Polgar closes in on the title

Susan Polgar vs Xie Jun

Women’s world championship · 1996 · 1-0

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0 / 47 half-moves

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A masterpiece, move by move

The thirteenth game of the 1996 championship. Polgar’s pieces become active in a queenless middlegame.

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13. bxc4

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Accept the knight exchange. The b-pawn captures the knight on c4. Black captures White’s knight on c3 with the queen, and both queens are then exchanged.

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18. Bd6

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A bishop deep in Black’s position. The bishop arrives on d6, attacking the rook on f8. White’s following c5 and e5 advances reinforce this advanced piece.

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22. Bf1

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Attack the knight on c4. The bishop moves to f1, where it attacks the knight along f1–e2–d3–c4. After ...Nxe5, Nxe5 and ...Bxf1, White’s king recaptures the bishop.