European 65+ Team: Game Two

Local colour

England 3 v SG Riehen Switzerland

Spanton (2003) - Heinz Wirthensohn (IM 2233)

Sicilian Bb5(+)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 Nf6 5.Qe2 Bg7 6.d4 cxd4 7.cxd4 a6!?

The main move in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database is 7...d5, but the text scores 19 percentage points better, and is preferred by Stockfish18 and Dragon1.

How should White respond?

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8.Ba4

The engines prefer 8.Bxc6!? or 8.Bd3.

8...b5 9.Bc2 Nb4 10.Bb3 d5 11.e5 Ne4 12.Nc3!?

Apparently a novelty. William N Watson (2527) - Mladen Muše (2510), Bundesliga (Germany) 2001, went 12.a4 0-0!? 13.axb5 Rb8 14.0-0 Rxb5 15.Be3, with a slight edge for White, according to the engines (but 0-1, 27 moves).

12...Nxc3 13.bxc3 Nc6

White has a backward c pawn, but one of Black's advanced knights has been exchanged, and the other has been driven back without loss of tempo, leaving White with a lead in development

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14.0-0 0-0 15.Be3 Bg4 16.h3 Bxf3!? 17.Qxf3 e6

Black has exchanged off his bad light-square bishop, and set up a central pawn-chain on the light squares, but in the process has ceded the bishop-pair

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18.Qe2

The engines reckon White has a slight edge after 18.g3!?, eg 18...Na5 19.h4 f6 20.Qg4 Qe7 21.exf6 Qxf6 22.Bf4 Rac8 23.Rac1 Nxb3 24.axb3, but they pretty soon come to see the resulting position as equal.

18...Na5 19.Rfb1 Rc8 20.Bd2 Nc4 21.Bxc4

How should Black recapture?

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21...bxc4

The engines reckon 21...Rxc4 completely equalises.

22.Rb4

White has a slight edge after 22.Bc1!?, according to the engines, but after 22...Qa5 23.Qb2 Ra8!? 24.Qb4 Qxb4 25.Rxb4 f6!?, their evaluations suddenly and dramatically diverge, with Stockfish18 calling the position equal, while Dragon1 reckons White is at least slightly better, and may even have the upper hand.

22...Rb8 23.Rab1 Qc7 24.Bc1 Rxb4 25.Rxb4 Rb8 ½–½

How would you assess the final position?

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HW said: "White is slightly better."  But the engines agree the game is completely equal. After, for example, 26.Qb2 Rxb4 27.Qxb4, White's queen is more active, but Black has the technically better bishop, and it can be immediately activated with 27...Bf8, without much chance for either side to make progress.

TEAM RESULT

Bo.	13	England 3	Rtg	-	9	SG Riehen Switzerland	Rtg	1½:2½
5.1		Spanton, Tim R	2003	-	IM	Wirthensohn, Heinz	2233	½ - ½
5.2		Freeman, Jon A	1950	-		Erismann, Peter	2034	½ - ½
5.3		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	-		Brait, Wolfgang	1962	0 - 1
5.4		Wilson, Edgar	1903	-		Deubelbeiss, Rene	1938	½ - ½

European 65+ Team Pairings Round Two

Coastal view

Bo.	13	England 3	Rtg	-	9	SG Riehen Switzerland	Rtg	0 : 0
5.1		Spanton, Tim R	2003	-	IM	Wirthensohn, Heinz	2233
5.2		Freeman, Jon A	1950	-		Erismann, Peter	2034
5.3		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	-		Brait, Wolfgang	1962
5.4		Wilson, Edgar	1903	-		Deubelbeiss, Rene	1938

European 65+ Team: Game One

Playing hall

England 3 v Finland

Spanton (2003) - Heikki Westerinen (GM 2205)

Spanish Exchange

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 Bd7 8.Nc3 0-0-0 9.Be3 Bd6 10.0-0-0

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

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As usual in the Exchange Variation of the Spanish, especially in lines with an early d4, the battle has quickly become a queenless-middlegame clash between Black's bishop-pair and White's better pawn-structure. Stockfish18 and Dragon1 reckon Black has the better part of equality, which is more-or-less borne out by the score from this position in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database of +13=38-17, ie Black scores 53% over 68 games.

10....Ne7 11.Nb3!? Ng6

Three games in Mega26 saw 11...b6?, when 12.Bxb6 wins a pawn, but possibly even better is 12.Rxd6!? cxd6 13.Bxb6, when Wilhelm Schönmann - Josef Lokvenc, German Chess Federation Congress (Frankfurt) 1923, continued 13...Rde8 14.Rd1 f5 15.Rxd6 fxe4 16.Nc5 Bf5 17.a4, with much more than enough for the exchange, according to the engines (1-0, 34 moves).

12.Nc5

How should Black proceed?

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12...Rhe8!?

Euwe preserved the bishop-pair with 12...Be8 in a 1920 game, but the engines reckon White is fine after both 13.h4 and 13.Nd3. The text is Dragon1's top choice, at least for a while, and Stockfish18 also comes to rate it highly, but the engines also like 12...h5 and 12...Nh4, and Dragon1 eventually rates Euwe's move and 12...Nh4 as equally good.

13.Nxd7 Rxd7 14.a3!?

An apparent-novelty, played to prevent 14...Bb4, but the engines prefer 14.f3, or another apparent-novelty in 14.h4!?

14...Ne5 15.f3?!

This is probably a mistake. The engines suggest 15.Bf4.

15...Nc4 16.Bf2 Bf4+ 17.Kb1

Black to play and gain at least the upper hand

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17...Bd2?!

Much better, according to the engines, is 17...Red8, when one of their main line runs 18.Bh4!? Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 20.Nxd1 Bxh2, netting Black a pawn, while they agree 18.Rxd7 Rxd7 19.Nd1 Rd2 20.g3 Bh6 leaves White positionally lost.

18.Na4

Not 18.Be1? Red8, when 19.Bxd2 Rxd2 20.Rxd2 Rxd2 21.Rg1 Ne3 leaves Black winning the g2 or c2 pawn.

18...b6

White seems fine after 18...Red8 19.Nc5.

19.Ka2 Red8 20.Kb3?!

Probably better is 20.b3. I was worried that 20...Nxa3!? 21.Kxa3 Bb4+ 22.Kxb2 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 Rxd1 was strong, but the engines give Black at best a slight edge.

20...Be3!? 21.Rxd7 Rxd7 22.Bxe3?!

Almost certainly better is 22.Kxc4, eg 22...b5+ 23.Kb4 Bxf2 24.Nc3, although the engines give Black the upper hand after, for example, 24...Bd4. Black could try the immediate 22...Bxf2, but 23.Nc3 b5+ 24.Kb3 c5 is, according to the engines, only slightly better for Black.

22...Nxe3 23.Kc3

What should Black play?

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23...g6

Possibly best is 23...Nd1+ 24.Kb3 Rd2 25.Re1, and now either 25...g6 or 25...a5, slowly increasing the pressure. The engines also like 23...Rd6, and they agree the text leaves Black positionally winning.

24.g3 c5 25.Re1 Nd1+ 26.Kb3 c4+?!

'Clever', but premature, whereas the engines' 26...Rd2 27.h4 c4+! 28.Ka2 c3! is very strong, eg 29.Nxc3 Nxc3+ 30.bxc3 Rxc2+ 31.Kb3 Rg2 32.g4 Rf2 33.Re3 Rh2, or 29.bxc3 b5 30.Kb1!? bxa4 31.Kc1 Rg2 32.Kxd1 Rxg3.

27.Ka2 g5?!

The engines give 27...b5 and 27...Rd2, in both cases claiming complete equality.

White to play and gain at least a slight edge

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28.g4?!

The engines suggest 28.Kb1, eg 28...Rd6 29.Kc1 Nf2 30.Nc3, when Black's initiative is spent, and White remains with the better pawn-structure.

28...Nf2 29.Re2?!

And here the engines much prefer 29.Nc3.

29...Nh3 30.Nc3 Nf4 31.Rf2 b5 32.Kb1 c5

Perhaps best is 32...Rd6 33.Kc1 Rh6, but White seems fine after 34.Ne2.

33.Kc1 Kc7 34.Rd2?!

The engines strongly dislike this, claiming 34.Ne2 and 34.h4!? give complete equality.

34...Rd4?!

Black has an edge after this, but the engines prefer 34...Rxd2!? 35.Kxd2 b4, eg 36.Nb1 Kc6!? 37.Ke3 Ne6!? 38.h3 Kb5 39.e5!? Ka4 (threatens 40...c3!) 40.axb4 cxb4 41.Ke4 h6!? 42.Kd5 Kb5, when White does not seem to have a good move, eg 43.Nd2 c3 44.bxc3 bxc3 45.Nb3 a5 46.Nc1 Nf4+ 47.Kd4 Nxh3 48.Kxc3 Ng1, after which f3 drops, and White has to contend with a passed a pawn. That is a very long line, with many alternatives along the way, but it illustrates White's difficulties.

35.Nd1

White comes close to equalising with 35.e5!?, according to the engines.

35...Kd6 36.Ne3 Ke5

The engines suggest 36...Ke6!?, and if, as in the game, 37.Nf5, then 37...Rxd2 38.Kxd2 Ng6!?, with what they claim is the upper hand for Black.

37.Nf5 Rxd2 38.Kxd2 h5

Here too the engines suggest 38...Ng6!?, but claim only a slight edge for Black, at best, the difference between the two lines presumably being due to the black king, in the second line, blocking the black knight's access to the e5 square.

39.gxh5 Nxh5 40.Ke3 Nf4 41.Ne7 Kd6 42.Nf5+

Not 42.Nc8+?? as 42...Kd7 traps the white knight.

42...Ke5 43.Ne7 f6 44.Nf5 b4!?

How should White respond?

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45.axb4!?

Also holding is 45.a4, but 45.c3? loses to 45...b3 as Black has ...Nd3 to come.

45...cxb4

Black's queenside pawns are straightened out, but White has enough threats to neutralise them

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46.Ne7 Kd6 47.Ng8

Not 47.Nf5+? as 47...Kc5 is very strong, eg 48.Kd2 Ng6 49.Kc1!? a5 (49...Ne5?! runs into 50.h4! gxh4 51.Nxh4) 50.b3 c3 51.Kd1 Kc6!? 52.Ke2 Nf4+ 53.Kd1 Kb5 54.Nd6+ Kc5 55.Nf5 Ng2 56.Ke2 a4!? 57.bxa4 Kb6 58.Kd1 Ka5 59.Nd4 Kxa4 60.Kc1 Ka3 61.Kb1 Ne3 62.Nb5+ Ka4 63.Nd4 Nf1 64.h3 Nd2+ 65.Ka2 Ka5 66.e5!? fxe5 67.Nc6+ Kb5 68.Nxe5 Ka4, when, at the end of another long engine-generated line, White is suddenly in zugzwang. Again there were lots of alternatives along the way, but Black was having all the fun.

47...Ke5 48.Ne7 Kd6 ½–½

TEAM RESULT

Bo.	13	England 3	Rtg	-	4	Finland	Rtg	2 : 2
4.1		Spanton, Tim R	2003	-	GM	Westerinen, Heikki M.J.	2205	½ - ½
4.2		Freeman, Jon A	1950	-	FM	Henttinen, Markku I.O.	2176	½ - ½
4.3		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	-		Joentausta, Hannu	2092	½ - ½
4.4		Wilson, Edgar	1903	-	FM	Vinke, Dietmar	2042	½ - ½

European 65+ Team Pairings Round One

View from my balcony

Bo.	13	England 3	Rtg	-	4	Finland	Rtg	0 : 0
4.1		Spanton, Tim R	2003	-	GM	Westerinen, Heikki M.J.	2205
4.2		Freeman, Jon A	1950	-	FM	Henttinen, Markku I.O.	2176
4.3		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	-		Joentausta, Hannu	2092
4.4		Wilson, Edgar	1903	-	FM	Vinke, Dietmar	2042

Falling In

MY major-tournament plans for the autumn are more-or-less fixed, starting with the European senior team championships, which start in Crete tomorrow, as I detailed, with links, yesterday.

Sep 7-15 Bad Bertrich

50+ event in a spa town in the Eifel mountains of Rhineland-Palatinate. Nine mostly morning rounds over nine days. 40 moves in 90 minutes, with 30 minutes to finish, and a 30-second increment throughout.

Oct 10-18 Calvià

U2350 tournament in Mallorca. Nine mostly evening rounds over nine days. 40 moves in 90 minutes, with 15 minutes to finish, and a 30-second increment throughout.

Oct 26-31 English 65+ Championship

Venue is a Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Peterborough, where seven other English championships are being held. Seven mostly afternoon rounds over six days. All moves in 90 minutes, with a 30-second increment throughout.

Nov 7-14 Cap Negret

65+ tournament - there is also a 50+ event - on the Costa Blanca. Nine mostly late-afternoon rounds over eight days. All moves in 90 minutes, with a 30-second increment throughout.

Nov 28-Dec 5 Gran Hotel Bali

Annual Benidorm chess festival with many events, including a main tournament that no longer has a rating ceiling, and consequently has attracted 15 grandmasters, headed by Gata Kamsky. Nine mostly late-afternoon rounds over eight days. All moves in 90 minutes, with a 30-second increment throughout.

I also hope to play league and county chess, and may fit in a weekender.

Double Puzzle

TRAVELED on two Northern Line trains yesterday, and in both cases the serial number of the carriage - one was 53537, the other 52618 - made for a Tube Puzzle that has a perfect solution, ie uses the digits in the order printed.

As usual, each number should be used once, and once only, and must be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided to make a balanced equation.

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My solutions: 5 - 3 (x 5) = 3 + 7

5 - 2 + 6 - 1 = 8

Crete Expectations

AM making final preparations for flying to Crete tomorrow for the European senior team championships.

I will be playing for England 3 in the 65+, which has 18 teams, and there is a 50+ with 14 teams.

In each event there are nine rounds over nine days, with each match starting at 15:00, played over four boards.

Teams consist of four players, or four plus a reserve, the only stipulation being that all members of a team must be registered with a single federation.

The time control is 40 moves in 90 minutes, with 30 minutes to finish, and a 30-second increment throughout.

Summing Up Olomouc

Part of the impressive fortifications

My score of +4=3-2 in the Czech 65+ open championship gained 7.2 Fide elo.

Czech 65+ Round Nine

Wooden carvings

Spanton (2003) - Jan Švub (1910)

Scandinavian

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c6

This position occurs 5.756 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, a testament to the rise of 3...Qd6, championed by Tiviakov

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6.g3

This is second in popularity to 6.Ne5, when the main line in Mega26 runs 6...Nbd7 7.Nc4!? Qc7 8.Qf3!? Nb6 9.Bf4, with a slight edge for White, according to Stockfish18 and Dragon1.

6...Bg4 7.Bg2 e6 8.0-0 Be7 9.Re1 0-0

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

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White has more space in the centre, and at some point will probably play Bf4 with tempo, factors that add up to a slight edge, according to the engines.

10.h3 Bh5

The engines prefer 10...Bxf3!? 11.Bxf3 Rd8!?

11.Bf4 Qd8 12.g4!?

Going after the bishop-pair. The weakening of White's kingside does not seem serious.

12...Bg6 13.Ne5 Nbd7 14.Nxg6 hxg6 15.Qe2

The engines suggest an apparent-novelty in 15.Qd3!?

15...Nb6

Not, as occurred in a Mega26 game, 15...Nd5? 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Bxd5!

16.Rad1 Nbd5 17.Nxd5 Nxd5!?

Stockfish18 reckons this is better than 17...cxd5; Dragon1 is less sure.

18.Bg3 Bd6 19.c4!? Nf6

JS spent more than 25 minutes over this move, presumably calculating the consequences of 19...Nf4, when the engines at first reckon 20.Bxf4 Bxf4 21.d5 gives White a slight edge, but they come to be less enthusiastic about White's position.

20.Be5 Qc7 21.Bxf6?!

The engines strongly dislike this, reckoning it switches the position from slightly favourable for White to slightly favourable for Black.

21...gxf6 22.d5 exd5 23.cxd5 cxd5

The engines prefer creating a queenside majority with 23...c5!? That gives White a passed pawn, but it is a passer that is well-blockaded, and it obstructs the action of the white bishop.

24.Bxd5 Be5 25.Rc1 Qb6 26.Qe4!? Kg7

White threatened 27.Qxg6+!

27.Kg2 Qxb2!? 28.Rb1 Qd4 29.Qxd4 Bxd4 30.Rb7 Rab8 31.Ree7 Rxb7

JS offered a draw.

How would you assess the rook-and-bishop ending?

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After 32.Rxb7 White will have the more-active rook, but the position is completely equal (Stockfish18), or White has a purely notional advantage of +0.1 (Dragon1).  On the other hand, Black's rook and king are tied to defending f7, and by playing on it is hard to see how White can lose, bar a catastrophic blunder.

32.Rxb7 Kg8 33.f4 Kg7 34.h4 Bc5 35.Kg3 Bd4 36.h5 gxh5

The engines prefer 36...f5 as, after ...

37.gxh5

... they reckon White has a slight edge.

37...Bc5 38.Kg4 Bb6 39.Kf5 Bd4 40.Rd7 Bc5 41.Bb3 Bb6 42.a4 Bf2 43.Rd2 Rb8!?

This comes to be the engines' top choice, but it involves a pawn sacrifice that requires precise play from Black. Meanwhile, 43...Bb6 also involves a pawn sacrifice, but after, for example, 44.Rg2+ Kh6 45.Kxf6 Bc7 46.Bxf7 Bxf4, the position may be easier to defend. Perhaps it comes down to a matter of taste.

44.Bxf7 Kxf7

Not 44...Be3?? 45.Rd7.

45.Rxf2 Rc8

Not 45...Rb4? 46.Rc2 Rxa4 47.Rc7+ Kg8 48.Kg6.

46.Rh2 Rc5+ 47.Kg4 Kg7 48.Rb2 Ra5 49.Rb7+ Kh6 50.Rf7 Rxa4 51.Rxf6+

One move draws, the other loses

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51...Kg7?

The Syzygy endgame tablebase shows 51...Kh7! draws. The reason for the difference will soon become clear.

52.Kg5

52.Rg6+? only draws.

52...Ra1 53.h6+

If the king were on h7, White's 53rd move would not come with check, and that makes all the difference as Black would have 53...Rg1+, when play might continue 54.Kf5 Rh1 55.Ra6 Rxh6 56.Rxa7+ Kg8, with a standard draw.

53...Kg8 54.Rg6+ Kf8

Or 54...Kh8 55.f5 Rg1+ 56.Kf6 Rf1 57.Rg7 a5 58.Kg6 a4 59.f6 a3 60.Rh7+ Kg8 61.f7+ Rh8+ 62.f8=Q+ Rxf8 63.Rxf8 Kxf8 64.h7.

55.h7 Rh1 56.Rg8+

Also winning is 56.Rh6.

56...Kf7 57.h8=Q Rg1+ 58.Kf5 Rxg8 59.Qf6+ Ke8 60.Qe6+ Kf8 61.Kf6 1-0

Czech 65+ Round Eight

Street decoration

I was upfloated.

Milan Petráš (2002) - Spanton (2003)

King's Indian Attack

1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.g3!?

The main move is 4.Ngf3, but the text also has many adherents.

How should Black respond?

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4...c5

Stockfish18 and Dragon1 like 4...dxe4!? 5.dxe4, followed by 5...Nc6 or 5...e5.

5.Bg2 Nc6 6.Ngf3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0

With both sides castling early, how would you assess the game?

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The position occurs13,953 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, and is equal, according to the engines.

8.Re1 Qc7!?

The engines are happy with this move, which is second in popularity to 8...b5.

9.c3 d4!?

The engines are not keen on this, preferring 9...Rd8!?, 9...dxe4!? or 9...h6!?

10.e5 Nd7

The engines suggest 10...dxc3!?

11.Qe2 f6?

Aggressive, and often thematic in the French Defence when White has played e5, but here its main effect is weakening. The engines prefer 11...dxc3, but assess it differently, Dragon1 claiming equality, Stockfish18 awarding White at least a slight edge.

12.exf6 Nxf6 13.c4?!

Probably better is opening more lines with 13.cxd4 cxd4 14.Nc4.

13...Bd6

According to the engines, Black should either get on with development (13...Bd7) or move the king into the corner.

14.Ng5 e5 15.Nde4

The e4 square makes a great outpost for a white minor piece, and the d5 square may well do the same later

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15...Bf5 16.a3 Rad8 17.Bd2 Ne8 18.b4 b6 19.Rab1 Ne6 20.Nxf6+ Rxf6

How should White proceed?

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21.g4!?

Even stronger, according to the engines are 21.Bd5 and 21.Ne4.

21...Nxg5

Forced.

22.Bxg5 Rg6 23.h4 Bc8!? 24.Be4 Bb7

Should White take the exchange?

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25.Bxg6 hxg6 26.f3 gives White at least a slight edge, but even better is ...

25.f4!

... the game continuing:

25...Bxe4 26.Qxe4 Qf7?!

Probably better, but still losing, are 26...bxc4 and 26...Bf8.

27.f5 Rf8 28.Rf1 Rxg5 29.hxg5 cxb4 30.g6 Qe7 31.axb4 Bxb4 32.gxh7+ Kxh8

The tactics, which heavily favoured White, have died down, and White has an advantage worth about a rook, or maybe more, according to the engines

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33.Rb2 Bc3 34.Rg2 Qg5 35.Qxe5 Bd2 36.Rxd2?

There is no need for this. Instead 36.Kh1 and 36.Rg3 keep a large advantage.

36...Qxd2 37.f6?!

The engines reckon probably best is 37.Qxd4, but that 37.Qg3 also gives at least a slight edge.

37...gxf6 38.Rxf6 Qd1+??

Completely equal is 38...Rxf6 39.Qxf6+ Kxh7, according the engines.

39.Rf1+ 1-0