Women's World Championship: What Could Have Been In Game 11

Download our printable bulletin of round 11 here.

The penultimate game of the 2023 Women’s World Championship is full of “what ifs.” If challenger Lei Tingjie wins in the final round, or in tiebreaks, defending champion GM Ju Wenjun will surely be haunted by missing 38. … Bg5! in this game.

courtesy Stev Bonhage/FIDE

While neither obvious (in time trouble, without an engine) nor obviously winning (with proper defense), this move might be the clearest, cleanest tactical shot that either player missed in the entire match, which had been characterized by resolute defense and accuracy thus far.

A pensive Ju Wenjun likely calculating variations in the post-game press conference (courtesy Stev Bonhage/FIDE)

And if Ju had found this shot, Lei would surely be wondering why she went for such an ambitious, risky idea of a king-walk when a draw would have been a perfectly acceptable result. Did she overestimate her position here, believing that this was a safer plan than it actually was? Or did she underestimate her position, thinking that she was in danger if she did not take drastic action?

Lei Tingjie making the same face as most of the commentators when they saw the engine suggest 38. ... Bg5! (courtesy Stev Bonhage/FIDE)

More likely, it was a mixture of nerves and inexperience in high-pressure matches. Compared to Ju, who is playing her fourth world championship match, Lei likely was tempted at least subconsciously by the opportunity to create some clarity in the match situation.

Ju, in contrast, was clearly not “desperate” enough to be looking for a forcing win (otherwise she would have found 38. … Bg5!). For now, at least, we can praise her resolve in gaining yet another promising position in the second half of the match, with all signs pointing to the momentum being on her side in a rapid tiebreak match. But, first, she has one more chance with the white pieces to close things out.

courtesy Stev Bonhage/FIDE

Today’s annotations come once again from WGM Tatev Abrahamyan. If her detailed explanation of ideas in the Italian is of interest, her new Chessable course on the Italian Game: Inside & Out! is available now.

Stay tuned tomorrow for WGM Abrahamyan's annotations of the final game, as well as printable bulletins of both games 11 and 12 (available Monday).