Cecil Purdy, How Fischer Won
Monday, 15 June 2026
Bischofsgrün Round Four
FACED a Dutchman.
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Spanton (1951) - Stef van Kesteren (1861)
Philidor
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be6 6.Be2 0-0 7.Be3 Nc6
Stockfish18 and Dragon1 suggest 7...Re8 or 7...c5!?
8.0-0
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| Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the position? |
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White's space advantage gives a slight edge, according to the engines.
8...Bd7 9.f4 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Bc6 11.Bf3 a6 12.Qd2 Nd7!? 13.Rae1 Bf6 14.e5?
Dropping a pawn. White has a slight edge after any reasonable move, according to the engines.
14...dxe5 15.fxe5?!
The engines reckon this makes matters worse.
15...Nxe5 16.Bxc6
Not 16.Bxe5?? Qxd2.
16...Nxc6 17.Be3 Qxd2 18.Bxd2
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| Black is 'only' a pawn up, but Black's advantage is worth nearer a minor piece, according to the engines |
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18...Nb4?!
But this throws away much of the advantage. Instead, the black rooks should be brought into play, starting with 18...Rad8 or 18...Rfd8.
19.Ne4
Best seems to be the engines' 19.Re4!?, one point being 19...Nxc2 can be met by 20.Rxf6! gxf6 21.Nd5, when the engines reckon Black no longer has an advantage. However, calmer moves, such as 19...c5, 19...Nc6 and 19...Bxc3, give Black the upper hand, according to the engines.
19...Bd4+ 20.Kh1 Nxc2 21.Rc1 Ne3
The engines suggest 21...f5 or 21...Rae8.
22.Bxe3 Bxe3 23.Rxc7
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| White's pieces are more active, but Black remains a pawn up, and has the generally-better minor piece for working with rooks |
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Black is winning, according to the engines.
23...b5 24.Nd6 Bd4!?
The engines agree this is best.
25.b3 Be5 26.Rc6 Bxd6?
This greatly reduces Black's winning chances, which would remain after, for example, 26...f6.
27.Rxd6 Rfd8 28.Rfd1 Rxd6 29.Rxd6
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| Dragon1 gives Black a slight edge, but Stockfish18's verdict of equal is probably nearer the mark |
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29...Kf8 30.Kg1 Ke7 31.Rb6 Ra7 32.a4 bxa4 33.bxa4 a5 34.Kf2 Rc7 35.Rb5 Rc2+ 36.Kf3 Rc3+ 37.Kf2 Rc2+ ½–½
Sunday, 14 June 2026
Chess Tip of The Day 434
In major-piece-endings, king safety and the initiative are the critical factors, more than material advantage.
Steve Giddins, 50 Essential Chess Lessons
Bischofsgrün Round Three
FACED a Fide master.
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Jochen Bruch (2115) - Spanton (1951)
King's Indian Attack
1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.0-0 Nc6 5.d3
This keeps the play in King's Indian Attack lines, but Stockfish18 and Dragon1 suggest switching into a Queen's Pawn Game with 5.d4!?
5...e5 6.Nbd2 Be7 7.e4 0-0
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| Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the position? |
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Black's broad pawn-centre, achieved without falling behind in development, is liked by the engines, leading them to award Black a slight edge.
8.c3
Fischer played 8.Re1 in a 1956 game, and that is the most popular continuation in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database.
8...Rb8
The engines like 8...d4.
9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nc4
The engines much prefer 10.Re1.
10...f6 11.a4 Be6 12.Nh4!?
Probably a novelty. The known move is 12.Qe2.
12...Qd7 13.f4 exf4 14.gxf4 f5 15.Nf3 Bf6 16.Re1 Rbd8 17.Qe2 Rfe8 18.Qf2 b6 19.a5!? b5!? 20.Nce5 Nxe5 21.Nxe5
The engines marginally prefer 21.fxe5.
21...Bxe5 22.Rxe5?!
Missing Black's powerful reply. White should almost certainly prefer 22.fxe5.
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| How should Black proceed? |
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22...Nf6!
A retreat that means the c5 pawn cannot be saved, but Black's twin threats of 23...Ng4 and 23...Qxd3 cannot both be successfully met.
23.h3!?
This is Dragon1's top choice, at least for a while, but the engines eventually more-or-less agree on 23.Bf3!?, albeit allowing 23...Qxd3.
23...Qxd3 24.Be3 Ne4
The engines give 24...Nd7!? 25.Bf1 Nxe5!? 26.Bxd3 Nxd3, claiming Black is winning.
25.Bxe4 fxe4 26.f5 Bc8
This is more active than 25...Bf7.
27.Rxc5 Rf8
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| How should White proceed? |
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28.Bd4!?
The engines agree White should play the text or 28.Re1. Note that 28.Rf1?! allows 28...Bxf5! 29.Rxf5 Rxf5 30.Qxf5 Qxe3+.
28...Qxh3 29.Qg2!? Qxg2 30.Kxg2
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| White has got queens off, safeguarding his king, but at the cost of a pawn - how would you assess the position? |
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White's bishop dominates, and the white king's rook is very active. The engines reckon the position is equal.
30...a6 31.Rf1 Bb7 32.Rc7 Rf7 33.Rxf7+
JB offered a draw.
33...Kxf7 34.Kg3 b4!? 35.Kf4 Rd5 36.Rh1
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| How should Black respond? |
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36...h6?
Several moves hold, including 36...e3!?, 36...Bc8 and 36...Kg8, but not the text.
37.Rg1
White is winning.
37...g5+!? 38.fxg6+ Kg8 39.g7 bxc3 40.bxc3
White threatens 41.Rg6, 42.Rxh6, etc.
40...Rg5!? 41.Rb1 Bd5
Or 41...Rb5 42.Rh1 h5 43.Be5.
42.Rb6 Kh7 43.Rxa6 Rg6 44.Ra7
Also winning is 44.Rxg6 Kxg6 45.Ke5!
44...Bc4 45.Rc7 Bd3 46.Rc8 1-0
Walking
ONE of the more-interesting walks in the Bischofsgrün area starts at the venue-hotel Kaiseralm.
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| For the best part of an hour the route follows the White Main, occasionally crisscrossing it |
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| Near the source, the river is more of a stream, but overnight rain helped make it run fuller |
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| Hanging on |
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| The route stops running directly beside the White Main on reaching Karches Lake |
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| Beside the lake is a restaurant with a biergarten, which is handy as this is at the foot of the 1,024-metre (3,360-foot) Ochenskopf (Oxhead) Mountain |
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| Interesting rock formations are passed on the ascent |
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| But the path is easy underfoot, although most of it is much steeper than this picturesque section |
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| About 20 minutes from Karches I reached the source of the White Main, which is also regarded as the source of the Main proper |
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| A quick stop for lunch, and then on to the summit |
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| Some waymarks are more elaborate than others |
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| Restaurant and lookout tower at the peak |
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| It was just as well I was happy to walk down, as the cable cars were not running |
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| Nice views near the bottom |
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| Soon back to civilisation |
Saturday, 13 June 2026
Bischofsgrün Round Two
Spanton (1951) - Peter Babrikowski (2155)
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Maróczy Bind
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Nc3 d6!?
The main line in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database runs 6...Bb4 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 e5!? 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 Bc5!? (11...Be7 and 11...d6 are also popular) 12.Kh1 d6, with a slight edge for Black, according to Stockfish18, but equal, according to Dragon1.
7.Bg5
Alekhine, Capablanca, Najdorf, Tal, Smyslov, Morozevich, Short and Ivanchuk are among the many who have preferred 7.Be2.
7...Be7 8.Be2 a6 9.0-0 0-0
Not 9...Nxe4? 10.Nxe4 Bxg5 (10...Nxd4? 11.Qxd4) 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Nd6+ and 13.c5.
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| Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the game? |
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The position occurs only 20 times in Mega26, but is fairly typical of a Maróczy Bind in which Black has developed the dark-square bishop at e7 rather than g7. To equalise, and possibly gain an edge, Black normally has to get in one of three classic pawn-breaks: ...b5, ...d5, ...f5.
10.Qd2 Bd7
After 10...Nxe4?! 11.Nxc6!? Bxg5 12.Nxe4!? Bxd2 13.Nxd8 Bf4 14.Nxf7 Kxf7 the engines reckon White has the upper hand.
11.Rfd1
This may be a novelty. Known moves are 11.Rad1, 11.Kh1, 11.Nc2!? and 11.Rfe1.
11...Nxd4
A common exchange in the Maróczy. Black has less space, and so is happy to see a pair of knights leave the board, especially as the queen's bishop is ready to occupy c6.
12.Qxd4 Bc6 13.f3?!
The engines suggest 13.Kh1, 13.Bf1!? or 13.Be3!?
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| How should Black proceed? |
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13...Qa5?!
This helps White successfully reorganise. Instead, the engines' 13...Nxe4! is strong, eg 14.Nxe4 Bxg5 15.Nxg5 Qxg5 16.Qxd6 Rfd8 gives Black the better bishop, while 14.Bxe7 Nxc3!? 15.bxc3!? Qxe7 16.Qxd6 Qg5 leaves Black with the better bishop and much the better pawn-structure.
14.Qd2
Threatening 15.Nd5!
14...Qb6+ 15.Be3 Qc7 16.Rac1 Rac8
The engines suggest 16...Qb8!? or 16...Rfb8!?
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| After 16...Rac8, how should White proceed? |
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17.Nd5
'Clever', but not best, according to the engines. They reckon 17.b4!? gives White the upper hand, a possible continuation being 17...Rfd8 18.Bf1!? (clearing the way for Qf2) Be8!? 19.a3 Nd7 20.f4!?
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| After 17.Nd5, how should Black respond? |
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17...Bxd5!
The engines reckon that after 17...exd5 18.cxd5 Black has nothing better than 18...Qb8!? 19.dxc6 Rxc6 20.Rxc6 bxc6, when 21.Bxa6 nabs a pawn.
18.cxd5 Qd7 19.dxe6 Qxe6!?
Another engine-approved choice.
20.b3 b5
As PB pointed out in the postmortem, 20...d5 at least equalises.
21.Bf4?!
Again as PB pointed out, better is Bd4, and that would have been better at move 20 too.
21...Rxc1 22.Rxc1 d5 23.exd5?!
The game is equal after 23.e5!? Nd7 24.Qd4, according to the engines.
23...Nxd5
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| What should White play? |
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24.Bg3
Everything else loses, but now 24...Rd8 gives Black a slight edge, according to the engines, the point being Black's initiative and well-placed knight count for more than White's bishop pair.
Instead, PB offered a draw as he played:
24...Re8
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| Objectively, should White accept? |
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The engines agree the position is equal if White finds 25.Bf1, and after 25.Bd3, according to Stockfish18, although Dragon1 reckons that the latter move gives Black at least the better part of equality.
½–½
Friday, 12 June 2026
Bischofsgrün Round One
Hartmut Kumeth (1784) - Spanton (1951)
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1.Nf3 Irregular
1.Nf3 c5 2.c3!?
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| This position goes back to at least 1925, occurs 1,577 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, and has been played, as White, by Barcza, Stahlberg, Keene, Hort, Ivanchuk, Conquest, Harikrishna, Rapport, Aronian, Short, So and Carlsen |
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Most of those players have had decent results with it, so what is going on? Presumably one of the main points of 2.c3!? is that a later d4 cxd4 can be met by cxd4, keeping two pawns in the centre. The text also opens the d1-a4 diagonal, although it is too early to know whether that will prove useful. However, for what it is worth, after 2.c3!?, Stockfish18 and Dragon1 reckon Black has completely equalised.
2...d5 3.e3!?
Another strange-looking move, but it is the top choice of the engines, along with 3.d4.
3...Nf6 4.b3!? Nc6 5.Bb2
The first move of White's I managed to predict, and it is the first move not in Mega26. Alexandr Fier (2499) - José Fernando Cubas (2447), Mário Covas (Santos, Brazil) 2007, went 5.Bb5 Qb6 6.c4 a6 7.Ba4 Bd7 8.0-0, with equal chances, according to the engines (1-0, 32 moves).
5...e5 6.d3
It is too late for d4, according to the engines, which reckon 6...cxd4 gives Black at least the upper hand after both 7.exd4 e4 and 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Nbd2 (8.Bc3 Qa5) exd4 9.exd4 Ne4.
6...Bd6 7.Be2 e4 8.Nfd2 0-0 9.Na3?!
The engines strongly dislike this, preferring 9.dxe4 dxe4 10.Nc4 Bc7 11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.h3, although they agree that leaves Black with at least a slight edge.
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| How should Black proceed? |
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9...Bf5
Best, according to the engines, is 9...exd3 10.Bxd3 Qe7, threatening to win a piece with ...c4. A sample line runs 11.Nc2 Ne5 12.Be2 Bf5, when Black is ahead in space and development.
10.Nf1?!
Falling further behind in development. However, after 10.dxe4 Nxe4!? 11.Nxe4 Bxe4 the engines reckon Black has a positionally won game.
10...Qe7
Threatening to win a piece with 11...exd3 12.Bxd3 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 c4. But even stronger, according to the engines, is 10...exd3 11.Bxd3 Bxd3 12.Qxd3 c4!? 13.bxc4 Ne5.
11.Nc2 Ne5 12.dxe4 dxe4 13.Ng3 Bg6 14.0-0
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| Now both sides have castled, how large is Black's advantage? |
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Black's extra space and more-active development add up to an advantage worth nearer a rook than a minor piece, according to the engines.
14...Rad8 15.Qb1!?
The engines reckon 15.Qc1 is a tad better.
15...h5 16.Rfd1
Not 16.h4? Nfg4 etc.
16...h4 17.Nf1 Nfg4 18.c4
Possibly better is 18.h3, although the engines reckon 18...f5!? is a strong reply.
18...Qg5 19.Rd5
This is the engines' second choice, at least for a while, but their main line runs 19.Bxg4 Qxg4 20.h3 Qe2!? with a large advantage, eg 21.Rd2 runs into 21...Nf3+! 22.gxf3 Bh2+!, when 23.Kxh2 Rxd2 24.Nxd2 Qxf2+ 25.Kh1 exf3 26.Qf1 Qxd2 results in Black regaining the sacrificed piece, with a two-pawn advantage. That is not by any means an easy line to see in advance, but even without 20...Qe2!? Black has a substantial edge.
19...Nf6 20.Qd1?!
White should probably just give up the exchange, albeit with no compensation.
20...Nxd5 21.Qxd5
21.cxd5 is not necessarily any better, according to the engines.
21...Nf3+ 22.Bxf3 Bxh2+!? 0-1
After 23.Nxh2 Rxd5 24.cxd5 exf3 25.Nxf3 Qxd5 Black has queen and pawn for two knights.
Thursday, 11 June 2026
Chess Tip of The Day 431
After several days of working properly, Blogger's feeder widget is again malfunctioning.
One of the great virtues of the two bishops is their ability to control the opponent's rooks, both from a defensive (control of invasion squares, effective defence of vulnerable points ...) and an attacking point of view.
Lluís Comas Fabregó, True Lies In Chess
Bishop's Green
AM flying to Nuremberg today, before traveling on to the Bavarian mountain resort of Bischofsgrün for the 43rd seniors' championship of Upper Franconia.
The tournament, run by ChessOrg.de, is for players born before 1972, and has 50 entries, including two Fide masters, and a German who, despite having a national rating of 2013, does not have a Fide rating.
There are nine mostly-morning rounds over nine days, with a time control of 40 moves in 100 minutes, a further 30 minutes to finish, and a 30-second increment throughout.
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| There is excellent walking in the Fichtel mountains - here I am last year at the source of the Main river |
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