World Team 65+ Round Five

Bo.	46	England - 5	Rtg	-	32	Germany (W)	Rtg	0 : 0
16.1		Freeman, Richard C P	1897	-	WFM	Malachowski, Margrit	1953
16.2	CM	Stokes, Michael	1861	-	WIM	Wagner-Michel, Annett	1982
16.3		Spanton, Tim R	1908	-	WFM	Skibbe, Diana	1930
16.4		Marshall, Michael	1859	-	WFM	Kierzek, Mira	1958

Spanton (1908) - Diana Skibbe (1930)

English Botvinnik v Dutch Leningrad

1.c4 f5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 g6

Setting up the Leningrad Variation of the Dutch Defence.

4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.e4

This, combined with the king's knight going to e2, constitutes the Botvinnik Setup in the English.

6...c6!?

This is second in popularity in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database to 6...Nc6. Both moves prepare ...e5, while leaving open the opportunity of recapturing on f5 with the light-square bishop if White plays exf5. However, very interesting is 6...e5 7.exf5 Bxf5!? 8.Bxb7 Nbd7 9.Bxa8 Qxa8, when, for the exchange and a pawn, Black has the bishop-pair, a lead in development, and light-square targets. Indeed, Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 reckon White should play 9.Nf3!?, 9.Qc2 or 9.Be4.

7.Nge2 e5 8.0-0 0-0

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

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White has a little more space on the queenside, Black on the kingside, while the white king has arguably more pawn cover than its black counterpart, although perhaps this is not important, bearing in mind Black's kingside space edge. The engines give White a slight advantage, but dependent on a specific continuation.

9.h3

Best, according to the engines, is 9.exf5!?, meeting both 9...Bxf5 and 9...gxf5 with 10.d4. The text is marginally more common in Mega26, but the engines have a sharp response in mind.

How should Black respond?

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9...h6

The engines suggest 9...f4!? 10.gxf4 Nh5, when they reckon 11.fxe5 dxe5 gives Black at least a slight edge, eg 11.f3!? (apparently a novelty, but best, according to the engines) Be6 12.Be3 Rf7, with a steady build-up, relying on the weakness of White's kingside as long-term compensation for a pawn. So they suggest offering the pawn back immediately with 11.f5!?, claiming equal chances.

10.Be3

This allows 10...f4!?, with similar ideas to 9...f4!?, so the engines suggest an apparent-novelty in 10.exf5!?, meeting 10...Bxf5 with 11.d4, and 10...gxf5 with 11.f4 or 11.Be3, in each case claiming White is better.

10...Be6 11.exf5!?

This may also be a novelty. The engines fluctuate in their preference between it and the known-move 11.Qd2.

11...Bxf5

This loses a tempo over those lines in which White plays exf5 before the bishop moves. However, Dragon1 rates the text and 11...gxf5 as of roughly equal strength; Stockfish17.1 prefers the pawn recapture.

12.d4 Qe7

The engines suggest 12...h5!?, 12...Na6 or 12...Nbd7.

13.Qd2

Even stronger, according to the engines, are 13.Qb3 and 13.g4!?

13...Kh7 14.Rad1 Na6 15.Kh2

The engines still like g4.

15...Rad8

How should White proceed?

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16.d5

This comes to be the engines' top choice, at least for a while, but they also like 16.g4!? and 16.Kg1!?

16...cxd5 17.cxd5

The engines prefer 17.Nxd5, only playing cxd5 in the event of ...Nxd5.

17...b6

The engines give 17...Nc5!?, the idea being 18.b4 can be met by 18...Nce4 19.Nxe4 Nxe4, when 20.Bxe4!? Bxe4 21.Bxa7 is possibly too much of a price to pay for a pawn.

18.f4 e4?

Perhaps played to try to keep lines closed, but it allows the white king's knight to occupy the plum d4 square. The engines prefer 18...h5!? or 18...Nc5.

19.Nd4

The engines suggest 19...Rde8, but both 20.g4 and 20.Nc6 are very good for White.

19...Bd7 20.f5 gxf5 21.Rxf5!?

The engines agree sacrificing the exchange is marginally stronger than 21.Nxf5.

21...Bxf5 22.Nxf5 Qf7

The engines are unsure whether f7 or e5 is the best square for the queen.

23.Bxh6 Bxh6

The engines give 23...e3!?, but agree that, after 24.Bxe3, White's advantage is the equivalent of being more than a piece up.

24.Qxh6+ Kg8 25.Nxe4 Nxe4 26.Bxe4 Qf6 27.Qh5 Nc5!?

This may be Black's best try. The main alternative seems to be 27...Rd7, but 28.Nh6+ Kg7 29.Ng4! Qxb2+ 30.Kg1 is crushing, eg 30...Rff7 (30...Rdf7? 31.Qh7#) 31.Qh6+ Kg8 32.Bh7+! Rxh7 33.Nf6+ Qxf6 (forced) 34.Qxf6 leaves White with queen, pawn and a continuing attack for rook and knight.

White to play and win

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28.Nh6+

Not the winning move, but this spoils nothing as, after ....

28...Kg7 29.Nf5+ Kg8

... the same position is reached, without Black having a chance to vary.

30.Bc2!

Preserving the bishop, and ensuring Black cannot capture on b2 with check.

30...Rde8

All moves lose.

31.Rd4

Not the only winning continuation.

31...Rf7 32.Nh6+ Kf8

Worth a try is 32...Qxh6!? as 33.Qxh6? concedes a draw to 33...Re2+ 34.Kg1 Re1+ 35.Kg2 Re2+ etc. However, 33.Rg4+ Qg7 (33...Rg7? 34.Qxe8#) 34.Rxg7+ Kxg7 35.h4! leaves White with queen, bishop and two pawns against two rooks and a knight, and with much the safer king, adding up to an advantage worth more than a rook (much more than a rook, according to Dragon1).

33.Rf4 1-0

Team Result

Freeman = Malachowski

Stokes 1-0 Wagner-Michel

Spanton 1-0 Skibbe

Marshall 0-1 Kierzek

England 5 2.5-1.5 Germany Women

World Team 65+ Round Four

Bo.	46	England - 5	Rtg	-	15	Sweden - 1	Rtg	0 : 0
11.1		Freeman, Richard C P	1897	-	GM	Akesson, Ralf	2316
11.2	CM	Stokes, Michael	1861	-	CM	Wengholm, Anders	2165
11.3		Spanton, Tim R	1908	-	FM	Hammar, Bengt	2099
11.4		Marshall, Michael	1859	-	CM	Soderberg, Per	2050

Spanton (1908) - Bengt Hammar (2099)

Sicilian Bb5(+)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7

This is second in popularity to 3...Bd7, but scores six percentage points more in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database.

4.c3

White obviously has a wide choice after 3...Nd7, but I was surprised to find 22 different continuations in Mega26, although admittedly they include 4.Nd4?? in a rapid game.

4...Nf6 5.Qe2 a6 6.Ba4 b5 7.Bc2 Bb7 8.0-0 e5

This position, which is somewhat reminiscent of a Spanish, occurs 142 times in Mega26

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9.d4 Be7

This is the commonest continuation, but Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 prefer capturing twice on d4.

10.d5!?

A very committal move, but it is the engines' top choice. More popular in Mega26 are 10.a4 and especially 10.Rd1.

10...c4!? 11.b3 cxb3 12.axb3 0-0

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

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The engines award White the upper hand, presumably largely because of White's extra space in the centre, and, perhaps, the fact of having all pawns connected, whereas Black's are split into two islands.

13.Nbd2 Rc8 14.Bb2 Nb6 15.Rfc1 Nh5 16.g3 g6

How should White proceed?

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17.c4!?

An important move as White's centre is about to come under pressure.

17...b4!?

The engines fluctuate between the text, 17...f5 and 17...Qd7.

18.Nf1

A typical Spanish move, but the engines prefer going after Black's queenside with 18.Ra2, or 18.Ne1!?, intending 19.Nd3.

18...Nd7 19.Ne3

The engines still like Ne1 and Ra2, but reckon 19.Ra4 allows immediate equality with 19...a5.

19...Nc5 20.Rf1 Rc7?!

Black is also equal after ...a5 here, according to the engines.

How can White exploit Black's last move?

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21.Qd2

The b4 pawn cannot be successfully defended, although Black gets time to play on the kingside.

21...a5?!

This distracts a white rook from the back rank, but is probably not best. Black can keep material equality with 21...Nf6!? 22.Qxb4 N(either)xe4, but the engines reckon 23.Qe1!? gives White at least the upper hand. They recommend 21...Bc8 22.Qxb4 Bh3 23.Ng2 Qc8, but agree White has the upper hand after 24.Qe1!? or 24.Qc3.

22.Rxc5 Bc8 23.Kg2

The engines reckon 23.Qxb4!? is good, but then they would, wouldn't they?

23...f5 24.exf5 gxf5 25.h3?

Giving the white queen's knight a protected square (g4) in the event of ...f4, but the engines much prefer 25.Kh1!? or 25.Ra8.

How should Black proceed?

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25...Rb7?

Protecting b4 and hitting a5, but White has a strong reply. The engines reckon Black equalises with both 25...e4!? 26.Nd4 f4, and the sharp 25...Bg5 26.Qe2 Bxe3 27.Nxe5! (27.fxe3? Rg7), when 27...dxe5 28.Qxe3 Ne4!? 29.Bxe4 Fxe4 30.Bxe5 Rcf7 leaves Black with a knight for three pawns in a position the engines evaluate as completely equal.

White to play and gain a winning advantage

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26.Rxc5!

One of the easier exchange sacrifices to play. Also strong is 26.Ra8.

26...dxc5 27.Nxe5 f4?

The engines suggest 27...Bd6 or 27...Qd6, but agree White is winning.

White's winning combination is not hard to find

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28.Bxh7+! Kxh7

Moving the king to a dark square loses at least the queen to 29.Nc6+.

29.Qd3+ Kg8 30.Qg6+ Ng7 31.Nc6

Hitting the queen anyway.

31...Rf7

31...Bxh3+ can be simply met by 32.Kh2, and the engines show 32.Kxh3!? also wins.

32.Nxd8 Bxd8 33.Bxg7 1-0

After 33...Rxg7 34.Qe8+ Kh7 35.Qxd8 Bxh3+ 36.Kxh3 fxe3 37.fxe3 White has queen and three pawns for rook.

Team Result

Freeman 0-1 Akesson

Stokes 0-1 Wengholm

Spanton 1-0 Hammar

Marshall 0-1 Soderberg

England 5 1-3 Sweden

Millionaire!

THIS morning my blog passed a million views, and now (10:00 central European time) stands at 1,004,566.

How many of those hits are by humans, and how many by bots, is not something I can discover.

Image by uxwing

World Team 65+ Round Three

Bo.	31	Denmark - 2	Rtg	-	46	England - 5	Rtg	0 : 0
19.1		Thuesen, Mogens	2070	-		Freeman, Richard C P	1897
19.2		Sonderstrup, Bjarne	1967	-	CM	Stokes, Michael	1861
19.3		Cordes, Steffen	1982	-		Spanton, Tim R	1908
19.4		Mortensen, John	1945	-		Marshall, Michael	1859

Steffen Cordes (1982) - Spanton (1908)

Sicilian Accelerated Dragon

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0-0 8.Bb3

Via a minor transposition at the start, the game has reached what is probably the main tabiya of the Accelerated Dragon in the Sicilian, with 15,502 examples of the position in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database

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8...d5!?

The main move is 8...d6, transposing into a more-regular Dragon, with a position occurring 7,079 times in Mega26. For many years the main try to keep the game in independent Accelerated lines was 8...a5. Other tries include 8...Re8, 8...Ng4!? and 8...Qa5. The text is Black's thematic move in the Accelerated Dragon, but it was thought to be impossible here as it appears to just lose a pawn. However, the move goes back to at least 1960, and Alexei Shirov gave it a spin in 2013, but it perhaps only started being taken seriously when Boris Gelfand started playing it with regularity 10 years ago.

9.exd5 Na5 10.Qf3

SC said afterwards that 8...d5!? had been played against him in a blitz game, and his opponent told him the best continuation, after 9.exd5 Na5, was 10.Qf3. Stockfish17.1 agrees, but Dragon1 prefers 10.Qd2.

10...Nxb3 11.axb3 Bg4 12.Qg3 Bh5!?

This frees the knight to pressurise d5.

How should White proceed?

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13.d6!?

This is the main move in Mega26, and it is also liked by the engines. The point is to give back the pawn, while saddling Black with an isolani on a half-open file.

13...Ng4!?

Offering to make the pawn-sacrifice permanent.

14.0-0!?

After 14.dxe7 Qxe7 the engines give an apparent-novelty in 15.Nd5!?, which could lead to a quick draw after 15...Qe4 16.Nc3 Qe7 17.Nd5 etc.

14...Be5 15.dxe7

Perhaps 15.f4 is better, and then 15...Bxd6 gives equal chances, according to the engines.

After the game's 15.dxe7, how should Black proceed?

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15...Qxe7?!

Almost certainly better is 15...Bxg3 16.exd8=Q Bxh2+ 17.Kh1 Rfxd8, when Black has won back the sacrificed pawn, while retaining the bishop-pair.

16.f4

The engines reckon 16.Nd5 gives White a slight edge.

16...Bg7

White has only one move that avoids a lost position

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17.Rfe1??

The first new move of the game, whereas the known 17.Bf2 is equal, according to the engines, after, for example, 17...Nxf2 18.Qxf2 Rad8 19.Nf3 Bxf3!? 20.Qxf3 Qc5+ 21.Kh1 b5!?, with Black enjoying enough activity to make up for still being a pawn down.

17...Nxe3 0-1

There is no salvation for White, eg 18.Nd5 can be met by 18...Qc5, or the even stronger18...Nxd5!? 19.Rxe7 Bxd4+ etc.

Team Result

Thuesen 1-0 Freeman

Sonderstrup = Stokes

Cordes 0-1 Spanton

Mortensen 0-1 Marshall

Denmark 2 1.5-2.5 England 5

World Team 65+ Round Two

Bo.	46	England - 5	Rtg	-	33	Ireland - 1	Rtg	0 : 0
19.1		Freeman, Richard C P	1897	-	FM	Smith, Andrew Philip	2118
19.2	CM	Stokes, Michael	1861	-		Noone, Joe	1946
19.3		Spanton, Tim R	1908	-	CM	MacElligott, Gerard	1979
19.4		Marshall, Michael	1859	-		Gaffney, Michael	1919

Spanton (1908) - Gerald MacElligott (1979)

French Alekhine-Chatard

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4!?

The starting position of the famous Attack, apparently first played by Adolf Albin in 1890

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6...h6

This is the second-most popular continuation in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database. Stockfish17.1 prefers accepting the gambit with 6...Bxg5 7.hxg5 Qxg5 8.Nh3 Qh4!?, while Dragon1 likes the text, and 6...0-0!?

7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.Qg4

This is the commonest continuation, but the engines prefer 8.f4.

8...0-0 9.f4

Alekhine played 9.0-0-0 in a 1930 simul.

9...f5!?

The engines strongly dislike this, preferring the more popular 9...c5.

10.Qg6!?

White need not fear an exchange of queens. After 10...Qf7 11.Qxf7+ Rxf7 12.Nf3 the engines give White at least the upper hand.

10...Rd8!?

Seemingly a novelty. The engines at first suggest 10...c5, 10...Nc6 or 10...a6, albeit with advantage to White, but Dragon1 comes to prefer 10...Qf7, at least for a while.

11.Nf3

The engines reckon 11.g4!? Nf8 12.Qh5 leaves White with a positionally won game.

11...Nf8 12.Qg3 a6

The engines recommend 12...c5!?, not fearing Nb5-d6.

13.Qf2 c5!? 14.dxc5 Nbd7 15.Na4!?

White should play 15.Nd4 or 15.0-0-0, according to the engines.

15...b5

How should White proceed?

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16.Nd4?

Initiating a faulty combination. Instead 16.Nb6 Nxb6 17.cxb6 Qb4+ 18.c3! Qf4 19.h5 gives White a slight edge (Stockfish17.1) or at least equality (Dragon1).

16...bxa4 17.Nc6 Qe8

Also good is 17...Qxc5!? 18.Qxc5 Nxc5 19.Nxd8 Bd7.

18.Bd3 Bb7 19.Na5!?

How should Black proceed?

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19...Rdb8!

Black is winning after this, according to the engines, whereas they reckon 19...Rab8 20.c6 Ba8 (20...Bxc6?! 21.Nxc6 forks the black rooks) 21.c7 Rxb2 22.cxd8=Q Qxd8 23.Nb3! axb3 24.axb3 gives White at least equal chances. A little better is 19...Bc8 20.c6 Qe7 (20...Nb8? 21.c7 Rd7 22.Qb6) 21.cxd7 Bxd7, but the text is best.

20.Nxb7 Rxb7 21.c6 Rxb2 22.cxd7 Qxd7

Even stronger, according to the engines, is taking with the knight.

23.0-0

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

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Black's extra pawn is doubled, but the black king's rook is well-placed. The engines reckon Black is winning, or at least has the upper hand, but do not agree on how to go about maintaining Black's advantage.

23...Qa7

But they do agree exchanging queens is the wrong plan. Perhaps best is 23...Qf7!?, eg 24.a3!? Rab8!? 25.g4!? (25.Bxa6 Qe7 26.Bd3 Nd7 27.h5 Kh7) R8b3!? 26.Rad1!? Qg6!? 27.Qg2!? Qf7!? 28.gxf5 exf5, but I am far from understanding the ideas behind the vast majority of these engine moves.

24.Rfb1

The engines give 24.Qxa7 Rxa7 25.c4, but their evaluations of the resulting position differ markedly, and fluctuate.

24...Qxf2+ 25.Kxf2 Rab8

25...a3!? may be better, but the evaluations fluctuate wildly, with at one point Dragon1 claiming Black is winning while at the exact same moment Stockfish17.1 calls the game equal. Given plenty of time, their evaluations merge somewhat, eventually stabilising at the upper hand for Black (Dragon1) or equality (Stockfish17.1)

26.Rxb2 Rxb2 27.a3!

An important move that seems to give White equality, whereas allowing 27...a3 appears to leave Black with at least a slight edge.

27...Nd7 28.Ke3 Kf7 29.Kd4 Ke7?!

This allows White the upper hand, according to the engines.

What should White play?

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30.h5!

Fixing Black's h and g pawns, and preparing to open the kingside with g4. Black should have played 29...h5 or 29...g6, according to the engines.

30...Rb6

30...Nb8!? is suggested by the engines, but with the upper hand for White.

31.g4! fxg4 32.Rg1 Kf7 33.Rxg4 Rc6 34.Rg6 Nf8 35.Rg1 Nd7

35...Rb6 occupies the open file, but the engines agree White is winning, eg 36.f5 exf5 37.Bxf5 Rb5 38.Rg3!? a5 39.Rc3 Ne6+ 40.Bxe6+ Kxe6 41.Rc6+ Kf7 42.Rc7+ Kf8 43.e6 Rb8 44.Rf7+ Kg8 45.Ke5 Rc8 46.Rf2 etc.

36.Rb1 Nb6

Even worse is 36...Rb6? 37.Rxb6 Nxb6 38.Kc5!

37.Bxa6

With the number of pawns aside now equal, White's rook-and-bishop combo gives a large advantage

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37...Nc4 38.Rb7+ Kf8 39.Rb8+

More precise is 39.Bb5 Rc8 40.Bc7.

39...Ke7

If 39...Kf7, White needs to play 40.Rb7+ Kf8, and now 41.Bb5, as in the previous note, but with two extra moves thrown in.

40.Bb5 Rc7 41.Re8+ Kf7

White to play and win

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42.f5!

The only winning move, but plenty good enough.

42...exf5

The pawn ending after 42...Re7 43.Rxe7+ Kxe7 44.Bxc4 dxc4 45.fxe6 Kxe6 46.Ke4 is an easy win for White, eg 46...c3 47.Kd4 g5!? (47...Kf5 48.Kd5) 48.hxg6 h5 49.Ke4 h4 50.Kf4 h3 51.Kg3 etc (Black cannot capture on e5 without allowing the g pawn to queen).

43.Kxd5 Nb6+

Or 43...Nxa3 44.e6+ Kf6 45.Rf8+ Kg5 46.Bxa4 Nxc2 47.Rf7 Ne3+ 48.Kd6 Rc8 49.e7 etc.

44.Kd6 Rxc2 45.e6+ Kf6 46.Rf8+ Kg5 47.e7

Not 47.Rxf5+?? Kxf5 48.Bd3+ Kf6 49.Bxc2 as Black has 49...Nc4+, after which White cannot get out of check without losing the e pawn, eg 50.Kd5!? Ne3+ 51.Kd6 Nc4+ (51...Nxc2?? 52.e7) 52.Kd7 Ne5+.

47...Nc8+

Only one move maintains the win

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48.Rxc8!

After, say. 48.Ke6 Nxe7! 49.Kxe7 Rc3, the game is drawn, according to the engines.

48...Rxc8 49.e8=Q Rxe8 50.Bxe8

Black's kingside pawns are too far from queening to save the game

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50...f4 51.Bxa4 Kxh5 52.Bd1+ Kh4 53.Ke5 Kg3 54.Ke4 g5 55.a4 h5!? 56.Bxh5 g4 57.Kf5 f3 58.Bxg4 f2 59.Be2 1-0

Team Result
Freeman (1897) = Smith (2118)
Stokes (1861) 1-0 Noone (1946)
Spanton (1908) 1-0 MacElligott (1979)
Marshall (1859) = Gaffney (1919)
England 5 3-1 Ireland

World Team 65+ Round One

Bo.	19	France - 2	Rtg	-	46	England - 5	Rtg	0 : 0
19.1		Boulard, Eric	2228	-		Freeman, Richard C P	1897
19.2	FM	Fayard, Alain	2181	-	CM	Stokes, Michael	1861
19.3		Theon, Pierre	2046	-		Spanton, Tim R	1908
19.4		Lebret, Jean-Michel	2016	-		Marshall, Michael	1859

Pierre Theon (2046) - Spanton (1908)

QGD Tarrasch

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.dxc5!?

This is very much a sideline, compared with 5.Nf3, but there are 668 examples of the move in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, and it has been played by Carlsen and Kramnik.

5...d4 6.Ne4

How should Black proceed?

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6...Nf6!?

The stem game, Amos Burn - Siegbert Tarrasch, German Chess Congress (Breslau*) 1889, went 6...Bxc5?! 7.Nxc5 Qa5+ 8.Bd2 Qxc5 9.Rc1 Qf5 10.Qa4+ Nc6 11.Nf3, with the upper hand for White, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1, although the game was eventually drawn. The engines prefer the text.

7.Nd6+

Winning the bishop-pair, but falling behind in development. The engines reckon 7.Nxf6+ Qxf6 8.b4 Nc6 9.Bb2!? gives equal chances. They also like 7.Bg5, when they agree Black's best reply is 7...Bf5!? (7...Be7 8.Bxf6!), eg 8.Nxf6+ gxf6 9.e4!? Bxe4 10.Qe2!? Qd5!? 11.Bxf6 d3 12.Qg4! Nc6 13.Bxh8 d2+ 14.Kd1 h5! 15.Qe2 0-0-0, when they give Black complete equality, despite Black being rook and pawn down.

7...Bxd6 8.cxd6 Qxd6 9.Nf3 Nc6 10.e3 Bg4

Also very interesting is 10...Qb4+!? 11.Qd2 Qxb2 12.Qc1!? Qxc1+ 13.Rxc1 dxe3 14.Bxde3 0-0, when the engines reckon Black's extra pawn is worth more than White's bishops.

11.exd4!?

Possibly 11.Be2 is better.

11...0-0-0

The engines agree 11...Bxf3 gives Black the upper hand, eg 12.gxf3 0-0!? 13.Be3 Nd5!? 14.Qb3 Rfe8 15.0-0-0!? a5, when Black's king looks decidedly safer.

12.Be3 Rhe8 13.Be2 Bxf3?!

Black has at least a slight edge after 13...Nd5, according to the engines.

14.Bxf3 Qb4+!

White will have no problems if allowed to castle.

15.Qd2

Also seemingly playable is 15.Kf1!? Nxd4 16.g3.

15...Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 Nxd4 17.Rac1+ Kb8

This is almost certainly better than 17...Nc6+ 18.Kc2.

18.Bxd4 Rxd4+ 19.Kc3 Red8

How would you assess this late-middlegame?

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White has the better minor piece for working with rooks, especially on such an open board, but Black's coordinated rooks and already-tucked-away king give full compensation, according to the engines.

20.Rhe1!?

Not 20.Rhd1? as Black has 20...Ne4+, eg 21.Kc2 (21.Bxe4?! Rxd1) Rc8+ 22.Kb1 Nd2+ 23.Ka1 Rxc1+ 24.Rxc1 Nxf3 25.gxf3 Rd3, with much the better of a rook-and-pawn ending.

20...Rd3+ 21.Kc2 Rd2+ 22.Kb1 Rxf2

Black's initiative has netted a pawn, but now White gets to apply pressure

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23.Re7 Rd7 24.Bg4!?

How should Black respond?

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24...Rd8

The only move, as both 24...Nxg4?? and 24...Rdd2?? allow a quick mate.

25.Bf3 Rd7

Again forced.

26.Rxd7!? Nxd7

How would you assess this rook-and-minor-piece ending?

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White's rook-and-bishop combination give full compensation for being a pawn down, according to the engines.

27.Re1 Nc5 28.Re7 b6 29.Rxf7 Nd3 30.Rb7+!? Kc8 31.Rxg7 Rxb2+ 32.Ka1 Rc2 33.a3 a5!?

This may be too slow. Perhaps best is 33...Ne1!?, when 34.Kb1 Rf2 35.Be4 Re2 36.Bd5 Kd8 is completely equal, according to Stockfish17.1, although Dragon1 gives White a slight edge.

34.Be4 Rc1+?!

Almost certainly better is 34...Rc3.

35.Ka2 Nc5 36.Bxh7

White is a pawn up in a position that favours White anyway, thanks to a bishop being almost always much better than a knight when there are rival pawn-majorities

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36...Rf1 37.Kb2 Rf2+ 38.Kc3 Ra2 39.Kc4?!

Probably stronger is starting to push the passed h pawn, either immediately, or after first playing Bf5+.

39...Rxa3

The extra pawn has gone, White's king is more active than Black's, and bishop-v-knight still greatly favours White

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The only thing in Black's favour is that the black pawns are more advanced.

40.Kd5 Rc3?

40...a4 almost certainly provides better drawing chances, eg 41.h4 Ra1 42.h5 a3 43.Bf5+ Kb8!, when the engines give White only the tiniest of edges. However, there are many alternatives, and the lines are very tricky.

41.Bf5+ Kb8 42.h4 Nb7

Black queens first in the pawn-race, ie 42...a4 43.h5 a3 44.h6 a2 47.h7 a1=Q, but then White queens with mate.

43.h5 Rc5+ 44.Ke6 Nd8+?

Better, but still losing, is 44...a4, eg 45.Rg3 b5 46.Rh3 Rc6+ 47.Ke7 Rc7+ 48.Kf8 Nd6 49.Bg6 Nc4 50.h6 Rc8+ 51.Kg7 Rc7+ 52.Kf6 Rc6+ 53.Kg5 Rc5+ 54.Bf5 Nd6 55.g4, when the only way to stop the h pawn queening is to give up the knight.

45.Kf6 a4 46.h6 a3 47.Bb1

White wins the pawn-race after 47.h7? a2 48.h8=Q, but this time Black queens with check, and so draws.

47...Rc6+ 48.Ke7 Rxh6

Forced.

49.Kxd8 Rh1 50.Ba2

Not 50.Be4?? Rh8+ 51.Kd7 a2 etc.

50...Rd1+ 51.Rd7 Rh1 52.Bd5 Rh8+ 53.Ke7 Kc8 54.Rd6 Rh7+ 55.Ke6 Rg7 56.Rc6+ Kd8 57.Kf6 Ra7 58.Ba2 Rd7!?

This speeds the end, but Black is lost anyway.

59.Be6 a2!? 60.Bxa2 Rd2 61.Be6 Rf2+ 62.Bf5 1-0

Team Result

Boulard (2228) = Freeman (1897)

Fayard (2181) 1-0 Stokes (1861)

Theon (2046) 1-0 Spanton (1908)

Lebret (2016) = Marshall (1859)

France 2 3-1 England 5

*Now Wrocław in the Lower Silesian region of Poland.