Chess Tip Of The Day 393

There are said to be two ways of improving as a chess player - by accumulating knowledge and by working on your shortcomings. For beginners, the acquisition of information is more important. For more experienced players, who already possess a solid theoretical grounding, efforts to eradicate a range of characteristic mistakes become no less important.

Vladimir Popov, Chess Lessons

4NCL Round 10

PLAYED on board one (of six) for Wessex B against a junior (born 2009) for Ashfield 2 this afternoon.

Sebastian Griffin-Young (1901 ECF/1841 Fide) - Spanton (1940 ECF/1911 Fide)

King's Indian Attack

1.g3 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.0-0 e5 5.d3 Nf6 6.e4!?

Contrary to first impressions, 6.e4!? does not lose a pawn

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6...dxe4 7.dxe4 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bg4

If 6...Nxe4?!, then 7.Nxe5! is good for White as 7...Nxf2?? (this has been played) loses to 8.Bxc6+ bxc6 9.Kxf2.

9.Re1 Rd8

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 prefer getting the queen's rook to d8 via 9...0-0-0.

10.Na3!?

This is not in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, which has 10.h3, 10.c3 and 10.Nbd2? (10...Nb4).

10...Be7

The engines suggest 10...Be6!?, 10...h6 or 10...Bd6.

11.Nc4 Bxf3?!

Breaking the well-established rule that when you have a bad bishop (in this case the king's bishop, hemmed in by black pawns), you should not swop your good bishop.

12.Bxf3 0-0

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

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Black's light-square weaknesses are probably the main reason why the engines award White the upper hand.

13.Ne3 g6 14.c3 Kg7 15.Nd5 Rd7 16.Be3

The engines like 16.Nxf6!?, or starting to advance on the kingside with 16.h4 or 16.g4!?

16...b6

Black equalises (Stockfish17.1), or comes close to it (Dragon1), with 16...Nxd5!? 17.exd5 Na5.

17.Rad1

Again the engines like swopping on f6.

17...Rfd8

And here they again like swopping on d5.

18.Rd2

I will not repeat the obvious, but at this point the engines also like 18.Bc1!?, eg 18...h5 19.h4 Rd6 20.Kf1!?, claiming Black has nothing more constructive than 20...R6d7!?, but then they seem to run short of ideas, one line given being 21.Kg2!? Rd6 22.Kf1!?, nevertheless agreeing White has the upper hand.

18...Na5!?

Stockfish17.1 reckons this is even better, albeit marginally, than 18...Nxd5. Dragon1 is not so sure.

19.b3 Nxd5 20.exd5 Nb7

The engines suggest 20...c4!?, eg 21.b4 Nb7. However, Stockfish17.1 recommends sacrificing a pawn with 21.d6!? Rxd6 22.Rxd6 Rxd6 23.b4 Nc6, claiming the bishop-pair gives enough compensation.

21.c4 Nd6

How would you assess this queenless middlegame?

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White has the bishop-pair and a protected passed pawn, but the latter is well-blockaded, and only likely to become dangerous in an ending. Meanwhile, the bishops do not have open diagonals on which to work. The engines call the game equal.

22.Rde2 f5 23.Bg2 Bf6 24.h3 h5 25.h4 Re7 26.f3!? Rde8 27.Bf2 g5!?

The engines prefer 27...e4 or 27...a5.

28.hxg5 Bxg5 29.Be3?!

Unnecessarily giving up the bishop-pair. The engines suggest getting White's queenside going with 29.b4!?, eg 29...cxb4? 30.c5. Better is 29...Nxc4, but 30.bxc5 bxc5 31.Bh3!? gives White plenty for a pawn, with the position opening up for the bishops.

29...Bxe3+ 30.Rxe3 Kf6 31.Kf2

How should Black proceed?

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31...f4

This is reasonable, but best may be the engines' 31...h4!?, eg 32.gxh4 f4 33.R3e2 Rh7, when Black will regain the pawn, with a position the engines disagree about. Dragon1 reckons Black is winning, but Stockfish17.1 gives Black only the better part of equality. Allow the engines more time, and they start to see more resources for White, with Dragon1 downgrading Black's advantage to the upper hand, and Stockfish17.1 giving Black a tiny edge worth about a tenth of a pawn. A possibly better response is 32.f4!?, when 32...hxg3+ 33.Kxg3 again brings disagreement, except both engines reckon Black is at least equal.

32.Rd3!?

Possibly better is 32.R3e2, or 32.gxf4 exf4 33.Rxe7 Rxe7 34.Rh1.

32...fxg3+ 33.Kxg3 Rg8+ 34.Kf2 Reg7 35.Bf1 Nf5

How should White proceed?

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36.f4!?

The engines like this pawn sacrifice to activate the e1 rook, although they reckon other moves also give complete equality.

36...exf4 37.Re6+ Kg5 38.Bh3 Nd4 39.Re5+ Kh4 40.a3!?

40.Re4 and 40.d6!? maintain equality, according to the engines. They strongly dislike the text at first, but, given time, Stockfish17.1 reckons White is still holding, although Dragon1 gives Black the upper hand.

40...Rg3

Dragon1's idea at first is 40...f3, but 41.Bf1 seems to hold, It switches to 40...Rg5, but White seems fine after 41.Rxg5, followed, whichever way Black recaptures, by 42.d6!? Dragon1 later likes the text for a while, and the move comes to be Stockfish17.1's top choice, again for a short time.

41.Bf1?

But the engines agree this is wrong, preferring 41.Rxg3 Rxg3 42.Bg2, with what they reckon is enough compensation for a pawn.

Black to play and win

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41...Rxd3?

Simplification helps White. The engines reckon both ...Kg4 and ...a5 win, eg 41...Kg4 42.d6!? Rd8 43.Rd5, and now 43...Rxd3 44.Bxd3 h4, with a large advantage for Black.

42.Bxd3 Rg3 43.Be2!?

The text threatens mate in one, but White completely equalises with 43.Be4, according to the engines.

43...Nxe2 44.Kxe2

Black has one move that wins (Dragon1) or draws (Stockfish17.1), but plenty of continuations that lose

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44...Rg7?

Correct is 44...Rg5!, when 45.Rxg5?! Kxg5 gives a pawn ending that, despite White's protected passed pawn, is won for Black (Dragon1) or at least gives Black the upper hand (Stockfish17.1), eg 46.Kf3 h4 47.Kg2 Kf5 48.Kf3 h3 49.a4 Ke5 50.Kf2 Kf5 51.Kf3, after which it is hard to see how Black makes progress, even though Dragon1 reckons Black's advantage is equivalent to more than four pawns. However, note that 46.d6? definitely loses to 46...Kf6 47.Kf3 Ke6 48.Kxf4 Kxd6 49.Kg5 Ke5 etc.

Instead of trading rooks, White can play 45.Re7, when 45...Kg3 is completely equal (Stockfish17.1) or leaves Black with the upper hand (Dragon1). This time, however, giving the engines more time leads Stockfish17.1 to backtrack a little and award Black a slight edge. Play might continue 46.d6 f3+ 47.Kf1 Rg6 48.d7 Rd6 49.Rg7+ Kf4 50.Kf2 Rd2+ 51.Ke1!? Rd3 52.Kf2 h4 53.Rh7 Kg5 54.b4!?, after which the engines agree the position is completely equal.

45.Kf3

White is winning easily

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45...Rf7 46.d6 Rg7 47.Rd5 Rg3+ 48.Kxf4 Rg4+ 49.Ke5 Rg8 50.d7 Rd8 51.Kd6 Kg4 52.Kc7 1-0

After 52...Rxd7 53.Rxd7 h4, White sacrifices the rook for the h pawn, leaving White's king to mop up the black queenside pawns.

Final standings in the triangular match:
Wessex B 3.5-2.5 Iceni2
Ashfield 2 4-2 Wessex B
Iceni 2 1-5 Ashfield 2

Chess Tip Of The Day 392

When your head is spinning with success, that is the time when the blunders occur. So try to develop the rule for yourself that when you seem to be getting close to a win, be on the lookout.

Alexander Kotov, Think Like A Grandmaster

4NCL Round Nine

PLAYED on board one (of six) for Wessex B against Iceni B this afternoon.

Spanton (1940 ECF/1911 Fide) - John Feavyour (1843 ECF/1944 Fide)

Sicilian Bb5(+)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.0-0 Nf6 6.Qe2 Nc6

This position occurs 1,535 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database

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7.c3

Trying to build a centre is the main continuation, but also popular is 7.Rfd1.

7...g6

The main line in Mega26 runs 7...e6 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 d5!? 10.e5 Ne4 11.Be3 Be7 12.Ne1!? f6!? 13.f3 Ng5 14.Nd3 0-0, when Black has equalised (Stockfish17.1) or is only slightly worse (Dragon1).

8.d4 Bg7!?

Black more usually plays 8...cxd4 9.cxd4 Bg7!?, although the engines fluctuate between 9...Bg7!? and 9...d5!?, with, in the latter case, play similar to the previous note.

9.d5!?

The engines prefer this over the commoner 9.Rd1.

9...Ne5

The engines suggest 9...Na5 or 9...Nb8.

10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Nd2 0-0

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

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White has the better pawn-structure, a fine outpost on c4 for the knight, and a little more space in the centre. The engines give White the upper hand.

12.Nc4 Nh5 13.Be3 Nf4!? 14.Bxf4

This seems better than 14.Qf3 f5 15.Bxf4 fxe4 16.Qxe4 Rxf4, although the engines reckon White would still have an edge.

14...exf4 15.Rfd1 b6

On 15...b5!?, White has 16.Na5, with Nc6 to come, although it is not clear the knight is better on c6 than on c4.

16.a4 Rab8 17.e5!? Qf5 18.d6

The engines suggest 18.Rd2 or 18.f3.

18...exd6 19.exd6 Rfe8 20.Qf3 Qe4?

This looks like a forcing move in that the black queen hits the knight as well as the white queen, but there is a serious flaw

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21.d7!

White wins the exchange.

21...Qxc4 22.dxe8=Q+ Rxe8

Black has an extra pawn, but it is doubled and weak, and so provides little compensation

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23.Rd7!? Qb3?

If 23...Qxa4!?, White has 24.Qd1!? (Rxa4?? Re1#), eg 24...Qxd1+ 25.Raxd1 a5 26.Rd8, getting down to a rook-v-bishop ending, when Black's two extra pawns will soon fall. Nevertheless, the engines reckon 23...Qxa4!? is better than the text, although they suggest meeting 24.Qd1!? with 24...Qe4, allowing 25.Rdxa7.

24.Qxf4 Qe6 25.Rdd1 Qb3

Black now has no compensation for the exchange, and can only play for tricks

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26.Qc1 Qc4 27.g3 h5 28.Re1 Rd8 29.Qc2 Bf6 30.Re4 Qd5 31.h4 Qf5 32.Kg2 Bg7 33.Rae1 Kh7 34.Qe2 Bh6 35.f4!?

This weakens the position of the white king, but it is playable because White's advantage is so large.

35...Qd5 36.Kh2 Bg7 37.Re7 a5 38.Rf1 Qf5 39.Rd1 Rf8!?

This is horribly passive, but keeps pieces on the board.

40.Qe4 Qg4 41.Rd6

At least one black queenside pawn must fall.

41...Qc8 42.Rxb6 Qd8 43.Rbb7 Qd2+ 44.Qe2 Qd5 45.Rb5 Bf6 46.Re3 Bc8 47.Qd3 Qc6 48.Re5 Bf6!?

The engines reckon this may be Black's best move, which only goes to show how desperate Black's position is.

49.Rxh5+ Kg7 50.Rhxc5 Qe6 51.Rd5 Qe1 52.Qd2 Qf1 53.Qg2 Qe1 54.Rd2 Re8 55.Rbd5!?

How should Black proceed?

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55...Bxh4!?

This should not work, but it is surely Black's best practical try.

56.gxh4

Simpler is 56.Qf2!?

56...Qxh4+ 57.Qh3

Not 57.Kg1?? Re1+.

57...Qxf4

On 57...Qf1 I planned 58.f5!?, the point being 58...Rh8? loses to a mate that starts with 59.f6+!

58.Qg3 Rh8+ 59.Kg2 Qe4+ 60.Kf2 Rh1 61.Rd1?!

61.Qe5+ puts an end to Black's threats.

61...Qc2 62.R1d2 Qb1 63.Ke3 Re1+ 64.Kd4 Qe4+ 65.Kc5 Qe7+ 66.Qd6 Qa7+ 67.Kb5 Re6!?

This loses instantly, but Black has anyway run out of checks.

68.Qxe6! fxe6 69.Rd7+ 1-0

After today's games, the triangular match stands as follows:

Wessex B 2-1 Iceni2

Ashfield 2 1.5-1.5 Wessex B

Iceni 2 0-3 Ashfield 2

That Was Quick!

HAVING reported a problem with the Chess Tip Of The Day feeder on my blog, I received an answer within a couple of hours from a Blogger "Diamond Product Expert."

He told me he had successfully reproduced the issue I was experiencing and had reported it to the powers that be for fixing.

Meanwhile, he gave me a workaround that seems to work ...

4NCL Final Weekend

AM playing for Wessex B in the the fourth division of the Four Nations Chess League.

It is the last weekend of the 2025-6 season, and is being held at a Holiday Inn about five miles from Coventry rail station.

Three rounds will be played over three days, each with a time limit of 40 moves in 90 minutes, a further 30 minutes to finish, and a 30-second increment throughout.

Because there is an odd number of teams, three teams (in this case Iceni B, Ashfield B and Wessex B) will receive 'triangular' pairings today and tomorrow.

This is an ingenious system that caters for odd numbers without resorting to byes.

Like many clever ideas, it is much simpler to understand than to explain, and for those interested, the details are here, but basically today one half of Wessex B will play one half of Iceni B, while the other half of Wessex B will play half of Ashfield B.

Meanwhile, those halves of Iceni B and Ashfield B not playing Wessex B, will play each other, and the same happens tomorrow, except the halves are rotated so everyone plays someone new.

[Round 11 on Monday will feature a half-triangular match between three other teams. If you understood how a full-on triangular match works, you will probably be able to guess how a half one operates.]

Image by uxwing

Blogger Snafu

FOR  more than a year I have been publishing on this blog a Chess Tip Of The Day.

It appears on the righthand side of the page, near to the top, although, due to another Blogger snafu, it is only visible on the web version of the blog, not on the mobile version.

I write the tips at another blog, which acts as a feeder to Beau Chess.

Unfortunately, two days ago, the feed stopped updating, and I have been unable to fix it.

I have asked for help from the Blogger community, and it may be it is simply one of those Blogger sanfus that, like others, will be corrected within a few days by Google.

Until that happens - if it happens at all! - I will publish the Chess Of The Day here, which is not so aesthetically pleasing, but hopefully will be serviceable.

For the moment, I will keep the feed on the main page in the hope it will start working again.

Chess Tip Of The Day 390
Under normal circumstances in the Sicilian, White will attack on the kingside and Black on the queenside. David Levy & Kevin O'Connell, How To Play The Sicilian Defence

League Chess

PLAYED on board one (of five) for Battersea against Hammersmith in Central London League Division Two last night.

Spanton (1938) - Tony Niccoli (2285)

Spanish Exchange

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nc3 f6 6.d4 exd4 7.Qxd4 Qxd4 8.Nxd4 Bd7 9.Be3 0-0-0

This position occurs 279 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database

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10.f3

Long castling was played in 222 of those games.

10...Ne7 11.Rd1

Ruling out castling on the queenside - in fact the plan can be to not castle at all.

11...Ng6 12.Kf2!?

Emanuel Lasker often developed his king this way in the Exchange Variation of the Spanish, the idea being the king is well-placed on f2 to later assist an advance of White's pawn-majority. On the other hand, the absence of the king from c1/b1 leaves the white queenside pawns more vulnerable.

12...Ne5 13.Nb3!?

This may be a novelty, and is not liked by Stockfish17.1 or Dragon1. They suggest 13.h4 or 13.b3.

13...b6 14.h3

Preparing f4, without allowing a black piece to land on g4.

14...Nc4 15.Bc1 Bd6 16.f4?!

But, played this early, the move is probably too loosening.

How should Black exploit White's last?

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16...Rde8

Black can seize the initiative with 16...g5!?, when 17.fxg5?! fxg5 gives White an isolani and an exposed king. Better is 17.f5, and the engines suggest 17.Nd4!?, the idea being to meet 17...gxf4 with 18.b3, when 18...Ne5 allows 19.Bxf4, after the engines still much prefer Black, but they reckon even better is 18...Bb4!?, when 19.bxc4 Bxc3 20.Bxf4 equalises the number of pawns, but both 20...Rhe8 and 20...c5 leave Black much better.

17.Rhe1 Bb4 18.Rd3 Re7 19.a3 Bd6 20.Nd2 Bc5+ 21.Kf3 Be6?

Black should swop knights.

How can White exploit Black's last?

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22.Nxc4?

Missing 22.Na4!?, after which Black loses the bishop-pair, and contracts tripled c pawns, as 22...Bd6? is met by 23.Nxb6!

22...Bxc4 23.Rdd1 Rhe8 24.Be3 Bd6

Swopping bishops may be better.
25.Bxb6 Bxa3

How should White proceed?

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26.bxa3?

This is possibly the worst of the plausible choices. Best is probably the engines' 26.Bxc7!, when 26...Bxb2 27.Ba5!? more-or-less obliges Black to give up the bishop-pair with 27...Bxc3, after which the engines reckon White is at least slightly better. If Black tries to preserve the dark-square bishop with 27...Ba3?, White has 28.Na4!, with very strong play as Black does not seem to have a good answer to the threat of Nb6+, forking king and light-square bishop, eg 28...Bb5 29.Nb6+ Kb7 30.c4.

26...cxb6

Black has lost the bishop-pair, but straightened the queenside pawns, so who stands better?

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No one, according to the engines.

27.Rd6 Kc7 28.Red1 Bf7 29.R6d4 Be6!? 30.g4 a5 31.Ne2 Rd7!?
The engines reckon an exchange of rooks favours White.

32.f5!?

The engines prefer 32.Rxd7+ Bxd7, and now 33.f5!?

32...Rxd4 33.Rxd4 Bf7 34.Nf4 b5

Black has a slight edge after 34...g5!? or 34...c5, according to the engines.

35.Nd3 Rd8 36.Ke3 Ba2

Possibly better is 36...Rxd4 37.Kxd4 Kd6, with what the engines agree is complete equality.

37.Nc5 Rd6?

White has at most a slight edge after 37...Rxd4, according to the engines.

38.Rxd6 Kxd6 39.Nb7+ Ke5 40.Nxa5 c5 41.Nb3 Kd6 42.Nd2 Ke5 43.Nf3+ Kd6 44.h4 Bb1 45.Kd3!? b4 46.axb4 cxb4

White to play and maintain a winning position

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47.g5?

The simple 47.Nd2 snuffs out Black's counterplay, and, after 47...Ba2, the time is right to play 48.g5.

47...b3

Exploiting White's self-pin at move 45.

48.Nd4

An only-move.

48...bxc2

White to play and draw

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49.Nxc2?

White holds with 49.Kd2, eg 49...c1=Q+ 50.Kxc1 Bxe4 51.Kd2 Ke5 52.Ne6, or 49...Ke5 50.Ne6.

Black to play and win

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49...Ke5

But not 49...Bxc2+?? 50.Kxc2 Ke5 51.Kd3 Kf4, as 52.gxf6 gxf6 53.Kd4 wins for White, as does 51...fxg5 52.hxg5 Kf4 53.f6.

50.gxf6 gxf6 51.h5 Bxc2+ 52.Kxc2 Kxe4 0-1

TN: "Sorry."

Me: "It was my fault."

Hammersmith won the match 4-1.

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

24/3/26    BCC     W        1921        1780             1            2049

26/3/26    CLL      B         1921        1942             =            2045

31/3/26    CDL      B        1921         2091             0            2030

7/4/26      BCC     B         1938        1505*            1            2030

9/4/26      CLL      W        1938        2012              =           2029

30/4/26    CLL      W        1938        2285              0           2023

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

*A win against a 1505 counts as a 1905 performance, so I have excluded this game from calculating my season's performance as it would lower my average despite me winning.

Prep

ON the flight to Albania I had a fascinating conversation with England manager Nigel Povah, who is an international master of 43 years' standing.

He told me he normally spends five hours on preparation for a game, reckoning he keeps himself fit enough that this is not tiring.

Later, I was walking in Durrës with another quite-strong senior, who told me he often spends around two hours.

Impressive stuff?

Well, discussing the same matter over a drink in the hotel bar, Richard McMichael (2116) confessed his preparation usually takes around 10 minutes, and consists of looking to see which lines his opponent plays, and whether there is anything he would like to avoid, or would be particularly keen to face.

Grandmaster Nigel Davies, who also played in the world team seniors in Durrës, has gone on record stating he no longer does preparation, as he finds it tiring, preferring to do nothing before a round, apart from going for a short walk, and maybe a little light reading.

I tend to follow the McMichael Method, combined with a large does of Davies-style Do-Nothing.

Image by uxwing

As with many ideas in chess that are not directly related to moves on the board, which method is best is subjective, and hard to prove one way or another.

Summing Up Durrës

ENGLAND 5 were seeded 46th, but finished 37th, winning three matches, drawing two and losing four, with all nine matches against higher-seeded teams.

37. England - 5 (RtgAvg:1881, Captain: Freeman, Richard / TB1: 8 / TB2: 17)
Bo.		Name	Rtg	FED	FideID	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Pts.	Games	RtgAvg
1		Freeman, Richard C P	1897	ENG	410349	½	½	0	0	½	½	½	½	1	4	9	2139
2	CM	Stokes, Michael	1861	ENG	442542	0	1	½	0	1	1	0	0	0	3,5	9	2039
3		Spanton, Tim R	1908	ENG	404802	0	1	1	1	1	0	1	1	½	6,5	9	1983
4		Marshall, Michael	1859	ENG	1409956	½	½	1	0	0	0	0	½	½	3	9	1950

Elo Changes

Freeman +40.6 (2096 performance)

Stokes +19.8 (1959 performance)

Spanton +58.4 (2149 performance)

Marshall -8.2 (1825 performance)

Players were not permitted to use their own pens during games, but at the end were allowed to keep an official Fide world championship ballpoint, so I have a new pen for my collection of chess writing implements

Full results of the 54-team 65+ championship, along with the 36-team 50+ championship, can be found at Chess-Results.com.