BEAU CHESS - the post-work workings-out of a chess amateur

1897

12.2

Cela, Shkelqim

2179

1861

12.3

Stavri, Gligor

1979

1908

12.4

Pasku, Sotir

2031

1859

Gligor Stavri (1979) - Spanton (1908)

QGD Normal Variation

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.e3 e6 4.c4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Nf6

The starting point of the Normal Variation

*****

One advantage for White in playing this way is that often it is White who decides whether to play with or against an IQP. It is not that either way is theoretically advantageous, but playing what you like can be important.

6.cxd5 exd5

Black can avoid an isolated queen's pawn with 6...Nxd5, when the main line in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database runs 7.Bd3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.a3!? cxd4 10.exd4 Bf6, with Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 giving White at least the better part of equality.

7.Be2 Bg4

The engines suggest 7...cxd4!? 8.Nxd4 and 8...Bb4, 8...Bd6 or 8...Bc5.

8.0-0 Be7!?

This is the commonest move in Mega26, but Black scores just 26%, although it is a small sample size (19 games). The engines like 8...c4!? or 8...Rc8.

9.dxc5

So White gets to inflict an IQP on Black after the black dark-square bishop has moved.

9...Bxc5 10.a3 0-0

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

*****

This position is usually reached with Black to move, when the engines reckon the game is equal. With White to move, they give the latter a slight edge.

11.Qa4!?

This may be a novelty. Known moves are 11.b4 and 11.h3.
11...Qe7?

The engines give 11...d4!?, and if 12.Rd1, then 12...Bxf3!? 13.Bxf3 Qb6, claiming at least equal chances for Black.

12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Qxg4

White has won a sound pawn, and has the bishop-pair

*****

13...Rad8 14.Qc4!?

The engines like this.

14...Rfe8 15.Re1!? Bb6 16.Qc2 Ne5 17.Nxe5 Qxe5 18.Bf3 Nf4!?

How should White respond?

*****

*****
*****

*****

19.Rf1!

The engines reckon this is easily the best move, whereas 19.Bxb7, although probably objectively fine for White, can lead to tricky play, eg 19...Re7 20.Bf3 Nd3 21.Rd1 Rc7 22.Qb3 Rcd7 23.Rf1!? h5, when White is two pawns up, but faces a difficult defensive task.

19...Nd5 20.Bd2 Re6 21.Bxd5!? Qxd5

The bishop-pair has gone, but White is a pawn up and has no weaknesses, and so can count on a substantial advantage if development is successfully completed

*****

22.Bc3 Red6 23.Qe2 Rg6!? 24.g3 Rgd6 25.Bb4 R6d7 26.Qg4

The engines give 26.Rfd1!, the point being they reckon 26...Qxd1+ 27.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 28.Kg2 is much better for White.

26...h5!? 27.Qh3 Qf3 28.Qg2 Qe2 29.Bc3 Re8 30.Rfe1 Qg4 31.h3 Qe6 32.Rad1

It has taken some time, but White has finally contested the open d file.

32...Red8 33.Rxd7 Rxd7

However, Black retains control of the file.

34.g4!?

The engines like this.

34...h4

But in reply they prefer 34...hxg4 or 34...Bc7.

35.Qf3 Qd6

How should White proceed?

*****

36.e4?

The engines suggest 36.Rc1, 36.Kg2 or 36.Qe4, but can you see what is wrong with the text.?
*****

*****

36...Qd3

Black has 36...Qg3+! 37.Qxg3 (forced) hxg3 and 38...gxf2(+), with at least a slight edge.

37.Qxd3 Rxd3 38.Kg2 Bd4 39.Bxd4 Rxd4

How would you assess this rook-and-pawn ending?

*****

White's extra pawn gives a slight edge, according to Stockfish17.1; is winning, according to Dragon1.

40.Kf3 g5

Possibly the less-committal 40...f6!? is better.

41.Ke3 Rd6 42.f4?!

The engines agree White has at least the upper hand after 42.Rc1!?

42...f6?

This turns a completely equal position into a completely lost one, according to the engines. They give 42...Rb6, eg 43.b4 Ra6 44.Ra1 Rc6 45.Kd4!? gxf4 46.Rf1 Rd6+ 47.Kc4 (47.Ke5 Rd3 may even favour Black) Rc6+ 48.Kd4 Rd6+ etc, or 43.fxg5 Rxb2 44.e5 Rb3+ 45.Ke4 Rxh3 46.g6!? Rxa3!? 47.gxf7+ Kxf7 48.Rf1+ Ke6 49.Rf6+ Ke7 50.Rh6 h3, with what they agree is complete equality.

43.fxg5 fxg5 44.e5 Rb6 45.b4 Ra6 46.Ra1!?

This looks horribly passive, but is one of several winning moves.

46...Kf7 47.Ke4 Ke6 48.a4 b5!? 49.a5 Rc6 50.Rd1

The rook is in time to defend b4.

50...Rc3

Or 50...Ra6 51.Rd6!? (not the only winning move) Rxd6 52.exd6 Kxd6 53.Kf5 etc.

51.Rd6+ Ke7 52.Kf5 Rxh3 53.Kxg5 Rh1 54.Ra6 h3 55.Rxa7+ Ke6 56.Rh7 h2 57.a6 Kxe5 58.a7 Ra1 59.Rxh2 Rxa7

White has a tablebase win

*****

60.Rc2 Rg7+ 61.Kh4 Kf4 62.Rf2+ Ke3 63.Rf5 Rc7 64.Rxb5 Rc4 65.Kh5 Kf3 66.Rf5+ Kg3 67.b5 Rb4 68.g5 Rh4+ 69.Kg6 Rb4 70.Kf6

Even 70.b6!? wins, according to the Syzygy endgame tablebase.

70...Kg4 71.g6 Rd4 72.Re5 Rd6+ 73.Re6 Rd5 74.b6 Rf5+ 75.Ke7 Rg5 76.Kf7 Rf5+ 77.Rf6 Rd5 78.g7 Rd7+ 79.Kg6 Rd8 80.Kh7 Rd7 81.Kh8 Kh5 82.g8=Q 1-0

Team Result

Seitaj = Freeman

Cela 0-1 Stokes

Stavri 1-0 Spanton

Pasku 1-0 Marshall

Albania 2.5-1.5 England 5

Friday, 24 April 2026

Downtown

TODAY was the free day at the world senior team championships, so quite a lot of the players took the opportunity to go into the city of Durrës, which is a little over 10k from the venue-hotel.

King Zog's 'palace'

Modern view from the 'palace' - really a swanky villa

Communist-era bunkers on the hillside

Picturesque church

Roman amphitheatre, rediscovered in 1966 after lying buried for centuries

Petrol station

Walking back to the hotel, I called in at a souvenir shop and bought a T-shirt for myself, and a present for a friend, but clearly paid so much over the odds that I was given a free ballpoint, which I will add to my chess collection of such pens

Thursday, 23 April 2026

World Team 65+ Round Five

Bo.

England - 5

Rtg

Germany (W)

Rtg

0 : 0

16.1

1897

WFM

Malachowski, Margrit

1953

16.2

1861

WIM

Wagner-Michel, Annett

1982

16.3

1908

WFM

Skibbe, Diana

1930

16.4

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?

*****

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?

*****

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?

*****

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

*****

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

Wednesday, 22 April 2026

World Team 65+ Round Four

Bo.

England - 5

Rtg

Sweden - 1

Rtg

0 : 0

11.1

1897

Akesson, Ralf

2316

11.2

1861

Wengholm, Anders

2165

11.3

1908

Hammar, Bengt

2099

11.4

1859

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

*****

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?

*****

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?

*****

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?

*****

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?

*****

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

*****

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

*****

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

Tuesday, 21 April 2026

World Team 65+ Round Three

Bo.

Denmark - 2

Rtg

England - 5

Rtg

0 : 0

19.1

Thuesen, Mogens

2070

1897

19.2

Sonderstrup, Bjarne

1967

1861

19.3

Cordes, Steffen

1982

1908

19.4

Mortensen, John

1945

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

*****

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?

*****

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?

*****

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

*****

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

Monday, 20 April 2026

World Team 65+ Round Two

Bo.

England - 5

Rtg

Ireland - 1

Rtg

0 : 0

19.1

1897

Smith, Andrew Philip

2118

19.2

1861

Noone, Joe

1946

19.3

1908

MacElligott, Gerard

1979

19.4