Getting There (Durrës)

CAUGHT British Airways' 13.50 from Heathrow to the Albanian capital Tirana, where three coaches were waiting to ferry players to the seaside resort of Durrës, which is where the world senior team championships are being held.

I was checked in and down to dinner before 20:00 central European time, later enjoying a poolside drink with some of the other England players.

View from my balcony

Play starts tomorrow at 15:00, with 54 teams in the 65+, where I am on board three (of four) for England 5.

Our team's average rating of 1881 means, barring late changes, we should face France 2 (average rating 2118) in round one.

There is also a 36-team 50+.

Tricky Brain Exercise

SAW this serial number on a Central Line carriage: 92136.

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, but it is far from obvious.
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My solution: 9 ÷ (2 + 1) + 3 = 6

Balkans Bound

AM making final preparations for flying to Albania tomorrow for the world 65+ senior team championships, where I am on board three (of four) for England 5.

There are nine afternoon rounds over 10 days, including a free day after round five, with a time limit of 40 moves in 90 minutes, a further 30 minutes to finish, and a 30-second increment throughout.

The 54 teams are headed by German club side Lasker Schachstiftung GK, England, Iceland, Montenegro, France and Russia.

There is also a 50+ tournament with 36 teams, where the top three seeds are USA, England and Kazakhstan.

Venue hotel - Grand Blue FAFA, Durrës

Minatures 34

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

Bertrand Barlow (173 BCF) - Spanton (147 BCF)

Hastings 3rd Week A 1991

King's Gambit

1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d5!?

How should White respond to Black's unusual third move?

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4.exd5

This is the commonest continuation in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, but Dragon1 prefers 4.Nxe5, while Stockfish17.1 suggests 4.Nc3!?

4...e4 5.d4!?

More popular are 5.Qe2 and especially 5.Ne5, but the engines like the text, which goes back to at least 1839.

5...exd3 6.Qxd3!? Nf6 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Bd2 Ng4?

The obvious 8...Re8+ is better.

9.0-0-0?

White has a large advantage after 9.Ng5, eg 9...Re8+ 10.Be2 g6 11.Nce4 Bf5 12.Bxg4 Bxe4 13.Nxe4 Qh4+ 14.Kf1! Rxe4 15.g3 Qe7 16.c3!?

9...Nf2 10.Qc4

What should Black play?

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10...Nxd1?

Best is 10...b6, protecting the loose bishop while maintaining a fork of the white rooks.

11.Qxc5 Nd7 12.Qd4 Nxc3 13.Bxc3 Nf6

White's bishop-pair and extra pawn give full compensation for the exchange, according to the engines

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14.Bc4 Qd6 15.Re1 Bd7 16.Ne5 a5?!

Black probably needs to disrupt White's build-up, perhaps by 16...b5, and if 17.Bb3, then 17...a5 18.a3 Rfb8, with equal chances, according to the engines, which reckon 17.Be2!? is a promising alternative.

17.Re3 b5?

Too late. 17...R(either)d8 keeps the game going by allowing the black queen to keep defending f6.

18.Nxd7 Qxd7 19.Qxf6! 1-0

If 19...gxf6?, then 20.Rg3+ leads to mate, while 19...Qg4 20.Qd4 f6 21.Bxb5 leaves White with an advantage worth more than a rook, according to the engines.

LESSON: when enemy pieces are lining up against your king's position, precise calculation is usually required.

Miniatures 33

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

Spanton (147 BCF) - N Foster (200 BCF)

Barbican (London) Rapid1990

Nimzowitsch Defence

1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.g3!?

The main continuations in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database are 5.c3 and especially 5.Bd3.

5...f6!?

This immediate attack on the white centre is a rare continuation but is liked by Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1.

6.exf6 Qxf6!?

How should White proceed?

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7.Bg5?

The engines suggest 7.c3 or 7.Bg2, with what they reckon is equality.

7...Bxc2! 8.Qe2

Or 8.Bxf6 Bxd1 9.Kxd1 (forced) gxf6, when Black is a sound pawn up.

8...Qf5 9.Nc3?

Better is 9,Nbd2, developing and protecting the king's knight.

9...Bb4?

Missing the strength of 9...Be4.

10.h4?

The bishop should be moved, probably to e3.

10...Be4 11.Bg2 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 Qxf3 13.Bxf3 Nxd4

Winning a second healthy pawn.

14.Bd1 Nf6 15.0-0 0-0 16.Rc1 c6 17.a3 Bd6 18.Be3 Nf5 19.Re1?! 0-1

LESSON: success against a much higher-rated opponent is made infinitely harder if basic tactical mistakes are committed while still in the opening.

Thoughts On Daventry V

IN round seven, after taking a halfpoint bye in the morning, I was Black against David Flynn (1867 ECF/1816 Fide).

The game featured a sharp line from the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon in the Sicilian, and I think the line is worth a closer look.

It began 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3.

This usually means a Closed Sicilian, but as has been pointed out by many chess instructors, White is not committed to keeping the position closed (although White has ruled out a Maróczy Bind).

I played 2...g6, partly because I had seen in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database that after 2...Nc6 DF 'always' (seven games out of seven) plays 3.Bb5.

Now 3.Bb5 is not something Black should fear, although my record against it is a disappointing +1=0-3, including two losses to much lower-rated opposition.

But it seemed to make sense to deprive my opponent of the ability to play his 'favourite' variation.

He could have stayed in another type of Closed Sicilian with 3.g3, but instead opened the game with 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4.

After the further moves 4...Nf6 5.Nf3 we reached a position occurring 2,722 times in Mega26.

The usual Hyper-Accelerated move-order is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3

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Following 5...Nc6 6.Qa4 the threat of 7.e5, forcing the black king's knight to move, more-or-less obliges Black to play 6...d6.

But 7.e5 comes anyway, and after 7...dxe5 8.Nxe5 the game remains sharp.

The position after 8.Nxe5 occurs 1,784 times in Mega26

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On three occasions reaching this position I have continued 8...Bd7, which is easily the main move in Mega26.

The drawback is White can immediately win the bishop-pair with 9.Nxd7, and, although I have drawn this position in correspondence play, I lost with it both times over-the-board, albeit against much stronger opposition.

This time I played the gambit move 8...Bg7!?, expecting 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Qxc6+ Bd7, which occurred in Hanna Kyrjebo (1831) - Spanton (2002), Hastings 2014-5.

That game continued 11.Qf3 0-0 12.Bd3 Qb6 13.0-0 Bc6 14.Qe3 Qb7 15.f3 Rad8, with Black enjoying full compensation for a pawn, according to the engines (0-1, 44 moves).

However DF surprised me with 9.Bb5.

Of course this should not have been a surprise, especially as it is the most popular continuation in Mega26.

One of its points is that unless Black reverts to giving up the bishop-pair with 9...Bd7, Black will either have to give up a second pawn or allow some simplification.

The game continued 9...0-0 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bxc6

How should Black proceed?

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I chose 11...Rb8!?, offering a second pawn, and the continuation can be seen here.

It is the main move in Mega26, but the engines marginally prefer the alternative, 11...Bd7.

After 12.Bxd7 they reckon Black should avoid further simplification, which would occur with 12...Qxd7?! 13.Qxd7, and instead play 12...Nxd7, which looks a little retrograde, but the knight will gain a tempo on the white queen with ...Nb6 or ...Nc5, and Black's dark-square bishop has been unmasked.

The engines continue 13.0-0 Bxc3!? 14.bxc3 Nb6, claiming Black has full compensation (Stockfish17.1) or is no more than slightly worse (Dragon1).

Indeed the engines reckon White should meet 11...Bd7 with 12.0-0, when, to avoid serious disadvantage, the engines agree Black has to play 12...Rc8.

Now 13.Bxd7 should be met, they reckon, with 13...Qxd7!?, not fearing the simplification that occurs with 14.Qxd7 Nxd7.

How should White proceed?

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15.Bd2 might seem natural, but is perhaps too passive. After 15...Nb6 (threatening ...Nc4) 16.Rfd1 Rfe8 17.Be1!? Nc4, the engines give Black full equality.

Instead they suggest 15.Nd5!?, when 15...Rfe8?! 16.c3 is good for White.

However 15...Rxc2 16.Nxe7+ Kh8 leaves Black with great activity. A plausible continuation runs 17.Rd1 Ne5!? 18.Nd5!? Rd8 19.Rb1 h6!? 20.h3!? Nc4 21.Ne3 Rxd1+ 22.Nxd1, after which Black remains a pawn down, but has enough compensation (Stockfish17.1) or is only slightly worse (Dragon1).

The conclusion seems to be that the pawn-sacrifice 8...Bg7!? is a dynamic and fully viable alternative to giving up the bishop-pair with 8...Bd7, even though White retains a slight edge in many lines.

There is certainly much left to explore in the resulting positions.

Thoughts On Daventry IV

THE following position was reached after 27 moves in round five, in which I was White against Iranian Hooman Honarvarmahalati (1865 ECF/1837 Fide).

Black has just played 27...Bf7-g6

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The game continued 28.Bd6+ Kc8 29.Bxe5 Bxg3 and was eventually drawn.

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 suggest 28.Re1!?, which, naturally, I considered, but rejected for being too passive.

Here I want to try to to discover what is behind the engines' surprising - to me - recommendation, by seeing how the game could develop after their suggestion.

Their main line runs something like 28...h4 29.Kb2 Kd7 30.Re2 Ke6 31.Be1 Bh5 32.Re3 g5 33.g3!? Bg6 34.g4 Rd8.

Position after 34...Rd8

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As far as I can see, White has not made progress, and the engines seem to agree. Their previous evaluation of White either winning or having the upper hand has deteriorated to White having the upper hand or just a slight edge.

Their main line continues more-or-less (they do not always completely agree on the best move): 35.Ba5 Rf8 36.Bc7 Rc8 37.Bb6 Rf8 38.a4 Kd7 39.Rd3+ Ke8 40.Rd6+!? Bxe4 41.Re6+ Kd7 42.Rxe5 Bg2 43.Rxg5 Bxh3 44.Rg7+ Ke6 45.Rh7 Bxg4 46.Rxh4 Bf5.

Position after 46...Bf5

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Stockfish17.1 gives White a slight edge, although Dragon1 reckons White has the upper hand.

With pawns on only one side of the board, and opposite-colour bishops, I suspect most games between strong players would have been agreed drawn by now, and even club players as White would only play on more in hope than expectation.
The pleasing thing from my point of view is that while 28.Re1!? may, objectively, be a little stronger than my 28.Bd6+, I was probably right in regarding it as too passive to give much hope of victory.

Thoughts On Daventry III

MY round-four game, in which I was Black against China's Ran Li, featured a new-to-me move in the Vienna.

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 I had previously faced and/or played what I thought was every reasonable move: f4, g3, Bc4, a3!? and Nf3.

However my opponent surprised me when she played 3.d4!?, explaining afterwards that, although the move might not be found in books, there has been quite a lot posted about it online.

ChessBase's 2026 Mega database shows the move goes back to at least a simul given by Isidor Gunsberg in Leeds in 1887.

Not only that, but the move's score in Mega26 of 59% is very good, although in games between rated players White only performs seven elo above White's average rating for those games.

Part of the move's success must be due to its surprise value.

The day after our game I was having breakfast in the same cafe as another U2000 competitor, Matthew Wilson.

Naturally we got to talking about our upcoming pairings and, when he learnt I had already faced his opponent, and that I had written the game up at my blog, he spent the next 30 minutes feverishly preparing.

Here is the result.

Ran Li (1701 ECF/1699 Fide) - Matthew Wilson (1858 ECF/1810 Fide)

Vienna Game

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4!? exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qc4!?

This keeps play in independent Vienna lines, whereas 5.Qe3 transposes to the Centre Game.

5...Bb4

I played 5...Be7, which was also Alexei Shirov's choice in the position in a blitz game, but the text is most popular, and is recommended by Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1.

6.Bd2 d6 7.0-0-0 0-0

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

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White has more space in the centre, but the queen will likely be harassed by the black light-square bishop. Stockfish17.1 gives Black a slight edge, although Dragon1 reckons the game is equal.

The same position was reached in my game, except that the black dark-square bishop was on e7 rather than b4. In that case both engines call chances equal.

8.f3 Be6 9.Qe2 a5 10.g4?!

The engines strongly dislike this, suggesting the paradoxical 10.a3!?

Can you see how Black takes advantage of White's last move?

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10...Ne5

The engines give 10...Bxc3! 11.Bxc3 Nb4, reckoning White has nothing better than giving up the a2 pawn as 12.a3 Na2+ 13.Kd2 Nxc3 is deeply unpleasant whichever way White captures on c3, eg 14.Kxc3 d5!? 15.g5 Nh5!? 16.Qe3 c5 17.exd5 Bxd5 18.Bc4 Re8! 19.Qxc5 Nf4 20.Rxd5!? Nxd5+ 21.Qxd5 Qc7 22.Nh3 Rac8 23..Rd1 Re5 24.Qd4 b5, or 14.bxc3 Nd7 15.Qe3 d5 16.e5 f6!? 17.exf6 Qxf6!? with a very strong attack.

11.g5 Nfd7 12.f4?!

This looks like an oversight, but the engines are not too unhappy with it.

12...Bg4 13.Qg2 Bxd1 14.Nxd1 Bxd2+ 15.Qxd2 Nc6

White has lost/sacrificed the exchange, but White's kingside attack is probably ahead of Black's on the queenside

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16.h4 Nc5 17.Nc3 Qd7

The engines prefer 17...Re8.

18.h5 f5?

Opening a diagonal to the black king can hardly be right. However, the engines agree Black needs to do something about White's attack, suggesting 18...Rae8!?

19.Bh3?

White is winning, according to the engines, after 19.Bc4+ Kh8 20.Nf3.

19...Ne7 20.Nge2 Qc6?

The queen is a target on c6. Perhaps ...Rae8 is still best, although the engines prefer White.

21.Nd4 Nxe4?

The queen should be moved, albeit White is winning, according to the engines.

22.Nxc6 Nxd2 23.Nxe7+ Kf7 24.Nxf5 Nc4

Instead of having bishop for rook, White has emerged with bishop and knight for rook

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25.Nd5 c6 26.g6+! hxg6 27.hxg6+ Kxg6 28.Kg5?

Black has to play 28.Kh7, but would be the equivalent of more than a rook down, according to the engines.

28...Rg5#

Thoughts On Daventry II

AFTER taking a halfpoint bye in round two, I was positionally outplayed in round three by a girl aged nine or 10 (probably the former - she is listed by the English Chess Federation's as England's second-best under-10-year-old).
Tara Tamilselvan (1879 ECF/1820 Fide) went on to finish tied for second in the U2000, scoring +4=3-0 with a rating performance over 2050.

That may not make her a prodigy, but she has plenty of juvenile years ahead of her in which to get even better, and of course there are many adult players who can only dream of being so 'weak'.

She beat me positionally, but in the following round won against a Ukrainian in the tactical style associated with juniors.

Tara Tamilselvan (1879 ECF/1820 Fide) - Dmytro Chernov (1920 ECF/no Fide)

Pribyl Defence

1.Nf3 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.d4 Bg4

This is easily the most popular move in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, although Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 prefer transposing into a Pirc with 4...g6.

5.h3 Bh5 6.Bd3 Qc7?!

The engines strongly dislike this, claiming White is now winning.

How should White proceed?

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7.Bf4

This seems to be a novelty. The engines' main line runs 7.g4!? Bg6 8.e5 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 Nd5 10.e6!? f6 11.0-0, assessing White as having a positionally won game.

7...Nbd7 8.g4 Bg6 9.e5

The engines prefer 9.Be3!? or 9.g5.

9...dxe5 10.Nxe5 Qa5 11.Qe2

White has the upper hand after 11.Nc4, according to the engines.

11...Nd5?!

11...Nxe5 equalises (Stockfish17.1) or cuts White's advantage to a slight edge (Dragon1).

12.Nc4! Nxf4

More-or-less forced as 12...Qd8?? allows 13.Nd6#.

13.Nd6+ Kd8 14.Nxb7+ Kc7 15.Nxa5 Nxe2 16.Kxe2 Rb8 17.Nb3 e5

White has emerged from the tactics a pawn up, so Black tries to open lines in the centre to get at the white king

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18.d5 Bb4 19.dxc6 Bxd3+ 20.cxd3 Kxc6

The engines prefer closing the c file with 20...Bxc3!? before capturing on c6.

21.Rac1 h5?

The black king is too vulnerable to allow time for this.

22.Ne4+ Kb6 23.Rc4 Be7 24.Rhc1 Rbd8?!

Almost certainly better is 24...Rh6, preventing White's next.

25.Rc6+ Kb7 26.Na5+ Kb8 27.Rc7 Rc8!?

White was threatening to deliver mate, starting with 28.Rb7+ Ka8 29.Rcc7.

28.Rb7+ Ka8 29.Rxc8+ Rxc8 30.Rxd7 Bb4 31.Nc4 1-0

League Chess

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

Spanton (1938) - William Taylor (2012)

Sicilian Bb5(+)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3!?

The main moves in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database are 4.Bxc6 and especially 4.0-0.

4...Nf6 5.Qe2 Bg7 6.d4 cxd4 7.cxd4 d5 8.e5 Ne4 9.0-0 0-0

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

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White's extra space in the centre may be why Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 give White a slight edge.

10.Nc3!?

This is the main move in Mega26, even though after ...

10...Nxc3 11.bxc3

... White has a backward pawn on a half-open file.

11...Na5 12.Ba3

The position after 11...Na5 is reached 12 times in Mega26, with White trying seven different moves, including the text.

12...Bd7 13.Bd3 Rc8 14.Rfc1

The engines suggest 14.Qe1!?, which protects c3 while keeping the option of kingside play.

14...Nc4 15.Bxc4

The engines give 15.Bc5 b6 16.Bxc4 bxc5!? 17.Bxd5 Bg4, reckoning Black has full compensation for a pawn.

How should Black recapture?

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15...Rxc4

The engines agree this is the better move as after 15...dxc4?! White has a freer hand on the kingside, now that the c file is closed.

16.Nd2 Ra4 17.Bb2 Bh6 18.Rd1

I picked up the rook, intending to play 18.Rf1?, but White is in trouble after the reply 18...Qb6, when Black has two major threats: 19...Qxb2 and 19...Bb5.

18...Bxd2

The engines prefer 18...Qc7 or 18...Qc8, with Dragon1 also liking 18...Bg7!?

19.Rxd2 Qa5 20.a3 Qa6 21.Qxa6

The engines reckon it is better for White to keep queens on.

21...Rxa6

How would you assess this late-middlegame?

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White has an awful bishop, but it protects important pawns, while the black bishop, although it has lovely diagonals to work on, has no targets. The engines award Black a slight edge.

22.Re1

But the engines strongly dislike this, preferring 22.Bc1!?

22...Rb6 23.f3 Rb3 24.Ree2 Rc8 25.Rf2 h5 26.h4 a5 ½–½

The engines reckon Black has the upper hand. A sample line:  27.Kh2 a4 28.Kg3 Bb5 29.Rd1 Bc4 30.Kf4 f6!? 31.Re1 Rc6 32.Rc1!? Kf8 33.Rcc2 Kf7 34.Rc1 Ke6 34.Rcc2 Kd7 35.Rcd2 Ke6, after which they still give Black at least the upper hand, but Black does not seem to have made any progress, and it may well be progress is not possible.

The match was tied 2.5-2.5.

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

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.