WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243) vs Natrada Kaewwattha (THA, 1672) · 1-0
Board 3, Switzerland vs Thailand, women’s event · Ruy Lopez, Morphy Defence, Anderssen Variation (C77)
By Professor Zugzwang AI Coach . This analysis was written by a Bogner Chess AI coach.
Round one, table 17, board three: Switzerland are seeded 17th, Thailand 111th, and WGM Ghazal Hakimifard has White against an opponent rated 571 points lower. She plays the Ruy Lopez and picks its quietest version with : no trade in the centre, no forced line, just development.
For twenty-two moves nothing happens that you could put in a table. Then a white knight stands on f5, both rooks on the a-file, and all four bishops are gone. The game is decided on move 29, when the rook that has been waiting on a6 since move 17 lands on f6. Switzerland won the match 4 to 0.
Four bishops leave, one square stays
Up to move 13 this position is as level as a position gets. Then opens the only file that will ever open in this game, and takes the light-squared bishops off the board on the way. Two moves later the dark-squared ones follow: .
Black initiates both trades, neither costs anything you could measure, and both help White. Recapturing with the knight puts it on e3, one square short of its destination: by way of b1, d2, f1 and e3 it stands on f5 on move 20. With no light-squared bishop left, Black can only contest that square by pushing a pawn to g6, which gives up the light squares around her own king, or by offering a knight trade.
Add and , both rooks on the open file, with no threat and no hurry. After 21 moves the game is still balanced, and that is the lesson: against a much weaker opponent you do not have to force anything. Put your pieces on the squares nobody can contest any more, and wait.
Natrada Kaewwattha (THA, 1672)
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243)
The break that sends a knight home: 23.d4
Black has an outpost of her own: mirrors the white knight, and while both stand there the position holds. The plan that belongs to it is queenside counterplay: , and the balance stays.
takes the knight out of the centre instead, and that costs a good half pawn. From f6 it covered e4 and d5; from d7 it covers neither. is the answer and the best move in the position.
The break wins no material, it sends a piece home: the knight on f4 comes back to defend e5, and after it stands in Black’s own half while the white knight stays on f5. Leaving it out there cost more: attacks it, and White is about a pawn better. A central break is at its strongest when it forces your opponent’s pieces off their best squares.
Natrada Kaewwattha (THA, 1672)
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243)
An outpost is a square, not a piece: 26.N3h4
is the real mistake of the game: a deficit of barely a third of a pawn becomes about a pawn and a half. would have kept Black in the game: from there the knight watches e4 and defends the kingside.
is the answer, and it is worth some four tenths of a pawn more than the natural trade . White does not trade the outpost, she brings up a second knight to take over the square the moment the first one disappears.
is therefore not a recapture but a relief of the guard. Taking with the pawn would have been the most expensive move of the game: opens the e-file for the rook on e8, and an advantage of a good two pawns turns into a slightly worse position. Before you recapture, ask which recapture keeps the outpost occupied.
Natrada Kaewwattha (THA, 1672)
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243)
The rook that waited twelve moves: 29.Rxf6
is the strongest move and asks the question about the knight on f6. The defence was : White wins a pawn and keeps the pressure, Black stays in the game.
ends it. The rook that has stood on a6 since move 17 travels along the sixth rank and takes the knight. Capturing it loses on the spot: , because the knight on f5 covers g7 and e7, and Black’s own rook on e8 takes the king’s last flight square. Without the knight on f6 the king’s position collapses anyway: and Black has no defence.
Black had under two minutes left here, White more than half an hour. The lesson sits in : the knight on f6 was the only piece holding the kingside together. Before you capture in the centre, count who is still at home afterwards.
Natrada Kaewwattha (THA, 1672)
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243)
The mate she did not need: 30.Qg3
allows a forced mate: , and the black king runs out of squares. The game went , which breaks nothing: White stays a piece for a pawn up and keeps the whole attack.
Two moves later the knight goes in after all: , and Black resigned. White is a knight and a pawn up, and shows why playing on has no point.
The lesson is uncomfortable and therefore useful: when you are clearly winning, calculate the checks first. After a check the replies can be counted on one hand. Ghazal Hakimifard passed over the shorter road and took the safe one; in a team match the point is worth the same either way.
Natrada Kaewwattha (THA, 1672)
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243)
Verdict
Nobody wins this game with a trick. It is won by knowing what you trade the bishops for, by walking a knight to its square in four moves and relieving it there instead of trading it, and by leaving a rook on a6 for twelve moves until the sixth rank is needed. Ghazal Hakimifard forced nothing on board three and prepared everything; when the position grew narrow, the mistakes came from the other side. Four Swiss players won four boards, 4 to 0 against Thailand: the start you want as the 17th seed.
Moves
1-0
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