1. e4 e6

Tatev says "Homes, should I play the French or Sicilian?" She asks everyone she knows, and decides just a few minutes before the game to stick to her beloved French. Probably only GM Kaidanov is more beloved.

2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. e5

More popular are 4.Ngf3 and 4.Bd3. Tsagaan, as usual, plays the most aggressive move.

4... c5 5. Qg4 g6!?

Usually, I like Kf8 when my g pawn is attacked. Black may or may not castle, but g6 permanently weakens the dark squares. GMs play both moves, but, 5...Kf8 is more common.

6. dxc5 Nd7 7. Ngf3 Nxc5

Looking at the games in my database, black has an excellent score in this position. Chris Bird informed us in the commentary room, that Tsagaan thought 46 minutes in this position! She plays a new move, but, black still seems to be doing well.

8. Qd4!? Bd7 9. Nb3 Rc8

The game would be about equal if white played the solid 10.c3. Instead, Tsagaan sacrifices a pawn, and gets a strong initiative.

10. Be3!? Nxb3 11. axb3 Rxc2 12. Qxa7 Qc8!

An excellent move, protecting b7, and making a nice battery on the c file.

13. Bd3

Here I expected 13...Bb4+ so that black can use e7 for her knight. Tatev decides to be greedy and take all she can. Reminds me of the bread at Olive Garden!

13... Rxb2 14. O-O?!

I could not help myself, and must say this move is an error. White has the edge if she plays an immediate 14.Rc1! The ladies have often not castled, or castled late, in this event, so, it is nice to see that Rybka prefers delaying castling, instead, preferring to attack!

14... Rxb3

No more bread for Tatev. Can she stop the onslaught that is sure to come with her king stuck on e8?

15. Rfc1 Bc6 16. Bc2

I was quite surprised by this move during the live commentary! But, it actually is quite interesting, as white wants to play Ba4 and destroy back's defenses. Tatev was worried now about her position, but, she was quite happy about having an hour advantage on the clock! Tsagaan had less than 20 minutes to make time control at this point.

16... Rc3 17. Ba4

17. Bd4! Rc4 18. Nd2! Rb4 19. Bc3 ..and white has the initiative.

17... Bxa4 18. Qxa4+ Kf8 19. Rxc3 Qxc3 20. Rc1

20. Rb1 Kg7 21. Rxb7 Qa3

20... Qb4 21. Qd7

21. Qxb4 Bxb4 22. Rb1 Be7 23. Rxb7 h6=

21... Kg7 22. h4 h6!

Black defends the weak g5 square and gives herself the h7 square to maneuver her pieces.

23. Rc7 Qb1+! 24. Kh2 Qf5 25. Rxb7

Now both players were in time trouble, and, both players have played excellently. Now, Tatev gives herself more room, and, somehow, takes over the initiative!

25... g5! 26. Kg1

White should sacrifice her e pawn to open up more avenues (a1-h8 diagonal) to the black king. 26. Nd4! Qxe5+ 27. Kg1 Qd6 28. Qe8

26... gxh4 27. Nd4 Qg6 28. Kh2?!

28. Kf1!=

28... h3!

Tatev's one minute battles with a certain GM-elect have paid off. Black now can park her king in the h8 "chair" whilst she swings her rook to the g file via h7, and take over the initiative!

29. gxh3 Rh7! 30. Rb8?

White needed to put more pressure on the black pieces with 30.Nc6

30... Bg5?

30... Kh8! ..Tatev misses her chance to attack along the g file immediately. The text move allows white to maintain an equal game, but, with both sides having less than 3 minutes, the moves were fast and furious.

31. Qe8

31. Bxg5! hxg5 32. Qe8=

31... Kh8! 32. Nc6??

32. Nxe6! In the commentary room, we thought this was quite strong for white, but, Rybka, as usual, shows that black has a great position after... 32... Bxe3! 33. fxe3 h5!! 34. h4 Qg4 35. Qxg8+ Qxg8 36. Rxg8+ Kxg8

32... Bxe3 33. Ne7 Bf4+ 34. Kh1 Qe4+ 35. Kg1 Rg7+

An incredible turnaround! White seemed to be attacking the whole game, but, in mutual time trouble, black is the one who seized the initiative with some imaginative tactics. What was white's error? Maybe she did not realize that castling has not done well this event? One can only *guess* that Tatev was awake until 2:30AM doing tactics problems on ICC!

0-1 [Finegold B. IM]