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Chess News: Your Daily Update - Super sacrifices

IM Malcolm Pein
November 25, 2023

TWO magnificent queen sacrifices from the European Team Championships by the rising stars of women’s chess, Nurgyul Salimova of the gold medal winning Bulgarian team and Stavroula Tsolakidou of Greece.

S Tsolakidou – N Buksa
Sicilian Sveshnikov

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Ne7 9.c4 Ng6 10.Qa4 Bd7 11.Qb4 Bf5 12.Qa4 Bd7 13.Qb4 Bf5 14.h4 h5 15.Bg5 Qb8 16.Be2 a6 17.Nc3 Qc7 18.g3 Be7 19.Be3 e4 20.0–0 0–0 21.Bxh5 Ne5 22.Bd4 Nd3 23.Qb3 Bxh4 24.gxh4 Qe7 25.Ne2 Qxh4 26.Ng3 Nf4 27.Nxf5 Qxh5 28.Qg3!!
(The only winning move. Not 28.Ng3 Qh3, or if 28.Ne7+ Kh7 29.Rfe1 Nh3+ 30.Kf1 Nf4=)

28...Ne2+ (28...Qxf5 29.Qxg7#)
29.Kg2 Nxg3 30.Ne7+ Kh7 31.fxg3 Kh6 (31...Qe2+ 32.Rf2 Qd3 33.Rh1#)
32.Rh1 Qxh1+ 33.Rxh1+ Kg5 34.Bxg7 Rfe8 35.Rf1 e3 36.Bf6+ 1-0
In view of 36...Kg4 37.Rf4+ Kh5 38.Rh4# and 36...Kh5 37.Rh1+ Kg4 38.Rh4#.

N Salimova – O Kiolbasa
Catalan

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 c5 6.0–0 Nc6 7.Ne5 Bd7 8.Nxc4 cxd4 9.Bf4 Be7 10.Nd6+ Kf8 11.Nxb7 Qb6 12.Nd6 Qc5 13.b4 Qxb4 14.a3 Qc5 15.Nd2 e5 16.N2e4 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 Qa5? (Losing a tempo, 17...Qb6 is critical, then 18.Bg5 f6 19.Rb1 Qa6 20.f4!? in Xiong – Sevian, St Louis 2019, is random)
18.Bd2 Qd8 19.Rc1 Rc8 20.Nc5 Be8

21.f4! d3 22.Nxd3 e4 23.Bxe4 Qd4+ 24.Nf2 Bxa3 25.Rc3 Bb4 26.Rd3 Qb6 27.Be3 Bc5 28.Rb3 Nb4 29.Rc3 Bxe3 30.Rxc8 Ke7 31.Qa1 Bd4 32.Qc1 a5 33.Rc7+ Kf6 34.e3 Bxe3 35.Qc3+ Bd4 36.Rd1!!
Why not take the queen?