move which Anna might have missed.} Bb4+ (13... Bxe4 $2 14. Bxe4 Nxf2 15. Bg5+ Kc7 16. Bxa8 Nxh1 17. b4 (17. Rc1 Nd7 18. Be4 Nf2 19. Bb1 Kb8 20. Rxc5 Nxc5 21. Kxf2 {and white has good winning chances but her advantage is not that convincing.} Na4 22. b3 Nc3 23. Bd3 Nxa2 24. Bd2 $16) 17... Bxb4+ 18. Ke2 Nd7 19. Be4 Nc5 20. Bc2 h6 21. Be3 $18) 14. Ke2 Nd7 15. Bf4 Nc5 16. Nxc5 Bxc5 17. Rhc1 $1 {Another excellent move by Tan Zhongyi. White has a great amount of advantage and black's problem is in tact: The knight on g4!} Bb6 18. Ng5 Ke7 19. Be4 (19. f3 Nh6 20. g4 {is also very strong.}) 19... Bxe4 20. Nxe4 Rhc8 21. f3 Nh6 22. g4 (22. Nd6 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Bd8 24. Bxh6 gxh6 25. g4 {lives white with a technically winning position thanks to her monster on d6.}) 22... Ng8 23. Nd6 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Kd7 {End of knight's agony at a cost of a pawn?} 25. Nxf7 Ne7 (25... Rf8 26. Rd1+ Kc6 27. Be3 Bxe3 28. Nd8+ $1 {and white is winning.}) 26. Be3 $2 {a serious inaccuracy which moves white from 'winning' to 'clear advantage'.} (26. Bg3 Nd5 27. Nd6 Bd4 28. Rc2 {white should be able to convert this}) 26... Bxe3 27. Kxe3 Ng6 $2 {Anna does not want a good 'knight' for her birthday!} 28. h4 Rf8 29. h5 $1 {The rook ending is winning so the knight has to move. It seems that this knight's agony would never end.} Ne7 30. Ng5 Nd5+ { After 30 moves, this knight finally lands on a respectable spot, unfortunately for Anna, it is too late for a birthday good night!} 31. Kf2 h6 32. Ne4 Ra8 33. a3 a5 34. Nc3 $5 {good enough!} Rc8 35. Rd1 Ke7 36. Nxd5+ exd5 37. Rxd5 { From here, Zhongyi converts her advantage with ease.} Rc2+ 38. Ke3 Rxb2 39. Ke4 a4 40. f4 Rb1 41. Kf5 Rb3 42. Rc5 Kd7 43. Kg6 b4 44. axb4 Rxb4 45. Kf5 Ke7 46. Rc7+ Kf8 47. Ra7 Kg8 48. g5 hxg5 49. fxg5 Rb6 50. Rxa4 g6+ 51. hxg6 Rb1 52. Ra8+ Kg7 53. Ra7+ Kg8 54. g7 Rf1+ 55. Kg6 Ra1 56. Rf7 {Not the most pleasant birthday for Anna Muzychuk!} 1-0