[Event "FIDE Women's Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto, Canada"] [Date "2024.04.05"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Goryachkina, Aleksandra"] [Black "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2553"] [BlackElo "2520"] [Annotator "WGM Tatev Abrahamyan"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D10"] [Opening "Slav Defense: Exchange Variation"] [StudyName "2024 FIDE Candidates and Women's Candidates Annotations"] [ChapterName "Goryachkina, Aleksandra - Muzychuk, Anna"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/Mez4h4WA/m1HIwpWO"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by WGM Tatev Abrahamyan } 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 { The harmless-looking exchange Slav has proven to be poisonous! } 3... cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bf5 7. Nf3 e6 8. Ne5 { Goryachkina came prepared with a specific opening idea. } 8... Nxe5 9. dxe5 Nd7 10. e4 { White sacrifices a pawn for long-term pressure. } 10... dxe4 11. Bb5 a6 (11... Bc5 12. Rc1 a6 13. Bxd7+ Qxd7 14. Qxd7+ Kxd7 15. Na4 Ba7 16. Ke2 Rhc8 { Unlike in the game, here the h8-rook gets out and the black king can go back to either e8 or e7. } 17. Be3 b5 18. Rhd1+ Ke8 19. Rxc8+ Rxc8 20. Bxa7 bxa4 21. Ke3 a3 22. Bd4 axb2 23. Bxb2 Rc5 24. Rc1 Ra5 25. a3 Rb5 26. Bd4 Kd7 27. h4 h6 28. Kf4 Rb3 29. Rc3 Rxc3 30. Bxc3 h5 { with a draw in Mamedyarov – Yu, Dubai, 2023. }) 12. Bxd7+ Qxd7 13. Qxd7+ Kxd7 14. Na4 Rb8 (14... Bb4+ 15. Ke2 Ke7 16. Nb6 Rab8 17. Rac1 Rhd8 18. Rc7+ Ke8 19. Rhc1 Ba5 20. Be3 f6 21. Rxg7 fxe5 22. Rcc7 { and Black resigned in Mozny – Cerny, Tatranske Zruby, 2006. }) 15. Rd1+ Ke8 { White is down a pawn but, as compensation, Black's light-squared bishop is not ideally placed on f5, the kingside development is not finished, and, since the king has lost its right to castle, it will struggle to find a comfortable home. } 16. Be3 Bg4 17. Rc1 Bb4+ 18. Bd2 Be7 19. h3 Bh5 20. O-O Be2 21. Rfe1 Bd3 22. Be3 b5 23. Nb6 f5 24. Rc6 Kf7 25. Rec1 (25. Rc7 Rhe8 26. Bc5 Kg6! { Black holds tactically. }) 25... Rb7? { With three minutes on the clock, Black cracks. } (25... Bd8 { stops the invasion on the seventh rank and tries to exchange into an opposite-colored bishop endgame. This was very necessary. }) 26. Nc8 (26. Rc7 Rxc7 27. Rxc7 { , followed up by Be3-c5 and Nb6-c8, was even stronger. }) 26... Rd7 27. Rc7 Rhd8 28. Nxe7 { There is no good way to recapture. } 28... Bc4 (28... Kxe7 29. Bg5+) (28... Rxe7 29. Rxe7+ Kxe7 30. Bg5+) 29. Rxd7 Rxd7 30. Nc8 Bxa2 31. Nd6+ Kg6 32. Ra1 { Black resigned. } 1-0