WFM Kamilla Rubinshtein (ITA, 2108) vs WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243) · 0-1
Board 4, Switzerland vs Italy, women’s event · Sicilian Defence, Kan Variation, Modern Variation (B42)
By Professor Zugzwang AI Coach . This analysis was written by a Bogner Chess AI coach.
Round 6 of the women’s event, table 13, Switzerland against Italy, both teams on eight match points: WGM Ghazal Hakimifard sat on board four with Black against WFM Kamilla Rubinshtein and put the Kan Sicilian on the board, with the setup and . White pointed the whole army at the kingside: , then the queen via to , with the pawn already on f4.
Black answered where a wing attack is supposed to be answered, in the centre. When White pushed anyway, the game tipped by about two pawns. What follows is technique: a bishop that attacks both white knights at once, a pawn grab on h2 that almost handed the win back, and a rook offer on move 52 that Black had counted to the end.
The counter belongs in the centre: 17...d5
The Kan with and gives Black a solid shell and gives White space and a clear target. attacked the d3 bishop and sent it one square back with , and from there the queen, the bishop and the f4 pawn all point the same way. The move meant to turn that into an attack is f5. Against a wing attack, waiting does not help; the centre does, and takes the ground away from the advance before it arrives.
It is not free. keeps the game in perfect balance, while leaves White a small chance. The real test would have been : a quarter of a pawn for White, no more, but the queens are off and the attack is over. The game went , after which Black stood a shade better, with the only rook on the open file.
The rule is as old as positional chess and is still rarely followed: when you are attacked on a wing, do not look for a defence on that wing, look for the pawn move in the centre. Ask which advance carries your opponent’s attack, then ask whether you can pull the centre out from under it.
WFM Kamilla Rubinshtein (ITA, 2108)
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243)
A square beats a pawn: 20...Nce4
is the move that decides the game, and it decides it against White. Before it Black stood slightly better, after it a good two pawns better. The exchange had to come first: would have clarified the centre and made the advance playable. With the pawn on d5 and the knight on c5 still there, f5 left two holes open at once, the c4 pawn and the e4 square.
The square is worth more. puts the knight on the point that Black’s own d5 pawn covers, and after Black is a pawn up, the e4 pawn arrives with tempo against the f3 knight and shuts the e1 rook off its own file. The c4 pawn falls anyway, just to the queen and one move later.
The game saw , the pawn straight away. Black stays clearly better, but a good pawn of the lead goes missing on the way, and White takes the c4 pawn back regardless: , and the material is level again. What is left is the open white kingside and an advantage of a good pawn. The lesson is in the order: a pawn is a pawn, while a square one of your own pawns covers for good is an extra piece in the game. Look at the squares first.
WFM Kamilla Rubinshtein (ITA, 2108)
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243)
One bishop, two knights: 33...Bc6
After the queens were off, and put the rook on the seventh rank. After it was bishop and knight against two knights. White offered the rook trade with , and declined it: the rook stays on the seventh, where it eyes the pawns on b2, g2 and h2 at the same time. Better was , leaving White only slightly worse; after the lead almost trebled.
The b2 pawn now looks loose and it is not: the knight on a4 guards it, and gives up a rook for a pawn and with it the game. So the knight goes first: is the only move that keeps the whole grip, close to a pawn better than anything else, and the knight sets out. It travels through towards d4, and in between comes , a move on two diagonals: it attacks the knight on a4 and the knight on f3 at the same time.
White can save only one. saves that one and gives up the guard of b2, tears the pawns in front of the king apart, puts the knight on the outpost, and only now is really available. Remember the order rather than the move: a pawn is not undefended because no piece stands next to it. It is undefended once you have found its guard and removed it.
WFM Kamilla Rubinshtein (ITA, 2108)
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243)
The h2 pawn nearly costs the game: 40...Rxh2
Rook and knight each, Black a pawn up, and Black’s one weakness is a6. That is exactly what the rook on a2 was for, sitting behind its own pawn, and collected the second pawn by walking the guard away. Right was , king to the centre, rook where it stood; a pawn and a half of advantage would have stayed on the board.
White was back in the game. would have brought the rook to the a6 pawn and levelled the position in practice. The game went , and the knight had to move again. Even then still held things together, because the rook comes back to a6 via a4.
, though, attacks no black pawn at all and leaves the rook on d7 on its own, and put the rook straight back in front of a6. An almost level position became a three-pawn advantage. The question that would have prevented is a single one and costs ten seconds: what is the piece I am about to move doing right now? A pawn you take is material once; a guard you walk away lasts the rest of the game.
WFM Kamilla Rubinshtein (ITA, 2108)
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243)
Rook for rook, then count: 52...gxf4
Black had improved the position at leisure: and brought king and pawns forward, the knight travelled via and to , from where it watches the d4 square, and the rook stayed on the second rank. There was nothing left to hold, not even with , the most stubborn try. instead offers rook for rook.
The offer is accepted: . The knight goes to d4 with check and so wins the tempo it needs to collect the last white pawn. What remains is knight and three pawns against a bare knight, and the pawns sit on two wings.
was the last attempt to stop the king, and White resigned. One knight cannot hold pawns on both wings at once as soon as the enemy king joins in. When the trade of the last rooks is offered to you, do not count the material, count the ending that follows: trading rook for rook really means trading one position for another.
WFM Kamilla Rubinshtein (ITA, 2108)
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard (SUI, 2243)
Verdict
Switzerland won the match against Italy 3 to 1, with draws on boards one and three and wins on boards two and four. For Ghazal Hakimifard it is the fifth win in her fifth game of this Olympiad; she sat out round 4. The game is a good illustration that attacking positions do not attack by themselves: was the move the whole white set-up pointed at, and that is precisely why it was played, even though the centre had already refuted it. To avoid that, check two things before every wing advance: the pawn it leaves hanging and the square it gives away.
Moves
0-1
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