[Event "WCh Women 2025"] [Site "Shanghai Chongqing CHN"] [Date "2025.04.04"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Black "Ju, Wenjun"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2555"] [BlackElo "2561"] [PlyCount "123"] [GameId "2162971037728667"] [EventDate "2025.04.03"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,123,11,22,25,19,0,10,-22,-9,-4,-6,-6,19,13,10,16,2,-21,1,-36,11,-91,2,11,24,35,1,38,43,44,23,45,22,46,33,-94,32,35,38,24,52,17,21,7,5,0,-5,-19,-11,16,24,-74,16,17,98,28,29,24,26,29,30,52,19,17,1,170,12,17,-27,1,-23,13,40,-1,23,-47,39,63,82,176,129,154,152,153,136,151,129,135,105,105,97,112,20,89,76,99,100,113,110,103,90,75,29,32,1,50,5,118,129,135,49,120,121,170,166,113,225,261,284,237,389,379,460,488,505]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 (3. g3 {allows White to avoid the 6...Bc5 line, but at the cost - if cost it is - of allowing two other important Black options instead.} Bb4 (3... c6)) 3... Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bc5 {This has become extremely popular the last few years.} (6... Nb6 {is the traditional move, while}) (6... Nf6 {saw a small flurry of interest in the last couple of years that may have disappeared.}) 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 h6 9. Nxd5 Qxd5 10. Bd2 {Usual, though one should be ready for} (10. a3) ({and} 10. Nd2 {as well.}) 10... Qd6 ({The less common} 10... Qe6 {has been used by Caruana and So, and thus deserves attention as well.}) 11. Bc3 Qe7 $146 {Given the pawn structure White has in general two plausible sorts of plans. The first is to use the central pawn majority and try to achieve d3-d4, and the second is to "go queenside", using the c-file and the g2-bishop's influence on the long diagonal. Black's play down the d-file and in the center ore generally will be her way of defending.} (11... Rd8 {was the main move (albeit from a small sample size), used by Giri and So among others.}) 12. Nd2 Nd4 $5 13. e3 Nb5 14. a4 Nxc3 15. bxc3 {The c-file isn't open any longer and the b-file is a less promising substitute. On the other hand, there's now no difficulty in achieving d4.} c6 {This isn't terrible, but it actually helps White because the g2 bishop has something to bite on. (There's an old expression about a bishop blocked by a chain of enemy pawns that says it's biting on granite. But it's not always bad for the bishop to have something to bite on--how else could it make a capture?)} (15... Rb8 $11 {followed by ...b6 may be better, giving White's bishop a nice, wholly open diagonal and nothing to do.}) 16. a5 $14 {Now a5-a6 hangs over Black's head, and pushing ...a6 to stop it makes the b-pawn backward.} Bd7 17. Qb3 (17. d4 $14) (17. Nc4 $14) 17... Rab8 $11 18. Ne4 Bd6 19. Nxd6 Qxd6 20. d4 b6 {A trade of one small disadvantage for another. The b-pawn is fine, but White gets to use the a-file. This is fine, because Black's centralized army is at least as effective.} 21. axb6 axb6 22. Ra7 Be6 23. Qa4 Rfc8 (23... exd4 24. exd4 (24. cxd4 b5 25. Qa6 Rfc8 {is also equal, with Black's b-pawn full compensating for the weakness on c6. For example:} 26. Rc1 b4 27. Rxc6 Rxc6 28. Bxc6 (28. Qxc6 $2 Qxc6 29. Bxc6 b3 30. Be4 f5 $1 31. Bb1 (31. Bd3 b2 $19) 31... Rc8 32. Kg2 Rc1 33. Bd3 Rd1 $19) 28... b3 29. Be4 Qxa6 30. Rxa6 b2 31. Bb1 {If it weren't for the weak Black back rank, ...Rc8 would win on the spot.} g5 (31... Rc8 $6 32. Kg2 Rc1 $4 33. Ra8+ Bc8 34. Bd3 g5 35. Rb8 $18) 32. Kg2 Rb3 33. Ra5 g4 $44) 24... c5 $11 {looks likely to result in the complete liquidation of the queenside pawns and a peaceful handshake thereafter.}) 24. Rb1 Bd5 (24... b5 $11) 25. dxe5 Qxe5 26. Qd4 Qxd4 27. exd4 (27. cxd4 Bxg2 28. Kxg2 c5 29. dxc5 bxc5 30. Rxb8 Rxb8 31. Rc7 {is drawn even if Black loses the c-pawn, though Black will have to do a little suffering. The most "academic" approach is} h5 32. Rxc5 g6 {, setting up the standard ideal pawn formation. Still, even GMs have lost this ending - see, famously, Piket-Kasparov from the year 2000 or so in an early online event (from the Kasparov Chess Club, if I recall correctly).}) 27... Bxg2 28. Kxg2 b5 29. Re1 {Black can tolerate White's doubled rooks on the 7th - but why should she?} Ra8 30. Ree7 Rxa7 31. Rxa7 c5 $6 (31... b4 $1 32. cxb4 Rd8 $11 {would have brought the game to a speedy end.} (32... Rb8 33. Ra4 Rd8 $11 {also works.})) 32. Kf3 $1 {Now there's no easy draw, and Black will have to suffer.} cxd4 33. cxd4 {It's still equal, but it's not. Translated: the engine yawns and gives "0.00" everywhere, but as long as White doesn't have a medical event it's only Black who can lose this ending. So practically speaking, it's more like "?", with the possibility of "?" (or worse) if Black doesn't stay sharp.} Kf8 (33... Rb8 34. Ke4 b4 35. Ra2 Kf8 36. Rb2 Ke7 37. Kd5 {is still "drawn", but Black has problems to solve here as well.}) 34. Rb7 Rc3+ 35. Ke4 Rc2 36. Ke3 Rc3+ 37. Kd2 Rf3 38. Ke2 Rf5 $2 {A strange decision by Jun, immobilizing her rook and giving White's king some extra freedom.} (38... Rb3 39. d5 g5 40. d6 {is also unpleasant for Black, but she can still survive.} Ke8 41. Re7+ $1 Kd8 $1 (41... Kf8 $2 42. Re5 $1 $18) 42. Rxf7 b4 43. Rh7 (43. Rb7 g4 $1 44. Rh7 Rc3 45. Rxh6 b3 46. Rh4 b2 47. Rh8+ Kd7 48. Rb8 Rc2+ 49. Ke3 Kxd6 $11) 43... Rc3 44. Kd2 Rf3 45. Ke2 Rc3 46. Rxh6 b3 47. Rh7 Kc8 $1 48. Ra7 g4 $3 {Everything else loses.} (48... b2 $2 49. d7+ Kd8 50. Rb7 Rc2+ 51. Kf3 $18) 49. d7+ Kd8 50. Rb7 Rc2+ $1 {Again the only drawing move.} 51. Ke3 b2 $1 52. Kf4 Rxf2+ 53. Kxg4 Rxh2 {Still a draw. The basic idea is this: Black waits while White brings the king to g8 and the pawn to g7. White cannot make progress, as everytime the king moves out from in front of the pawn Black will play whac-a-mole, giving checks until the king either returns to g8 or abandons the pawn and allows its capture. Note that if Black didn't have her b-pawn, White could then with (after ...Rxg7) with 1.Rb8+ Kxd7 2.Rb7+ and 3.Rxg7. But thanks to her b-pawn, she'd then win with 3...b1Q.}) 39. Ke3 h5 {Securing the f5 square for the rook, for the moment. (But is that such a wonderful square that Black should have made that her priority?)} 40. f4 {White's idea is simple: Ke4 and d5 followed by taking the b-pawn. White will have a material advantage *and* Black's rook will be very passive.} Ke8 $2 (40... b4 $1 {is already the only move that doesn't lose. Activity is imperative in rook endings.} 41. Rxb4 Ra5 {Black needs activity and fast. Compare this to the game, when Black eventually activates her rook in the same way, but it's too late. There is a little margin for error, as the d-pawn isn't *that* hard for Black's king to cope with, but that margin has its limits.}) 41. Ke4 Rf6 42. Rxb5 $18 g6 43. d5 Ra6 44. Ke5 (44. Kd4 Ra2 45. Ke5 $1 {No ...f6+ here.} Rxh2 46. Kd6 {Threatening mate.} f6 (46... Kf8 47. Rb3 $3 h4 48. gxh4 Rxh4 49. Rb4 $1 g5 (49... Rh1 50. Kd7 Rd1 51. d6 $18 {White will advance, step by step, and win Lucena-style.}) 50. Rb8+ Kg7 51. fxg5 $18) 47. Rb8+ Kf7 48. Rb7+ $18 {followed by Ke6 and scarfing up a bunch of pawns.}) 44... f6+ 45. Kd4 Ra2 46. Kc5 Rxh2 47. Rb8+ $1 Kd7 48. Rb7+ Kc8 49. Rg7 g5 50. f5 h4 51. gxh4 gxh4 52. Rh7 h3 53. Kd6 Kb8 54. Kd7 Kb7 55. d6 Kb6 56. Kd8 Rh1 57. d7 h2 {It might seem as if both players are stuck, but White has a standard trick to break through the apparent impasse.} 58. Rh3 $1 Kb7 59. Rb3+ Ka7 60. Rb2 {Keeping the h-pawn frozen, and after} Ka6 61. Re2 $1 {gives White's king a safe place to hide.} Kb7 62. Ke7 {Very good technique by Tan once she had her chance, but surprisingly poor technique by the Women's World Champion.} 1-0