Games
[Event "Chengdu WGP 2016"] [Site "Chengdu CHN"] [Date "2016.07.07"] [Round "?"] [White "Ju Wenjun"] [Black "Muzychuk, A."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2578"] [BlackElo "2545"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 g6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Nbd2 (5. Bg2 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. cxd5 cxd5 {would lead to a popular line of the Grünfeld.}) 5... Nh6 $5 {On GM-level a new move.} ({The "normal" continuation is} 5... Nf6 {e.g.} 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Bf5 {etc.}) 6. Bg2 Nf5 7. e3 O-O 8. O-O Nd7 9. Rb1 (9. b3 e5 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. Rb1 Be6 14. Nf3 Bg7 15. Bb2 Qa5 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qe2 Rac8 18. Rbc1 Qa3 19. Qd2 a6 20. Ng5 Qe7 21. Qb2+ Kg8 22. h4 h6 23. Nxe6 Qxe6 24. Rfd1 Ne7 25. Qd4 Rfd8 26. Qf4 Kh7 27. Bh3 f5 28. Bg2 Nc6 29. Rc2 Rd7 30. Rcd2 Rcd8 31. Bh3 Ne5 32. h5 Ng4 33. Bxg4 fxg4 34. hxg6+ Kxg6 35. Rd4 h5 36. e4 dxe4 37. Rxd7 Rxd7 38. Rxd7 Qxd7 39. Qxe4+ Kg7 40. Qe5+ Kg6 41. Qe4+ {1/2-1/2 (41) Raasch,J (2306)-Scheffner,A (2306) Germany 2009}) 9... a5 10. b3 b5 11. Qc2 Ba6 12. Rd1 Rc8 13. c5 Re8 14. Bb2 Qc7 15. Bh3 e6 16. e4 Ne7 17. e5 b4 18. Nf1 Nf5 19. Re1 Rf8 20. Bc1 Rce8 21. Bf4 Bh6 22. Bxh6 Nxh6 23. Ng5 Bxf1 24. Kxf1 Kg7 25. Kg1 Nf5 26. Bxf5 gxf5 27. Re3 Qd8 28. Nh3 Rg8 29. a3 {After maneuvring behind closed pawn chains both players now found "their" wing. Black plays on the kingside, White plays on the queenside.} bxa3 30. b4 ( 30. Ra1 $14) 30... Kh8 31. Rxa3 $6 {A bit careless.} (31. Kg2 $14) 31... Qh4 { Double attack!} 32. Kg2 Qxd4 33. bxa5 Nxe5 34. a6 Nc4 35. Ra2 (35. Ra4 Qxc5 36. Rb7 $4 (36. Qc3+ e5 37. Rb7 $11) 36... Ne3+) 35... Qxc5 (35... f4 {also came into consideration. After} 36. Rb7 $2 fxg3 37. hxg3 Rxg3+ 38. fxg3 {Black wins with} Ne3+) 36. Rb7 {[#]} d4 $2 {Intending 37...Qd5+ and 38...d3.} ({But better was} 36... Qf8 37. a7 Ra8 {though the passed pawn and the rook on the seventh give White more than enough compensation.}) 37. Nf4 Qe5 38. Qxc4 Qxf4 39. Qxc6 (39. a7 $1) 39... Qe4+ 40. Qxe4 fxe4 41. Rxf7 Rgf8 (41... Rg7 42. Rxg7 Kxg7 {offered better drawing chances.}) 42. Rb7 Rd8 43. Rc2 e3 ({Or} 43... d3 44. Rcc7 Rfe8 45. Rxh7+ Kg8 46. h4 d2 47. Rbg7+ Kf8 {and now simply} 48. Rd7 { and Black cannot play} d1=Q $2 {because of} 49. Rh8#) 44. fxe3 dxe3 45. a7 {[#] } Kg8 {Threatening ...Rd2+} (45... Rd2+ 46. Rxd2 exd2 47. Rb8 $18) 46. Kh3 Ra8 47. Rcc7 Rf6 48. Rg7+ Kh8 49. Rxh7+ Kg8 50. Rhg7+ Kh8 {[#]} 51. Rg4 ({Or} 51. Rb8+ Kxg7 52. Rxa8 e2 53. Rg8+ Kxg8 54. a8=Q+ Rf8 55. Qe4 $18) 51... Rh6+ 52. Kg2 Rf6 53. Re4 1-0 [Event "Chengdu WGP 2016"] [Site "Chengdu CHN"] [Date "2016.07.14"] [Round "?"] [White "Koneru, H."] [Black "Stefanova, A."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2575"] [BlackElo "2512"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. c5 b6 7. cxb6 Qxb6 8. Bd3 ( 8. Bd2 a5 9. Na4 Qa7 10. Rc1 Bd6 11. Bd3 Ba6 12. Qe2 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Ne4 14. O-O O-O 15. Rc2 Rc8 16. Rfc1 Qb7 17. Qb3 Qxb3 18. axb3 Rc7 19. Be1 f6 20. Nc3 f5 21. Na4 f4 22. exf4 Bxf4 23. Ra1 Rb7 24. Ne5 Rxb3 25. Nxc6 Nxc6 26. Rxc6 Kf7 27. g3 Bd2 28. Bxd2 Nxd2 29. Nc5 Rxb2 30. Rc7+ Kf6 31. Ra3 a4 32. Re3 Re8 33. Nxa4 Rb4 34. Nc5 Rxd4 35. Rc6 Rc4 36. Nd7+ Kg5 37. Rcxe6 Rxe6 38. Rxe6 Rd4 39. h4+ Kh5 40. Kg2 Ne4 41. Ne5 Nf6 42. Re7 Kh6 43. f3 Rd1 44. g4 g5 45. Re6 Kg7 46. hxg5 Ng8 47. f4 h6 48. gxh6+ Nxh6 49. Rg6+ Kh7 50. Rd6 d4 51. Rd7+ Kg8 52. Kg3 Kf8 53. Rd8+ Ke7 54. Rxd4 {1-0 (54) Sargissian,G (2693)-Stefanova,A (2507) Dubai 2016}) 8... a5 9. Na4 {[#] White tries to control e5 and exploit the weak pawn on c6 - a motif that runs through the whole game.} Qa7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. b3 Ba6 12. Bxa6 Qxa6 13. Qc2 Bd6 14. Bb2 O-O 15. Ne5 Rfc8 16. Nd3 Qa7 17. Rfc1 Qb8 18. h3 Ne4 19. Qd1 Ra7 20. Rc2 Rac7 21. Rac1 Qa7 22. Qe1 f5 23. f3 Bg3 24. Qe2 Nd6 25. Ndc5 Nxc5 26. Nxc5 Re7 27. Nd3 Rec7 28. Ba3 Nb7 29. Bc5 Qa6 30. Qd1 Re8 31. f4 Bh4 32. a4 Bf6 33. Ba3 Nd8 34. Bd6 Rc8 35. Qd2 Nf7 36. Ba3 Rc7 37. Kh2 Qb6 38. Rc3 Rec8 39. Qc2 {[#] It is not exaggerated to say that White has c5 firmly under control!} Nd8 40. Bc5 Qa6 41. Bd6 Ra7 42. Nc5 Qb6 {[#]} 43. Nxe6 $5 {White's strategic advantage creates tactical opportunities.} Nxe6 44. Qxf5 Re8 45. Rxc6 Qxb3 46. R1c3 Qb7 47. Qxd5 Qf7 48. Rc8 Nd8 49. Qb5 Bh4 50. Be5 {White has three pawns for the piece and controls the entire board.} Qg6 51. f5 Qf7 52. R3c7 Rxc7 53. Rxc7 Be7 54. e4 Qf8 55. Rc8 {[#]} Bd6 {Losing a piece - but the position was lost anyway.} 56. Qd5+ Nf7 57. Rxe8 Qxe8 58. Bxd6 h5 59. e5 Qxa4 60. e6 Nxd6 61. e7+ Nf7 62. Qa8+ Kh7 63. e8=Q Qxd4 64. Qg8+ Kh6 65. Qc6+ 1-0 [Event "Women's FIDE Grand Prix Series"] [Site "Cheng Du"] [Date "2016.07.??"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Black "Koneru, Humpy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "147"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. h3 {Harika tries to avoid the fashionable line:} ({Relevant:} 6. c3 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Nbd2 Nb6 9. Bb5 Bd6 {as in Carlsen,M (2855)-Aronian,L (2792) Leuven 2016}) 6... Re8 ({Here } 6... d5 {will be met with} 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 {When the obvious} Re8 { seems wrong either due to the obvious} 9. Ng5 ({Or the less obvious, but more dangerous} 9. d4 $1 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Bxd4 11. Bxd5 Qxd5 12. c3 {and White wins a piece.}) 9... Be6 10. c3 Nf4 11. Nxe6 Nxe6 {with advantage for White, Karthikeyan,M (2435)-Monnisha,G (2070) Golden Sands 2013}) 7. a4 h6 8. Re1 a6 9. c3 d6 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Bxe6 Rxe6 12. b4 Ba7 13. Qc2 {The evaluation of these positions lies somwhere between equal and slightly better for White. Harika avoids a previous game:} (13. Nf1 d5 14. Qc2 dxe4 15. dxe4 Qd7 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Nxe3 Ne7 18. c4 {although White also seems preferable here, Van Foreest,J (2557)-Swinkels,R (2485) Maastricht 2016}) 13... Re8 {Koneru chooses a different plan, but it seems it was safer to stick with Swinkels's plan from above with} (13... d5 14. Nf1 dxe4 ({But not} 14... d4 15. b5 $1 {and Black lacks the resource Ba7xf2+ after the trade on b4.}) (14... Qd7) 15. dxe4 Qd7 { with transposition to the above-mentioned game.}) 14. Nf1 b5 $6 {Too optimistic. This pawn will soon become a target. It was not too late for} ( 14... d5 15. Ng3 dxe4 16. dxe4 Qd7) 15. Ng3 {Another way to exploit b7-b5 was} (15. Be3 $5 Bxe3 16. Nxe3 Ne7 17. Ra3 {and then White will double (triple) her pieces along the "a" file before opening it.}) 15... Ne7 {Here} (15... d5 { is not as convincing as before as White can start targeting the b5 pawn after} 16. Nf5 dxe4 17. dxe4 Qd7 18. Qe2) 16. d4 Nd7 17. Be3 Ng6 18. Nf5 (18. Ra2 $5 { to double the rooks was once again good.}) 18... Ne7 19. Ng3 Ng6 20. Nf5 Ne7 21. dxe5 {Harika definitely wants to proceed with this game. She does not risk anything.} Bxe3 ({In case of} 21... Nxf5 22. exf5 Bxe3 23. Rxe3 Nxe5 24. Nxe5 Rxe5 (24... dxe5 25. Qe2 {is similar.}) 25. Rxe5 dxe5 26. Qe2 {White's more active heavy pieces determine the evaluation of the position in her favor.}) 22. Nxe3 Nxe5 {Forced as} (22... dxe5 $2 {drops material after} 23. Red1 Qc8 24. axb5 axb5 25. Rxa8 Qxa8 26. Rxd7) 23. Nxe5 dxe5 24. Red1 Qc8 25. c4 $1 { This is it! The b5 pawn is the culprit for all the trouble.} bxa4 {Every move looks bad. After:} (25... c6 26. Rd6 Qc7 27. Rad1 {White has firm control of the open file and still threatens to take on b5.}) (25... bxc4 26. Qxc4 { would be similar.}) 26. Qxa4 {To the active heavy pieces, Harika has added the advantage of the better pawn structure. The pawns on a6 and c7 are very weak, but White still needs to be careful not to trade them for her own queenside pawns.} Qb7 27. Nd5 {Safe choice.} ({Another plan was} 27. Rd7 Qxe4 28. Rxc7) 27... c6 {Or} (27... Nxd5 28. cxd5 Reb8 29. Rdc1 {when both Black pawns will disappear soon, in return for the b4 one only.}) 28. Nxe7+ Qxe7 29. c5 $1 { Fixes the weakness on c6 and creates an outpost for the white rooks on d6. The weaknesses do not give Koneru any chance to fight for the open file.} Qb7 30. Rd6 Rec8 31. Qa5 {With the threat 32.Qa5-b6.} Rab8 32. Ra4 {There is no need to rush:} (32. Qxa6 $2 Qxa6 33. Rxa6 Rxb4 34. Rdxc6 Rxc6 35. Rxc6 Rxe4 { would let the advantage slip away.}) 32... Qb5 (32... h5 $5 {deserved attention. The idea is to bring that pawn to h4 and then, if a chance occurs, to sac the queenside pawns to get into the enemy camp with the queen and produce perpetual (say on the squares c1-f4).}) 33. Qxb5 {Now White can trade.} Rxb5 ({Or else both black pawns will drop} 33... axb5 34. Ra6) 34. f3 a5 35. bxa5 Rxc5 36. a6 Kf8 37. Rd7 $1 {Excellent technique! The seventh rank is of paramount importance. Wrong was:} (37. a7 Ke7 38. Rd3 Ra8 {and Black might survive after Rc5-b5-b7, followed by king march to b6.}) 37... Ke8 38. Rb7 Rb5 39. h4 {It does not hurt to gain some space on the kingside. There was an alternative winning plan to activate the king and eventually liquidate into a won endgame. Here is how it works:} (39. Ra2 g6 40. Kf2 h5 41. Ke3 h4 42. Kd3 Ra8 43. Rxb5 cxb5 44. Kc3 Kd7 45. Kb4 Kc6 46. a7 Kb6 47. Ra5 Rxa7 48. Rxa7 Kxa7 49. Kxb5 {and White wins.}) 39... g6 ({Please note that Black can never play} 39... Rxb7 40. axb7 Rb8 41. Ra8) 40. Kh2 h5 41. Ra2 Kf8 42. Kg3 Kg7 43. Rd7 { Now that the black king is away, Harika changes her set-up.} c5 (43... Ra8 44. a7 {changes nothing.}) 44. a7 Ra8 45. Rc7 Rb4 46. Kf2 c4 47. Ke2 Rb3 48. Rd2 { The rooks belong on the seventh rank!} (48. Rxc4 Rb7 49. Rca4 {was still winning, but was way more complicated.}) 48... Ra3 49. Rdd7 Rf8 50. Rxc4 { Now it is over.} Ra2+ 51. Ke3 Ra3+ ({Perhaps Koneru should have tried her last chance: a devilish trick after} 51... Rxg2 52. Ra4 Ra8 {And if:} 53. Rb7 { with the idea Rb7-b8 the win is lost! Black has:} (53. Ra5 {is still winning though.}) 53... Rc2 (53... Rc8 $1 54. a8=Q $4 ({Or perpetual after} 54. Ra3 Rcc2 55. a8=Q Rge2+ 56. Kd3 Red2+) 54... Rc3#) 54. Rb8) 52. Kd2 Ra2+ 53. Rc2 Ra6 54. Kc1 g5 55. hxg5 Kg6 56. Rb7 Ra8 57. Rcc7 Kxg5 58. Rxf7 Kh4 {The point is not only to attack with the king, Black is hoping for stalemate.} 59. Kb1 ( 59. Rg7 {was possible as stalemate tricks do not work thanks to the in-between checks} R8xa7 60. g3+ $1 ({But not} 60. Rxa7 Ra1+ 61. Rxa1 {Stalemate!})) 59... Kg3 60. Rg7+ {White is carefully converting the advantage.} Kf2 61. Kb2 h4 62. Kb3 h3 63. gxh3 Kxf3 64. h4 Kxe4 65. h5 Kd3 66. Rgd7+ Ke3 67. Kb4 e4 68. Kb5 Rh6 {The last trick was} (68... Ra1 69. h6 Kf4 70. h7 e3 {when White wins after } 71. Rf7+ (71. Rb8 $2 Rb1+ (71... Rxb8+ 72. axb8=Q+) 72. Kc4 Raxb8 73. axb8=Q+ Rxb8) 71... Ke4 72. Rbe7+ Kd3 73. Rg7) 69. Rh7 Re6 70. Rb8 Rxa7 71. Rxa7 Re5+ 72. Kc4 Rxh5 73. Ra3+ Kf4 74. Rf8+ 1-0