[Event "FIDE Women's Candidates"] [Site "Chongqing CHN"] [Date "2023.03.29"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Black "Lei, Tingjie"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2526"] [BlackElo "2545"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2023.03.29"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1482"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2023.04.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.04.03"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,75,26,-12,-18,-46,-28,-7,-35,-14,-4,9,-9,5,13,18,54,25,49,56,47,30,36,36,30,27,34,-4,-5,4,2,-42,-5,-65,-62,-81,-36,-19,-37,-58,-58,-50,-53,-36,-41,-73,-45,-94,-80,-82,-86,-47,-96,-79,-79,-87,-108,-108,-119,-35,-84,-68,217,331,408,225,139,159,122,175,175,0,0,0,336,405,421,307]} 1. c4 e5 2. d3 Bb4+ 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 Nc6 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 Nge7 7. O-O Bxd2 8. Bxd2 h6 9. a3 a5 10. b4 axb4 11. axb4 Rxa1 12. Qxa1 Nxb4 13. Bxb4 cxb4 14. Rb1 Nc6 15. d4 (15. Ne1 {followed by Nc2 was better, rounding up the pawn and hoping to make something of her better structure.}) 15... Bf5 16. Rc1 $2 (16. Rb3 $142) 16... O-O $17 17. d5 Nb8 18. c5 dxc5 19. Nxe5 f6 $2 (19... Qf6 20. f4 b5 $17) 20. Nc4 $6 (20. Nd3 $142 $11) 20... Nd7 $15 (20... Bd7 $1 $17) 21. Ne3 Bg6 22. d6 $6 (22. Qa4 $142) 22... Kh7 $2 (22... Qb6 $17 {was better, using the threat to White's d-pawn to keep her from playing Nd5.}) 23. Nd5 (23. Qa4 $142 $11 {White will play Nd5, just not yet.}) 23... Qa8 (23... Qb8 $142 $15) 24. Qb2 Qa6 25. Nf4 Qxd6 26. Nxg6 Kxg6 27. Qc2+ $44 f5 28. Rd1 (28. e4 $142 $11) 28... Qe7 29. Bh3 Ne5 30. Rd5 $2 {Black has "forgiven" White for her earlier errors, but this next amnesty more than makes up for White's miscues.} (30. f4 $11 {/?}) 30... Qe6 $4 (30... c4 $19) 31. Qxc5 $18 {This is an instant disaster for Black, who is faced with horrible threats everywhere: 32.Rd6, 32.Rxe5, 32.Qxf8 (32...Qxd5 in reply walks into 33.Qxf5#), not to mention 32.f4 if Black plays 31...Re8 (we'll ignore that 32.Rd6 is still there). Just like that, the game is gone.} Nd7 32. Rxd7 (32. Qd4 $142 $1 {is better, threatening both 33.Rxd7 and 33.Rd6. The only sensible move to defend against those threats is} Nf6 {, but now} 33. Bxf5+ Qxf5 34. Rxf5 Kxf5 35. Qc5+ $18 {finishes the job.}) 32... Qxd7 33. Qxf8 Qd1+ 34. Bf1 b3 35. Qe8+ $2 (35. e4 $1 {, threatening 36.Qxf5#, was best.} fxe4 36. Qc5 Qc2 (36... b2 37. Qb6+ $18) 37. Bc4 Qc1+ 38. Kg2 b2 39. Qd6+ Kh7 40. Bf7 {and White mates first, e.g.} b1=Q 41. Bg6+ Kg8 42. Qd8#) 35... Kh7 $11 36. Qb5 f4 $2 (36... Qb1 {saves the game, with ...b2 coming next. One possible line:} 37. e4 b2 $8 (37... fxe4 $2 38. Kg2 b2 39. Bc4 Qc2 40. Qf5+ Kh8 41. Qf8+ Kh7 42. Bg8+ Kg6 43. Qf7+ Kg5 44. h4+ Kg4 45. Qg6#) 38. Qxf5+ Kh8 39. Qf8+ Kh7 40. Qf5+ $11) 37. e3 $1 $18 fxe3 38. Qd3+ 1-0 [Event "FIDE Women's Candidates"] [Site "Chongqing CHN"] [Date "2023.03.30"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Lei, Tingjie"] [Black "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2545"] [BlackElo "2526"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "157"] [EventDate "2023.03.29"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1482"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2023.04.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.04.03"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,157,26,29,26,-20,-4,4,16,36,16,17,26,6,22,12,28,10,26,-6,40,-17,69,49,29,29,61,29,57,42,63,52,63,43,25,42,31,91,90,47,63,94,131,120,75,91,95,111,111,103,103,76,131,118,101,97,108,108,126,95,113,85,59,66,66,53,81,67,83,74,74,89,76,76,84,66,86,50,63,63,81,81,74,81,63,70,75,83,78,72,141,155,151,155,155,147,175,145,161,133,169,143,177,140,154,137,140,143,142,154,152,144,167,157,137,140,144,137,129,138,139,114,160,114,105,127,114,114,115,118,120,120,128,126,133,126,127,157,149,157,164,157,164,157,215,226,226,249,312,250,332,332,616,1051,1080,1134,1134,878,878,995] Despite the disappointment of losing a game in which she was often better (and sometimes winning) and even should have drawn shortly before the end, Tingjie Lei seemed to have little trouble bouncing back. Here, we'll see her strike back immediately.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 dxc4 {Neither a popular nor a particularly successful line, but a well worked out sideline is often a practical surprise weapon.} 4. e4 b5 5. a4 c6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Qb6 (7... a5 {is much more common.}) 8. Be2 Ne7 $146 9. Qc2 Bb7 $146 10. b3 cxb3 11. Qxb3 a5 12. axb5 cxb5 13. Bxb5+ Bc6 $11 14. Bd3 Nd7 15. O-O O-O 16. Rab1 Rfb8 (16... Rfc8 $142 $11) 17. Bf4 $14 Rd8 18. Na2 Nf6 (18... Bb5 $142 19. Bxb5 Qxb5 20. Nxb4 axb4 21. Qxb4 Qxb4 22. Rxb4 Nf6 23. Re1 Ng6 $14 {White is up a safe pawn, but with all the pawns on the kingside (not literally, but close enough) Black's drawing chances are pretty good. This is especially so since White's center pawns aren't easily advanced - the d-pawn for obvious reasons, and the e-pawn because e5 gives Black the fantastic d5 square forever.}) 19. Bg5 (19. Rfe1 $1 $14 {/?}) 19... Rab8 $2 (19... h6 $1 $11) 20. d5 $1 $18 {A nice shot. White is tactically alert to Black's inability to play ...exd5:} Be8 (20... exd5 $2 21. e5 $18 {and Black's problem is that if she moves the attacked knight, White wins a piece with 22.Bxe7, as Black's bishop on b4 is pinned.}) 21. Qb2 $2 (21. Nxb4 Qxb4 22. Qa2 Qa4 23. Rxb8 $1 Rxb8 $8 24. Qxa4 Bxa4 25. Ra1 Be8 26. dxe6 fxe6 27. Rxa5 $18) 21... Ng6 $14 {/?} 22. Rfc1 $6 (22. Nxb4 $142) (22. e5 $142) 22... h6 23. Be3 Qb7 24. Nxb4 axb4 $11 {/?} 25. Ra1 Rbc8 $2 (25... Ra8) 26. Rxc8 Qxc8 27. Qxb4 $2 (27. Bb6 $1 $16) 27... exd5 28. e5 Ne4 $14 (28... d4 $1 29. Bxd4 Nd5 $44) 29. Rc1 Qe6 30. Qa5 Rb8 31. Qc7 Ra8 32. h3 Qe7 33. Qxe7 Nxe7 34. Nd4 Ng6 35. e6 fxe6 36. Nxe6 Bf7 37. Nc7 Rd8 38. Bd4 Nf4 39. Ba6 Ng5 (39... Nd6 $142 $11) 40. Be5 (40. Kh2 $142 $14) 40... Ng6 41. Bd4 Nf4 42. h4 Nge6 43. Nxe6 Nxe6 44. Be5 h5 $6 (44... Nf8 $142) 45. Bd3 $14 Re8 46. f4 Rd8 47. Kf2 Nf8 48. Rc6 Ra8 49. Bf5 Nh7 50. Ke3 Ra3+ $6 51. Bc3 (51. Bd3 $142 $16) 51... Ra8 52. Rd6 Re8+ 53. Be5 Nf6 54. Ra6 Ne4 55. Kd4 $14 {The engine thinks White is only fractionally better - not even enough to be in '?' territory. For humans, it's another story entirely. White's bishops, better pawn structure and more active king leave Black with an unpleasant defensive task.} Ng3 56. Bd3 Ne4 $1 {Inviting White to win a pawn, which would result in a dead drawn ending due to the opposite-colored bishops.} 57. Ra7 Rc8 58. Bc7 Re8 59. Be5 Rc8 60. Ra3 Kf8 61. Rb3 Ra8 62. Rb8+ Rxb8 63. Bxb8 g6 64. Ke5 (64. f5 $5) 64... Kg7 65. Ba7 Ng3 66. Bd4 Kf8 67. Kd6 Nf5+ 68. Bxf5 gxf5 {So why isn't this a dead draw? It is indeed a draw, but you'll soon see why it's not "dead".} 69. Ke5 Be8 {Not a bad decision.} 70. Kxf5 Bd7+ 71. Kg5 Bg4 $4 {But this is a very bad decision.} (71... Be8 {is still drawn.}) 72. Kg6 $1 $18 {Here's the problem, one which wouldn't have existed with Black's bishop parked on e8. Now White threatens to run the pawn to f6, then give check on c5 and then play f7+ and f8Q.} Be2 73. f5 Bd3 {Stopping the plan mentioned in the next note, but now White swaps her f-pawn for Black's h-pawn, and the conneccted passers decide. (Note that this is only so because White has a dark-squared bishop capable of covering h8. If it were a light-squared bishop, Black could give up her bishop for White's g-pawn [after the swap of White's f-pawn for Black's h-pawn], and that would be an elementary theoretical draw.} 74. g3 Kg8 75. Kxh5 Bxf5 76. g4 Bd3 77. Kh6 Kf7 78. h5 Ke6 79. Kg7 1-0 [Event "FIDE Women's Candidates"] [Site "Chongqing CHN"] [Date "2023.03.31"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Black "Lei, Tingjie"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D32"] [WhiteElo "2526"] [BlackElo "2545"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2023.03.29"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1482"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2023.04.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.04.03"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,80,26,29,26,-4,4,4,30,31,34,30,30,35,35,35,64,52,67,46,51,40,40,40,63,63,40,40,40,58,31,27,52,49,48,-19,-27,-32,-21,-21,-32,-32,-32,42,47,28,32,39,33,39,20,35,38,40,43,33,53,41,76,80,82,75,75,75,76,98,109,124,125,125,122,122,123,40,58,48,45,70,75,88,81,81,81]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. dxc5 ({White hasn't had much success in recent years in the} 6. g3 {mainline, as after} Nf6 7. Bg2 {Dubov's} cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 {has been an effective drawing weapon.}) 6... d4 7. Na4 Bxc5 8. Nxc5 Qa5+ 9. Bd2 Qxc5 10. b4 Qb6 11. Qa4 a6 12. e3 dxe3 13. fxe3 Rb8 14. b5 axb5 15. Qxb5 Qxb5 16. Bxb5 {White has chances there are to be had here, but Black has drawn all five games in this position, and with this game it's six for six.} Nf6 17. Ne5 O-O 18. Nxc6 bxc6 19. Bxc6 Ba6 20. Bf3 Rfe8 {White is a pawn up, but has no advantage at all.} (20... Rb2 $11 {might be microscopically more precise.}) 21. Kf2 Rb2 22. Rhd1 Ne4+ 23. Bxe4 Rxe4 24. Rab1 Reb4 25. Rxb2 Rxb2 26. a4 f5 27. Ke1 Bd3 28. a5 g5 29. Ra1 Rb1+ 30. Rxb1 Bxb1 31. Bb4 Be4 32. g3 g4 {White will not get her revenge for the last game; this opposite-colored bishop ending is even more drawish than the last one. Regardless, White is given no opportunity to acquire the full point.} 33. Kd2 Kf7 34. Kc3 Ke6 35. Kd4 Kd7 36. a6 Kc6 37. Bc5 Kb5 38. a7 Ka6 39. Ke5 Kb7 40. Kd6 Bd3 {If White's king heads for the h-pawn, Black will have ...f4+ and ...f3 (and if Black's bishop is parked on e4, White will have no defense to ...f2 followed by ...f1Q). White could prepare the capture by first putting her bishop on f4, but then Black would take the a-pawn and her king would return to the kingside. It's a very, very easy draw.} (40... Bd3 41. Ke5 Be4 42. Kf6 Ka8 43. Kg5 Kb7 44. Kh6 Ka8 45. Bd6 Kxa7 46. Bf4 Kb7 47. Kxh7 Kc6 48. Kg6 Kd7 {and what is White supposed to do?} 49. Kg5 Ke6 50. Kh4 Kf7 51. h3 gxh3 52. Kxh3 Kg6 53. g4 fxg4+ 54. Kxg4 Kf6 {is drawn unless a meteorite strikes Black on the head.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Women's Candidates"] [Site "Chongqing CHN"] [Date "2023.04.02"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Lei, Tingjie"] [Black "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2545"] [BlackElo "2526"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2023.03.29"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1482"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2023.04.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.04.03"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,115,28,26,13,4,4,4,0,-17,2,16,12,-9,8,9,2,-24,-20,-16,-15,-49,-15,-39,-39,-5,23,21,32,32,27,28,29,31,65,-3,50,44,60,59,57,64,64,56,54,34,46,-5,15,32,69,48,72,20,33,22,9,-87,7,46,52,50,51,45,58,58,52,34,53,56,63,53,111,110,74,37,26,24,31,-4,57,23,-7,-49,-44,-37,-28,0,270,243,313,263,299,465,507,434,427,428,409,316,316,328,365,301,368,639,639,355,402,358,402,356,419,529,548,506,554,614]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qa4 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 Be4 11. Qc1 Nc6 (11... c6 {has been the hot move in recent years.}) 12. Be3 Rc8 13. Rd1 Nd5 14. Nbd2 Nxe3 15. fxe3 Bxf3 16. exf3 (16. Nxf3 {was more common, though not any better or appreciably more successful.}) 16... Nb4 $146 {Probably not so bad, but} (16... Na5 {had made 10 draws in 10 prior games, and it's the engine's top choice as well.} 17. Ne4 f5 18. Nc5 Bxc5 19. dxc5 Qf6 $11) 17. a3 Nd5 18. Nb3 f5 $6 19. Rd3 $14 {/?} (19. Re1 $142) 19... Kh8 (19... c6 $142) 20. Qc6 $16 {Strange preparation by Tan. Perhaps she didn't expect the Catalan?} Nb6 21. Na5 (21. f4 $1 $16 {was even better. Rather than figuring out how to cope with ...e5, White prevents the move instead.}) 21... e5 22. Rc1 $2 (22. Qc2 $1 exd4 23. Nc6) 22... Bf6 $11 23. Bh3 g6 24. d5 Bg7 $6 (24... e4 $1 $11) 25. e4 $16 Qg5 26. Qc2 (26. Qc3 $142 {is a little better, as there are lines where White's rook will use the c2 square.}) 26... Rf7 (26... Rf6 $142 $14) 27. Rf1 $6 (27. Re1 $142) 27... Rcf8 $11 28. b3 $2 (28. Re1 $11) (28. Qe2 $11) 28... Nc8 $2 (28... fxe4 29. fxe4 Rxf1+ 30. Bxf1 {and now the move both players clearly overlooked:} Nxd5 $3 $19 31. exd5 $2 (31. Rxd5 $2 Qe3+ 32. Kg2 Qf3+ $19) 31... e4 32. Rd1 Qe3+ 33. Kg2 (33. Kh1 Rf2 $19) 33... Qf3+ 34. Kh3 (34. Kg1 Bd4+ $1 35. Rxd4 Qxf1#) 34... Rf5 $19) 29. Nb7 $14 fxe4 30. fxe4 Rxf1+ 31. Bxf1 Qf6 32. Bh3 Qb6+ 33. Nc5 Nd6 34. Kh1 Rf7 35. Be6 Rf1+ $2 (35... Rf8 $142 $14 {is correct. Black need not worry about} 36. Nd7 $4 {because of} Rf1+ 37. Kg2 Qg1+ 38. Kh3 Rf2 $19) 36. Kg2 Ra1 37. Qf2 $6 (37. Rf3 $142 $18 {Now it's White who gets the attack after a subsequent Qf2. Black's rook is active, but has no help.} Rxa3 $2 {doesn't work here, because of} 38. Nd7 $1 {followed by Qb2, winning.} Qa7 39. Qb2 b4 40. Nxe5 $1 {This has a cute mating idea:} a5 $2 41. Rf8+ $1 Bxf8 42. Nxg6#) 37... Rxa3 $16 38. Rf3 Qb8 $2 (38... h5) 39. Bd7 $2 $16 (39. Nd7 $1 $18 {followed by Qb2 wins, more or less as we already saw, above.}) 39... h6 $2 (39... h5) 40. Ne6 $18 Qb6 41. Qb2 $2 (41. Qf1 $1 $18) 41... Qa5 $1 $16 42. Rf2 Nxe4 $6 (42... Qb4 $142) 43. Qc2 $1 $18 Qe1 44. Re2 Qc3 45. Qxe4 Rxb3 46. Qxg6 (46. Nxg7 Kxg7 47. Be8 {was even easier, not giving Black any checks.}) 46... Qf3+ 47. Kh3 Qf1+ 48. Rg2 Qf6 49. Qxf6 Bxf6 50. Rf2 Bg5 51. Kg4 e4 52. Rf8+ Kh7 53. h4 Bd2 54. Nd4 Kg7 55. Nxb3 Kxf8 56. Nxd2 e3 57. Nf3 Ke7 58. Bc6 {White will soon capture the e-pawn, and Black's queenside passers are far too slow to create counterplay.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Women's Candidates"] [Site "Chongqing CHN"] [Date "2023.04.03"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Black "Lei, Tingjie"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D05"] [WhiteElo "2526"] [BlackElo "2545"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2023.03.29"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1482"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2023.04.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.04.03"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,76,28,13,14,27,27,5,9,16,9,-6,-3,-5,1,6,26,26,36,-3,-1,2,0,6,-11,-21,-25,-35,-33,-51,-49,-26,-25,-42,-50,-61,-61,-79,-78,-143,-120,-141,-137,-137,-68,-75,-91,-103,-103,-96,-76,-69,-94,-93,-56,-111,-97,-104,-91,-98,-89,-125,-144,-132,-139,-346,-323,-545,-545,-1296,-1602,-1602,-29984,-29989,-950,-1029,-1107,-814,-814] With only one white game left, Tan needed to play for a win.} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 c5 5. b3 {The Zukertort Sytem had a flurry of popularity a few years back, but has mostly disappeared from top level play in this decade.} Nc6 6. Bb2 cxd4 7. exd4 g6 {The combination of ...e6 and ...g6 looks a bit weird and weakening, but Black has done fairly well with this.} 8. O-O Bg7 9. Ba3 Ne4 10. Re1 $146 (10. Bb5) (10. c3) 10... f5 11. c3 Bd7 $11 12. Qc2 $6 {Not a brilliant square for the queen.} Rc8 (12... g5 $1 $15) 13. Qb2 (13. Qe2 $142) 13... g5 $17 {White is already in trouble - so much for the Zukertort.} 14. Nfd2 g4 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. Bf1 $6 (16. Bxe4 $5 dxe4 17. Nd2 {may be White's best chance.} Ne7 $1 18. Nxe4 O-O $17 {White enjoys some practical compensation for the piece.}) 16... Qf6 $6 (16... h5 $142 $19) 17. Qe2 $6 (17. Nd2 $142 $17) 17... h5 $19 18. Nd2 Bf8 19. Bb2 Bd6 20. Rad1 O-O (20... g3 $1) 21. g3 {Weakening the f3 and h3 squares. Black immediately goes after the fresh weaknesses:} Nd8 $1 22. Bg2 Nf7 23. Nf1 Ng5 24. Ne3 Nf3+ 25. Bxf3 gxf3 26. Qf1 h4 {White's position is a disaster, but as a loss in this game means a loss in the match as well, White keeps fighting.} 27. g4 h3 $1 28. Kh1 Rf7 29. c4 Qh4 30. Bc1 Rg7 31. Qg1 Kh7 32. cxd5 exd5 33. Nxd5 Rxg4 34. Rxe4 Rxg1+ 35. Rxg1 Qxf2 36. Bf4 Qg2+ {Absolutely good enough.} (36... Rc1 $1 {is spectacular and efficient. Black threatens three different mates in one (...Qg2#, ...Qxg1#, ...Rxh1#) and capturing the rook allows either ...Qg2# or ...Qxh2#.}) 37. Rxg2 hxg2+ 38. Kg1 Bxf4 {White's choices are to be a piece down (after 39.Re1) or to allow ...Rc1+ followed by ...g1Q+. Both are awful and hopeless, so Tan gave up.} 0-1