DAY 93 Queen On Queen

When the queens attack one another you can forget it’s not yet an endgame.

Gata Kamsky White

Viswanathan Anand Black

Sanghi Nagar 1994

Torre Attack A46

1 d4 f6 2 f3 c5 3 c3 g6 4 g5 b6 5 b3!

A trade of queens seems likely. Who will benefit? White does after 5...xb3 6 axb3, in cases such as 6...cxd4 7 xd4! g7 8 b5. Or 6...e4 7 dxc5 xc5 8 b4.

5...e4 6 f4 c6 7 d5!

After 7...a5 8 xb6! axb6 9 bd2 the a5-knight is misplaced. Or 7...xb3 8 axb3 d8 9 a3 and b5.

7...d8 8 bd2 f6?

And 8...xb3 9 axb3 xd2 10 xd2 g7? 11 c4! wasn’t attractive.

Illustration

9 e4 d6 10 b5+!

Queens won’t be traded after all. Black finds he is ill-prepared for a middlegame.

10...d7 11 a4!

Now 11...xb5 12 axb5 creates problems on the a-file (13 c4 c7 14 b6!).

11...c7 12 0-0 g7 13 e5! h5

On 13...dxe5 14 xe5 White threatens a discovered attack on the queen (15 xg6).

Question 103: Isn’t 14...c8 adequate?

14 exd6 exd6 15 fe1+ f8 16 xd7 xd7 17 b5!

Black resigned in view of 17...xb5 18 xd6+ g8 19 axb5, which threatens e8+. White wins after 19...f6 20 xc5 or 20 c4 (21 b6!).

Ralf Appel White

Pierre Carbonnel Black

Viernheim 2014

1 f3 f6 2 d4 g6 3 f4 c5 4 c3 b6 5 b3! c6 6 e3 g7 7 bd2 xb3 8 axb3 cxd4 9 exd4 d6 10 b4 g4 11 e2 0-0 12 b5 b8 13 h3 c8? 14 0-0 d5 15 h2 a5 (15...f5 16 a5! and fa1) 16 c4 c7? 17 fe1! e5 (17...f6 18 e4; 17...e8 18 b6) 18 dxe5 d5 19 b6! dxc4 20 bxc7 a6 21 e6! xe6 22 g5 h6 23 xe6 resigns.