Fundamentals (part six)

P Sargeaunt (155) - Spanton (151)
Middlesex League Division 3 1989

White has just captured on e3 - who stands better?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
Black has doubled isolanis, which are unlikely to ever be dissolved, but it is far from obvious how White is to get at them.
White has a backward e pawn. He should be able to get rid of that, but after e4 dxe4 White will have an isolated d pawn.
Neither side has a space advantage, or prospects of creating a pawn majority. Perhaps it is not surprising that the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon the position is dead-equal.
24...Kf7 25.Kf2 Kf6 26.Kf3 Kf5
Both players have centralised their kings as far as they are able, and it is time to think of pawn moves.
27.b4 b6 28.g4+

Black to play and draw

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
Often in pawn endings it is fatal for a king to retreat, but here 28...Kg5? loses as Black eventually ends up in zugzwang after 29.Kg3, eg 29...a6 30.a3 a5 31.bxa5 bxa5 32.a4 Kf6 33.Kh4 Ke6 34.Kg5 Kf7 35.h4.
28...Kf6
Also fine is 28...Ke6.
29.h3
If 29.Kg3, then 29...g5 holds.
White offered a draw.
29...g5 30.e4
White gets to dissolve his backward pawn (or turn it into a protected passer) and gets his king to the fourth rank, but the position remains dead-equal, according to the engines.
30...dxe4+
Actually, the engines reckon 30...Ke6 31.e5 is also level, but not 31.exd5+?? Kxd5 32.Ke3 Kc4 etc.
31.Kxe4 Ke6 32.a3 a6

White to play and draw

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
33.a4?
For the second time in this ending, a king is better off retreating than following normal good-practice by standing firm.
Both 33.Ke3 and 33.Kd3 draw, according to the engines, eg 33.Ke3 Kd5 34.Kd3 b5 35.Ke3 (not 35.Kc3? as the d pawn falls after 35...Ke4) Kc4 36.Ke4 Kb3 37.Ke5 Kxa3 38.Kd6 Kxb4 39.Kxc6 Ka4 40.d5 b4 - both players queen and the game is drawn.
That is not an easy line to calculate, but White had to try it as the text loses immediately.
33...a5 34.bxa5 bxa5 35.Kd3
No improvement is 35.Ke3 Kd5 36.Kd3 c5 37.dxc5 Kxc5 38.Kc3 g6 39.Kb3 Kd4 etc.
35...Kd5 36.Kc3 c5 37.dxc5 Kxc5
The game finished:
38.Kd3 Kb4 39.Kd4 Kxa4 40.Kc4 Ka3 41.Kc3 a4 42.Kc2 Kb4 43.Kb2 a3+ 44.Ka2 Ka4 45.Kb1 Kb3 46.Ka1 a2 47.h4 gxh4 48.g5 h3 49.g6 Kc3 0-1

Fundamentals (part five)

Spanton (151) - Chris O'Bee (128)
Barbican (London) rapidplay 1989

Black has just captured on b5 - what should the result be?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
The position is drawn, but Black has to play accurately to get his half-share of the point, as can be seen from the fact Stockfish10 for quite some time reckons White is winning (Komodo10 quickly recognises the game should be a draw).
60.Kd3 Kc6 61.Ke4 Kd6
Too slow is 61...Kc4?, viz 62.Kxe5 Kd3 63.Kf5 Ke2 64.Kxg5 Kf2 65.Kxh4 Kxg2 66.Kg4 etc.
62.Kf5 Kd5 63.Kxg5

Black to play and draw

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
63...e4?
Black draws by 63...Kd4 64.Kxh4 Ke3 65.Kg5 Kf2 66.h4 Kxg2 67.h5 Kxf3 68.h6 Kg2 69.h7 f3 70.h8=Q f2, reaching a position the Nalimov endgame tablebase confirms is drawn.
White could try the tricky 66.Kf5!? but the engines show the position is still drawn with correct play, ie 66...Kxg2 67.Ke4 (not 67.Kxe5? Kxf3 68.h4 Ke3 69.h5 f3 70.h6 f2 71.h7 f1=Q 72.h8=Q Qa1+) Kg3! (not 67...Kxh3 68.Kxe5 Kg3 69.Ke4 etc) 68.h4! (68.Kxe5 transposes to 67.Kxe5?) Kxh4 69.Kxe5 Kg5 70.Ke4 Kg6! 71.Kxf4 Kf6 - the final position is drawn because, with his pawn on f3, the white king needs to get to e5, f5 or g5 to force the pawn home (for a fuller explanation, see: https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-power-of-two-squares.html)
64.fxe4+ Kxe4 65.Kxh4 Ke3 66.Kg4 Kf2 67.Kxf4 1-0

Fundamentals (part four)

Spanton (161) - Robert Newton (161)
Highbury (London) Rapidplay 1989

White has just made a capture on c5 ... who stands better?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
Material is equal, and so is the position - but a modicum of care is required from both sides as there are several only-moves before the end.
51...Ke5
Clearly an only-move - the c pawn must be stopped.
52.Ke3 f4+ 53.Kf3
Also an only move as 53.Kd3?? loses to 53...Kd5 followed by capture of the c pawn.
53...g5
Again an only-move since now 53...Kd5?? loses to 54.Kxf4 Kxc5 55.Kg5 etc.
54.a5
Anything else loses, eg 54.g3? g4+! (not 54...fxg3 as 55.a5! Kd5 56.a6 Kc6 57.Kxg3 draws) 55.Kf2 fxg3+! (not 55...f3 as 56.a5 draws) 56.Kxg3 Kd5, when Black picks up the white queenside pawns,while White cannot capture on h4 because the g pawn will queen.
54...g4+
Also drawing is 54...Kd5 55.a6 Kc6 56.Ke4 h4 as 57.Kf5?? loses to 57...h3 or 57...f3.
55.Kf2 Kd5
The only move as 55...g3+?? loses to 56.Kf3 Kd5 57.a6 Kc6 58.Kxf4 etc.
56.Ke2??
Only 56.a6 draws.
56...h4??
Winning is 56...Kxc5, eg 57.Kd3 h4 58.Ke4 h3 59.gxh3 gxh3 60.Kf3 Kb5 etc.
57.a6
Now the draw is back on.
The game finished:
57...Kc6 58.Kf2 Kc7 59.Ke2 Kc6 ½–½

Fundamentals (part three)

Spanton (164) - D Moskovic (118)
Barbican Rapidplay 1989

Queens have just been exchanged on g2 - who stands better?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
White has a farside pawn-majority and can hope to create a passed pawn there by sacrificing the c pawn. But this is a faint hope as both kings have to be correctly placed, from White's viewpoint, for this to work.
Black has a protected passed pawn, but it seems, at least at first glance, that White can stop the black king from reaching g5, where it could support the pawn's advance. In fact White cannot stop ...Kg6-g5, at least not without losing the game, but the black king getting to g5 is not as threatening as might be thought.
So the position is drawn with correct play, but it contains some deep subtleties.
31.... Kg6 32.Kg3
Not 32.h4?, but can you see why?
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
After 32.h4?, Black can try 32...Kh5, but on 33.Kg3 he has to accept a draw as 33...f4+?, to create a passed h pawn, loses to 34.Kxf4 Kxh4 35.c4! etc.
But the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 give 32...a5!, when White is completely lost. There are two main lines: a) 33.Kg3 b4 34.cxb4 axb4 35.Kh3 Kh5 36.Kg3 f4+! 37.Kxf4 Kxh4, when the black h pawn decides the game, eg 38.Ke3 Kg4 39.Kd2 h5 40.a4 bxa3 41.Kc2 h4 etc; b) 33.b4 axb4 34.cxb4 f4 (34...Kh5 also wins) 35.Kf3 Kf5 36.a3 h5, and White is in zugzwang.
32...Kg5 33.a3 f4+
White to play and draw.
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
34.Kf3?
34.Kf2 and 34.Kg2 draw. The point is to meet 34...Kf5 with 35.Kf3, when White holds after, say, 35...a5 (35...h5? loses to 36.h4, when the f pawn will eventually fall) 36.a4 bxa4 37.bxa4 Kg5 (...h5? again loses to h4) 38.Kf2 Kh4 39.Kf3 Kg5 - neither side can make progress as 39...Kxh3? loses to 40.Kxf4 and 41.c4!
If, after 34.Kf2/g2, Black plays 34...Kh4, then 35.Kf3 forces the black king back to g5 as 35...Kxh3? loses to 36.c4! or to 36.Kxf4 with c4! to come.
34...Kh4??
This seems to turn a win into a loss. Correct is 34...Kf5, when White's best appears to be 35.b4 Kg5 36.Kf2 Kh4 37.Kf3 Kxh3 38.Kxf4 h5 (not 38...Kh4? 39.c4! bxc4 40.a4 etc) 39.Kg5 (now 39.c4? bxc4 40.a4 does not work as Black has 40...Kg2 41.b5 axb5 42.axb5 Kf2! 43.b6 c3 44.b7 c2 48.b8=Q c1=Q#) 39.Kg5 h4 40.Kf6 Kg2 41.Kxe6 h3 42.Kd7 h2 43.e6 h1=Q 44.e7 Qh3+ 45.Kd8 Qxc3 46.e8=Q Qxd4. After the engines' long, but mostly forced, line, Black emerges a passed pawn up in a queen-and-pawn ending, and presumably should win, but there is a lot of play left.
35.Kxf4 Kxh3 36.c4!
Black is lost. The game continued …
36...bxc4 37.bxc4 dxc4 38.d5 c3 39.Ke3
...and White won.

Fundamentals (part two)

White to play and draw in Spanton (-) - P Hughes (129), Portsmouth Minor 1982

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
57.Ke3??
As I suspect most people reading this blog will know, White needs to take the opposition in such positions. The point is that after 57.Kd3, the black king cannot advance. So Black's only way to try to make progress is to advance the h pawn, eg 57..Ke5 58.Ke3 Kf6 59.Kf3 Kg6 60.Kg3 h5 61.gxh5+ Kxh5. But this is no good as Black can only win, when the pawn in his own half of the board, by getting his king two squares ahead of it. For a full explanation, see https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-power-of-two-squares.html
After the text, Black wins trivially because White ends up in zugzwang - ie cannot avoid making a move that weakens his position.
The game finished:
57...Ke5 58.Kf3 Kd4 59.Kf2 Ke4 60.Kg3 Ke3 61.Kg2 Kf4 0-1

Fundamentals

CAPABLANCA advised that the best way to improve at chess is to study endings.
He explained that endings can be mastered by themselves, whereas openings and the middlegame have to be studied in relation to the endgame.
The simplest of all endings, at least from an abstract view, are pawn endings. And yet in practice they often feature some of a game's worst mistakes.
What follows are what I hope can be justly described as instructive pawn endings, starting with some of my earliest competitive games.

Black has just captured on e5 in Spanton (140) - G Hanson (120), Doncaster & District Division One 1980

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
Material is equal. Black has more space in the centre, while White has fewer pawn-islands, but neither factor is enough to upset the equilibrium.
However, the non-symmetrical pawn structures mean the ending is far from trivial.
25.Ke2 Ke7
Black offered a draw.
26.Kd3 d5 27.c4!?

How should Black proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
27...d4?
Creating a protected passed pawn is often a winning plan, or at least one that ensures defeat is out of the question. But as usual with chess, everything depends on the position. Here it is almost certainly a losing move.
Correct is 27...c6, when 28.cxd5, in order to create a passed pawn on the queenside, is only a draw as Black will get a protected passed pawn after 28...cxd5.
Also an improvement on the text is 27...Ke6?!, although after 28.cxd5+ Kxd5 Black's pawn weaknesses mean White has the better game.
28.b4?
It is better to immediately attack the black centre with 28.f4.
If 28...exf4, then 29.Kxd4 is very strong for White thanks to his advanced king, eg 29...Kd6 30.h4 g6 (30...h6? 31.h5) 31.b4 h6 32.Ke4 g5 33.hxg5 hxg5 34.Kf5 etc.
If 28...Ke6, then 29.fxe5 Kxe5 30.b4, and Black will eventually be in zugzwang and have to give up the d pawn.
28...Kd6 29.a4??
This turns a win into a loss. Still correct was f4.
29...a5! 30.bxa5
Or 30.b5 Kc5.
30...Kc6?
Winning is 30...c5, eg 31.f3 Kc6 32.h4 Kb7 33.g4 Ka6 34.Kc2 Kxa5 35.Kb3 d3! 36.Kc3 Kxa4 37.Kd3 Kb3, and this time White will end in zugzwang and so lose the c4 pawn.
31.f4 exf4 32.Kxd4

Black to play and draw

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
32...g5
Stockfish10 and Komodo10 point out Black draws with 32...Kb7! One line runs 33.Ke5 Ka6 34.Kxf4 Kxa5 35.Ke4 Kxa4 36.Kd5 Kb4 37.h4 h5 38.Kc6 (not c5??, either here or on the previous move, as Black replies ...Kb5 and White will eventually lose his c pawn to zugzwang) Kxc4 39.Kxc7, and the game is drawn.
33.c5?
Winning is 33.Ke5 (or 33.Ke4) as White cleans up on the kingside (Black cannot ever capture the c4 pawn as the white a6 pawn queens).
33...g4?
Still drawing is ...Kb7!
34.a6 h5 35.Ke4 1-0
Dreadful play by both sides, but all of the bad moves were plausible at first sight. However, first sight in pawn endings is often not enough as they can be much deeper than they appear.

Learn From The Greats (part 13)

Justin Tan (2523) - Spanton (1923)
Tunbridge Wells 2018
Pseudo-Chigorin
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nc6 3.d4 Bg4 4.Nbd2!?
Kramnik has played this, but it is hard to see what advantage it has over the normal 4.Bg2.
4...Qd7 5.h3 Bf5!?
This is more popular in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database than 5...Bh5.
6.c3 Nf6 7.Bg2 e6 8.Nh4 Bg6!?
Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon the bishop should either be left where it is or moved to e4.
9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.e4 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Bxe4 e5

How should White proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
13.dxe5!
White is probably slightly better after 13.d5, but the text opens the position for White's bishop-pair, while not worrying about losing castling rights.
13...Qxd1+ 14.Kxd1 0-0-0+ 15.Kc2
A nice square for the king, which is better placed than its black counterpart.
15...Nxe5 16.Bf4 Bd6 17.Rad1 Rde8
This rook, so as to leave the king's rook pressurising h3.
18.Bd5 Re7
18...f6!? may well be better.
19.Bg5?!
The engines reckon White is better after a move such as 19.Rd2 or 19.b4!?
19...Rd7?
Black is only a little worse after the obvious 19...f6.
20.Rhe1 a6?
Not 20...Rxh3? - the back rank is too weak, so White wins a piece with 21.f4. But better than the text is 20...c6 or 20...f6.
21.Rxe5! Bxe5 22.Bxb7+ Kxb7 23.Rxd7 Rxh3 24.Rxf7 Rh5 25.f4 Kc6 26.Bh4 1-0
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
I am not sure there is much to be learnt from this game - I was outplayed positionally in the opening and tactically in the middlegame. One thing that does stand out, however, is how the grandmaster at moves 13 and 21 was able to come up with a strong continuation by seeing beyond the immediately obvious.

Learn From The Greats (part 12)

Spanton (1963) - Šarūnas Šulskis (2572)
Heart Of Finland (Jyväskylä) 2012
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 c6 4.d4 exd4 5.Qxd4 d5 6.Bg2
This is the main move, and is the choice of the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10, but 6.cxd4 is also popular.
6...Be6 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Nf3 Bc6 9.Qa4 Bc5 10.0-0 0-0 11.Rd1!?
Šulskis said he was very much expecting 11.Bg5, which is the main move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
11...Qb6 12.e3 Rac8!?
I think Šulskis said he should have developed this rook to d8, but the text is the choice of the engines.
13.Qb5!?
This forces queens off, which benefits White as it reduces the attacking potential of Black's IQP position.
13...Qxb5 14.Nxb5 a6 15.Nc3!?
Normally White wants to plonk this knight on d4 in such positions, but after 15.Nbd4 Nxd4 16.Nxd4 Bxd4!? Black gets a rook to the seventh rank.
15...Rfd8 16.Bd2
Developing the bishop here allows Black to more-easily exchange off his isolani, but 16.b3 allows ...d4 anyway, and it is not clear that the coming ...d4 in the game fully equalises.
16...b5 17.Rac1 d4 18.exd4
After 18.Nxb5!? dxe3 19.fxe3 the engines reckon Black more-or-less has full compensation for his pawn-minus, but they cannot agree on what is best play. One line runs 19...Ne4 20.Nbd4 Nxd4 21.exd4 (forced as 21.Nxd4? Nxd2 costs White at least the exchange, and more if he is not careful, eg 22.Rxd2? Bxd4 23.Rxc8 Bxe3+ etc) Bb6 22.Be3 Nd6 23.b3 Nf5 24.Bf2 Rxc1 25.Bxc1 Nxd4, when Black has got his pawn back, although the engines slightly prefer White after 26.Kf1.
18...Nxd4 19.Nxd4 Bxd4 20.Bb7 Rb8 21.Bf3
I changed my mind about playing 21.Bxa6 as I did not like 21...Ng4. The engines continue 22.Bf4!? Ra8 23.Bb7 Bxf2+ 24.Kg2 Be3 25.Bxa8 Rxa8 26.a3!? Bxc1 27.Bxc1 Bc4 with maybe a slight edge for White.
21...Bg4 22.Kg2 Rbc8 23.Bg5 h5 24.h3 Bxf3+ 25.Kxf3 Be5 26.Nd5!
A strong move that brings about liquidation into a favourable ending, although my notes show that Houdini1.5a rated the ending as equal.
26...Rxc1 27.Nxf6+ Bxf6 28.Rxd8+ Bxd8 29.Bxc1
White is slightly better thanks to having the more-centralised king.
29...f5 30.Kf4 g6 31.Ke5 h4!?
This is Komodo10's second choice behind 31...Kf7. Stockfish10 at first does not like the text at all, but later comes to reckon the text is best, before finally settling on 31...Kf7.
32.gxh4!
This is best. If, say, 32.Kd5, Black has 32...hxg3 33.fxg3 Bc7 when the engines reckon both 34.Bf4 Bxf4 35.gxf4 Kg7 and 34.g4 f4 are dead equal.
32...Bxh4 33.f3 Kf7 34.Kd5 Bf2?!
This is a difficult position for Black. Houdini1.5a suggested 34...Bd8?!, but my modern engines reckon White is winning (Stockfish10) or at least much better (Komodo10) after 35.Bd2. They instead give 34...g5!? 35.Bd2 Kg6, when one line runs 36.b3 Bf2 37.Ke5 f4 38.Bc3, which Stcokfish10 reckons slightly favours White, but Komodo10 calls equal.
The key point about 34...g5!? seems to be that it opens a line for the black king to get at the white kingside. The problem with the text is that ...g5 on the next move would simply drop the g pawn.
35.Kc6 Ke6 36.Bf4?
The immediate 36.Kb7 is stronger.
36...Bg1?
Black is just about holding on after 36...b4, according to the engines, eg 37.Kb7 Kd5 38.Kxa6 Kc4 39.Ka5 b3!? 40.axb3+ (40.a4?? loses to 40...Bd4 41.Bc1 f4!) Kxb3 41.Be5 Kc4 42.b4 Be1 43.Bd6 f4 44.Ka4 Bxb4! 45.Bxb4 Kd3 etc.
37.b3!?
The point of this move is that Black cannot advance his king, so is reduced to marking time with his bishop.
37...Bf2
Not 37...b4? as the black bishop's position on g1 means it cannot protect the black b pawn after 38.Bd6.
38.Kb7 Kd5 39.Kxa6 b4?
Šulskis pointed out 39...Kc6 in the postmortem, but White is probably still winning.
40.Bd2 Kd4
No help is 40...Kc5 41.Ka5 or 40...Bc5 41.Kb5.
41.Kb5 Kd3 42.Bxb4 Ke3 43.a4 Kxf3

White to play and win

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
44.Bc5??
Winning easily is 44.a5. The problem with the text, as Šulskis pointed out, is it gives Black a tempo to clear the logjam in front of his passed pawn.
44...Bxc5 45.Kxc5 f4 46.a5 Kg3 47.a6 f3 48.a7 f2 49.a8=Q f1=Q 50.Qe4
It is not possible to hold on to both white pawns, eg 50.Qh8 Qf5+ 51.Kb4 Qxh3.
50...Qf8+ 51.Kc4 Qf7+ 52.Qd5 Qf4+ 53.Qd4 g5 54.b4 Kxh3 55.b5 Qf7+ 56.Qd5 Qc7+ 57.Qc5 Qf4+ 58.Qd4 Qxd4+ 59.Kxd4 g4 60.b6 g3 61.b7 g2 62.b8=Q g1=Q+ 63.Ke4 Qg2+ 64.Kd4 Qd2+ ½–½
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
A centralised king is a powerful piece in an ending. The position after 29.Bxc1 was definitely better for White, whatever Houdini1.5a reckoned, and the powerful king meant Black had to play very accurately to avoid defeat. Such accuracy proved beyond the grandmaster, but he was saved by my blunder at move 44.

Learn From The Greats (part 11)

Spanton (2011) - Normunds Miezis (2562)
Liechtenstein 2011
English Symmetrical
1.c4 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.e3 Bg7 5.Ne2 d6 6.Nbc3 h5!?
More popular are 6...e5 and 6...Nf6, but the thrust ...h5 (or h4 for White) against an opponent's kingside fianchetto is a common idea, and probably even more common today than it was nine years ago.
7.h3
The best response, according to Miezis. The idea is to meet ...h4 with g4.
7...Bd7 8.d4!?
A mistake, according to Miezis, who thought I should have continued with Rb1, a3 or b3. However, of the 13 games in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database to reach the position after 7...Bd7, seven saw 8.d4!? (albeit one of the seven is this game).
8...cxd4 9.exd4

How should Black proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
9...Nh6!?
A far-from-obvious move, at least to me, but it is the choice of the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
The game Dirk Poldauf (2404) - Zvonko Stanojoski (2496), EU Cup (Rethymno, Crete) 2003, saw 9...Qc8 10.b3 Nf6, and now 11.Be3 gives White the better game, according to the engines.
10.0-0 Qc8 11.Kh1 Nf5 12.Be3 0-0 13.Rc1 Re8 14.d5?
Gaining space, at least on the central-queenside, but more significant is that it gives up control of the e5 square and obstructs White's light-square bishop.
14...Nxe3
Giving up a well-placed knight, but winning the bishop-pair, stopping the d7 pawn being backward on a half-open file, and turning the e5 square into an outpost that cannot be challenged by a white pawn. Black is at least equal
15.fxe3 Ne5 16.b3 Qc5 17.Nd4
Much better than 17.e4?, which puts another pawn on the same-coloured square as White's surviving bishop.
17...a6
Miezis said he thought this was wrong, and that he should have played 17...Rac8, but the engines prefer the text.
18.Ne4 Qa5 19.Bf3?
Miezis suggested 19.c5!?
19...Bh6!?
Black has a slight edge after this, but why not capture on a2 with check? Well, after 19...Qxa2+ 20.Rc2 Qa5, White has an interesting try in 21.Bxh5!? gxh5 22.Qxh5 f6 (only move), and now 23.g4!? is unclear (Komodo10 much prefers Black; Stockfish10 much prefers White).
20.Qe2 Kg7 21.Rf2 Rh8 22.Bg2 Raf8
The engines want Black to immediately attack with 22...f5!?
23.Nf3 Nxf3+ 24.Rxf3 Kg8 25.Rcf1 f5?!
The engines no longer like ...f5, reckoning Black keeps an advantage with 25...Rh7 (Stockfish10) or 25...Bg7 (Komodo10).
26.Qb2?!
I see from my notes that I rejected the almost-certainly better 26.Nf2 because I thought Black's kingside play was coming too quickly, but Miezis pointed out White has more pieces than Black on that part of the board.
26...Bg7
Not 26...fxe4?? 27.Rxf8+ Bxf8 28.Rxf8+ Kxf8 29.Qxh8+ Kf7 30.Qh7+ etc.
27.Qd2?!
White has the marginally safer king, so it is probably better to keep queens on the board with 27.Qf2, especially if, as seems likely, Black is obliged to spend time returning his queen to the kingside.
27...Qxd2 28.Nxd2 h4 29.g4!?
Miezis said this is a good move, and the engines agree it is the best move in the position, but Black is definitely better.
29...fxg4 30.Rxf8+ Bxf8 31.hxg4 Bxg4
The engines' 31...Bh6! is strong, the point being that 32.Re1 Bxg4 gives Black a better version of the game.
32.Rf4
Black faces a more difficult task after 32.Bh3! Bxh3 33.Kxh3 as it will be tricky for Black to break down a White blockade on the light squares.
32...Bf5 33.Bh3 Bh6 34.Rf3 Kg7 35.Bxf5 gxf5 36.Rxf5
This is best, according to the engines.
36...Bxe3 37.Ne4
Not 37.Nf3?? Kg6.
37...b5 38.Rf3 Bd4 39.Kh3 bxc4 40.bxc4 Rc8 41.Ra3?
Very weak, according to Miezis, who suggested 41.Kxh4 Rxc4 42.Kg5, which at least gives White an active king.
41...Rxc4 42.Rxa6 Be5 43.Ng5 Kg6 44.Nf3 Bf6 45.Rc6 Ra4 46.Rc2 Kf5 47.Rf2 Ra3 48.Kg2 Ke4 0-1
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
A serious positional error at move 14 gave Black a comfortable middlegame, and another serious positional error at move 41 turned a difficult ending into a lost one.

Learn From The Greats (part 10)

Henrik Teske (2553) - Spanton (2030)
Bad Wörishofen 2010
QGD Semi-Tarrasch
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c5 5.g3?!
Teske explained after the game he had been trying to transpose into a Tarrasch Defence, but the text is at least dubious and likely bad.
5...dxc4?!
This is the second choice of Stockfish10 and Komodo10 - they prefer 5...cxd4.
6.Bg2 cxd4 7.Qxd4 Qxd4 8.Nxd4

How should Black proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
8...Be7?!
Black is behind in development, but it was probably necessary to play 8...a6 to prevent White's next move.
9.Ndb5 Na6 10.Be3 0-0 11.0-0-0?!
White has no need to restore material equality immediately, but even so the engines' suggestions of 11.0-0 and 11.Nxa7 seem better.
11...Bc5?
The engines' 11...Ng4 12.Bxa7 Nc7!? is unclear, but certainly better than the text.
12.Bxc5 Nxc5 13.Rd4 a6 14.Nd6 Rd8 15.Rhd1 Nd3+!?
This is best, according to the engines, which only goes to show what a mess Black is in.
16.exd3 e5 17.Nxc8 exd4 18.Ne7+ Kf8 19.Ncd5 Rd7??
Better is 19...Nxd5, but after 20.Nxd5 White has two minor pieces for rook and pawn, and is likely to win the d4 pawn before long.
20.Nb6 1-0
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
A bishop on g2 combined with a knight hopping into b5 can be very inconvenient for Black early in the game. But the real key to losing quickly is making tactical errors.

Learn From The Greats (part nine)

Sebastian Bogner (2511) - Spanton (2034)
Liechtenstein 2009
Chigorin Defence
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.cxd5 Bxf3 5.gxf3 Qxd5 6.e3 e5
Chigorin played 6...e6!? in a draw against Steinitz at London 1899.
7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.bxc3

Black's ninth move is critical for how the game will develop

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
9...Qd6
I have six opening books that are either solely about the Chigorin or devote a substantial portion of their text to it. Most firmly state, or at least imply, that 9...exd4 is inferior.
Chris Ward in Unusual Queen's Gambit Declined (Everyman 2002) states: "This type of knights versus bishops scenario has been hotly debated over the years. One thing that seems to have been concluded is that 9...exd4 shows Black's hand unnecessarily early … The premature pawn-trade enables [White] to utilise the queenside files far more easily."
Gary Lane in Ideas Behind Modern Chess Openings: Black (Batsford 2005): "I like [9...Qd6] which keeps all options open. 9...exd4 is the main alternative but is less flexible as it releases the tension in the centre."
Valery Bronznik in The Chigorin Defence (Schachverlag Kania 2005) treats 9...Qd6 as the main line, while also taking a look at 9...exd4, 9...Nge7 and 9...Nf6.
Christoph Wisnewski in Play 1...Nc6! (Everyman 2007) writes of the diagram position: "Black's foremost concern should be to stop a possible pawn-advance, and 9...Qd6! does the trick." He adds: "9...e4? does not work because of 10.Bg2. Neither does 9...Nf6?!, as after 10.c4 Qd6 11.d5 Ne7 12.Rb1 b6 13.Bb4 White was better in A. Saidy - M. Al Modiakhi, Las Vegas 2001. Finally, 9...exd4, although examined by Bronznik, is completely out of the question. Why release the tension and open the position for the pair of bishops?"
Angus Dunnington in The Chigorin Queen's Gambit (Batsford 1996) says: "The exchange [9....exd4] allows White to rid himself of the c3 pawn and opens the e1-a5 diagonal for the bishop and the c file for the rook. Black also gives up an influential central pawn. However, the queen does not have as much scope on d6 as it does on d5, and Black's ninth move loses time. The choice is really just a matter of taste."
So that is four experts for 9...Qd6 and only one willing to give equal standing to 9...exd4.
Then along came The Chigorin Defence According To Morozevich (New In Chess 2007). The book is credited to "Alexander Morozevich & Vladimir Barsky." But the format suggests it was written by international master Barsky and then submitted to grandmaster Morozevich for a once-over. The book concentrates on 9...Qd6, but there is a section in italics directly attributed to Morozevich that runs in part: "As a result of theoretical investigations and practical tests I have come to the conclusion that the most promising continuation for Black is 9....Nf6!?, which has not been employed much in practice."
As might be expected, Morozevich's verdict sparked an explosion of interest in 9...Nf6, with the main line established as 10.c4 Qd6 11.d5 Ne7 12.Rb1 b6 13.Bb4, which the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon gives White the upper hand.
10.Rb1 0-0-0?!
Normal is 10...b6.
Morozevich, writing in general about the diagram position, states: "The plan with ...0-0-0 seems rather dangerous to me, since White has the b file which his queen and rook can quickly occupy. I do not believe in this plan, and I myself have never castled queenside."
11.Qb3 b6 12.Qxf7 Nh6 13.Qc4
13.Bh3+!? seems to have been a novelty when it was played in Atila Gajo Figura (2074) - Spanton (2148), Lechenicher SchachServer Preliminaries 1999 (corr). The game continued 13...Kb8 14.Qxg7 exd4 15.cxd4 Qd5 16.Rc1 Rhe8, and now the future IM played 17.Rc3? (the engines reckon Black has full compensation for his material deficit, but no more, after 17.e4 or 17.Rg1), but after 17...Nf7 18.Rxc6 (forced) Qxc6 19.Qxf7 Rxd4, Black was well on top (0-1, 74 moves).
13...Rhf8 14.Bd3 Rxf3
Stockfish10's 14...Nf7!? 15.Be4 Nb8 may be an improvement but still looks good for White.
15.Be4 Rf6 16.d5?!
Stronger, according to the engines, is 16.Qa6+.
16...Na5?
Better is 16...Nb8, as played in Cyril Marzolo (2393) - Igor Miladinović (2607), French Team Championship (Gonfreville) 2006. After the further 17.Rf1 Rdf8 18.f3 Nf5 19.Ke2 Qd7 20.Bxf5 Rxf5, Black was at least equal (½–½, 44 moves).
17.Qa6+ Nb7
I had missed that 17...Kb8?? drops a piece.
18.c4 Kb8 19.Bb4 c5??
The engines give the better, but still miserable, 19...Qd7 20.c5 Qc8.
20.dxc6 Nc5 21.c7+ Kxc7
Black loses a piece after 21...Qxc7 22.Bxc5.
22.Qxa7+ Kc8 23.Bb7+ Kd7 24.Bd5+?
24.Rd1 wins instantly.
24...Ke8 25.Bxc5 Qxc5 26.Rb5 Qe7 27.Qxe7+ Kxe7 28.Ke2
Materially Black is only a pawn down, but White is positionally better too.
28...Rdf8 29.Rf1 Ng4 30.f3 Nxh2!?
This is Komodo10's choice, but that only shows how bad Black's position is as now the knight gets trapped.
31.Rf2 Rh6 32.Be4 Rff6
The e5 pawn cannot be saved.
33.Rxe5+ Re6 34.Rg5 1-0
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
Whatever the merits of Black's ninth-move choices, none of it matters if Black goes on to commit tactical howlers.

Learn From The Greats (part eight)

WORLD champion Vladimir Kramnik agreed to meet the analysis engine Deep Fritz 7 in a challenge match in the kingdom of Bahrain in October 2002.
But I got my challenge in first by persuading the engine's creators, ChessBase, to let me fly to their headquarters in Hamburg and be first to take on Deep Fritz 7.
This happened in the late summer or early autumn of 2002 - I cannot recall when, but know it was after July's Politiken Cup and before September's Isle of Man.
Deep Fritz 7 did not have a Fide grandmaster title, but it had an estimated elo of 2650 and was to draw its match with Kramnik 4-4, so I think this game deserves a place in Learn From The Greats.
Deep Fritz 7 - Spanton
Maróczy Bind
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4!? Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 0-0
This is the most-popular move today, but the first known Maróczy Bind, which occurred in Rudolf Swiderski - Géza Maróczy (yes, Maróczy was Black), Monte Carlo, 1904, saw 7...d6 8.Be2 Bd7 9.0-0, and only now did Maróczy castle.
8.Be2 b6!?
This is much-less popular than 8...d6, but has been played by grandmasters.
Andrew Greet in Starting Out: The Accelerated Dragon (Everyman Chess 2008) writes: "A solid and reliable choice … but [Black] can sometimes struggle to create meaningful counterplay."
9.0-0 Bb7 10.f3 e6!?
Strong players have tried lots of other moves at this point, but the text is most popular in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database. Back in 1998, John Donaldson & Jeremy Silman in Accelerated Dragons (Cadogan) and Peter Heine Nielsen & Carsten Hansen in The Sicilian Accelerated Dragon (Batsford) label the move dubious. However, Greet  calls it a "principled reaction [that] at least forces White to deal with some concrete problems."
11.Qd2
Nielsen & Hansen give this an exclamation mark, calling it "simple [but] best."
11...d5 12.Nxc6 Bxc6 13.cxd5 exd5 14.e5

How should Black proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
14...Nd7?!
The only move mentioned in the older books, but Greet gives "14...Ne8!" He explains: "...Nd7 may seem more natural, but the text has been almost a universal choice amongst grandmasters with Black. One advantage of the e8 square is that the knight can come to c7 to provide a solid support of the d5 pawn."
15.f4 f6?
Donaldson & Silman are the only ones to properly mention this try (although it is misprinted as 15...f5 in Nielsen & Hansen), and they call it bad. However, they also said other moves had given Black "uniformly miserable results."
The modern analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 suggest 15...g5!?, but reckon White is much better.
16.e6!?
16.Bb5 was played in Maia Chiburdanidze (2400) - Nelson Borges Pinal (2405), Havana 1985. That game continued 16...Bb7 17.e6 Nc5 18.f5 a6 19.Bxc5 bxc5 20.Bd7 with a winning positional advantage for White, according to Stockfish10 and Komodo10, although the game finished unduly early when Black blundered just three moves later.
16...Nc5 17.f5 gxf5 18.Bxc5 bxc5 19.Bf3
Black is a pawn up (for the time-being) and has the bishop-pair, but Black's many weaknesses far outweigh the pluses.
19...Re8 20.Rae1 Qd6 21.Bxd5 Bxd5 22.Nxd5 Rad8
If 22...Rxe6 then 23.Rxe6 Qxe6 24.Nc7.
23.e7 Rd7 24.Rxf5 Kh8
This is the engines' choice, but the position is hopeless.
25.Qe2 Qc6 26.Qh5 Rb7 27.Nxf6! Bxf6 28.Rxf6 Qxf6 29.Qxe8+ Kg7 30.Qd8 1-0
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
The Maróczy Bind used to be thought of as virtually a refutation of the Accelerated and Hyper-Accelerated Dragons. The theoretical consensus today is that it is a lot less dangerous than that, but nevertheless White maintains a small plus for a long time thanks to having a space advantage. This game shows how easily a small plus can turn into a large one if Black fails to create counterplay.

Learn From The Greats (part seven)

VLADIMIR Kramnik became the 14th officially recognised world chess champion by finishing victorious in his match against Garry Kasparov on November 2, 2000.
Two days later he accepted a challenge from me in my role as a writer for The Sun
Spanton - Kramnik
Home House (London)
English Symmetrical
1.e4 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Ne2 e5!?
Ruling out a Maroczy Bind by White.
4.Nbc3 d6 5.d3 g6 6.g3 Bg4!?
Trying to take immediate advantage of the early holes in White's set-up.
7.Bg2 Nd4!? 8.h3 Bd7
Not 8...Nf3+?? 9.Kf1.
If 8...Bf3, then 9.Bxf3 Nxf3+ 10.Kf1 with Kg2 to come is good for White.
Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon Black should, at least temporarily, give up the bishop-pair with 8...Bxe2 9.Nxe2 Nxe2 10.Qxe2, and now 10...Bh6 to try to swop off Black's bad bishop. White is probably slightly better.
9.Nxd4 cxd4 10.Nd5 Bc6?!
Black is falling dangerously behind in development. The engines reckon White is only slightly better after the natural 10...Bg7.
11.0-0 Bg7 12.f4 h5?!
White now gets a strong initiative.
13.Qf3 Qd7 14.Bd2?!
Even stronger seems to be 14.fxe5, eg 14...dxe5 15.Bg5 Bxd5 16.exd5! f6, when Stockfish10 continues 17.d6!? fxg5 18.Qxb7 Qxb7 19.Bxb7 Rb8 20.Bc6+ Kd8 21.Rf7 with a winning attack, eg 21...Bh6 22.Raf1 or 21...Rb6 22.Rd7+ Kc8 23.Rc7+ and 24.c5. Consequently, the engines prefer accepting doubled and isolated d pawns with 14...Be5, but White is much better after 15.Bf4.
14...Bxd5 15.cxd5 h4!?
This is Komodo10's second choice, but both engines prefer occupying the open file with 15...Rc8.
16.g4 exf4!?
Stockfish10 comes to marginally prefer this over the engines' initial choice of 16...Rc8.
17.Bxf4 Be5 18.Bxe5 dxe5 19.Rac1 f6?!
The engines suggest 19...Rd8 or the very ugly 19...Rh7!?, but in each case with White much better.
20.g5 Kf7?!
Another doubtful move. The engines want 20...Rh7.
21.gxf6?!
Even better is the engines' 21.Qg4!?, eg 21...Qxg4 22.hxg4 followed by Rc7(+), or 21...Rd8 22.gxf6, eg 22...Nxf6 23.Qg5 with mate to follow, one line being 23...Qe7 24.Rxf6+ Qxf6 25.Rc7+ etc.
21...Qd6?
Black had to play 21...Rc8 to contest the open file.
22.Rc2 Rf8 23.Rfc1?!
My original notes show Fritz5 thought the game is now even. While it is true that 23.Rcf2 is almost certainly stronger, Black is also in trouble after the text.
23...Nxf6 24.Rc7+ Kg8 25.Rxb7 Rh7
Not 25...Nxd5? 26.exd5! Rxf3 27.Bxf3 Qd8 28.Bg4, when White will emerge a bishop up.
26.Rc6?!
It seems stronger is 26.Rxh7 Kxh7 (or 26...Nxh7 27.Qg4) 27.Qf2.
26...Qd8 27.Rxh7 Kxh7 28.Qd1 Nh5 29.Qg4 Nf4
White is a protected pawn up and is clearly better, but Black has the superior minor piece.
30.Bf1?!
The engines prefer 30.b4, as the d3 pawn is not really threatened by the knight since g6 needs protecting.
30...Kh6?!
The engines reckon 30...a5 more-or-less equalises.

Position after 30...Kh6?!

Kramnik did not allow me to keep score during the game - he probably feared I would take a long time.
Instead, once the game was over, he wrote the moves down from memor, without using a board.
However, at this point he could not recall what came next (and I had even less of a clue), although he was able to pick up the game a few moves further along at about move 35:

White to make his 36th(?) move

As can be seen, the game has radically changed between the two diagrams. Indeed, the position is now dead-equal, according to the engines.
36.Kg1 Rxa2 37.d6?
Playing for a win, but my bishop and king are too passive for this to be a realistic attempt. The engines reckon 37.Rc8 maintains equality.
37...Kf6 38.Rc6?
38.d7? is simply met by 38...Ke7, but better was counterplay against e5 with 38.Rc5.
38...Ke6 39.Ra6 Nf4 40.b4!?
This does not help, but White is lost anyway.
40...a4 41.b5 g5 42.Rc6 Rb2 43.b6 a3 44.b7 Rxb7 45.Ra6 Rb1 46.Rxa3 Nxh3+ 47.Kg2 Nf4+ 48.Kf2 g4 0-1
Kramnik said: "You played well." (I believe those were his exact words, but, if not, he said something very similar.)

Dominic Lawson ran the following leader in the Sunday Telegraph, which at least pleased my parents (and my Editor):
VLADIMIR KRAMNIK, the new world chess champion, was pictured in The Sun newspaper yesterday, playing a game with Tim Spanton, a Sun journalist.

Mr Spanton, on his own account, began by giving Mr Kramnik an unexpected run for his money. At one point, Mr Kramnik was even heard to lament, "My position is getting worse with every move" - but that was before he comprehensively destroyed Mr Spanton's defences. Mr Kramnik, no doubt, was playing the game in every sense, including supplying a crowd-pleasing touch of hyperbole for the event.

None the less, when Britain's leading tabloid newspaper publishes a full account of a game of chess in international algebraic notation, describing the opening - correctly - as "English Symmetrical, by transposition from the Sicilian Defence", it is to be congratulated. Chess offers the greatest adversarial intellectual challenge known to mankind. Until yesterday The Sunday Telegraph was the only newspaper to have bothered to interview Kramnik about his achievement in ending the 15-year reign of Garry Kasparov.

We are delighted at The Sun's interest: there are so often lamentations about "dumbing down" - might this be the start of a process of "braining up"? Perhaps The Sun could further its relationship with Mr Kramnik by inviting him to guest-edit the newspaper for a day. We look forward to his first headline: "Bishop in Pawn Scandal".

LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
Even a world champion can be caught out in the opening if he happens to play down a line his much-weaker opponent is familiar with (I doubt if Kramnik would have played 6...Bg4!? and 7...Nd4!? if he had realised 8.h3 was a good answer). White then had an initiative, which makes it much easier to find good moves (and makes it much more likely the opponent will find bad ones). It is a shame there is no record of how the game quickly moved from much better for White to equal, but the further transition to winning for Black is an all too familiar one of a club player not knowing endgame basics.
(Next: Deep Fritz at ChessBase's Hamburg HQ)

Learn From The Greats (part six)

James Plaskett (2529) - Spanton (2081)
Isle Of Man 2000
Réti Opening
1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.b3
The Réti is one of those opening systems where it is especially dangerous to rely on the judgment of engines. Here, for example, Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon the text is much inferior to 4.d4 and 4.Bg2, but it has been played by Kramnik, Anand, Gelfand and a host of other grandmasters.
4...c5
The engines like the space-gaining 4...d4, but the text is much more popular in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
5.Bg2 Nc6 6.0-0 Bd6 7.e3 0-0 8.Bb2 Qe7
The engines like 8...e5, which is consistent with having played ...Bd6.
9.Qe2 Bd7 10.d3 Rad8

How should White proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
11.Nc3!?
The queen's knight in these sorts of lines often goes to d2, so as not to obstruct the dark-square bishop, but the engines like the text, which puts more pressure on Black's centre.
11...dxc4?!
This gives up a lot of central influence. The engines like 11...Rfe8 or 11...d4.
12.bxc4 Rfe8 13.Rfd1!?
13.Rad1 might look more natural, but the queen's rook is being reserved for the half-open b file.
13...e5 14.Rab1 h6 15.h3 Bc7
I cannot recall my thinking here, but I probably wanted to exert pressure on the d pawn (the bishop was masking the d8 rook).
16.Nd2
Preparing an answer to Black's next move.
16...Bf5 17.Nde4 Nxe4 18.Nxe4
The engines like 18.Nd5!? Qd6 19.dxe4, when White has a powerful knight on d5.
18...Bd7 19.Nc3 Bb8
Presumably played so White's next move does not fork queen and bishop, but that would be nothing much to worry about as Black's dark-square bishop is bad.
20.Nd5 Qe6 21.Bc3 Bc8 22.Rb5 Bd6 23.Qb2 Ne7 24.Ra5 Nc6 25.Ra3 Bb8 26.Rb3 Bd6 27.Rb1 Ne7 28.Qa3 Nc6
The engines give 28...Nxd5!? 29.cxd5 Qd7 30.Qxa7 b5 31.Qxd7 Bxd7, claiming only a small edge for White despite White's extra, albeit doubled, pawn.
29.Qa4 Qg6 30.Kh2
The engines give 30.Rxb7!? Bxb7 31.Rxb7, eg 31...Nb4 32.Bxb4 cxb4, when White has only a pawn for the exchange in material terms, but has queenside weaknesses to aim at.
30...h5 31.h4
The engines still like Rxb7!?
31...Qf5
The engines give 31...e4!?, followed by sacrificing the exchange with 32.Bxe4 Rxe4!? or 32.dxe4 Rxe4!? In each case the point is the white light-square bishop is the only piece protecting the white king.
32.Kg1 e4 33.dxe4 Rxe4!? 34.Rxb7!?
Black has good kingside chances after 34.Bxe4?! Qxe4.
34...Nxe5?
The problem with the text is that too much material comes off the board, negating Black's kingside pressure. The engines give 34...Nb4 35.Bxb4 Bxb7 36.Qc2 Rde8 37.Bxc5 Bxd5 38.Bxd6 Bc6, when White has two pawns and the bishop-pair for the exchange.
35.Bxe4 Qxe4 36.Bxe5 Bxb7 37.Rxb7 Bxe5 38.Qd1
This retreat solves any defensive difficulties White may have had. More to the point, he is a pawn up, and Black has two hanging pawns.
38...Rb8?
This speeds the end.
39.Ne7+ Kf8 40.Rxb8+ 1-0
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
Play was fairly even out of the opening, but the grandmaster's greater positional understanding saw him find better squares for his pieces than I managed. And when the game became sharp around move 32, he proved better tactically too. Once again a grandmaster showed how small incremental improvements can be just as effective in securing a win as striving for a knockout blow.
(Next: Kramnik)

Learn From The Greats (part five)

WHEN Garry Kasparov visited London in April 2000 to publicise his upcoming world championship match against Vladimir Kramnik, he agreed to play me - I was a writer for The Sun - in his rooms at The Savoy.
I turned up only to find he did not have a chess set - something I could have anticipated as, after all, how many players travel with anything other than a laptop and a pocket set?
A lackey was sent out to quickly get a full-sized set, and we sat down to play.
I was not allowed to keep score. This was not Kasparov's doing - rather it was The Sun photographer who reckoned a scoresheet and pen would clutter the playing table.
Spanton - Kasparov
Savoy Hotel (London) 2000, Game 1
English Botvinnik
1.c4
Kasparov reacted to this by saying "Oh," apparently surprised at the 'sophistication' of my opening choice. This was the only time he spoke during the game, which we played at blitz speed (but without clocks).
1...e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4
Aiming for a Botvinnik set-up, as recommended in Tony Kosten's The Dynamic English, which had been published by Gambit the previous year.
5...d6 6.Nge2 h5!?
Kosten: "This move is favoured by some aggressive players." It turns out to be also Stockfish10's choice.
7.h3!?
Dubious, according to Kosten, who recommended the much-more popular 7.h4. But the text is preferred by Stockfish10.
7...Be6
Kosten warned that "White is well on the way to ending up with a bad bishop" after 7...h4 8.g4?! (Kosten's punctuation) Bh6. He added: "White does not want to place too many of his pawns on light squares, at least not unless he can exchange the king's bishop."
However, 8.g4 is the most-popular move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database after 7...h4, and is the choice of Stockfish10 and Komodo10. Black did not reply 8...Bh6 in any of the 16 games in Mega20.
The engines strongly dislike 8...Bh6, giving 9.d4, reckoning White has the upper hand.
8.Nd5 Qd7 9.d3 Nd8!?
The idea is to expel the white knight by ...c6, without allowing the knight to exchange itself.

How should White proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
10.Be3
After the game was over, Kasparov dictated the moves to me, making occasional comments. At this point in the dictation he said: "I played d4 against Nigel Short in Linares in '93, no '90. It is a better move."
In fact that game, which was indeed in 1990, went 1.c4 Nc6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.e4 Be6 7.Nge2 Qd7 8.Nd5 Nce7, and now 9.d4.
Here is the position after 8...Nce7:

Kasparov - Short, Linares 1990

The position in Kasparov - Short is clearly not the same as in Spanton - Kasparov, but the pawn-structure and piece-placements are very similar. The point, I believe, is that, if Black allows it, White should seize the chance to play d4 in such a structure.
10...c6 11.Ndc3 Ne7 12.Qd2 d5 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.exd5?
Giving Black a central space advantage and leaving White with a weak d pawn. The engines reckon White is slightly better after 14.d4.
14...Nxd5 15.Nxd5?!
Kasparov: "You had to play Ne4." He added, and I cannot recall his exact words, that capturing on d5 is too weakening. I presume I wanted to avoid giving up the bishop-pair to ...Nxe3.
For what it is worth, Stockfish10 for quite some time prefers the text, but eventually agrees with Komodo10 (and Kasparov) that 15.Ne4 is better.
15...Bxd5 16.Bxd5 Qxd5 17.0-0 Nc6 18.Nc3 Qd7 19.Kg2 f5 20.Rad1?
Kasparov: "Bad. You should play Bg5, when White has chances to resist."
20...h4 21.f4?
The engines suggest giving up a pawn by 21.g4!? fxg4 22.Rg1, but clearly Black is much better.
21...hxg3 22.Kxg3 g5 0-1
Kasparov: "That was a good game."
It was also a quickly-played game - so much so that he offered me a chance (however hypothetical) for revenge, insisting I again take the white pieces.
**********
Spanton - Kasparov
Savoy Hotel (London) 2000, Game 2
Morra Gambit
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 d6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Qe2 Be7 9.Rd1 e5
This is one of the main lines of the Morra, with more than 1,000 examples in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.

How should White proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
10.Bg5?!
Most popular is 10.h3, which Graham Burgess treated as the main line in Winning With The Smith-Morra Gambit (Batsford 1994). However, he expressed sympathy for 10.Be3, which is recommended by Marc Esserman in Mayhem In The Morra! (Quality Chess, 2012).
Kasparov criticised my choice, saying I should have played 10.b4!?, one point being that 10...Nxb4? runs into 11.Nxe5. A game between two future grandmasters, Pavel Šimáček (2481) - Milan Pacher (2255), Česká Třebová (Czech Rep) 2007, saw 10.b4!? Bg4 11.Be3 0-0 (11...Nxb4?! 12.Rab1 and Rxb7) 12.Rab1 Rc8 13.h3 Bxf3!? 14.Qxf3, when the engines reckon White has full compensation for the pawn (1-0, 25 moves).
10...0-0!?
Burgess reckoned the problem with White's 10th move is 10...Bg4, but ...Bg4 and castling are almost equally popular in Mega20.
11.Bxf6!?
"Too early," Kasparov said after the game, but it is Stockfish10's choice.
11...Bxf6 12.Nd5?
The engines give 12.h3 (Stockfish10) or 12.Qd3 (Komodo10), in each case reckoning Black has, at best, a slight edge.
12...Bg4 13.h3 Nd4 0-1
Kasparov reckoned White has "reasonable drawing chances" after 14.Rxd4! Bxf3 15.Qxf3 exd4 16.Nxf6+ Qxf6 17.Rd1.
LESSONS FROM THESE GAMES
In both games I had decent positions out of the opening (assuming you do not regard the Morra as simply bad), but my understanding of what to do in the positions was well below my ability to memorise the moves needed to get to those positions. Both the English Botvinnik and the Sicilian Morra are quite sophisticated opening choices in that they lead to unbalanced positions in which positional understanding is very important. It therefore makes sense to either learn the openings more thoroughly, or, if time or inclinations do not permit, to play something simpler.

Learn From The Greats (part four)

Spanton (2147) - Stefan Djurić (2504)
Seeburg (Switzerland) 1999
English Symmetrical, Botvinnik Formation
1.e4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Ne2 c5 4.Nbc3 Nc6 5.d3 d6 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 0-0 8.0-0
By a slightly unusual move-order, the game has reached a tabiya in the Symmetrical Variation of the English Opening when White uses a Botvinnik set-up, ie pawns on c4 and e4, king's knight at e2 and a fianchettoed king's bishop.
8...Bd7
Other moves are more popular, including preparing queenside play with 8...a6 and starting to reroute the king's knight to d4 by 8...Ne8. But the text has been played by many grandmasters.
9.h3
Preparing Be3 without being annoyed by ...Ng4.
9...Ne8 10.Be3 Nd4
Preventing 11.d4, which would be the answer to 10...Nc7.
11.Qd2 Nc7 12.Bh6
Previous games had seen 12.f4, but Stockfish10 and Komodo10 prefer the text.
12...Qc8!?
The engines strongly dislike this, preferring 12...e5, or 12...Bxh6 13.Qxh6 e5. The idea is that with dark-square bishops being exchanged, it makes sense for Black to put pawns on dark squares.
13.Bxg7 Kxg7

How should White proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
14.Nxd4!?
Djurić raised his eyebrows at this, but it is Komodo10's choice. Stockfish10 gives 14.Kh2 e5 15.f4 with a slight edge.
14...cxd4 15.Ne2
The engines slightly prefer the more-active 15.Nd5!?, one point being that 15...Nxd5 16.exd5 Bxh3 does not win a pawn as White has 17.Qf3.
Edit: as has been pointed out in the comments, this note makes no sense as the queen cannot go to f3. I should have written 17.Qf4, the point being White will win the d4 pawn.
15...e5 16.Qb4 Ne8 17.Kh2 a5 18.Qd2 Qc5 19.b3 Qb4 20.Rfd1
The engines reckon White should avoid an exchange of queens, for example by playing 20.Qc1!?, although there is then no doubt who has the better queen.
20...Nc7 21.a3?
This creates a weakness at b3.
21...Qxd2 22.Rxd2 Ne6 23.Rda2?!
Presumably hoping to play b4, but that was never likely. The engines reckon Black is better whatever White plays, but their fluctuating suggestions include Rb1, f4, h4 and Nc1.
23...Nc5 24.Nc1 b5 25.Rb1 Rfb8 26.Rab2 Rc8
The engines reckon Black should be doubling on the b file, but the text is fine too.
27.Bf3 Rab8 28.Bd1
If 28.Bg4, to try to swop off White's bad bishop, Black can simple reply 28...f5 with tempo.
28...f5 29.f3 fxe4 30.fxe4 Rf8 31.Kg2 Bc6 32.Bf3 Rb7 33.b4 Na4 34.cxb5 Bxb5 35.Rc2 Nc3
A fabulous outpost for the knight.
36.Rbb2 axb4 37.axb4
If 37.Rxb4, then 37...Rbf7.
37...Ra7
This is better than 37...Rbf7, which can now be met by 38.Rf2, whereas after 37.Rxb4 Rbf7, White cannot play 38.Rf2? because of 38...Nd1.
38.Rd2 Ra1 39.Ne2 Rf7
Not 39...Nd1? 40.Rxd1 Rxd1 41.Nxd4!
40.Rbc2?
After many of moves of just about holding on, a material-losing mistake comes. The engines give 40.h4, but reckon White has a positionally-won game.
40...Nb1 0-1
If 41.Rd1, then 41...Ba4.
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
White was fine out of the opening, but several imprecise moves in the middlegame allowed Black to build a strong initiative on the queenside. Black never went for a quick kill, but gradually increased the pressure until a tactical mistake came.
(Next: two games against Kasparov)

Learn From The Greats (part three)

David R Norwood (2520) - Spanton (2050)
Isle Of Man 1996
English Opening
1.g3 e5 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Ne7 5.Nf3 c5!?
This has been tried by strong players, but is very much disliked by the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10. Normal is 5...0-0.
6.d3 Nbc6 7.Nfd2!?
The knight is headed for the weak square d5. Black is prepared to concede that square in this system, arguing that Black's control over d4 is good compensation.
7...d6 8.Nf1 0-0 9.Ne3 Rb8 10.Bd2 a6 11.a3 b5 12.Rb1 b4
The engines prefer 12...Nd4, or 12...bxc4 13.dxc4 Nd4, in each case rating the position as level.
13.axb4 Nxb4 14.0-0 Bb7 15.Qa4!?
The engines reckon it is better to keep light-square bishops on the board by plonking a knight into d5.
15...Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Qb6 17.Ned5 Nbxd5?!
Protecting the e7 knight by retreating the queen to a7 or b7 is probably better. The problem with the text is that Black is left with a passive knight on e7 versus an active one on c3.
18.cxd5
Also good is 18.Nxd5 Nxd5 19.cxd5, when Black's a pawn may be weaker than White's b pawn, and White certainly has the better minor piece.
18...Qb7 19.e4 f5 20.f3 Nc8 21.Nd1?!
This may be too slow. Better seems to be 21.b3 or 21.Ra1!? One point about the latter is that 21...Qxb2 can be met by 22.Ra2 Qb7 23.Rb1, after which the a pawn will fall and White's pieces will be better placed than Black's for queenside play.
21...Qb3 22.Qxb3 Rxb3 23.Bc3 Bh6?!
I presume I played this to stop the white knight going via e3 to c4, but the coming action in the game is likely to be on the queenside, which makes 23...Nb6 more relevant. Perhaps I was worried about how I was going to defend the a pawn, but it is not a simple matter for White to build up against it, eg 23...Nb6 24.Ra1 Ra8 25.Ne3 Bh6 26.Nc2 a5!
24.Ra1 Rb6 25.Ra4 Na7 26.Nf2?!
Clearing the back rank so the king's rook can switch to the queenside, but the engines reckon better is 26.exf5!? gaxf5 27.f4 exf4 28.gxf4 Nb5 29.Rg1 (29.Ne3 also seems good), when suddenly it is Black's kingside, rather than queenside, under immediate pressure.
26...Nb5 27.Ba5 Rb7 28.Rfa1 Nd4 29.Bc3 Nc2 30.R1a2 Ne3+ 31.Kh3

How should Black proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
31...fxe4?!
Komodo10 gives 31...a5!? 32.Bd2 Bg5 33.exf5 Nd1!? 34.Nxd1 Bxd2, claiming Black has compensation for being a pawn down, although Stockfsih10 reckons White has a slight edge.
Stockfish10 gives 31...c4!? 32.Bd2 f4 33.dxc4 with a slight edge for White, although Komodo10 reckons Black has sufficient compensation for his pawn-minus.
However, neither line is forced, and the position is tricky.
32.Nxe4 Rb6 33.Bd2 Rxf3?
Better is 33...Ra8, although still good for White.
34.Rxa6 Rxa6 35.Rxa6 Nf5 36.Ra8+ Bf8?!
Probably better, but still deeply unpleasant, is 36...Kg7 37.Ra7+ Kf8 (this is best, according to the engines) 38.Kg4 Rxd3 39.Bxh6+ Nxh6 40.Kg5 Ng8 41.Rxh7 Ne7 42.Rh8+ Kg7 43.Re8 Nxd5 44.Re6, when the engines agree White is winning.
37.Ng5 Nd4?
Black loses the bishop.
38.Nxe3 1-0
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
My opening scheme seems to have been fine. But in the middlegame the grandmaster, thanks to his better positional understanding, generally knew better where to place his pieces, and from then on the game was always either better for White or at worst equal. The final collapse, when it came, came quickly.

Learn From The Greats (part two)

Spanton (2105) - Margeir Petursson (2550)
World Open (Philadelphia) 1994
Modern Defence
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3
I am rather surprised to find this is by far the most-popular choice in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
4...a6 5.a4
But here the most-popular move is 5.Qd2, when the idea is often to follow-up with Bh6 as soon as Black develops his king's knight.
5...Nc6
Not particularly popular in Mega20, but it turns out to be Stockfish10's pick.
6.Qd2 e5 7.dxe5!?
Not in Mega20, but it is Stockfish10's choice. 7.d5, which is liked by Komodo10, was played in four of the eight games to reach this point.
7...Nxe5 8.Bg5!?
Komodo10's choice. Stockfish10 likes 8.h3.
8...Bf6?!
This seems strange, and I am not surprised the engines much-prefer 8...Qd7 or 8...f6.
9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.f4 Nc6 11.Nf3 Bg4 12.Be2
The engines want White to go for it with 12.0-0-0.
12...Qe7 13.0-0
Now the engines prefer this to long castling.
13...0-0-0
The engines reckon White is better, but it is a difficult position to judge. I  think opposite-side castling, unless one side is clearly much better, has the practical effect of favouring the stronger player, who is more likely to make correct positional decisions about offence and defence.
14.Nd5!?
An interesting move that forces Black's reply
14...Nxd5
Not 14...Qe6?? 15.Ng5.
15.exd5 Nb8 16.Rfe1 Qf6 17.b4 Rde8

How should White proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
18.b5?!
This is Komodo10's second choice, but it allows Black to keep more lines closed on the queenside than would be the case if White played a5 before b5, although the immediate 18.a5!? runs into 18...Re4 with an unclear position.
The engines give 18.h3 Bxf3 19.Bxf3 Nd7 20.a5 with a small edge for White.
18...a5 19.b6!?
The engines dislike this at first, but come to quite like it if given enough time.
19...cxb6 20.Bb5 Rxe1+ 21.Rxe1 Bxf3 22.gxf3 Nd7 23.Bxd7+!?
This seems correct - White has a lot of pawns on the same-coloured squares as the bishop, and Black's knight would be unchallengeable on c5.
23...Kxd7 24.Qe3 Qd8 25.Rb1 Re8 26.Qxb6 Qxb6 27.Rxb6
White has got back the pawn back sacrificed on move 19, and exchanged off into a rook-and-pawn ending, but the pawn-structure means Black is much better.
27...Kc7 28.Rb5 Re2!?
Better may be 28...b6, eg 29.Kf2 (to stop the black rook invading) Kb7 30.Rb2 Rc8, when White must lose a pawn.
29.Rxa5 Rxc2
The engines prefer 29...Kb8, keeping the white rook away from a8 where it can support an advance of the a pawn as well as swoop along the back rank.
30.Ra8 Rc4 31.f5!?
This seems better than allowing ...Rxf4.
31...Rf4 32.fxg6 hxg6 33.Kf2 Kb6 34.Ke3
This is OK, but according to the engines White is fully equal after 34.a5+ Kc5 35.Kg3, eg 35...Rb4 36.Rf8 Kxd5 37.Rxf7.
34...g5
The engines reckon Black is slightly better after 34...Rb4 35.a5+ Kc5 36.Rf8 f5.
35.a5+ Kc5 36.a6?!
Almost certainly better is the engines' 36.Rb8 Rb4 37.Rf8 Kxd5 38.Rxf7.
36...bxa6 37.Rxa6 Rf5 38.Ra5+ Kc4 39.Ra4+ Kxd5 40.h4 Re5+ 41.Kd3 gxh4 42.Rxh4 Re1 43.Rh5+ Ke6 44.Rh6+ f6 45.Kd2 Ra1
Petursson said afterwards he did not know if this end were winning for Black, but he did know how to play it.
46.Ke3 Ra3+ 47.Kf4 Ra4+ 48.Ke3
The engines' somewhat counter-intuitive 48.Kg3! is better. If then, as in the game, 48...Ke5, White can play 49.Rh5+, meeting 49...f5 with 50.Rh8, when 50...f4+ 51.Kg4 seems completely equal. Black should probably instead play 48...d5, still with a slight edge.
48...Ke5 49.Rh8
The point is that now 49.Rh5+ f5 50.Rh8 f4+ drives the white king to the second rank, either immediately or after 51.Kd3 Ra3+.
49...Ra3+ 50.Ke2 f5 51.Re8+?
This drives the black king to where it wants to go, but White's game seems beyond saving anyway.
51...Kf4 52.Rd8 Re3+ 53.Kd2 Re6 54.Rf8 Re5 55.Rd8 d5 56.Kd3 Kxf3
Black has won a second pawn (0-1, 65 moves).
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
Simple moves can allow White to keep a slight edge against the Modern Defence. But the defence is naturally unbalancing and may easily allow Black to go for lines which, while objectively slightly inferior, require a lot of positonal understanding.
I probably mishandled White's queenside play, which should have been focused on opening lines. Instead I allowed Black to keep lines closed.
Black reached a rook-and-pawn ending in which he was much better. But the tricky nature of such endings is shown by the fact that the grandmaster allowed his opponent equalising chances, although these were not taken due to not fully understanding the nuances.

Learn From The Greats

EVERY game of chess is, to a greater or lesser extent, a learning process, and none more so than when facing grandmasterly opposition.
In this series I want to look at games where my opponent was a GM and still had a rating above 2500, the minimum level for getting the title from Fide in the first place.
Spanton (2105) - Bogdan Lalić (2520)
Sutton (South London) 1994
Scandinavian Defence
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Nc3!?
An unusual but not exactly rare line - there are more than 6,400 examples of this move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database. The position has added practical value in that it can be reached from Alekhine's Defence, ie 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5.
3...Nxd5 4.Bc4 e6
More popular are 4...c6 and especially 4...Nb6.
5.Qf3 c6 6.Nge2 Nd7 7.d4 N7f6 8.Bg5 Be7 9.0-0 0-0
Both players have castled, but White is ahead on development and has the only fourth-rank pawn. However, Black has a well-placed knight on d5, and no weaknesses. Stockfish10 reckons White has a slight edge, but for Komodo10 the position is equal.
10.Rad1 b6 11.Rfe1
11.Nf4!? was played in Marija Zvereva (2206) - Nikita Nikolaev (2319), St Petersburg White Nights 2001. That game continued 11..Nxf4?! (the engines much prefer 11...Nxc3 or 11...h6) 12.Bxf4 Bb7 13.Be5, when the engines like White, although Black went on to win.
11...Re8 12.Nf4 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6
Black has the long-term advantage of the bishop-pair, but has to be careful as he lags in development. Stockfish10 reckons White has the upper hand, but Komodo10 reckons White's advantage is slight (but still meaningful).
14.Nh5 Be7

How should White proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
15.Re4?!
Presumably I was hoping the rook would aid a kingside attack, but there is nowhere stable for the rook to go to on that part of the board.
The engines reckon 15.Ne4 keeps an edge for White.
15...g6 16.Nf4 Bf8 17.Rde1?!
Rooks generally do not do well in the middle of the board when there is still a lot of pieces. Safer was 17.Ree1.
17...Nf6!?
The engines' 17...Bb7, with unpleasant threats on the long diagonal, may well be better.
18.R4e3 Bd7?!
Black could probably have grabbed a pawn with 18...Qxd4!? as 19.Qxc6? Bd7 costs White a piece for a pawn. Instead the engines give 19.Nd3! Bg7 20.Ne5 Qd6 with an edge for Black.
Alternatively, Black could strengthen his kingside with 18...Bg7, rather than putting the light-square bishop on a pretty prospectless square.
19.Bd3?!
The engines prefer 19.Nd3, intending Ne5, or 19.Ne4 Nxe4 20.Qxe4, in each case with a small edge for White.
19...Bg7 20.Ne4 Rf8 21.c3 Nd5 22.R3e2 Rc8 23.Nd6 Rc7 24.Qg3?!
Black now gets an initiative.
Stockfish10 reckons 24.Nxd5 cxd5 25.Nb5 is equal. Komodo10 gives 24.Be4 Qe7 25.Nc4, again with equality, although Stockfish10 prefers Black.
24...Nxf4 25.Qxf4 c5 26.dxc5 Rxc5 27.Ne4!?
Bringing the loose-ish piece back onto White's side of the board. The engines prefer 27.Be4 Qc7 28.Rd2 Ra5, when the position has opened up a bit for Black's bishops, and White's pieces have coordination difficulties.
27...Rf5 28.Qe3 Bc6 29.Qd2?
Walking into a pin down the d file. Better is 29.Bc2, although the bishops give Black an edge.
29...Rd5 30.Re3?
This loses almost instantly. The engines give best-play as something like 30.Rd1 f5 31.Ng3 Qd7 32.Nf1 Bb5 33.Re3 f4 34.Rf3 Rd8 35.c4! Bxc4 36.Bxc4 Rxd2 37.Rxd2 Qe7 38.Rxd8+ Qxd8 39.Bxe6+, but Black has queen for rook and knight, and should win.
30...f5 31.Ng3 f4 0-1
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
The unusual opening was a success in that I got a pleasant, probably slightly favourable, position against a grandmaster by playing simple moves (the opening may look anaemic, but my score from the position after 4.Bc4 is +8=6-4).
But in the middlegame I mishandled my rooks by trying to use them prematurely, or at least in an inappropriate way. I then ceded the initiative, and lost quickly when I failed to anticipate Black's counterplay.
So the opening is worth consideration for future games. But rooks need to be held back in a crowded middlegame, and it is vitally important to take account of the opponent's plans and threats.

New Spice (part seven)

HERE is a way to spice up the Caro-Kann by effectively turning it into a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.f3!?
Spanton (2021)- Alan Ormsby (1995)
Isle Of Man 2003
4...e3?!
Accepting the gambit, which I will come to next, is overwhelmingly Black's most-popular choice in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
The text is Black's second-most common move, but if declining the gambit is what Black wants to do, it is almost certainly better to play 4...e5. This is sometimes cited as a refutation of White's fourth move, and is one of the reasons many whites prefer 4.Bc4!?, planning f3 on the next move.
After 4...e5, the main line runs 5.dxe5 (Milner-Barry preferred 5.Be3!?) Qxd1+ 6.Nxd1 exf3 7.Nxf3, with a position that may be better than is commonly supposed. Black's most-popular continuation in Mega20 is 7...Bc5, whereupon the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 continue 8.Bc4 Ne7 9.Be3 Bb6 10.Ng5 0-0 11.0-0 with what they reckon is a slight edge for White, presumably based on White's lead in development.
5.Bxe3 Bf5
Marginally more popular in Mega20 is 5...Nf6, but then 6.Bd3 leaves Black struggling to find a good square for his light-square bishop. That is by no means the end of the world, but the engines give White a slight edge.
6.Nge2
This was the choice of German international master René Stern - now a GM - when he had this position in 2001, but the engines reckon even stronger is 6.g4!? Bg6 7.Nge2.
6...h6 7.Ng3 Bh7 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3
White is better thanks to having four pieces developed to Black's none, and Black is yet to open a diagonal for his king's bishop (1-0, 93 moves).
**********
Accepting the gambit is much more popular.
Nicolas Bertrand (1923) - Laurent Picart (2170)
Fouesnant (France) 2009
4...exf3 5.Nxf3 Nf6
This is Black's most-flexible response, leaving open the question of where to develop the light-square bishop. It is also a direct transposition to the Ziegler Defence in the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
Most popular in Mega20 is 5...Bg4, when the engines want White to sac a second pawn with 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3!? Qxd4 8.Be3.
Then the normal continuation of 8...Qf6 9.Qg3 gives White at least full compensation (bishop-pair, lead in development, exposed black queen) for the pawns, according to the engines. So they suggest 8...Qh4+ 9.g3 Qf6, when White does not have the sidestep Qg3. The only game to reach this position in Mega20, Helmut Küspert (1948) - Hubertus Schulze (2096), Landesliga North 2006, saw 10.Qg4 Nd7 11.0-0-0 e6, when Black is surely better, and did go on to win, but the position is tricky to play for Black.
Although Komodo10 likes 6.h3, Stockfish10 comes to reckon calmer play with 6.Be3 or 6.Bd3 is better. After the latter, Black can still win a second pawn by 6...Bxf3?! 7.Qxf3 Qxd4, but Bd3 is a much-more useful move for White than h3, and the engines reckon White gets an advantage with 8.Bf4.
6.Bc4
Gary Lane's recommendation in his 1995 Batsford book Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
The engines prefer 6.Bd3 (the game reached the position with 6.Bc4 in a slightly different move-order, so 6.Bd3 was not an option), but since Black has not moved his e pawn, 6...g6 seems to be a good answer, as does the more-popular 6...Bg4, although in both cases White has some compensation for the pawn in the shape of a lead in development and useful half-open files.
6...e6
Black's most-popular reply in Mega20, but there is a lot to be said for first developing Black's light-square bishop. This is best done by 6...Bf5, which warrants consideration in a separate game.
Note, however, that 6...Bg4?, as played in 44 games in Mega20, is embarrassing if White finds 7.Bxf7+! etc.
7.0-0 Be7 8.Qe1
White is not being subtle about which part of the board he will attack on, but Black is more-or-less committed to castling short as his queenside is completely undeveloped.
8...0-0 9.Bg5
The engines suggest an interesting apparent-novelty, 9.Ne4!?, eg 9...Nbd7 10.Bd3 Nxe4?! 11.Qxe4 Nf6 12.Qh4 with advantage. Probably better in this line is Stockfish10's 10...c5 11.Nxf6+ Nxf6 12.Qh4, but with strong kingside pressure for White.
9...Nbd7 10.Qh4!?
Stockfish10 prefers 10.Bd3!?, although Lane calls that "a Teichmann Defence [1.d4 d5. 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4] where White has lost time by moving the king's bishop twice."
10...Re8
This comes to be Stockfish10's choice, but Komodo10 prefers 10...h6, although then Stockfish10 gives 11.Bd3 Re8 12.Bxh6! gxh6 13.Ne5 Bf8 14.Rf3 Bg7 15.Rg3, when Black seems forced to give back his extra piece by 15...Ne4. After 16.Qxe4, Black keeps in the game with 16...f5, but White is better.

How should White proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
11.Bd3?!
Probably better is the typical BDG move, 11.Ne5. White may have feared the exchanges that seem forced after 11...Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd7, but Stockfish10 gives 13.Bd3 Nf8 14.Bf6!, which it reckons is winning, eg 14...gxf6 15.exf6 Ng6 16.Bxg6 hxg6 17.Ne4!. Komodo10 suggests 14...Bd7, and after 15.Ne4 it gives 15...b5, but 16.Qh5! wins, eg 16...Bxf6 17.Nxf6+! gxf6 18.exf6 etc. A fantastic line, but very typical of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
11...Nf8
The engines suggest 11...h6, but then Stockfish10 finds 12.Bxh6! gxh6 13.Ne5 with similar play to the note at Black's 10th move.
12.Ne5 Ng6
This is best, according to the engines, but after …
13.Bxg6 hxg6?
… Black is lost. He had to play 13...fxg6, although White has a big initiative for his pawn after both 14.Rf3 and 14.Rad1.
14.Rf3 Nh7
There is no satisfactory defence.
15.Rh3 Bxg5 16.Qxh7+ Kf8 17.Qh8+ Ke7 18.Qxg7 1-0
After 18...Qxd4+ 19.Kh1 Rf8 comes 20.Nxg6+.
**********
Although 6...e6 is the most-popular move in Mega20, Lane treats 6...Bf5 as the main line, and that move is preferred by the engines.
Spanton (2004) - Richard Almond (2158)
Isle Of Man 2004
7.0-0 e6 8.Ne5
This threatens 9.Nxf7!

How should Black proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
8...Bg6
The tempting 8...Bxc2?! is probably less good, as was shown by future IM Gerard Welling in a 1981 game, where he found 9.Nxf7! After 9...Kxf7 Welling played 10.Qg4?!, which was thought strong, but that verdict seems to have been reversed by the game Ian Webster (2116) - Michael Compston (1835), 4NCL (Telford) 2005, where Black's 10...Qd6! was instantly winning, according to the engines. The game continued 11.Bg5 Nbd7 12.Rae1 Re8, when it is hard to see what, if anything, White has for his sacrificed knight and pawn (0-1, 48 moves). However, Welling's concept still works, but with the follow-up 10.Qxc2!, which was played in Steven G Burke (2055) - Ian G Gallagher (2005), 4NCL (Sunningdale) 2007. The game continued 10...Qxd4+, upon which White unleashed 11.Be3!! The game saw 11...Qxc4 12.Rf4!, trapping the queen (if 12...Qa6, then 13.Ra4). Materially, Black is not badly off, but his lack of development and weak e pawn give White a large advantage, according to the engines (but 0-1, 57 moves).
Going back to the position after 9.Nxf7!, Black can try 9...Bxd1 10.Nxd8 Kxd8, but after 11.Rxd1, White's bishop-pair and Black's weak e pawn give White good compensation for his pawn-minus.
9.Be3
If you give the engines enough time, Stockfish10 settles on a novelty, or at least a move that is not in Mega20, viz 9.Nxg6!? The move also comes to be Komodo10's second choice - just 0.02 of a pawn behind 9.Bf4.
The idea, at least as I understand it, is that White will not go for a quick tactical knockout, as is often White's aim in the BDG. Instead White will rely on the bishop-pair and better pawn-structure to create long-term compensation. I am sympathetic to this, as will become clear, but there is no need to commit to it this early.
Instead I have gone for the developing 9.Be3, which for a long time is Komodo10's top choice, and is second in popularity in Mega20 to 9.Bg5.
9...Nbd7
As Black can capture on e5, now is the time to implement Stockfish10's idea:
10.Nxg6 hxg6
After the further moves ...
11.Qf3 Be7
… we have reached a position I wish to elaborate on. The game Spanton - Almond got here via a slightly different move-order, but I have used the move-order that arises from the Caro-Kann.
Lane says of the Ziegler Defence: "This line is a popular and important method of defence. It involves a pawn-formation similar to the Caro-Kann and has a sound reputation."
I would add that it is particularly effective when Black avoids the popular 6...e6 and instead develops his light-square bishop outside the pawn-chain. This is reflected in White scoring a healthy 54% after 6...e6, but just 33% after 6...Bf5.
The stats and the engines' assessments add up to the fact that Black has a good position that cannot realistically be blown away.
That is why I believe, if Black gets as far as the position after 9...Nbd7, and it requires some precise choices along the way, White should take the bishop-pair and settle in for the long-term.
I think this game is a reasonable example of how that can pan out in actual play.
12.Ne4
I see from my original notes that I realised, pretty soon after the game, that completing development with 12.Rae1 or 12.Rad1 is more logical, and the engines agree, although I also see Crafty19.01 preferred the text.
12...Nb6
It was too much to hope for 12...Nxe4?? 13.Qxf7# (but I did hope for it!).
13.Bb3
White loses the bishop-pair after 13.Bd3?! Nbd5 14.Bf2 Nb4.
13...Nbd5 14.Bf2
Komodo10, which I believe has a more positional feel than Stockfish10, which is usually better at finding deep combinations, likes the text. Stockfish10 prefers 14.Ng5?! Nxe3 15.Qxe3, when maybe the opposite-coloured bishops would give hope of drawing chances, but it would be a bleak position to play as White.
14...Nxe4!?
This is the engines' choice, but exchanging a pair of knights makes it less likely White will forfeit the bishop-pair.
15.Qxe4 Bd6 16.g3!?
I felt 16.h3 left White very weak on kingside dark squares, as well as setting up a possible sac on h3. The text also denies Black's pieces use of the f4 square.
16...Qg5 17.h4!?
I gave this an exclamation mark when I first wrote up the game, but today's engines are not overly impressed, preferring 17.Qf3 or 17.Rae1.
17...Qe7
Black could seek an exchange of queens with 17...Qf5, but such an exchange normally enhances the power of the bishops because they become the only pieces with long-range diagonal movement. There is also the point that in this specific position, White's king looks the more vulnerable, which is a reason to keep queens on the board.
18.c4 Nf6 19.Qf3 0-0
This is Komodo10's choice, but Stockfish10 prefers 19...0-0-0. From a practical view, long castling offers White more chances of counterplay.
20.g4?
I apparently played this to prevent ...Nh5, but getting on with development with 20.Rae1 is better.
20...Bc7
Preparing a bishop-queen battery on the b8-h2 diagonal.
21.Kg2 Qd6 22.Rh1 b5
The engines prefer a developing move such as 22...Rad8.
23.Rac1 Qf4?!
The engines reckon Black keeps a bigger edge with 23...bxc4 or 23...a5.
24.cxb5 cxb5 25.Rc5 a6 26.Qxf4 Bxf4 27.Kf3 Bd2
Or 27...Bd6 28.Rc6, when again Black's bishop is short of good squares.
28.Rd1
The engines reckon 28.g5 equalises, eg 28...Nd5 29.Bxd5 exd5 30.Rxd5 f6 31.gxf6 Rxf6+ 32.Ke2 Raf8 33.Bg3 Bh6, when White's better pawn-structure presumably cancels out Black's piece-activity and better coordination.
28...Bb4 29.Rc6 Rfd8
If 29...Rfc8, then 30.Rdc1, when 30...Rxc6 31.Rxc6 leaves Black with a horribly passive queen's rook. Therefore 30...Rd8 is better, in which case it is better to play it at move 29, as in the game.
30.Rdc1 Nd5 31.a3 Bf8 32.Ke4
White can equalise by giving up the bishop-pair, according to the engines, ie 32.Bxd5!? Rxd5 33.Rc8.
32...Ne7 33.R6c2 Rac8?!
Black contests the open file and is happy if the rooks come off as that gets him into an ending a pawn up, but it would also enhance the power of the bishops as, with rooks off, White will be 2-1 up on long-range pieces.
The engines reckon Black keeps an edge with 33...a5.
34.Bg3
Also good is 34.Rxc8.
34...Rxc2
This is fine, but after …
35.Rxc2
… Black should probably play 35...Nd5, when 36.Bxd5 Rxd5 37.Rc6 gives White full compensation for his missing pawn, according to the engines.
Instead the game saw …
35...Rc8?! 36.Rxc8 Nxc8 37.d5
… when more lines open for the bishops.
37...f5+?!
Better, according to the engines, is 37...exd5+ 38.Kxd5 Ne7!, when the white king cannot safely advance. My old Crafty19.01 thought the game would be equal, while whatever version of Fritz I had at the time gave Black a slight edge. But my modern engines prefer White, one line running 39.Ke4 Nc6 40.g5 Ne7 41.Bf4 Nf5 42.h5 Ne7 43.hxg6 Nxg6 44.Bd2, when Black's queenside looks vulnerable, but the position is unclear.
38.Kf3
After 38.gxf5? exf5+ 39.Kd4, Black has a protected passed pawn and activates his king with 39...Kf7, which the engines reckon makes Black slightly better.
38...Kf7?!
Black faced a tricky decision, but this is probably not the right answer.
The engines suggest 38...Be7 39.dxe6 Kf8, but then White has restored material equality while keeping the bishop-pair.
If 38...fxg4+ 39.Kxg4 exd5, the black king is sidelined by 40.Bxd5+ Kh7. But if instead 39...Kf7, then 40.dxe6+ again restores material equality while keeping the bishops.
39.dxe6+ Ke7
I thought 39...Kf6!? might be better as, although 40.g5+ drives the black king to e7 anyway, Black gets a protected passed pawn. But the engines prefer 40.Bc1, eg 40...g5 41.Bc3+ Kg6 42.h5+ with a large advantage. If Black meets 40.Bc1 with 40...Nd6, then the engines like 41.g5+ Ke7 42.Bd5 with massive coordination problems for Black.
40.Be5 Nb6
The engines suggest 40...Nd6 41.gxf5 Nxf5, but then comes 42.Kg4 with Kg5 to follow.
41.Bd4 Nc8
If 41...Nc4, then 42.Bxc4 bxc4 43.Bc5+ brings a winning pawn-ending.
42.gxf5 gxf5 43.Kf4 Kd6
Or 43...g6 44.Kg5.
44.Kxf5 Ne7+ 45.Ke4 Ng6
Enticing the h pawn forward does not help, but Black is lost anyway.
46.h5 Ne7 47.Bc3 Kc6
Or 47...Nc6 48.Bd5 Ne7 and 49.Bb4+ or 49.Be5+.
48.Ke5 Kc7 49.Bd5 Nc8 50.Ba5+ Kb8 51.Bb4 Ne7
Perhaps 51...Bxb4!? 52.axb4 Kc7 was worth a try, but then the quickest win, according to the engines, comes from 52.e7! Nxe7 53.Ke6 as 53...Nxd5 54.Kxd5 Kd7 loses to 55.Kc5 (but not 55.b3? Ke7) Kc7 56.b3 etc.
52.Bxe7!
Bringing about opposite-coloured bishops, but this is the clearest way to win.
52...Bxe7 53.Kf5 Kc7
Or 53...Bf6 54.h6 Bxb2 55.e7.
54.Kg6 Kd6 55.Ba2 a5 56.Kxg7 Bg5 57.Kf7 b4 58.axb4 axb4 59.h6 Bxh6 60.e7 1-0
This game illustrates how tricky it can be to play against a bishop-pair, even with a small material advantage (in this case an extra-but-doubled pawn).
**********
CONCLUSIONS
Ending up in a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit will come as an unpleasant surprise for many Caro-Kann players. Even more so if they in their games as Black against 1.d4, they usually reply with something other than 1...d5 (so ruling out a pure BDG).
And if they do happen to meet 1.d4 with 1...d5, and so by necessity have a line ready for the BDG, it may not be the Ziegler Defence with an early ...c6.
All in all, White has a good chance with 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.f3!? of getting the opponent on unfamiliar ground.