MUZYCHUK vs STEFANOVA – FIDE WOMENS WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 ROUND 3

Anna Muzychuk

This game is from round 3 of the 2018 FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship, fully annotated. It is between Anna Muzychuk with White against Antoaneta Stefanova with Black.

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

Muzychuk,Anna (2564) - Stefanova,Antoaneta (2490)

FIDE WCC 2018 Khanty-Mansiysk (3.1), 09.11.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0–0 0–0 8.c4 c6 9.Qc2 Nf6 10.c5 C42: Petroff Defence: 3 Nxe5 and unusual White 3rd moves 

10...Be7 [10...Bc7 11.Bg5 1/2–1/2 (11) Djukic, N (2562)-Ivanovic,B (2398) Bar 2018] 

11.Bf4 h6 

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12.h3 White is better. 

12...b6N [12...Nbd7 13.Nbd2 Re8 14.Ne5 Nxe5 15.Bxe5 Nd7 16.Bh2 Bf6 17.Nf3 Nf8 18.Rad1 Ne6 19.b4 Bd7 20.a4 Kh8 21.Qc3 b6 22.Ne5 1/2–1/2 (22) Pang,K (1367)-Tan,J (1901) Penang 2017] 

13.Nbd2 bxc5 14.dxc5 

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14...Qa5 [Better is 14...a5² ] 

15.Rac1ƒ White has a strong initiative. 

15...Nfd7? [15...Na6±] 

16.Nb3!+- Qa4 17.Rfe1 Qxf4 18.Rxe7 

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18...Rd8 [18...Qf6 keeps fighting.] 

19.Rce1 

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19...Nf8 [19...Qf6 was called for. 20.Nbd4 (20.Re8+ Nf8+-) 20...Nf8] 

20.Re8 

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20...Qc7? [20...Qf6 21.Bh7+ Kh8] 

21.R1e7 Bd7 22.Bh7+ Kh8 23.Ne5 Bxe8 24.Rxc7 Nxh7 

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25.Rxf7 Strongly threatening Qg6. 

25...Kg8 26.Qg6! 1–0