VEGA GUTIERREZ vs BODNARUK – FIDE WOMENS WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 ROUND 1

This game is from round 1 of the 2018 FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship. It is between Sabrina Vega Gutierrez with White against Anastasia Bodnaruk with Black.

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

Vega Gutierrez,Sabrina (2389) - Bodnaruk,Anastasia (2426)

FIDE WCC 2018 Khanty-Mansiysk (1.3), 05.11.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Nbd7 9.g4 Nb6 10.g5 Nh5 11.Qd2 Be7 12.0–0–0 0–0 13.Rg1 Rc8 14.Kb1 g6 15.Qf2 Nc4 16.Bxc4 Rxc4 [16...Bxc4 17.Na4 Be6 18.Nb6 Rc7 19.Qd2 Rc6 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.exd5 Rc8 22.Qd3 Qd7 23.c4 f6 24.gxf6 Rxf6 25.Nd2 Rf7 26.Rc1 Qf5 27.Rc3 b5 28.b3 Qh3 29.Rgc1 bxc4 30.Rxc4 Ra8 31.Ra4 Leko,P (2739)-Anand,V (2774)/Dortmund 2003/CBM 097/0–1 (46)] 

17.Nd5 [17.Rd3 b5 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 Nf4 20.Bxf4 Rxf4 21.Qg3 Rf5 22.h4 f6 23.Qh3 fxg5 24.h5 gxh5 25.Qxh5 Qe8 26.Qh3 Qf7 27.Nd2 Kh8 28.a3 Bd8 29.Rh1 Qg6 30.Rc3 Rf4 31.Rc6 Rh4 Karjakin,S (2635)-Alekseev,E (2597)/Kirishi 2005/CBM 107/0–1 (45)] 

17...Bxd5 18.Rxd5 B90: Sicilian Najdorf: Unusual White 6th moves, 6 Be3 Ng4 and 6 Be3 e5

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18...f6N [18...b5 19.Qd2 Qb8 20.Rg2 Rfc8 21.Na5 R4c7 22.Qb4 Ng7 23.f4 exf4 24.Bxf4 Qb6 25.a3 Ne6 26.Bxd6 Bxd6 27.Rxd6 Qe3 28.Qd2 Qxe4 29.Re2 Qf4 30.Qxf4 Nxf4 31.Red2 Nh3 32.Rg2 Nf4 33.Rf2 Stefansson,H (2572)-Olafsson,H (2504)/Reykjavik 2004/CBM 099 ext/½–½ (34)] 

19.Qd2 Qe8 20.gxf6 Nxf6 21.Bg5 Rc7 22.Rd3 Qf7 23.h4 Kh8 24.Rd1 Rfc8 25.c3 Qe6 26.Qe3 Bf8 27.Nc1 Nh5 28.Ne2 Rf7 

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29.Qb6 Attacking the backward pawn on d6 

29...Rc6 30.Qd8 

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30...Rc8 Black threatens to win material: Rc8xd8 

31.Qb6 Twofold repetition 

31...Rc6 32.Qb3 Qxb3 33.axb3 h6 34.Bc1 Kh7 35.Rg1 Be7 36.Rg4 Ng7 37.f4 

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37...h5 Black threatens to win material: h5xg4 

38.Rg1 Bxh4 39.Rh3 White threatens to win material: Rh3xh4 

39...Bd8 

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40.f5? [40.Rhg3!? must be considered 40...g5 41.fxe5 dxe5 42.Bxg5=] 

40...gxf5µ 

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41.Ng3? [¹41.exf5 Rxf5 42.Ng3µ] 

41...h4–+ 42.exf5 Nxf5 43.Ne4 d5 44.Rd1 dxe4 45.Rxd8 Rg6 46.Re8 Rg3 47.Rh1 Kg6 48.Rxe5 e3 

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49.Re6+?! cannot solve the problems of the position [49.Bxe3 Nxe3 50.Rxh4–+] 

49...Rf6 50.Re8 Kf7 51.Re4 [51.Rb8 b6 52.Rh8–+] 

51...h3 

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52.Rb4 [52.Re5 does not help much 52...Rf3 53.Ka2 Re6 54.Rxh3 Rxh3 (54...Rxe5?! is clearly weaker 55.Rxf3 e2 56.Bd2–+) 55.Rxf5+ Kg6–+] 

52...b5 53.Re4 Re6 54.Rf4 Kg6 55.Rff1 Kg5 

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56.b4 [56.c4–+ otherwise it's curtains at once] 

56...Kg4 57.Kc2 Rg2+ 58.Kb3 

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58...Ng3 [58...Ng3 59.Rf4+ Kxf4 60.Rxh3 Ne2 61.Bxe3+ Rxe3 62.Rh4+ Kg5–+]  0–1