European 65+ Team: Game Five

'Pirate' ship

Denmark v England 3

Mogens Thuesen (2131) - Spanton (2003)

QGD Exchange

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Bd6!?

This is third in popularity in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, behind 7...Bf5!? and especially 7...Be7.

8.Bd3 0-0 9.Qc2 Re8 10.Nf3 Nbd7 11.0-0

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

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White's lead in development may be why Stockfish18 and Dragon1 give White a slight edge, a verdict born out by White's score in Mega26 of 65% over 919 games.

11...a5 12.Rad1!?

This apparent-novelty - there are eight other moves in Mega26 - is quite liked by the engines, being Dragon1's top choice for a while.

12...Qc7 13.Rfe1 g5!?

This thrust is the engines' highest-rated continuation.

14.Bg3 Bxg3 15.hxg3 Qd6 16.a3 Kg7 17.e4 dxe4 18.Bxe4!?

The engines agree this is better than 18.Nxe4.

How should Black respond?

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18...Nxe4?

Black is only slightly worse after 18...Nb6!?, according to the engines.

19.Nxe4 Qg6

How should White proceed?

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20.d5?!

This seems premature. The engines reckon White already has a positionally won game, but it requires a more controlled build-up, starting with the rooks, eg 20.Rc1!? a4 21.Re2 Rd8 22.g4!? Rf8!? 23.Rce1 Nb6!? 24.Ne5 Qh7 25.Qc1, after which White has strong pressure, but no immediate breakthrough.

What should Black play to avoid a serious disadvantage?

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20...Ne5??

Possibly OK is 20...cxd5!?, but best, according to the engines, is 20...Nf6, when White has to find 21.Nxf6!, after which 21...Qxc2?! seems to lose to 22.Nxe8+ Kg8 23.Nc7 Rb8 24.Rd2!, eg 24...Qc5 25.Re8+ Kh7 26.d6 g4 27.Nh2! Qa7 (27...Qc1+ 28.Nf1) 27.d7 Bxd7 28.Rxd7 Rxe8 29.Nxe8, White emerging with a rook and two knights for a queen. However, Black can improve with 21...Rxe1+! 22.Nxe1 Qxf6, when the engines reckon White at best has a slight edge.

21.Qc3 f6 22.Nd6

Black is busted

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22...Bg4!?

Giving up the exchange like this may be Black's best try, which shows how bad Black's position is. Note that 22...Re7 23.Nxe5 Rxe5 24.Rxe5 fxe5 25.Qe5+ Qf6, hoping to drop 'only' a pawn, fails to 26.Ne8+.
23.Nxe8+ Rxe8 24.Nxe5 Rxe5 25.Rxe5 Bxd1 26.Re7+ Kf8 27.Rxb7 1-0

TEAM RESULT

Bo.	10	Denmark	Rtg	-	13	England 3	Rtg	2½:1½
7.1		Thuesen, Mogens	2131	-		Spanton, Tim R	2003	1 - 0
7.2		Rewitz, Jan	2029	-		Freeman, Jon A	1950	½ - ½
7.3		Oehlerich, Per	1963	-		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	1 - 0
7.4		Rasmussen, Bjarne Meldgaard	1856	-		Wilson, Edgar	1903	0 - 1

European 65+ Team Pairings Round Five

Decorative wall

Bo.	10	Denmark	Rtg	-	13	England 3	Rtg	0 : 0
7.1		Thuesen, Mogens	2131	-		Spanton, Tim R	2003
7.2		Rewitz, Jan	2029	-		Freeman, Jon A	1950
7.3		Oehlerich, Per	1963	-		Guilfoyle, John M	1921
7.4		Rasmussen, Bjarne Meldgaard	1856	-		Wilson, Edgar	1903

European 65+ Team: Game Four

Cemetery chapel in the village of Koutouloufari

England 3 v England 2

Spanton (2003) - Paul Townsend (2102)

French Winawer

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7

This is a popular alternative to the mainline 4...c5. Often the moves transpose.

5.Bd2 b6 6.a3 Bxc3 7.Bxc3 c5 8.Bb5+

The start of a well-known manoeuvre that costs a tempo, but avoids an exchange of light-square bishops.

8...Bd7 9.Bd3 Nbc6

Stockfish18 and Dragon1 reckon this is better than pushing on with 9...c4!?

10.Nf3 Qc7 11.0-0

PT spent 25 minutes over his next move, flying in the face of John Nunn's 20-minute rule

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Nunn wrote in Secrets Of Practical Chess (Gambit 1998): "I have observed that if a player spends more than 20 minutes over a move, the result is almost always a mistake."

11...Ng6!?

The engines are not keen on this, preferring 11...cxd4 or 11...h6!? Note that 11...0-0?! allows a version of the Greek Gift sacrifice, ie 12.dxc5! (better than immediately capturing on h7) bxc5 13.Bxh7+! Kxh7 14.Ng5+, when the engines continue 14...Kg6 15.Qg4 f5 16.exf6 gxf6 17.Nxe6+, with a large advantage for White. After the engines' top choice, 11...cxd4, they reckon best-play runs 12.Nxd4!? (12.Bxd4? Nxd4 13.Nxd4 Qxe5 is good for Black) Nxe5 13.Nb5, when White has good compensation for a pawn after both 13...Bxb5 and 13...Qb8.

12.Re1 0-0

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

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Black has strong pressure against White's centre, but the centre gives White kingside attacking chances, and the engines agree White has the upper hand.

13.h4!?

Apparently a novelty, which the engines reckon is an improvement on Dimitrios Mastrovasilis (2621) - Alexei Shirov (2705), European Team Championship (Porto Carras, Greece) 2011, which went 13.Qd2 a5 14.Qe3!? Nce7!? 15.g3 Nef5 16.Qd2, with at least a slight edge for White, according to the engines (½–½, 63 moves). However, the engines reckon that better than both moves is another apparent-novelty in 13.dxc5!?, the idea being to meet 13...bxc5 with 14.b4!?

13...h6

On 13...cxd4 the engines agree 14.Bb4!? is strong, eg 14...Nxb4 15.axb4 h6 16.h5!? Nf4 17.Bf1 Nxh5 18.Qxd4 g5!? 19.Ra3!?, with an attack worth more than the pawn sacrificed. A possible improvement for Black is 14...Ngxe5!? 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.Bxf8 Rxf8 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qh5+ Kg8 19.Qxe5 Qxe5 20.Rxe5 f6, although the engines reckon Black does not have enough for the exchange.

14.Bf1!? cxd4 15.Bxd4 Nxd4 16.Qxd4 Qxc2

How should White proceed?

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17.Rac1

This is enough for a slight edge, according to the engines, but they reckon Rac1 should be preceded by 17.h5!? Ne7.

17...Qa4 18.Qxa4!? Bxa4 19.Rc7

The engines reckon 19.Ba6!? gives White at least enough for a pawn.

19...Rfc8 20.Rec1 Rxc7 21.Rxc7 Bd1!? 22.h5!?

The engines agree this is best.

22...Nf4

What should White play?

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23.Ba6?

After 23.Nd4 Bxh5 24.g3 Ng6 25.f4, the engines reckon White has full compensation for being two pawns down.

23...Bxf3 24.gxf3 Nxh5

Rook and bishop usually make a better team than rook and knight, but here White is two pawns down and has a chronically weak kingside

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25.Rd7!?

Black can meet 25.Bb7 with 25...Rd8, getting behind the passed pawn.

25...Nf4 26.Bb7 Rb8 27.Ba6 Ng6 28.Rxa7 Nxe5 29.f4 Ng6 30.f5!?

The best try, but completely inadequate.

30...exf5 31.Bd3 Nf4 32.Bxf5 Rd8 33.Rd7!? Rxd7 34.Bxd7 Kf8 35.b4 Ke7 36.Ba4 Kd6 37.f3 Ke5 38.Bd1 Kd4 39.a4 Kc4 40.b5 Kb4 41.Bc2 g5 42.Kf2 h5 43.Kg3 d4 0-1

TEAM RESULT

Bo.	13	England 3	Rtg	-	8	England 2	Rtg	2 : 2
5.1		Spanton, Tim R	2003	-		Townsend, M Paul	2102	0 - 1
5.2		Freeman, Jon A	1950	-		Hewson, Brian W R	1996	0 - 1
5.3		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	-	AFM	Higgie, Charles L	1980	1 - 0
5.4		Wilson, Edgar	1903	-		Noyce, Robert C	2012	1 - 0

European 65+ Team Pairings Round Four

Taverna

Bo.	13	England 3	Rtg	-	8	England 2	Rtg	0 : 0
5.1		Spanton, Tim R	2003	-		Townsend, M Paul	2102
5.2		Freeman, Jon A	1950	-		Hewson, Brian W R	1996
5.3		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	-	AFM	Higgie, Charles L	1980
5.4		Wilson, Edgar	1903	-		Noyce, Robert C	2012

European 65+ Team: Game Three

Old Hersonissos Cemetery

Sweden 2 v England 3

Ingvar Carlsson (1989) - Spanton (2003)

Sicilian Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.f4

This is second in popularity to 6.Be3 in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, while Stockfish18 and Dragon1 like the also-popular 6.Nge2, and the extremely rare (just one example in Mega26) 6.a4!?

6...e6 7.Nf3 Nge7 8.0-0 0-0

How would you assess this position, which occurs 10,595 times in Mega26?

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Stockfish18 gives Black a slight edge. Dragon1 is less enthusiastic about Black's chances, but reckons Black has the better part of equality. However, I do not know why White's setup is, relatively, disliked.

9.Bd2!?

By no means a common continuation, but Closed Sicilian expert Boris Spassky liked it, and scored much better with the text than with the massively more popular 9.Be3.

9...Rb8 10.Rb1 b5 11.a3 a5

There is a lot to be said for the immediate 11...b4.

12.a4!? b4

This is the main continuation, but the engines prefer 12...bxa4!?

13.Nb5 Nd4

Spassky - Bent Larsen, Candidates Semi-Final (Malmo, Sweden) 1968, went 13...d5 14.c4 bxc3 15.bxc3 c4!? 16.Be3!? cxd3 17.e5!?, with at least a slight edge for White, according to the engines (1-0, 52 moves). The engines suggest 13...e5!?

14.c4 Nec6 15.Kh1

This seems to be a novelty. The engines reckon 15.Be3 gives White at least the better part of equality.

15...Nxf3 16.Bxf3 Nd4 17.Bg2 Bb7

How should White proceed?

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18.Be3!?

This is the engines' top choice, ahead of 18.b3 and 18.Re1.

18...Qd7 19.Qd2 Rbd8 20.Qf2

How should Black respond to White's threat to capture three times on d4?

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20...e5

Stockfish18 comes to like this, along with 20...Nxb5, but Dragon1 prefers the latter.

21.f5 gxf5

What should White play?

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22.Bh3?

The engines reckon the game is equal after both 22.Bxd4 exd4 23.Qxf5 and 22.exf5 Bxg2+ 23.Kxg2.

Can you see why the text is a mistake?
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22...fxe4! 23.Bxd7 exd3+ 24.Kg1 Ne2+

IC said afterwards he had missed that the knight would be protected on e2. He had only calculated 24...Nf3+??, after which 25.Qxf3 Bxf3 26.Bf5 wins for White, according to the engines.

25.Qxe2 dxe2 26.Re1 Rxd7 27.Rxe2

Black has emerged two pawns up, and with the bishop-pair, while White's only trump is the well-placed knight

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27...Rfd8 28.Rc1 f6 29.Rd2 Kf7 30.Kf2 Ke6 31.b3 f5 32.Rcd1 Bf6 33.Ke2 Bc6 34.Kf2

White has nothing constructive to play, and can only wait for the second player to try to convert Black's advantage.

34...Be7 35.Ke2

How can Black make progress?

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35...Bxb5

Other continuations are also good. The key is to avoid 35...d5? 36.cxd5+ Bxd5 37.Rxd5! Rxd5 38.Nc7+.

36.axb5 d5

This is now good.

37.Ra2 d4 38.Bh6 Ra8 39.Rda1 Bd8 40.Bf8 Bb6 41.Bh6 Rad8 42.Kd2 Rg8 43.Re1 Kf6

Also strong is 43...Rg6 44.Bf4 e4.

44.Kd3 e4+ 45.Kd2 Bc7 46.Rf1 Ke6 47.Bf4 Bb6 48.Ke2 h5 49.Kf2 Rdg7 50.h4 Ra7 51.Rfa1 Rga8 52.Ra4 Kd7 53.Kg2 Bc7 54.Bg5 Re8 55.Re1 Kc8 56.Kf2 Kb7 57.Rf1 Kb6 58.Re1

It has taken some time, but at last I felt happy that everything was right for the final push

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58...Be5 59.Rf1 Rf7 60.Rg1 d3 61.Be3 Bd4 62.Rd1 f4 63.Bxd4 cxd4 64.gxf4 Rxf4+ 65.Kg3 Rf3+ 66.Kg2 Rg8+ 67.Kh2 Rf2+ 0-1

TEAM RESULT

Bo.	14	Sweden 2	Rtg	-	13	England 3	Rtg	½ :3½
7.1		Carlsson, Ingvar	1989	-		Spanton, Tim R	2003	0 - 1
7.2		Iversen, Kent	1996	-		Freeman, Jon A	1950	½ - ½
7.3		Brandt, Stefan	1909	-		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	0 - 1
7.4	CM	Dalling, Peter	1792	-		Wilson, Edgar	1903	0 - 1

Four What It's Worth

BEAU Chess passed the four-million hits mark this afternoon, and now stands at 4,014,315, which compares very favourably with the 217,974 of my other main blog, 10mm and all that!, while my feeder blog, Chess Tip Of The Day, which admittedly has been running for a much shorter period, languishes at 22,000. As I have pointed out before, I am unable to determine how many of those views are by humans and how many by bots.

European 65+ Team Pairings Round Three

This Church of St Nicholas, unfortunately fenced off to the general public, dates to around 1800, built on the ruins of a much larger church from the sixth century

Bo.	14	Sweden 2	Rtg	-	13	England 3	Rtg	0 : 0
7.1		Carlsson, Ingvar	1989	-		Spanton, Tim R	2003
7.2		Iversen, Kent	1996	-		Freeman, Jon A	1950
7.3		Brandt, Stefan	1909	-		Guilfoyle, John M	1921
7.4	CM	Dalling, Peter	1792	-		Wilson, Edgar	1903

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