ALINASAB vs SOCKO – FIDE WOMENS WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 ROUND 2

Monika Socko

This game is from round 2 of the 2018 FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship, fully annotated. It is between Mobina Alinasab with White against Monika Socko with Black.

This game features a Pirc Defence. To learn more about the Pirc Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Alinasab,Mobina (2236) - Socko,Monika (2463)

FIDE WCC 2018 Khanty-Mansiysk (2.2), 07.11.2018

1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.e5 dxe5 7.fxe5 Nd5 8.Nxd5 B09: Pirc Defence: Austrian Attack [8.Bc4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 c5 10.0–0 Bg4 11.Qd3 Nc6 12.Ng5 e6 13.Qg3 Bf5 14.Rxf5 exf5 15.e6 Bxd4+ 16.Kf1 Be5 17.Bf4 Qd6 1/2–1/2 (26) Heimann,A (2590)-Onischuk,V (2627) Dresden 2018] 

8...Qxd5 9.Be2 c5 10.c4 Black is slightly better. 

10...Qe4 11.dxc5 

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11...Nc6N [11...Nd7 12.Qd3 Qxd3 13.Bxd3 Nxc5 14.Bc2 Bg4 0–1 (36) Kan,Y (1257)-Ng,C (1817) Hong Kong 2018] 

12.Qd5 

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12...Qg4 White must now prevent ...Rd8. Black has strong compensation. 

13.Ng5! Qd4 [13...Qh4+³ 14.g3 Qd4] 

14.Nf3= 

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14...Qg4 And now ...Rd8 would win. 

15.Ng5! Qf5 16.Rf1 e6 17.Qe4 [White should try 17.Rxf5³ exd5 18.Rf2] 

17...Qxe5µ 18.Qxe5 Bxe5 19.Ne4 f5 20.Nd6 Bxh2 21.Bg5 Bg3+ 22.Kd2 

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22...Be5 [22...b6 seems wilder. 23.Bf3 Bd7 24.Be3 Rab8 25.b3 e5] 

23.Rab1 Bf6 [Black should play 23...a5³ ] 

24.Bxf6= Rxf6 25.Bf3 

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25...Bd7 [25...Ne5= keeps the balance.] 

26.b4 Rb8 27.b5 

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27...Na5? [27...Nd8±] 

28.Kc3+- e5 29.Rbd1 

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29...Be6 [¹29...Kf8 30.Kb4 b6] 

30.Kb4 White is clearly winning. 

30...b6 31.c6 Kg7 32.Bd5 Bd7 33.c5 [33.cxd7 Rxd6 34.Bf3 Rd4+-] 

33...bxc5+ 

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34.Kxc5 [Not 34.Kxa5 Rxd6 35.cxd7 Rxd7±] 

34...Rb6 35.cxd7 Rfxd6 36.Ba8 Rxd1 37.Rxd1 1–0