A tie-break for the crown

Alexandra Kosteniuk vs Zhu Chen

Women’s world championship · 2001 · 0-1

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0 / 72 half-moves

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A masterpiece, move by move

The final rapid tie-break of the 2001 women’s championship. Zhu Chen’s kingside pawns and knights break through.

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18... h3

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Advance into the king shelter. The h-pawn reaches h3 and attacks g2. White counters in the center with c5, producing threats on both wings.

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28... Nf3+

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Check with the knight. The knight checks the king on g1, then takes h2 and returns to f3 with another check. These forcing moves push the king away from the kingside.

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32... g1=Q+

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A second queen. Black’s pawn captures on g2 and then promotes on g1 with check. Black now has two queens on the board as the attack continues.