KOSTENIUK vs JU – FIDE WOMENS WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 SEMI-FINAL

Alexandra Kosteniuk

This game is from the Semi-Final of the 2018 FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship, fully annotated. It is between Alexandra Kosteniuk with White against Wenjun Ju with Black.

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

Kosteniuk,Alexandra (2543) - Ju,Wenjun (2568)

FIDE WCC 2018 Khanty-Mansiysk (5.1), 15.11.2018

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.dxc5 Qxc5 [5...Bxc5 6.Qf3 Nf6 7.Qxd5 Nxd5 8.a3 0–0 9.Ngf3 a5 10.Bc4 a4 11.Ne4 Be7 12.Bd2 Rd8 13.0–0–0 b6 14.Nc3 Nxc3 15.Bxc3 Bb7 16.Rxd8+ Bxd8 17.Rd1 Na6 18.Ne5 Nc5 19.g3 Bc7 20.f4 Muranyi,K (2357)-Braun,A (2525)/Germany 2007/CBM 118/½–½ (48)] 

6.Ngf3 Nf6 7.Bd3 C07: French Tarrasch: 3...c5, 4 Ngf3 and 4 exd5 Qxd5

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7...Be7N [7...Nc6 8.0–0 Be7 9.a3 Ne5 10.Nxe5 Qxe5 11.Re1 Qc7 12.Qf3 Bd7 13.Nc4 Bc6 14.Qg3 Qxg3 15.hxg3 0–0–0 16.Be3 Kb8 17.Bf4+ Ka8 18.Rad1 Nd5 19.Bd2 Bf6 20.Ne5 Bxe5 21.Rxe5 Nb6 22.Ba5 Vasquez,R (2523)-Cubas,J (2394)/Santiago 2004/CBM 100/1–0 (72)] 

8.0–0 White castles and improves king safety 

8...Nbd7 9.a4 Qc7 10.Nb3 b6 Controls a5+c5 

11.a5 Bb7 12.a6 Bd5 13.Nbd4 Rd8 14.Qe2 0–0 

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15.c4 White threatens to win material: c4xd5 

15...Ba8 White has a very active position 

16.Nb5 White threatens to win material: Nb5xc7. Here comes the goal-getter 

16...Qb8 Black has a cramped position 

17.Nfd4 Black has a cramped position. Black's piece can't move: a8 

17...Nc5 White has a very active position 

18.Bc2 Nxa6 

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19.Be3 [19.Bg5!?=] 

19...Rd7³ 20.f3 Prevents intrusion on e4 

20...Nb4 21.Ba4 Bc5 

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22.Rad1 [22.Nc2 Qe5 23.f4 Bxe3+ 24.Nxe3 Qc5–+] 

22...Rfd8 

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23.Qf2 [¹23.Nc2 Qe5 24.Rxd7 Rxd7 25.Nba3–+] 

23...Qc8?? Black has let it slip away [23...Qe5 might be the shorter path 24.Rfe1 a6 25.Nc3 Rxd4 26.Bxd4 Bxd4 27.Kh1–+] 

24.Nc3? 

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[24.Na3 Bc6 25.Nxc6 Rxd1 (‹25...Nxc6 26.Bxc5 bxc5 27.Qxc5 Rxd1 28.Rxd1²) 26.Rxd1 Rxd1+ (26...Nxc6?! 27.Bxc5 bxc5 28.Qxc5=) 27.Bxd1 Qxc6 (27...Nxc6?! 28.Bxc5 bxc5 29.Qxc5=) 28.Bxc5 Qxc5 29.Qxc5 bxc5µ] 24...Nc6 

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[¹24...Rxd4 with excellent chances for Black 25.Rxd4 Bxd4 26.Bxd4 Nd3–+] 

25.Nxc6µ Bxc6 26.Bxc5 bxc5 27.Rxd7 

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27...Bxd7 White has a new backward pawn: b2 

28.Bc2 Be8 29.Rd1 Rxd1+ 30.Bxd1 h6 31.Qe3 Qc7 32.Bc2 Qd6 33.Ne2 Bc6 34.Nc3 Nd7 35.b3 a5 36.Ne2 Bb7 37.Qc3 Qc7 38.Qd3 Nf6 39.Nc3 Bc6 40.Qe3 Qd6 41.Ne2 Bd7 42.Nc3 Qd4 43.Kf2 Kf8 44.Ne2 Qxe3+ 45.Kxe3 Ke7 46.Nc3 Kd6 47.g3 Bc6 48.Bd1 Nd7 49.f4 f5 50.g4 Nf6 51.h3 Bg2 52.gxf5 Bxh3 53.fxe6 Bxe6 54.Bf3 Bf5 55.Kd2 h5 56.Nb5+ Kd7 57.Nc3 h4 58.Ke3 

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58...Ke6 [¹58...h3!? makes it even easier for Black 59.Kf2 Bc2 60.Bd1 Bxd1 61.Nxd1 Ne4+ 62.Kg1–+] 

59.Bd1 g6 60.Na4 Kd6 61.Nc3 Nh5 62.Bf3 h3 

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63.Nd5? [63.Nb5+ Ke6 64.Na7–+] 

63...h2 64.Kf2 Bc2 65.Kg2 Bxb3 66.f5 Bxc4 67.Ne3 Bf7 68.fxg6 Nf4+ 69.Kxh2 Nxg6 70.Bd1 Ke5 71.Kg3 Kd4 72.Kf2 Ne5 73.Nf5+ Kc3 74.Nd6 Bd5 

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75.Nb5+ [75.Ke3 doesn't get the cat off the tree 75...Nc4+ 76.Nxc4 Bxc4–+] 

75...Kd2 

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76.Ba4 [76.Bh5 doesn't do any good 76...c4 77.Be8 c3–+] 

76...Bc6 

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77.Kg3 [77.Nd6 Nd3+ 78.Kg3 Bxa4–+] 

77...Bxb5 [77...Bxb5 78.Bxb5 c4–+]  0–1