ZHU vs POGONINA – FIDE WOMENS WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 ROUND 2

Natalija Pogonina

This game is from round 2 of the 2018 FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship. It is between Jiner Zhu with White against Natalija Pogonina with Black.

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

Zhu,Jiner (2379) - Pogonina,Natalija (2465)

FIDE WCC 2018 Khanty-Mansiysk (2.1), 06.11.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Be7 4.Bg2 0–0 5.Nge2 c5 [5...c6 6.0–0 d5 7.exd5 cxd5 8.d4 e4 9.f3 exf3 10.Bxf3 Bh3 11.Re1 Bb4 12.Bg5 1–0 (56) Ebeling,D (2477)-Karttunen,M (2465) Helsinki 2017] 

6.d3 C26: Vienna Game: 2...Nf6, sidelines 

6...d6 7.h3 Nc6 

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8.f4 The position is equal. 

8...Rb8N [8...Bd7 9.f5 Rc8 10.g4 h6 11.Ng3 0–1 (46) Vriens, H (1828)-Schulenberg,H (2168) ICCF email 2015] 

9.a4 a6 10.f5 h6 11.0–0 b5 12.axb5 axb5 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Nd4 

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15.c3 [15.Be4=] 

15...Nxe2+ [15...Nxf5³ 16.Be4 g6] 

16.Qxe2= Bb7 17.Be4 Bf6 18.h4 Re8 19.Qh5 

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19...Ra8 [19...Qe7!²] 

20.Rxa8!± Bxa8 [20...Qxa8± was worth a try. 21.g4 Bxd5] 

21.Kh2 c4 

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22.dxc4? [22.g4+- is more deadly.] 

22...bxc4? [22...Qc7±] 

23.Kh3 [23.g4!+- is the precise move to win.] 

23...Qa5 24.Qf3 

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24...Rb8 [24...Qd8± might work better.] 

25.g4!+- 

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25...Rb5? [25...Qd8 is a better defense.] 

26.g5 hxg5 27.hxg5 

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27...Bd8? [27...Kf8 28.gxf6 gxf6] 

28.Rd1 Qa7 29.Kg3 Qb7 30.Qh5 Intending f6 and mate. 

30...Rxb2 

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31.f6 White mates. 

31...gxf6 32.Qh7+ Kf8 33.g6 Rb3 34.g7+ Ke7 35.g8Q Rxc3+ 36.Kh2 1–0