Yip Annotates Thrilling World Women's Finale

Ju Wenjun - Goryachkina (photo David Llada)

Carissa Yip

Ju Wenjun

As the Women's World Championship ended in a thrilling finale, giving Grandmaster Ju Wenjun her third title, young American IM Carissa Yip took time from her busy schedule to annotate the crucial games for CLO.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE Women's World Championship"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.01.23"] [White "Goryachkina, Aleksandra"] [Black "Ju, Wenjun"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2578"] [BlackElo "2584"] [Annotator "Yip, Carissa"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 {Needing a win in order to make it to the rapid playoffs, Goryachkina employs this interesting sideline pioneered by Jobava.} Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. Nb5 Na6 5. e3 Bb4+ 6. c3 Be7 7. a4 O-O 8. Bd3 c6 9. Na3 c5 10. Nf3 { First novelty of the game.} (10. Nb5 Ne4 11. Nf3 Bd7 12. Ne5 Bxb5 13. axb5 Nc7 14. O-O {Was previously seen in Bortnyk,O (2566) -Fingerov,D (2319) Kishinev 2017, where White eventually won.}) 10... Ne4 11. h3 f5 12. Nb5 {I personally don't like this move, since the knight ends up going back to a3 anyway.} (12. O-O {Seems natural and best. White's going to have to castle eventually, and the knight may prove to be better on a3 than on b5 depending on what plan Black chooses. For instance, if Black continues with her plan as in the game:} c4 13. Bxe4 fxe4 14. Ne5 Nb8 {White gets an improved version of the game.} 15. f3 $16) 12... c4 13. Bxe4 fxe4 14. Ne5 ({After:} 14. Nd2 {Black can still play: } Nb8 15. Nxa7 (15. Nc7 $2 {does not work due to:} Rxf4 $1) 15... Rxa7 16. Bxb8 Ra6 17. Bg3 Qb6 {And Black will regain the pawn on a4.}) 14... Nb8 {Now that the knight is maneuvering itself back in the game, Black has achieved (or at least is close to) equality.} 15. O-O a6 16. Na3 Nd7 17. Nc2 Qe8 18. f3 { White should open the center before Black's light squared bishop can effectively control the e4 square.} Nxe5 19. Bxe5 Bd7 20. Ne1 ({If:} 20. fxe4 { Black has:} Rxf1+ 21. Qxf1 Bxa4 22. Qe2 Bxc2 23. Qxc2 Qg6 {And Black is fine.}) 20... Qh5 21. Kh2 {Preparing g4.} ({If White tries for the endgame, it would only lead to equality at best.} 21. fxe4 Rxf1+ 22. Kxf1 Rf8+ 23. Kg1 Qxd1 24. Rxd1 Bxa4 {Black is pressing.}) 21... exf3 ({Better was:} 21... a5 $1 {Which fixes the pawn on a4. Goryachkina will have to sacrifice it later if she has any hopes for a kingside attack.}) 22. Nxf3 Be8 23. Qe1 Qg6 24. Bf4 Qe4 25. a5 h6 26. Nd2 Qh7 {Not the best.} ({Better was:} 26... Qg6 {Game play could continue:} 27. e4 Bc6 28. exd5 Bxd5 {While Black's pawn structure isn't ideal, the bishop on d5 is extremely strong. Black is more than fine here.}) 27. e4 { Now it's hard for Black to find a good move.} dxe4 $6 ({In order to maintain equality, Black needed to bring her queen back in the game.} 27... Qg6 28. exd5 Rxf4 $1 {A nice tactic that lets Black hang on.} 29. Rxf4 Bd6 30. Qf2 exd5 $11) ({If Black tries the previous plan of getting the bishop to d5, White has:} 27... Bc6 28. Qg3 {And Black's queen is badly placed on h7, in comparison to its more active counterpart.}) 28. Be5 $6 {Inaccurate, letting Black back in the game.} ({Better was:} 28. Qg3 {Aiming to exchange dark squared bishops, Black's best defender.} Qg6 (28... Rc8 29. Bd6 Bxd6 30. Qxd6 $18) 29. Qxg6 Bxg6 30. Nxc4 {White's better in the endgame.}) 28... Rc8 $6 (28... Rxf1 {Was better, when:} 29. Qxf1 e3 30. Nxc4 Bb5 {Black gets a better version of the game, namely because the dark squared bishop is much more useful on e7. This is highlighted in the following line:} 31. b3 Rf8 32. Qe2 Bg5 {And here, Black's e pawn is an asset instead of a liability.}) 29. Rxf8+ Bxf8 30. Qe2 $1 {Looking towards the critical pawn on c4. The pawn on e4 will be taken eventually, no matter if White does it now or later.} (30. Nxe4 $6 Bc6 $11 { Black's bishop gets to its ideal position on d5.}) 30... e3 $4 {Making it easier for White to win the pawn. At least the bishop could defend it while it was still on e4.} ({Best was:} 30... Bb5 31. Nxe4 Bc6 32. Ng3 Bd5 {And at least Black's bishop is relatively active.}) 31. Nxc4 Bb5 32. b3 Qe4 33. Rf1 $18 {The pawn on e3 is doomed.} Qc6 (33... Be7 34. Rf4 Qc6 35. Rg4) 34. Qxe3 Qe8 (34... Bxc4 35. bxc4 Qxc4 36. Qf3 Qxc3 37. Qf7+ Kh7 38. Rf6 {With mate coming soon. Black is helpless against the threat of Bf4 and Rxf6, or Qg6 and Rf7.}) 35. Qe2 Qg6 36. Rf3 Kh7 37. Qf2 Bc6 38. Rg3 Qf5 39. Qe2 {Clearly, White wants to keep the queens on in a position with tremendous attacking potential.} ({However, the endgame is winning as well.} 39. Qxf5+ exf5 40. Bd6 {It should be easy for White to convert the extra pawn.}) 39... Rd8 40. Ne3 Qf7 41. Qd3+ g6 42. Rg4 {Now White simply maneuvers her pieces into their prime attacking positions, and Black can do nothing about it.} Bg7 43. Bxg7 {Clearing the e5 square for the knight.} Kxg7 44. Nc4 Bb5 45. Qg3 Bxc4 46. bxc4 {Even with the minor pieces off, Black has too many weaknesses for White to target.} Rd7 47. Re4 Qf6 48. Qe3 Rd6 49. c5 Rc6 50. Kg1 Qf5 51. Rf4 Qg5 52. h4 Qe7 (52... Qh5 53. g4 $1 Qxh4 (53... Qd5 54. c4 $1) 54. Qe5+ Kg8 55. Qb8+ {And mate is coming. }) 53. Qe5+ Kg8 54. Rf6 Kh7 55. h5 $1 gxh5 56. Qf4 e5 57. Qxh6+ Kg8 58. Qg6+ Kh8 59. Qxh5+ Kg8 60. Qg5+ 1-0[/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "2020 Women's World Championship Tiebreak"] [Site "Valdivostok RUS"] [Date "2020.01.24"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Goryachkina, Aleksandra"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2584"] [BlackElo "2578"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. O-O Nd7 5. h3 Bh5 6. d4 e6 7. c4 Be7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Nc3 Bxf3 {This same position occurred in the first game of the rapid, when after Bxf3, White couldn't find a plan and got a worse position. But now, Ju deviates:} 10. exf3 {First novelty of the game! While the computer isn't the biggest fan of this move, it does make sense. As GM Bojkov says, "it breaks the symmetry, which is good for the bishop pair... it opens the e-file for the white rook, where especially pleasant is the outpost on e5. And... every novelty has psychological value."} (10. Bxf3 Ngf6 11. Bf4 Nf8 12. Qb3 Qd7 13. Bg2 Ne6 {And it was easier for Black to play in Ju, Wenjun- Goryachkina, Aleksandra, 2020 World Women's Championship Tiebreaks.}) 10... Ngf6 11. h4 { Opening up the diagonal for the bishop.} O-O 12. Bh3 Nb6 13. Qd3 Re8 14. b3 Nfd7 15. Re1 Bf6 16. Bd2 a5 17. Kg2 Nf8 {Hard for Black to find a good plan. Her pieces are headed for the weak d4 pawn, but the problem is after White exchanges off the knight on e6, the e pawn becomes a weakness. Instead, Black needed to create play on the queenside with:} (17... a4 18. Rxe8+ Qxe8 19. Re1 Qd8 20. Nd1 axb3 21. axb3 Nc8 {Headed to d6, and Black should be fine with the open a file.}) 18. Rxe8 Qxe8 19. Re1 Qd8 20. Nd1 $1 {The knight is headed to the e5 outpost via e3-g4.} Nbd7 (20... a4 {Was still best.} 21. Ne3 axb3 22. axb3 Nc8 {Relocating the knight to d6, and while White's position is still preferable, at least Black has play on the queenside.}) 21. Ne3 Qb6 22. Bc3 ({ Another simplifying option was:} 22. Bxd7 Nxd7 23. Nf5 Nf8 24. Bg5 Bxg5 25. hxg5 {And White has good attacking potential.}) 22... a4 {But now it's too late, since White can avoid the opening of lines with:} 23. b4 $1 Ne6 $6 { After the exchange, White has a clear weakness to attack.} ({An interesting defensive idea was:} 23... g6 24. Ng4 Bg7 25. Ne5 f5 $1 {And White's bishop is misplaced on h3.} 26. Nxd7 Nxd7 27. Qe3 Nf8 {The only weakness in Black's position is the e5 square, but it's very difficult for White's bishop to get there. Meanwhile, Black's knight has hopes of reaching outposts on c4/b5.}) 24. Bxe6 fxe6 25. Ng4 Re8 26. f4 Qd8 27. h5 h6 $2 {h6 isn't a serious threat by White, and Goryachkina needed to close the queenside instead with:} (27... b5 $1 28. Qe2 Nf8 {Though of course, White's still better.}) 28. Re3 $6 (28. b5 $1 {More accurate.} Nf8 29. bxc6 bxc6 30. Rb1) 28... Kh8 $6 {Returning the favor.} 29. b5 $1 $18 {Finally breaking through. Black's pieces are unequipped to deal with an attack on the opposite flank.} Nb8 (29... Qb6 30. Qg6) 30. Qe2 cxb5 31. Qxb5 {Now White is winning a pawn.} Qc8 (31... Qd7 32. Qxd7 Nxd7 33. f5 Nf8 34. Nxf6 gxf6 35. Re1 $18) 32. Qxa4 Nc6 33. Bb2 Re7 34. Qc2 Qe8 35. Nxf6 {After improving moves, Ju goes for the kill.} gxf6 36. Ba3 Rg7 37. f5 e5 (37... Nxd4 38. Qd3 Nxf5 39. Qxf5) 38. dxe5 fxe5 39. f6 Rg5 40. f4 Rxh5 41. fxe5 Qe6 (41... Rxe5 42. Qb2 Kg8 43. Qxb7) 42. Kg1 d4 (42... Qh3 43. Qg2) 43. Qg6 $1 { Surprisingly, this is the only winning move, but it's more than adequate.} Qd7 44. e6 Qc7 45. Qxh5 {A brilliant match! After taking the lead with this win, Ju was able to draw the remaining games and retain her title. Both players played admirably, and while there were chances for both sides, eventually experience won out. Of course, Goryachkina is young and extremely talented, and I'm confident she'll become a World Women's Champion one day. In the meantime, congratulations to Ju for her third world women's championship title! } 1-0[/pgn]