Ход королевы
Chapter 14
Playerssometimesbrokeintostrangenewlinesatimportanttournaments,linesthatmighthavebeenpreparedforweeksinadvance,butshefelttheRussianswouldnothavetakenthattroublewithher.Asfarastheyknew,herlevelofplaywasroughlythatofBennyWatts,andmenlikeLaevwouldnotdevotemuchtimetopreparationforplayingBenny.Shewasnotanimportantplayerbytheirstandards;theonlyunusualthingaboutherwashersex,andeventhatwasn’tuniqueinRussia.TherewasNonaGaprindashvili,notuptothelevelofthistournament,butaplayerwhohadmetalltheseRussiangrandmastersmanytimesbefore.Laevwouldbeexpectinganeasywin.Hebroughttheknightoutandcastledasshehadexpected.Shefeltsanguineaboutthereadingshehaddoneoverthepastsixmonths;itwasnicetoknowwhattoexpect.Shecastled.
Thegamegraduallybegantoslowastheymovedpasttheopeningwithoutanyerrorsandintoapoisedmiddlegamewitheachofthemnowminusoneknightandonebishop,andwiththekingswellprotectedandnoholesineitherposition.Bytheeighteenthmovetheboardhadadangerousequilibrium.ThiswasnottheattackchessshehadmadeherAmericanreputationwith;itwaschamber-musicchess,subtleandintricate.
Playingwhite,Laevstillhadtheadvantage.Hemademovesthatcontainedcunninglydeceptivethreats,butsheparriedthemwithoutlosingtempoorposition.
