Wednesday 28 November 2018

"Impressive" Magnus

The world's best chess player (left)
SO, there I was enjoying a pint in Penderel's Oak, a Wetherspoon pub in Holborn, central London, when who should walk in but Magnus Carlsen?
Actually, I did not see him walk in - I was busy postmorteming two games from this night's London League division three match between Battersea 2 and Mushrooms 2.
With me was fellow-Battersea club member Paul Stokes - we had been sat on adjacent boards, and both drew our games against similar-strength opposition.
Anyway, Paul popped downstairs to the toilets, and I put my fleece on so we would be ready to leave when he got back.
It was then that I spotted Magnus, fresh from retaining his world championship title earlier this evening against Fabiano Caruana.
Magnus was sat at a nearby table enjoying a drink with two people who I took to be aides/friends/seconds - I probably should have recognised them, but didn't.
Paul returned from the loo and I got him to confirm my identification of Magnus, and then I went over armed with my smartphone.
I congratulated Magnus on his win, incidentally resting my right hand on what felt like a very expensive suit.
For want of anything better to say, I told Magnus: "A few years ago in Gausdal I lost to your father but beat your sister."
Magnus replied: "That's impressive" - and he wasn't being sarcastic!
But getting back to more important matters, my draw means my Battersea unbeaten streak has reached 18 games.
Updated statistics
Battersea 2018-19
Event...Colour...Grade...Opponent's Grade...Result
CLL.........B.........167................196...............…D

LL...…….B...…...167...………..159...………….D
CLL...…..B...…...167...………..161...………….W
CLL...…..B...…...167...………..190...………….D
LL...…….W...…..167...………..161...………….W
CLL...…..W...…..167...………..148...………….D

CLL...…..W...…..167...………..165...………….W

CLL...…..W...…..167...………..160...………….D
CLL...…..W...…..167...………..159...………….D
LL...…….B...…...167...………..168...………….D
Overall this season for Battersea I have scored +3=7-0 for a grading performance of 182.
In season 2017-18 I scored +10=8-9 for a grading performance of 175.

Monday 26 November 2018

Keep On Sharpening

RIDING home on the Northern Line from Colliers Wood today after visiting a chess friend, I found myself in a carriage with the serial number 51548.
As usual the task is to use each number once, and once only, to make a balanced equation.
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My (first) solution: (5÷ 5) + 1 =  8÷ 4

Sunday 25 November 2018

Sharpening The Chess Mind

IT is said that keeping your mind sharp helps your chess.
I guess it would be hard to prove that it doesn't help, but how does one actually keep a mind sharp?
I don't know, but one thing I do do is fill in idle moments on the Tube or train by trying to make a balanced equation out of a carriage's number (this is normally displayed at each end of the carriage).
Today, for example, I went by Tube from Moorgate in Central London to Colindale in North London, incidentally visiting the RAF Museum (entry is free).
An RAF Xmas
My journey was on the Northern Line.
One carriage had the serial number 51574.
Making a balanced equation out of this - each number should be used once and once only, and must be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided - is rather easy.
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51574
One solution is: 5+1+5=7+4
Not much of a challenge there, but the other carriage was much more difficult, at least for me.
51649
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I finally cracked it: (6-4)x5=1+9
Will doing this really improve my chess? I doubt it, but I find it fun and it surely cannot hurt.

Friday 23 November 2018

Update On Last Night's Game

HERE is the Central London League game from yesterday that I rather badly misevaluated during play.
Spanton (Battersea 3 - 167) - Paul Kennelly (TfL - 159)
French Defence, Burn Variation (by transposition)
1.Nc3 d5 2.d4
The tricky 2.e4 is much more popular but I do not believe it poses an aware-Black any problems.
2...Nf6 3.Bg5 e6 4.e4
By an unusual move-order, we have reached a mainline French, and PK chooses a variation popularised by Amos Burn.
4...dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6
The mainline: White gives up the bishop-pair but has more space in the centre and a well-placed knight on e4.
6...Bxf6 7.Nf3 Nd7
Immediate castling is more common, but the text has been recommended by French Defence guru John Watson.
8.Bd3 b6 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Re1 0-0 11.c3 Be7!?
Preserving the bishop-pair at this point comes to be the analysis engine Stockfish9's first choice.
12.Qe2 c5 13.Rad1 Qc7
White has completed development while Black has no piece beyond the second rank, but who stands better?
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I was confident I was much better here thanks to dangerous kingside threats, but Stockfish9 and my other main engine Komodo9 reckon any White edge is worth less than a fifth of a pawn.
14.Bb1
Hoping to set up a battery on the b1-h7 diagonal seemed natural to me but it may be too slow. Komodo9 gives 14.Neg5 Bxg5 15.Nxg5 Nf6 with equality.
Stockfish9 gives 14.dxc5 Nxc5 15.Nxc5 Qxc5, again with equality.
14...Rfe8
This may be a novelty. 14...h6 was played in a drawn game at the 1986 Jersey Open.
The engines give 14...cxd4 15.Nxd4 Rad8 with approximate equality, although Komodo9 prefers Black.
15.Nfg5?!
Wrong knight, it seems.
The point is Black can now play 15...h6 16.Nf3 cxd4, maintaining the bishop-pair in a position that is opening up. The try 16.Nxf7?? Kxf7 17.Qh5+ wins for White after 17...g6? 18.Nd6+!, as I had seen in the game, eg 18...Bxd6 19.Qxg6+ Kf8 20.Qxh6+ Kf7 21.Bg6+ with a massive attack. However, Black has the simple 17...Kg8, when White's attack has run out of steam.
After 15.Neg5 Black cannot drive the knight away with 15...h6? as 16.Nxf7! is devastating, eg 16...Kxf7 17.Qxe6+ Kf8 18.Bg6.
15...g6!?
This looks weakening but Black can easily cover the apparently-weak dark squares.
16.h4!?
Hoping to weaken Black's king's position (I thought I was still better), but it was perhaps time to think about equalising.
The engines at first give 16.dxc5, eg 16...Nxc5 17.Nxc5 bxc5!? 18.Nf3 (18.Nxf7?! does not seem to work) Rab8, when White has no attack but Black has the bishops and queenside pressure.
But given enough time, Komodo9 comes to prefer my choice (Stockfish9 strongly disagrees).
16...cxd4
The classic central answer to a flank attack.
17.Rxd4 Rac8 18.Red1
Battersea 3's captain Howard Groves, who was watching the game quite closely as his opponent failed to show, thought this was too slow, and he may be right (the engines are not too bothered, but prefer 18.h5).
18...Red8
Wrong rook? The engines prefer 18...Rcd8 with a comfortable game for Black.
19.h5
19.Nd6 Bxd6 20.Rxd6 Nc5 seemed to give White nothing, and it doesn't, but it may have been the safest course.
Komodo9 very narrowly prefers 19.Nxe6!? fxe6 20.Nd6 Nf8 (20...Bxd6?? 21.Qxe6+ wins for White) 21.Nxc8 Bxc8 22.Rxd8 Bxd8 with an unclear position, although Stockfish9 reckons Black is better.
19...Bxe4?!
Giving up the bishop-pair makes the position dead-equal, according to the engines, who prefer a knight move, but cannot agree on which one, flitting from 19...Nc5 to 19...Nf8 to 19...Ne5, in each case evaluating the position as slightly better for Black.
20.Ne4 Nf8 21.Qf3 Rxd4 22.Rxd4 Qe5 23.hxg6 hxg6
Black is threatening to take over the initiative
24.Rd1?
Defending my back-rank weakness, but the correct way to do this was with 24.Qd1.
24...Rd8
The engines point out 24...Qb5, when White is on the back foot, but should hold on with accurate play.
The text allows ...
25.Rxd8 Bxd8 26.Qd3
… when White's difficulties are over.
(½-½, 51 moves)

Thursday 22 November 2018

Battersea Streak Continues

TURNED out on top board this evening for Battersea 3 against TfL (Transport for London) in division two of the Central London League.
I thought I was much better for most of the middlegame, but play eventually petered out into a drawn ending, and I was sure I must have missed a chance - or chances - to gain the upper hand.
Our captain, whose opponent did not show, watched the game quite closely, and he too was convinced I had been much better.
However, having put it into ChessBase, I find the game seems to have never left the drawing margin. Indeed, my main analysis engines, Stockfish9 and Komodo9, reckon my opponent had a slight edge for much of the game - certainly more often than I had an edge.
I will look at the game in more detail tomorrow - it should be a useful learning experience.
MY Battersea unbeaten streak has now reached 17 games.
Updated statistics
Battersea 2018-19
Event...Colour...Grade...Opponent's Grade...Result
CLL.........B.........167................196...............…D

LL...…….B...…...167...………..159...………….D
CLL...…..B...…...167...………..161...………….W
CLL...…..B...…...167...………..190...………….D
LL...…….W...…..167...………..161...………….W
CLL...…..W...…..167...………..148...………….D

CLL...…..W...…..167...………..165...………….W

CLL...…..W...…..167...………..160...………….D
CLL...…..W...…..167...………..159...………….D
Overall this season for Battersea I have scored +3=6-0 for a grading performance of 183.
In season 2017-18 I scored +10=8-9 for a grading performance of 175.

Tuesday 20 November 2018

New Mega

UPGRADED to ChessBase's 2019 Mega database at the London Chess & Bridge shop yesterday, installing the database this afternoon.
Am pleased to report ChessBase has (at last!) significantly improved the installation process.
Previously, and I am using ChessBase9, you installed Mega to your hard-drive and then had to hunt around your computer to make it accessible within the ChessBase software.
Now you 'merely' install, click on File, click on Open, click on Open Database and click on Mega Database 2019.cbh.
That may sound long-winded, but it is fairly intuitive and is certainly easier than it was.
I have 862 games on Mega19, score "badly" as White and "below average" as Black, and have eight "Spanton mates."
Overall, there are more than 7.6million games in Mega19, with the latest from early October (gone are the days when Guernsey in mid/late-October made it into the updated Mega).

Saturday 17 November 2018

Malta Concluded

I FINISHED Malta by drawing with White this morning against a 2075.
That left me with a score of +4=3-2 for a Fide elo gain of 13.8.
I should be pretty pleased with that, but one of my losses was against an unrated player (although he has an ECF of 142), so my tournament performance was not as good as the rating gain would suggest.
In 2017, my first year playing in Malta, I scored a slightly more-modest +3=4-2, but gained 21.2 elo.
To be fair, my rating at this time last year was 1859, against 1940 now, so it was easier to gain elo. Even so, my performance last year was definitely better.

Internet Down

THE Malta Open is held at Hotel Topaz in the seaside town of Bugibba.
Rooms are very cheap - 29.50 euros a night, including breakfast - and the facilities are generally good, especially considering the price.
But yesterday the internet in the  hotel annexe, where I an staying, was down - the signal disappeared completely.
It was back this morning, but too feeble to be of much use, so I am blogging from the Bistroteca grill and café overlooking St Paul's Bay.
Alas, I have nothing good to report of yesterday's round-eight game. I put up little resistance against a 2150 and was beaten in well under two hours.

Thursday 15 November 2018

Hat Trick

IN the second game of today's double-rounder in Malta I scored my third win on the trot, increasing my score to +4=2-1.
Black has just played 25...h6-h5? in Spanton (1940) - Kevin Goater (2102)
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Black's last move missed a tactic, but my main analysis engines, Stockfish9 and Komodo9, reckon White has the upper hand anyway.
26.Bxc5! Qe7
Stockfish9's choice; Komodo9 narrowly prefers 26...dxc5.
27.Be3 h4 28.c5
Black's kingside attack is too slow, and I duly converted my advantage into a win.

Zugzwang In An Opposite-Coloured Bishop Ending

TODAY sees the second double-rounder at Malta, and this morning I won thanks to my opponent blundering horribly in an ending of opposite-coloured bishops.
Such endings are notoriously drawish, especially when material is equal (!), but a modicum of care is required.
White to make his 53rd move in the round-six game Walter Cools (1766) - Spanton (1940)
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53.Kd3??
White had a simple draw after 53.Kd2.
53...Kc1
But now White is in zugzwang, and so was obliged to resign.

Wednesday 14 November 2018

Pleasing Combo

MANAGED to find quite a nice combination in today's round-five game in Malta.
White to make his 22nd move in Spanton (1940) - Albert Passchier (1748)
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22.Bd6
Deflecting Black's queen from Black's second rank.
22...Qf6 23.Bxb7! Kxb7 24.Qe4+
So far we have been following Stockfish9's main line, but here my opponent played the analysis engine's second choice …
24...Ka6
...although the first choice of 24...Kb6 also loses, to 25.c5+. Stockfish9's main line runs 25...Ka5 26.b4+ Ka6 27.Qc6+ with Black facing catastrophic loss of material.
25.Qc6+ Nb6 26.Re5!
Much better than 26.Be5 Qe5+.
26...Qxe5
Forced, as White threatened 27.Ra5+! Kxa5 28.Qb5#
27.Bxe5 Bxe5
Here I missed unstoppable mate starting with 28.Rd7. Instead I played 28.Qb5+? Kb7 29.Qxe5 (again 29.Rd7 was a quicker win) and was never less than winning, according to my analysis engines, but the game lasted a further nerve-wracking 46 moves.

Tuesday 13 November 2018

Double Up

TODAY was the first of two double-round days in the Malta Open.
This morning I positionally crushed a 1659.
In the  evening I drew a pawn-down against a 1763 - someone who before the game began recalled beating me 15 years ago in the Linares Open (I also knew I'd lost that game).
This puts me on +1=2-1 for a loss of 9.8 Fide elo.
I am actually playing quite a bit worse than those figures would suggest - my loss came to a player who does not have a Fide elo, so my Fide rating is not penalised for losing to him.
After four rounds my tournament rating-performance, if translating the unrated's ECF grade into a rating, is 1657 - 283pts below my Fide rating of 1940.

Monday 12 November 2018

Oh Dear, Oh Dear

THINGS went from bad to worse in Malta today when I lost in round two to an unrated player (albeit one with an ECF grade of 142).
White has just played 28.d4xe5 in Richard Boylan - Spanton (1940)
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28...dxe5??
I had to play 28...Qxe5, when 29.Qxd6 Qxe4 looks rather drawish. Stockfish9 certainly reckons so, although Komodo9 gives 30.Qd4 Kg6 31.Qd7 Re7 32.Qg4+ Kh7 33.Kh2 with what it assesses as being a slight edge for White.
At any rate that would have been much better than the game, which continued:
29.Qd7
Black has no defence. The remaining moves were:
29...Kg8 30.Qg4+ Qg5 31.Qxg5+ hxg5 32.Rd7 c5 33.bxc5 Ra8 34.Rxb7 Rxa5 35.c6 1-0

Oh Dear

I OFTEN find I can tell how a tournament will go depending on how I perform in round one.
If that turns out to be true in Malta, which began yesterday in the seaside town of Bugibba, I am in for a rough ride.
Spanton (1940) - Marloes Rogge (1442)
Queen's Gambit Declined, Exchange Variation
1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.Qc2 Be7 7.e3 h6
Overwhlemingly most popular here is 8.Bh4
8.Bxf6!?
Not a popular choice, but it has been played by some strong players, including a 2586.
My idea was to divert Black's dark-square bishop from the f8-a3 diagonal so as to speed White's minority attack.
8...Bxf6 9.b4?!
Consistent, but premature. Better first was 9.Bd3.
9...0-0
Not 9...Qe7? 10.Nxd5!
10.Bd3
This loses a pawn, but White's position was already difficult, eg 10.b5 c5!? 11.dxc5 Bf5! 12.Bd3 Bxd3 13.Qd3 Nd7! with excellent play for Black thanks to White's queenside weaknesses.
10...Qe7 11.Nge2 Qxb4
White is a pawn down and has given up the bishop-pair, but has some compensation in the form of a lead in development.
Just five moves later we reached the following position, where I missed a chance to play what seems to be a straight equaliser:
White to equalise with his 17th move
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17.g3?
Not-so-hard-to-find is 17.Nb5, especially as White's play has been directed at a queenside coup.
Clearly the reply 17...cxb5 runs into the simple 18.Bxc8.
If 17...Bxf5, then 18.Nxd6 Bxc2 19.Rxc2 c5 20.dxc5 is fine for White.
That leaves 17...Qe7?! 18.Bxc8 Rxc8 (or 18...cxb5 19.Qc6 Rb8 20.Nxd5 Nxd5 21.Qxd5 with much the better game for White) 19.Qf5, when Black is in trouble, eg 19...Qd7? 20.Qxd7 Nxd7 21.Nxa7 Ra8 22.Nxc6 Rxa2 23.Nxd5, when it is White, not Black, who is a pawn up.
Despite this miss, I reached the following late-middlegame where White still has a fair bit of compensation for the pawn-minus:
White has just played 31.Rb2-b4
31...b5?
Black had to play 31...Rc6, when my main analysis engines, Stockfish9 and Komodo9, like 32. Rc1. Black is still better, but White has decent drawing chances.
32.Rxc4?
White equalises the material, but would have been a pawn up after 32.axb5 axb5 33.Rxc4, eg 33...bxc4 34.Rxb8+ Kh7 35.Rc8, etc.
32...Nd5 33.Nxd5 Rxd5 34.axb5
Better was 34.Rc6! a5 and now the move I missed, 35.e4, eg 35...Rh5 36.Kg4 Rxh2 37.axb5 (analysis by Stockfish9 & Komodo9), when Black's rooks are discoordinated while White has a fast-moving passed pawn.
34...Rdxb5 35.Ra1 a5 36.Rc7 Ra8
Stockfish9 reckons the position is dead-equal; Komodo9 slightly prefers White. I manged to get down to a position of rook and two pawns versus rook-and-one, but the simplification meant White could not progress further.

Friday 9 November 2018

Winning At Correspondence Chess

CORRESPEONDENCE chess is thriving - indeed it is arguably going through a golden age.
Snail-mail and even email tournaments are old hat - today's events are server-based, which eliminates postage costs and arguments over how much time has elapsed.
People who do not play correspondence chess tend to believe it has been destroyed by analysis engines.
It is true engines are used in virtually all serious tournaments, especially those organised via the Fide-recognised International Correspondence Chess Federation.
But games are still being won and lost because an analysis engine by itself cannot stand up to an engine+player.
I recently completed six games on board 2 for Sussex Servers in division 2 of the 5th British Webserver Tournament, scoring +2=3-1 against a field averaging 2196 (my ICCF rating of 2260 put me exactly halfway in the seedings).
It is not often an over-the-board game is won in under 25 moves, and that happens even less frequently at correspondence, but happen it does:
Spanton (Sussex Servers - 2260) - Marc R Wakeham (Natcor A - 2130)
English Opening
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3
Over-the-board I have tended to prefer 2.g3, as recommended in various publications by GMs Andrew Soltis, Tony Kosten and Nigel Davies, but here I decided to play more directly - at least at first.
2..g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.e4
More popular is 5.Nf3.
The text, heading for a Botvinnik set-up, is disliked by Kosten and Davies when Black is not committed to ...e5. But it has been played by Kasparov and Kramnik, and Soltis writes: "The Botvinnik tends to work best when Black has played (the) KN to f6, thereby cutting down control of White's d4 from the Black bishop at g7" (Winning With The English Opening, 3rd edition, 1997).
5...d6 6.Nge2 c5 7.0-0 Bd7
A rare continuation, but it is liked by Komodo9, and we soon transpose into regular lines.
8.d3 Nc6 9.h3
Preparing Be3, which in turn hopes to get in d4.
There are more than 700 games with this position in ChessBase's 2018 Mega database
Black's next move is only third-most popular, but it was played by Larsen and Gligoric, and it results in White only scoring 47 percent in Mega18.
9...Ne8 10.Be3 Qc8!?
This may be a novelty. Most popular is 10...Nd4, stopping d4, after which the main line runs 11.Rb1 a5, when six different moves have been tried for White, none with conspicuous success.
11.Kh2 Nc7
It was still possible to block White in the centre with ...Nd4.
After the text, Komodo9 considers White more-or-less has to play 12.d4 to maintain equality, while Stockfish9 reckons 12.d4 gives White the upper hand!
12.d4 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Ne6 14.Nde2 Nc5
Komodo9 at first is happy with Black's position, but can you see a positional problem for Black?
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15.f4!?
The engines like the consolidating 15.b3. Indeed, Stockfish9 comes to calculate White's advantage after this as winning!
The text prepares to exploit the positional defect in Black's position - the way most of Black's pieces are bunched on the queenside.
15...Rb8
Ignoring White's demonstration, which admittedly does not look like it adds up to much at the moment.
16.Rb1 Na5?!
Going after the weak c pawn.
Komodo9 prefers 16...Na6, while Stockfish9 gives 16...f5, but both engines reckon White is more than half-a-pawn better.
17.Nd5
Stockfish9 narrowly prefers 17.b3, but it turns out the c pawn does not need defending.
But not 17.b4? Nxc4, when the e3 bishop is hanging.
17...Re8 18.Bd4 Bxd4 19.Nxd4
19.Qxd4 is also strong.
19...Nxc4
There seems to be nothing better than taking the pawn and hoping to weather the storm.
20.f5 Bc6
20...Kg7 can be met by, among other moves, 21.Nxe7, winning the exchange.
Maybe 20...Nb6 was best, but after 21.b4 Nxd5 (Komodo9's 21...Na6 hardly helps Black's kingside deficiencies, and anyway transposes) 22.exd5 Na6 23.Qd2, White has a roaring attack.
21.Qc1 Nb6
Or 21...Bxd5 22.exd5 Ne5 23.Qh6, and Black cannot get enough defenders across to the kingside.
22.Qh6 Bxd5 23.exd5 Rf8 24.b4 1-0
After 24...Ncd7 comes 25.Ne6! eg 25...fxe6 26.fxg6 hxg6 27.Qxg6+ Kh8 28.Be4 and mate follows.

Many A Slip 'Twixt Cup And Lip

PAWN endings are simple in essence but difficult to play accurately.
I reached one last night for Battersea 3 against London Deaf in the second division of the Central London League.
Black to make his 27th move at the start of the pawn ending in Spanton (167) - Neil Dunlop (160)
White is slightly better thanks to his space advantage and more centralised king. The position should surely be drawn with correct play, but that is easier said than done.
27...Kf7 28.b4
Expanding on the queenside, but maybe this could have waited. My main analysis engines, Komodo9 and Stockfish9, prefer kingside play with 28.Kf4 or 28.g4.
28...f5 29.Kd4 Kf6 30.a4 g5 31.b5 axb5 32.bxa5 a6
White's queenside play has come to nothing. White cannot make progress there as black pawns cover the entry squares b5 and c5.
So focus should switch to the kingside.
33.c5?
This innocuous-looking move may be a loser - at least, the engines think so when it appears on the board.
I should have played a neutral consolidating move such as 33.h3.
33...h5
Advancing like this seems natural, but Black has serious winning chances after 33...g4!
Position if Black had played 33...g4!
The problem for White is he is in danger of landing in zugzwang thanks to Black having more reserve tempi.
After 34.cxd6 (at some stage White will have to make this capture or play c6 if he is to free his king) cxd6 35.g3 h5, White has already run out of useful pawn moves and will have to give way with his king.
Stockfish9 suggests 34.c6, and this may be best. Black can try 34...Kg5. After White replies 35.Ke3, Stockfish9 now reckons the position is equal while Komodo9 gives Black the upper hand (later switching to only a slight edge).
Since 35...f4+ gets Black nowhere after 36.Ke4, Black should use one of his reserve tempi by playing 36...h6.
White has to find Stockfish9's 36.h4!, although Komodo9 at first dismisses this as winning for Black. Actually, it is White who is probably winning if Black plays 36...Kxh4?? as 37.Kf4 is strong. The engines' main line runs 37...g3 38.fxg3+ Kh5 39.g4+! (39.Kxf5? is stalemate) fxg4 40.Kf5 (not 40.g3?? as White is in zugzwang after 40...Kg6 41.Kxg4 h5+ 42.Kf4 Kf6) Kh4. Black is temporarily a pawn up and will soon be two pawns up, but after 41.Ke6 Kg3 42.Kd7 Kxg2 43.Kxc7 Kf3 44.Kxd6 g3 45.c7 g2 46.c8=Q g1=Q 47.Qf5+ White has very good winning chances thanks to his more-advanced passed pawn and easier-sheltered king.
Going back to the position after 36.h4!, the main line runs 36...gxh3 37.gxh3 h5! 38.Kf3 Kh4 39.Kxf4 Kxh3 40.Kxf5 Kg2. Now White's best hope is to run for the queenside with 41.Ke6 h4 42.Kd7 h3 43.Kxc7 h2 44.Kb7 h1=Q 45.c7, with a position that will be drawn by perpetual checks.
That is a lot of analysis (most of it by the engines). My conclusion is White still has a draw after 33...g4!, but it ain't easy!
34.h3
Other moves also draw.
34...h4
It is too late for Black to pose problems with 34...g4 as it is easily countered by 35.h4.
35.f3
Not 35.g3?? g4.
35...g4 36.f4 g3 ½-½
MY Battersea unbeaten streak has reached 16 games.
Updated statistics
Battersea 2018-19
Event...Colour...Grade...Opponent's Grade...Result
CLL.........B.........167................196...............…D

LL...…….B...…...167...………..159...………….D
CLL...…..B...…...167...………..161...………….W
CLL...…..B...…...167...………..190...………….D
LL...…….W...…..167...………..161...………….W
CLL...…..W...…..167...………..148...………….D

CLL...…..W...…..167...………..165...………….W

CLL...…..W...…..167...………..160...………….D
Overall this season for Battersea I have scored +3=5-0 for a grading performance of 186.
In season 2017-18 I scored +10=8-9 for a grading performance of 175.

Monday 5 November 2018

Adjournment Update

MY adjourned London League game from October 16 has been settled by my opponent resigning by email.
Here is the adjourned position:
Position after White played 52.Ne5-d3 in Spanton (167) - Yasser Tello (161)
Black's sealed move turned out to be 52...Bd7.
Actually, it did  not matter which bishop-move he sealed - in any event I was planning to play 53.Ne5, forcing 53...Be8.
Play would then continue 54.c4 bxc4 (54...b4? 55.c5+ followed by axb4 makes White's task easier) 55.Nxc4+ and Black's king has to give way.
MY Battersea unbeaten streak has now reached 15 games.
Updated statistics
Battersea 2018-19
Event...Colour...Grade...Opponent's Grade...Result
CLL.........B.........167................196...............…D

LL...…….B...…...167...………..159...………….D
CLL...…..B...…...167...………..161...………….W
CLL...…..B...…...167...………..190...………….D
LL...…….W...…..167...………..161...………….W
CLL...…..W...…..167...………..148...………….D

CLL...…..W...…..167...………..165...………….W
Overall this season for Battersea I have scored +3=4-0 for a grading performance of 190.
In season 2017-18 I scored +10=8-9 for a grading performance of 175.

Thursday 1 November 2018

Catastrophe In The Opening

IAKOV Neishtadt compiled Catastrophe In The Opening, which appeared originally in Russian before being published in English by Pergamon Press in 1980.
It highlighted "mistakes … committed in the initial stages of a game … which determine its outcome."
That neatly summarises my game on board two tonight for Battersea 3 in the second division of the Central London League against King's College.
Spanton (167) - Garik Mirzoyan (165)
Owen's Defence
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Nc3 e6 4.Bd3 d5!?
An unusual continuation, and one that has not attracted the attention of strong players.
Most popular, at least in ChessBase's 2018 Mega database, is 4...Bb4, while John Owen, after whom the defence is named, chose 4...Nf6 in a loss to Blackburne in 1890 (28 years earlier Blackburne had played 4...g6 in a match-game loss to Steinitz).
5.exd5
The other 'obvious' move is 5.e5, but setting up a centre for Black to attack, initially with 5...c5, scores very poorly for White.
The idea of the text is to block Black's light-squared bishop (or gain the bishop-pair in the event of 5...Bxd5).
5...exd5 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1
All 14 games in Mega18 saw 8...0-0, but my opponent chose a "catastrophe"
8...Nbd7??
Perhaps the plan was to unbalance the position by castling queenside, but after …
9.Qe2
… Black is already positionally lost.
9...c5
I thought afterwards that Black should have tried 9...Nf8, but my main analysis engines, Stockfish9 and Komodo9, give the simple 10.Bf5, when Black still cannot castle anytime soon.
10.Bf4 Kf8
This is the engines' top choice, but that only shows how bad Black's position is (1-0, 29 moves).
MY Battersea unbeaten streak has now reached 14 games.
Updated statistics
Battersea 2018-19
Event...Colour...Grade...Opponent's Grade...Result
CLL.........B.........167................196...............…D

LL...…….B...…...167...………..159...………….D
CLL...…..B...…...167...………..161...………….W
CLL...…..B...…...167...………..190...………….D
LL...…….W...…..167...………..161...………….Adj
CLL...…..W...…..167...………..148...………….D

CLL...…..W...…..167...………..165...………….W
Overall this season for Battersea I have scored +2=4-0 (plus one adjourned) for a grading performance of 187.
In season 2017-18 I scored +10=8-9 for a grading performance of 175.

Close Shave

TURNED out for Hastings & St Leonards last night away to Maidstone in the Kent League (155 Average).
I had black on board two against a 163, with my seven-year Hastings & St Leonards unbeaten streak on the line.
It was quite a poorly played game, with both players missing winning shots.
Not for the first time, I was guilty of trying for too much in an equal position, and eventually we reached the following bishops-of-the-same-colour ending:
White to make his 53rd move in George Hollands (163) - Spanton (167)
White has a huge advantage. His king is more advanced, and two of Black's pawns are on the same-coloured squares as the bishops.
53.Bf7?
White must be close to winning after the simple 53.h4, which fixes Black's kingside pawn-structure, leaving him with two pawns on light squares and effectively unable to create a passed pawn.
I suspect GH missed my next move.
53...Bf3
I considered, but quickly dismissed 53...h4! But it was the better move, and is much preferred by my main analysis engines Komodo9 and Stockfish9.
The point is that after the practically forced 54.gxh4 (anything else allows instant equality with ...hxg3), Black is not in danger on the kingside and can hope to hold the queenside. However, White would still be much better.
54.Bb3?
Advancing the h pawn two squares was still the way to go. 54.Ke3 was also strong,
54...g5 55.a4?
GH offered a draw, which I gratefully accepted. White would still be much better after 55.h4, although now 55...f4 creates counter-chances. The engines give 56.gxf4 gxh4! 57.Ke3, when White is clearly on top but the game continues.
The draw means my seven-year unbeaten streak for Hastings & St Leonards has reached eight games.