K. Lahno – Hou Yifan (Black just played 13…b6)
Women’s World Championship (match 4 – game 1)
White to move. How should White proceed?
r1b2rk1/p3bppp/1pn1p3/q3P3/2B5/2P2N2/P2BQPPP/R4RK1 w – – 0 14
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14.Bb5 Bb7 15.a4 then16.c4 attacking the Q
Maybe Bb5 followed by a3 with the threat of c4
Bishop is always there… 🙂
Bb5 threatens the night and cuts off the Queen.
It seems like you can follow Bb5 with a4, unless black is willing to just concede the knight
Looks like another uncomfortable queen to me, but taking advantage of this is harder than the one from the puzzle a few days ago. I would want to be able to play a move like c4 (maybe in combination with a3) at some point, but the king’s bishop must be moved first, so the most obvious thing to do is to move it with tempo:
1. Bb5
And black must do something about his unprotected knight. There are really only four moves I see here-Nb8, Nd8, Bb7, and Bd7. Let’s consider each in order:
1. …..Nb8
2. c4
I looked at 2.a3 here, and it looks playable to me, but more complicated than 2.c4 since c4 makes Qe4 easier to play in this line. Continuing:
2. …..Qa3 (Bb4 3.Bb4 Qb4 4.Qe4)
3. Qe4 Nc6
Here, as black, it was hard to decide which move was best- the choices look to be Nc6, Nd7, and a6. I eventually decided that Nc6 was best for no particular reason.
4. Bc6 Rb8
5. Rfb1
Again, hard to decide what to do here. 5.Bc1 is playable, I think, but Rfb1 looks clearer to me. Continuing:
5. …..Qa6
6. Bb5 Qb7
7. Qb7
And white is up a piece for a somewhat loose position. I will note that I really didn’t do a deep analysis beyond the piece win here. White may have better continuations after the first 4 moves in this line.
Continuing with black’s first move alternatives:
1. …..Nd8
2. a3
Here, c4 is no longer very effective since white doesn’t have a threat against the a8 rook. The point of 2.a3 is to take the a3 square away from the black queen. Continuing:
2. …..a6 (best black gets)
3. c4 ab5(Qa3 4.Ra3 Ba3 5.Ba4)
4. Ba5 Ra5 (ba5 no better)
5. cb5 and white has a queen and a pawn for two bishops.
Or
1. …..Bb7
2. a3 Rad8 (a6 3.c4 ab5 4.Ba5)
There are three moves here that look playable for black- either rook to d8, and a6. 2. …a6 looks somewhat similar to the line I discussed earlier, but black’s pieces are better coordinated. The two rook moves to d8 look similar to each other, but I prefer Rad8 simply because I prefer to keep one rook on the same side of the open file to the king. The point of Rd8 will become obvious below. Continuing:
3. Be1
The queen isn’t going anywhere. Continuing:
3. …..Ba3 (Rd5 4.c4 Rb5 5.cb5)
A very complicated position. I am torn between two moves here for white- 4.c4 and 4.Nd4 (threatening Nb3). I eventually decided that c4 was superior since white can still threaten the knight maneuver through d2 later. Continuing:
4. c4 Nb4 (what else?)
5. Nd2 Rd3
How else can black prevent Nb3?
6. Nb1
Threatens Bb4. Continuing:
6. …..Rfd8 (a6 7.Bb4 Qb4 8.Qd3)
7. Na3 Ra3
8. Rb1 Ra1
9. Ra1 Qa1
10.Bb4 and white is up a piece for a pawn, but the position is still a bit loose. I doubt this position is clearly decisive in white’s favor.
Or
1. …..Bd7
2. a3 Ne5 (anything better here?)
3. c4 Nf3 (Bb5 4.Ba5 Bc4 5.Qe5)
4. gf3 Qa3
5. Ra3 Bb5 (better than Ba3)
6. Rc3 and white has won a queen for a bishop and two pawns.
I can’t find anything better for white than the third main line here. I have the nagging feeling I am missing something here.
1. Lb5 Lb7
2. a3
Black will loose material because of
the threat c4.
But black could play 2. … a6
and sacrifice the queen for two bishops. It is quite difficult to
actually win this for white.
I looked up the game on Chessbomb. Lahno missed 14.Bb5, but that is what happens when you have a clock and have to do the calculations in your head unlike us lazy patzers. The computer analysis gave the following line, a variation of line three that I gave above:
14.Bb5 Bb7
15.a3 Rfd8
16.Be1 Ba3
17.Qc4
I completely overlooked this move, but it seems superior to the line I came up with. I see two major continuations from here, 17. …a6 and 17. …Rd5. The Chessbomb computer likes this a6 line best.
17. ….a6
18.Bc6 Rdc8
19.Nd4 Bc6
20.Nc6 Qc5
21.Qe4 Bb2
22.Ra2 Bc3
23.Ne7 Qe7
24.Bc3 a5
25.Rb2 And white is up a piece for two pawns, but the b-pawn of black is going to be tough to defend since white is one move ahead in doubling the rooks on the b-file.
Found it! The subtle continuation…
Bb5 and if black tries to save the knight
Rfb1 threating c4??
Black’s queen is in an awkward position. Finding the right move order to take advantage of that is the key. 1. Rb1 and 1. a4 are possibilities I looked at, but black can escape in both cases.
1. Bb5 starts the sequence, attacking the knight. Black can save the queen, but he has to lose the knight. If black does anything to save the knight, white follows with 2. a4 and then there’s nothing black can do to prevent white from closing the noose with 3. c4.
1. Bb5 Bb7
2. a3 black moves
3. c4 queen is trapped
1. bb5 bb7
2. a3
and 3. c4
black’s queen is trapped.
1.Bb5 Bb7 (or Bd7)
2.a3
and the threat of 3.c4 means White must win material.
The Queen can be trapped by Bb5
Black’s …b6 limits the squares her own Q can go to. Is there some way white can force a trap of the Q?
anyone who wached the computer analysis knows this
1. Bb5 Bb7 2. a3 Rfd8 3. Nd4! Rac8 4. Nb3 and queen is trapped