[Event "FIDE Women's World Chess Championship"] [Site "Chongqing"] [Date "2023.07.21"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Lei, Tingjie"] [Black "Ju, Wenjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2554"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackElo "2564"] [BlackTeam "China"] [Annotator "WGM Tatev Abrahamyan"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C55"] [Opening "Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/DIriaEIZ/jnF0IMVu"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 { After trying the Caro Kann and even a Sicilian, Ju decides to stick to the solid opening in her final classical game with the black pieces. } 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 { A deviation from game five where Ju chose 4. ... Bc5, transposing to an Italian. } (4... d6 5. O-O h6 6. c3 g6 { Fianchettoing the bishop is another set up for Black, but I don't think Ju was looking for any sharp lines. }) 5. Nc3 { Normally in the Italian, White puts the pawn on c3, with the idea of playing d4. Since the f8-bishop went to e7, the d3-d4 thrust won't come with a tempo and White can choose other set ups, as positions resemble that of the Ruy Lopez. This is also the first time we see Lei spend some time so early in the opening. } (5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 d6 7. a4 { is a very standard and a non-committal way for White to play, as the options of Nb1-c3-d5, as well as c2-c3 and d3-d4 are possible. } 7... Na5 8. Ba2 c5 { Black does have the option of putting the pawn on c5, resembling the Chigorin variation of the Ruy Lopez. }) 5... d6 6. a4 { White has to make sure to keep the bishop alive and on the a2-g8 diagonal, while also grabbing some space on the queenside. } (6. O-O Na5 { and White would already have to give up the bishop for a knight. } 7. Bb5+ c6 8. Ba4 b5 { nabs the bishop. }) 6... O-O 7. Bg5 { After a 10-minute think, Lei chooses her plan. } 7... Be6 8. Bxf6 Bxf6 9. Nd5 { Giving up the bishop pair is quite committal. But, as in the Sveshnikov, White's claim is that due to the pawn structure, the dark-squared bishop is useless and the fight over the d5-square is more important. If White could trade all the other minor pieces, leaving her with a knight on d5 against the f6-bishop, she would be very happy with the outcome. } 9... Bxd5 { Black chooses the most concrete continuation, which makes sense given that her opponent's king is still in the center. } (9... g6 10. O-O Bg7 { would lead to a long strategic battle where White would play for the expansion on the queenside and Black would continue with ... Kg8-h8 and ... f7-f5. }) 10. Bxd5 Nb4 11. Bb3 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. O-O { Opposite-colored bishop middlegames are quite interesting. Here, the light-squared bishop is quite strong as it is on an open diagonal aiming at the king, but the knight on d5 is a good blockading piece. In general, opposite-colored bishops are excellent for building up an attack in the middlegame. } 13... c6 14. Re1 Re8 15. Qd2 Re7 16. Re4 Qd6 17. Rae1 Rae8 18. h4 { Both sides have put their pieces on their most logical squares, so White is now looking for some expansion on the kingside. } 18... h5 19. g3 g6 20. Qe2 a6 21. a5 Qd7 22. Nd2?! { The engine doesn't like this move as it gives Black the option to finally get ... f7-f5 in, now that the e5-pawn is not hanging. } 22... Bg7 23. Qf3 f5 24. R4e2 Kh8 { This expansion feels like an achievement for Black, but it is hard to see how either side will make any progress as pawn breakthroughs are difficult. } 25. c3 Qd8 26. Nc4 Kh7 27. Bc2 Qc7 28. Qg2 Nf6 29. f3 { Preparing for a potential pawn break with g3-g4, which of course comes with a lot of risk as White's king would be exposed. } 29... Nd5 30. Qf2 Bf6 31. Kg2 Qd8 32. Rh1 Re6 33. Kf1!? { A clever idea by the challenger! If she manages to get her king to the queenside and play g3-g4, Black's king will come under a strong attack. } 33... Kg7 (33... R6e7 { Let's make a few waiting moves for Black to see how White's idea would play out. } 34. Ke1 Re6 35. Kd1 R6e7 36. Kc1 Re6 37. g4! { The black king comes under fire, as we will quickly see the c2-bishop come to life after the pawn structure falls apart. }) 34. Ke1 Rh8 35. Kd1 e4! { A quick reaction, striking in the center while White's king is still there. } 36. fxe4 fxe4 37. Kc1 (37. Rxe4?? Rxe4 38. dxe4 Ne3+ $19) 37... e3 { Black takes the most direct approach and correctly stops the c2-bishop from activating. } 38. Nxe3 (38. Qg2 { It is possible to keep more pieces on the board and try to play for d3-d4, but it is understandable why White wouldn't want to let the pawn stay on e3. }) 38... Rhe8 (38... Bg5!! { Our silicon friend spots a nice tactic. If given as a puzzle, this move is quite findable, but it's not such an easy task to spot it on move 38 in a real game (with six minutes remaining to reach the time control)! The resulting endgame will be unpleasant for White. } 39. hxg5 Qxg5 40. Rhe1 (40. Kd2 { White cannot hang on to the piece: } 40... Rf8 41. Qe1 Rxe3 42. Rxe3 Nxe3! 43. Qxe3 Rf2+ $19) 40... Rf8 41. Qh2 (41. Qg1 Rf3 { will pick up the g3-pawn }) 41... Nxe3 42. Qh4 { An important resource for White. It is the only move to stop Nf1 } 42... Qxh4 43. gxh4 Nxc2 44. Kxc2 Rxe2+ 45. Rxe2 g5 46. hxg5 Kg6 { Rook endgames are always tricky! Black has a distant passed pawn and can press try to press for a win. It is worth noting that White cannot enter a king-and-pawn endgame: } 47. Re7 Rf7?? 48. Rxf7 Kxf7 49. Kd2 Kg6 50. d4 Kxg5 $19 { White will have to use the king to stop the h-pawn from queening, which will give Black's king the freedom to go pick up all the queenside pawns. }) 39. Rhe1 Nxe3 (39... Bg5 { no longer works here: } 40. hxg5 Qxg5 41. Kd2 { and White hangs on to the piece! } 41... Rf8 42. Qh2 Rf3 43. Qh4 $18) 40. Rxe3 Rxe3 41. Rxe3 Rxe3 42. Qxe3 Qxa5 { Without the rooks, the opposite-colored bishop position is harmless. } 43. d4 Qd5 44. Qd3 Qh1+ 45. Kd2 Qg2+ 46. Kd1 Qg1+ 47. Ke2 Qg2+ 48. Kd1 Qg1+ { The tide has turned in favor of Ju in the second half of the match. It will be interesting to see what she will have prepared for the final game as she is significantly higher rated in rapid than Lei. Will she play it safe and try to take the match directly to tiebreaks, or will she try to resolve everything tomorrow? } 1/2-1/2