Getting There (Bad Wörishofen)

CAUGHT British Airways' noon flight from Heathrow to Munich.

From the latter airport I took the S-Bahn metro into the city, transferred to train going west to Buchloe, and then caught the branch line to Bad Wörishofen.

Despite disruption on the German train network, at least in Bavaria, I reached my hotel before 19:00 central European time.

Foyer of my hotel

Tube Puzzle

SAW this serial number on a Northern Line carriage: 51519.

As usual, each number should be used once, and once only, and must be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided to make a balanced equation.
There is a perfect solution, ie one that uses the numbers in the order they appear.
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My solution: 5 + (1 x 5) = 1 + 9

German Congress

AM making final preparations for flying to Munich tomorrow for the 41st annual Bad Wörishofen chess festival.

Organised by ChessOrg.de, it is split into three sections: open, seniors and U2000.

I have entered the seniors, which has 157 entries, including two international masters and six Fide masters.

All three tournaments start on Friday, and consist of nine mostly-afternoon rounds over nine days.

Miniatures 29

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Peter Szabo (141 BCF) - Spanton (147 BCF)

Barbican (London) Rapid 1990

King's Indian Attack

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nbd7!? 4.0-0

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 suggest preventing ...e5 with 4.d4, or attacking Black's centre with 4.c4.

4...e5 5.d3 Be7 6.Nbd2 0-0

With both sides castling early, how would you assess the position?

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It looks like a Pirc, but with colours reversed and 'White' - Black in this case - having played the queen's knight to a somewhat unusual square. The engines reckon the position is equal.

7.c3 c6 8.e4 dxe4 9.dxe4

The engines prefer 9.Nxe4.

9...Qc7 10.Qe2 Nc5

The engines suggest 10...a5 or 10...Rd8.

How should White proceed?

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11.b4?!

Kicking the knight, before Black consolidates its position with ...a5, is normal in this type of position, but here specific analysis suggests it is too weakening. The engines suggest 11.Nc4 or 11.a4.

11...Na4 12.Qd3 Rd8 13.Qc2 Nb6

The engines like 13...b5!?

14.Nb3

White maintains equality with 14.Bb2, according to the engines.

14...Be6 15.Nfd2?!

The engines strongly dislike this, suggesting 15.Be3 or 15.Nc5!?

15...Nc4

Black has an edge after this, but even better, according to the engines, are 15...Na4 and 15...Nbd7!?

16.Rd1 Bg4 17.f3??

White is only slightly worse after 17.Re1.

17...Ne3 0-1

Resignation is not premature as, after 18.Qb1 Nxd1, White can hardly play 19.fxg4?! as Black has 19...Qb6+ etc.

LESSON: when an enemy knight is established on your fourth rank, tactics are rarely far away.

Miniatures 28

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Spanton (147 BCF) - William Upton (?)

Highbury (London) Rapid 1990

Nimzowitsch Defence

1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 Nf6?!

There are 200 examples of this position in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, but Black already has a lost game, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1

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3.Nc3!?

There seems no good reason not to play 3.d5.
3...d5 4.e5

This is a relatively mainstream position, reached 897 times in Mega26

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4...Bg4??

Normal is 4...Nd7, as played by Magnus Carlsen, although Edgar Colle back in 1925 preferred 4...Ng8.

5.f3 Bh5 6.exf6 gxf6 7.Bd3 Bh6?? 8.Bxh6 Nxd4 9.Bb5+ Qd7?? 10.Bxd7+ Kxd7 11.Qxd4 Rag8!? 12.Qxd5+ Ke8 13.0-0-0 e6 14.Qd8#

LESSON: for once I am lost for words.

County Chess

PLAYED on board 15 (of 16) for Kent versus Middlesex in the Southern Counties championship yesterday afternoon.

Ian Calvert (1942) - Spanton (1914)

1.b3

1.b3 d5 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.Nf3 Bf5 4.c4!?

More popular in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database are 4.Nh4!?, 4.d3, 4.g3 and especially 4.e3.

4...e6 5.g3 Nbd7 6.Bg2 Bd6!? 7.0-0 0-0

Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the position?

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It is early days in what looks like being a long positional struggle, but Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 reckon White has at least the better part of equality.

8.d3 Re8 9.Nbd2 c6 10.Qc2!?

This is the third time against IC I have had the position after 9...c6. The previous two games, in 2002 and 2008, featured 10.a3, and were drawn in 28 and 30 moves respectively.

The engines suggest 10.e4!?, which is possible thanks to the unprotected state of Black's dark-square bishop, eg 10...dxe4 11.dxe4 Nxe4?? loses a piece to 12.Nxe4.

10...e5 11.e4 Bg6 12.Nh4!? d4 13.Nxg6 hxg6

Stockfish17.1 marginally prefers 13...fxg6!?, and Dragon1 comes to more-or-less agree.

14.Nf3

This may be a novelty, and at any rate is an improvement on Gerhard Völpel (2070) - Dierk Schröder (1841), Mecklenburg Seniors Championship (Plau am See) 2001, which went 14.f4? Ng4 15.fxe5 Ne3 16.Qb1 Bxe5, with a large advantage for Black, although the game was agreed drawn three moves later.

14...a5 15.Bc1!?

The engines like this, along with 15.a3.

15...Nc5 16.Bd2 Qe7 17.Rfb1!? Ra7 18.a3 Rea8 19.Bf1 Ncd7 20.Qb2 b5 21.cxb5 cxb5

How should White proceed?

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22.a4?!

The engines are not keen on this, preferring 22.h4!? or 22.Rc1.

22...b4 23.Bg5?!

This is probably the wrong idea too. After 23.Rc1 Nc5 White is no more than slightly worse, according to the engines.

23...Rc7 24.Rc1 Rac8

The engines reckon 24...Rc3!? is even stronger.

25.Rxc7 Rxc7 26.Rc1 Rc3 27.Bd2

How should Black proceed?

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27...Nb8!?

The engines for quite some time much prefer 27...Nc5, but the text comes to be Dragon1's top choice, at least for a while. Either way, the sacrifice of the exchange is sound.

28.Bxc3

Accepting the exchange, either immediately or over the next few moves, seems almost forced, eg the engines come to agree that 28.Bh3!? is the best continuation, but after 28...Na6 reckon White should continue 29.Bxc3.

28...bxc3 29.Qb1

Black has no material compensation for the exchange, but has more than enough positionally, thanks to having an advanced and protected passed pawn, extra space and an outpost at b4

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29...Ba3 30.Rd1 Qc5 31.Ne1 Na6 32.Nc2 Bb2 33.Be2 Qb6 34.Na1?!

Almost certainly better is the engines' 34.Rf1!?, but they agree Black is winning.

34...Nd7

There is nothing wrong with 34...Bxa1 35.Qxa1 Qxb3, eg 36.Rb1 can be met by 36...Qc2 and 37...Nb4.

35.Rf1 Nc5 36.Bd1?!

Now Black gets to win the d3 pawn, while still menacing the backward b pawn.

36...Bxa1 37.Qxa1 Nxd3 38.Be2 Nab4 39.Rd1 Nc5 40.Bc4!?

The e4 pawn cannot realistically be saved, eg 40.Bf3 c2.

40...Nxe4 41.Re1!?

This sets a sort of trap that does not save Black, but complicates matters.

41...Nc2 42.Qb1 Nxe1 43.Qxe4

This is the point - the knight cannot escape

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43...Qb4

This wins, but more forcing is 43...c2 44.Qxe1 Qb4, which transposes to the game (but in the game, Black gets another option).

What should White try?

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44.Qxe1

Perhaps it is a matter of taste, as all moves lose, but the engines' 44.f4!? gives Black a chance to go wrong, eg 44...c2? 45.Qa8+ Kh7 46.Bxf7 leaves Black having to bail out with a draw by perpetual after 46...Nf3+ 47.Kg2 Qd2+ 48.Kxf3 Qd3+. Black could vary with 45...Qf8, but 46.Bxf7+ Kxf7 47.Qd5+ leaves White with a draw by perpetual. Note that the key points about 44.f4!? are, firstly, that it attacks e5, and, secondly, that it takes away the g5 square from Black's king, which is why the immediate 44.Qa8+ fails to 44...Qf8 45.Bxf7+ Kxf7 46.Qd5+ Kf6. However, 44.f4!? does not save Black - the engines show both 44...Qe7 and 44...Nf3+!? win. Note that 44.Qxe5? is instantly hopeless after 44...Nf3+.

44...c2

Transposing to the line given in the note to Black's 43rd move.

45.Qc1 Qc3 46.Kg2 e4 47.Bd5

Or 47.Bxf7+!? Kxf7 48.Qf4+ Kg8.
47...Qf3+ 48.Kh3 Qd1 49.Qf4 Qh5+ 50.Kg2 Qf3+ 0-1

Middlesex won the match 8-5-7.5.

Miniatures 27

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Thomas Hauptmann (166 BCF) - Spanton (147 BCF)

Guernsey 1990

Scotch

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3

This was the main move 36 years ago, but has been massively overtaken by the Kasparov-popularised 5.Be3. Nevertheless, in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database it scores 56%, two percentage points more than 5.Be3, and also two more than the other popular continuation, 5.Nxc6.

5...Bb6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bd3

More popular are 7.Bg5 and especially 7.Qe2!?, but the text has also been played by grandmasters.

7...d6 8.0-0

This game is the first in Mega26 to reach this position

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8...Bg4

Stockfish17 and Dragon1 suggest 8...h6 or 8...Ne5!?

9.Qe1

Subsequently, 9.Be2 became slightly more popular, but the text is probably better.

9...0-0

Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the position?

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The most significant factor in the position is probably White's central space advantage. The engines give White a slight edge.

10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Qxe3 Re8 12.Qg3 Qd7

The engines prefer 12...Be6 or 12...Nb4!?

13.h3 Bh5?!

Probably the wrong retreat.

14.f4 Re7?

The engines give 14...h6, but much prefer White.

15.Qh4 Rae8 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Be2?!

'Better', but still losing, is 17...Nb4.

18.Qxh7+ 1-0

LESSON: the game could be dismissed as being simply decided by tactical mistakes, but the underlying factor was that White's central dominance made Black's position harder to play.

Openings From Weimar VII

THE following position was reached in round seven, when I was Black against Achim Heller (2048).

White has just played 11.Nd2-c4

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I replied with 11...cxd4, which is Dragon1's second choice, marginally behind 11...Be7, whereas Stockfish17.1 fluctuates between 11...Be7 and 11...Bc7. My choice is objectively not bad - the engines do not even flash yellow.

After 12.Nxd6 Qxd6 13.Qxd4 (the engines agree this is best) Qxd4 14.Nxd4 Rd8 Black has traded the bishop-pair for easy development.

White has a slight edge, but the simplified position should be easily held by Black - easily, that is, for an engine.

For a human, as I was to discover, it is another matter.

It took White a further 60+ moves to bring home the full point, but AH was in the pleasant situation of being able to play on 'for ever', safe in the knowledge that only two results (a white win or a draw) were at all likely.

In other words, 11...cxd4 was objectively sound, but practically an error.

Openings From Weimar VI

MY round six game, in which I was Black against Wilfried Adam (1828). developed into a King's Indian Attack or, arguably, the Closed Variation of the Sicilian.

Here I want to look at an interesting point right at the start of the game - the interesting bit being not so much the moves themselves, as the engines' reactions to those moves.

When the initial position on the board, before a move has been made, is first set up on a computer, White has a slight edge, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1.

White is better

The latter engine sticks to this verdict, but Stockfish17.1, if allowed enough time, comes to regard the opening position as equal, albeit giving White the better part of equality.

After the game's 1.e4, the verdicts naturally do not change, but 1...c5 sees Dragon1, but not Stockfish17.1, marginally increase White's edge.

My game continued 2.d3.

Clearly this is not a dynamic move, but it opens a diagonal for White's dark-square bishop and supports e4.

Ture, it also restricts White's light-square bishop, but that is not so important as the king's bishop is headed for g2.

However, the engines, while not calling 2.d3 a mistake, are far from happy with it - indeed, Stockfish17.1 regards Black as now being close to having a slight edge, and certainly reckons Black has the better part of equality.

I find it hard to believe 2.d3 is so bad as to amount to a swing in evaluation of almost half a pawn.

Certainly Dragon1, which, remember, was less keen on 1...c5, is not so critical of 2.d3, but nonetheless awards Black a minute edge.

Assuming the engines are right in their evaluations, and I realise that is quite an assumption when purely positional moves are under consideration, this goes to show how important it is to be active in the opening, and not to just make a vaguely useful move - what Garry Kasparov tends to call a half-move.

League Chess

PLAYED on board one (of four) for Battersea against Coulsdon last night in Croydon & District League's Dave Luckin division, where teams are allowed a rating total of 6,600 elo, ie a player-average of 1650.

Ishan Ramdewar (1976) - Spanton (1914)

QGD Exchange

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 h6!?

An early ...h6 used to be taboo in the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined. The thinking was twofold. Firstly, if played before White castled, it was feared White could castle long and use the pawn as a hook for a kingside pawnstorm. Secondly, if White castled short, it was thought the third rank on the kingside should be left uncluttered as Black might want to place a rook and/or queen there to attack the white king's position. But 6...h6!? has been played by Carlsen, Kramnik, Ding, etc. What changed? Engines quite like the move, rating it marginally better than the common 6...Be7.

7.Bh4 Be7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.Nge2!?

This is massively more popular than the 'traditional' Nf3.

9...Re8 10.0-0

The position after 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.0-0-0!? occurs 136 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, but 11...b5 gives Black the upper hand, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1.

Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the position?

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Mega26 has 702 examples of this position, with White scoring a very good 59%. The engines reckon White is slightly better.

10...Nh5!? 11.Ng3!?

This seems to be a novelty. The engines prefer 11.Bxe7, followed by queenside play.

11...Bxh4 12.Nxh5!?

The engines marginally prefer this over capturing with the queen.

12...Qg5??

Blundering a piece ... or, at least, it should.

How does White win a piece?

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13.Nf4??

There is no satisfactory answer to the simple 13.g3, eg 13...Bg4 can be met by 14.Be2, after which the black dark-square bishop cannot be saved.

13...Qf6 14.Qc2 Be6

The engines much prefer 14...Qd6, claiming equality.

15.g3 Bg5 16.Nxe6 Qxe6

Not 16...Rxe6?? 17.f4 Rxe3 18.fxg5 Qxd4 19.Bh7+ and 20.Kg2.

17.b4 a6 18.a4 Nd7 19.b5 axb5 20.axb5 Rxa1!? 21.Rxa1

How should Black proceed?

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21...Bxe3??

The engines suggest 21...g6, 21...Rb8 or 21...Nb6, but in each case give White the upper hand.

22.Bf5 Qe7 23.Bxd7 Bxf2+ 24.Qxf2 Qxd7

How big is White's advantage?

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Two pawns come nowhere close to compensating for a knight in this middlegame position, especially with two white queenside pawns effectively holding back three black ones. The engines reckon White is approximately the equivalent of 2.5 pawns ahead.

25.Re1?!

This gives away much of White's advantage.

25...Rxe1+ 26.Qxe1 Qg4?!

After the 'ugly' 26...cxb5! Black has counterplay thanks to having a passed pawn and the safer king.

27.Qe8+ Kh7 28.Qe5 Qf3 29.Ne2?!

White is still winning after 29.Qe1, according to the engines.

29...cxb5!

'Ugly', but effective. Black now has three isolated pawns, but the engines agree having a passer is much more important.

30.Nf4 Qd1+ 31.Kg2 Qc2+?!

It is a game of equal chances after 31...b4, according to the engines.

32.Kh3?!

The engines give White the upper hand after 32.Qe2, one point being 32...Qxe2+?! 33.Nxe2 b4 fails to 34.Nf4!

32...Qd1?

The game is completely equal, according to the engines, after both 32...b4 and 32...Qc8+ 33.Kg2 b4.

33.Qf5+ Kg8

White to play and win

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34.Qxd5?

Both 34.Qd3 and 34.Nxd5 seem good enough for at least a slight edge, but winning is 34.Qc8+ Kh7 35.Qxb7 as 35...Qf1+ 36.Kg4 Qd1+ comes to nothing after 37.Kf5, eg 37...Qxd4 38.Qxb5 g6+ 39.Kg4 h5+ 40.Kh3, although the whole line is not easy to envisage from the diagram.
34...g5 35.Qd8+ Kg7

White to play and draw

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36.Nd5??

White has a draw after no fewer than seven moves, according to the engines, including 36.Ne6+!?, 36.Qd5, 36.Qe8 and 36.Qc7.

Black to play and win

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36...Qf1+ 37.Kg4 f5+ 38.Kh5 Qh3#

Coulsdon defaulted on board three, but the match was drawn 2-2..

My Battersea Season 2025-6

Date       Event  Colour  Rating  Opp's Rating  Score  Season's Perf

16/9/25   CLL       W       1936         1952             0           1552

18/9/25   CLL       W       1936         1797             =           1675

16/10/25 CLL       W       1889         2047             0           1665

23/10/25 CLL       B        1889         1823             1           1805

18/11/25  LL         W       1891         1980             =           1840

20/11/25  CLL      W       1891         1866             1            1911

25/11/25  BCC     B        1891         1817             1            1955

9/12/25    LL         W       1904         1982             1            2008

16/12/25  LL         B        1904         2046             0            1968

18/12/25  CLL      B        1904         2066             1            2018

6/1/26      CLL      W       1929         2150             =            2066

7/1/26      LL         W       1929         1971             =            2058

8/1/26      CLL      B        1929         1800?           =            2038

13/1/26    LL         B        1929         2035             1            2067

27/1/26    LL         B        1929         2089             0            2041

29/1/26    CLL      B        1929         1882             =            2031

3/2/26      BCC     W       1928         1836             1            2043     

12/2/26    CDL      B        1928        1890              1            2057

25/2/26    LL         B        1928        1863              =            2047

26/2/26    CLL      B         1928        2015             0            2025

3/3/26      CDL      B        1914        1976              1            2043

CLL: Central London League

LL: London League

BCC: Battersea club championship

CDL: Croydon & District League

I also have a win-by-default in the Central London League