Champion Repertoire (part eight)

A REPERTOIRE based on the games of Mikhail Tal, who was world champion from 1960-61, will suit attacking players who love studying sharp mainline theory.
White
Start with 1.e4, aiming to play open lines of the Sicilian: 1...c5.
After 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3, Tal scored 74% against 5...a6 with 6.Bg5, 79% against 5...Nc6 with 6.Bg5, 81% against 5...e6 with 6.Be2 and 72% against 5...g6 with 6.Be3.
Against 2...Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 he scored 71% with 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5.
Against 2...e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 he scored 74% with 5.Nc3, and against 4...Nc6 he scored 69% with 5.Nc3, rising to 83% when he met 5...Qc7 with 6.Be3.
He was happy going down the main line of the Spanish: 1...e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3, usually meeting 7...d6 with 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 and 7...0-0 with 8.c3 d6 9.h3, scoring 68%.
He met the Marshall Attack: 7...0-0 8.c3 d5 with the main line 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5, but after 11...c6 he played both 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3, scoring 67%, and 12.Bxd5 cxd5 13.d4 Bd6 14.Re3, scoring 63%.
In the main line of the Open Defence: 5...Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 he scored 64% with 9.c3.
Against the Steinitz Deferred: 4...d6 Tal scored 85% with 5.0-0.
Against the Berlin: 3...Nf6 he scored 72% with 4.0-0, happily entering the main line of what is now known as the Berlin Wall: 4...Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nxf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3. Tal's opponents more often played 5...Be7, against which he had disappointing results the five times he played the main move 6.Qe2, scoring just 50% in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, but scoring a win and a draw when he refined this with the line 6.dxe5 0-0 7.Qe2.
Tal met other third moves in the Spanish too infrequently to give a repertoire recommendation.
Against the Petrov: 2...Nf6 he scored 64% with the main line 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3.
Tal met the Philidor: 2...d6 three times, scoring two wins and a draw with 3.d4.
Against the French: 1...e6 2.d4 d5 he played the Tarrasch: 3.Nd2 marginally more often than the Winawer: 3.Nc3.
The vast majority of Tal's opponents replied to 3.Nd2 with 3...c5, when Tal scored 73% with 4.Ngf3.
The main reply to this in his games was 4...Nc6, when he scored 79% in the seven games he played 5.Bb5 and in the seven when he played 5.exd5.
Today 4...cxd4 is probably more popular. Tal always played the main line, 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.Bc4 Qd6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Nb3 Nc6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4, although he only scored 50% with it, albeit against top-class opposition.
Against 3...Nf6 Tal scored 92% with 4.e5 Nfd7 5.c3 c5 6.Bd3 (White's last two moves were often reversed) Nc6 7.Ne2.
Tal met other third moves in the French Tarrasch too infrequently to give a repertoire recommendation.
Against the Caro-Kann: 1...c6 Tal scored a stupendous 95% with 2.c4!? Most opponents replied 2...d5, against which he usually transposed into a Panov Attack with 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6, scoring 71% with 5.Nc3. A handful of opponents replied 2...e5, which Tal beat whether he continued 3.d4!? or 3.Nf3.
Against the Pirc: 1...d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 Tal scored 88% with the Austrian Attack: 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3.
Against Alekhine's Defence 1...Nf6 he generally went for a modest centre with 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3, scoring 63%.
Tal rarely faced the Scandinavian: 1...d5, but on two of the three times he reached the position after 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Nxd5 he preferred what is now the fashionable 4.Nf3!? to the main move 4.c4.
Black v 1.e4
Aim for a Sicilian Najdorf: 1...c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6, with which Tal scored 65%.
Against 6.Bg5 Tal's most-common response was 6...e6 7.f4 Qb6, when White usually sacrifices a pawn with 8.Qd2 Qxb2, or plays 8.Nb3 and castles long. Either way, both players need to know a fair bit of theory.
Against 6.Be2 Tal scored 62% with 6...e5, usually continuing 7.Nb3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0.
Against 6.Bc4 he scored 70% with 6...e6 7.Bb3 b5.
Against 6.f4 he liked 6...e6, meeting today's favourite, 7.Qf3, with 7...Qb6 8.Nb3 Qc7.
The moves 6.Be3 and 6.g3 were rare birds in Tal's day but, as against 6.f4, he preferred 6...e6 to the 'Najdorf move' 6...e5.
Tal faced 6.a4 twice, winning both times with 6...Nc6.
He usually met 4.Qxd4 with an immediate 4...Nc6, and he scored 77% by meeting 3.Bb5+ with 3...Bd7.
Against 2.Nc3 Tal scored 78% with 2...Nc6, meeting both 3.g3 and 3.f4 with 3...g6.
He varied his replies against 2.c3 but scored an impressive 75% with 2...d5.
Black v 1.d4 and Others
After 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Tal scored just 49% with his most-common choice 3...Bb4 but 65% with 3...c5. The latter games usually continued 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6, a position Tal often reached via the move-order 2...c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6.
Tal twice faced the main line 6.e4 g6 7.f4 Bg7 8.Bb5+, scoring a win and a draw with 8...Nfd7.
Much more popular in his games was 7.Nf3, a position often reached via the move-order 6.Nf3 g6 7.e4. After the main continuation, 7...g6 8.Be2 0-0 9.0-0 Re8 10.Nd2, Tal scored 78% with 10...Na6.
Against 3.Nf3 Tal scored just 51% with his most-common choice 3...d5 but 70% with 3...c5.
In the main line after the latter, 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5, Tal scored 75% with the slightly unusual 5...g6 6.Nc3 Bg7. It was only after 7.e4 that he at last played 7...d6, transposing to a position I have already covered.
There seems no good way for White to exploit the delay in playing ...d6 - none of Tal's opponents pushed the d pawn to d6, presumably fearing the pawn would be weak in the long run - so perhaps the main effect of delaying ...d6 is to gain time on the clock.
Against 3.g3 Tal scored 75% with 3...c5, rising to 80% in the main line 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6. If White declined to push the pawn, instead opting for 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4, Tal scored 70% by taking over the centre with 5...d5 6.Bg2 (6.cxd5?! Qxd5) e5.
Against 2.Nf3 Tal scored 68% with the immediate 2...c5.
He only faced the Trompowsky 2.Bg5 three times, winning both games in which he replied 2...e6.
Against the English: 1.c4 Tal scored best (64%) with 1...e5. All his opponents continued 2.Nc3, which Tal usually met with 2...Nf6, scoring 67% with 3,g3 Bb4 and 87% with 3.Nf3 d6.
Against 1.Nf3 Tal usually replied 1...Nf6, scoring 63% with 2.c4 c5 and 89% with 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7.

Tal won the 1959 Candidates' Tournament in large part thanks to beating Bobby Fischer in all four of their games. Here is the shortest.
Fischer - Tal
Candidates' (Yugoslavia) 1959, Round 13
Sicilian Sozin
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4
White has a big choice at move six, but the text was very much a Fischer speciality.
6...e6 7.Bb3
This may well look strange to anyone not au fait with the Sozin Variation but it is the main move, the point being to stop ...b5 coming with tempo.
7...Be7
Fourteen(!) rounds later Tal against the same opponent preferred 7...b5.
8.f4 0-0 9.f3 Qc7 10.0-0
Both players will probably have known a game played the previous year, Khana Muchnik - Lev Polugaevsky, USSR Championship Semi-Final (Baku), that was agreed drawn after 10.f5 Nc6 11.Be3 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.0-0-0 b4 14.Na4 Rb8 15.fxe6 fxe6.
10...b5 11.f5!?
This may be premature. The analysis engines Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01 reckon White should take time out to counter Black's queenside expansion by playing 11.a3!?, but that seems slow.
11...b4 12.Na4

How should Black proceed?

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12...e5!
This opens the b3-f7 diagonal but gains a bigger foothold in the centre and stops White opening the f file.
13.Ne2 Bb7 14.Ng3 Nbd7 15.Be3 Bc6 16.Bf2
Preparing a defence of e4.
16.Qb7 17.Rfe1 d5
An old rule-of-thumb has it that when Black can successfully play ...d5 in the Sicilian he has at least equalised. Certainly the engines reckon Black is much better.
18.exd5 Nxd5 19.Ne4 Nf4 20.c4 g6 21.fxg6 f5!?
Also strong is the simple 21...hxg6.
22.g7
22.gxh7+ Kh8.
22...Kxg7 23.Qg3+ Kh8 24.Nec5 Nxc5 25.Bxc5 Bxc5+ 26.Nxc5 Qc7
The smoke has cleared and material is level, but White is busted. Black's minor pieces are more active than White's and the apparent weakness of the black king is illusory.
27.Qe3 Rae8!
This is much stronger than 27...Nxg2?! 28.Qxe5+ Qxe5 29.Rxe5.
28.Re2
This is tantamount to resigning but hopeless for White is 28.g3 Nh3+ 29.Kf1 f4.
The game finished:
28...Nxe2+ 29.Qxe2 Bxg2 30.Nxa6 Qa7+ 31.Kxg2 Rg8+ 32.Kh3 Qg7 33.Bd1 Re6 0-1

Biel Concluded

MY final score of +4=1-4 in the Biel Special Corona Amateur Tournament saw me lose 23.6 Fide elo. This should see my August rating come out as 1831 - my lowest since July 2017.
I know what the problem is. The question is whether, like Alekhine, I am capable of implementing the solution.

Morphing The French XV

MY latest attempt to play against the French Defence in the style of Paul Morphy came today when I faced a French junior in the ninth and final round of the Biel Special Corona Amateur Tournament.
Spanton (1855) - Leopold Adrian (2061)
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Bd3
The main move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database is breaking the pin by 5.. Be2.
5...Nc6 6.c3 
This is hardly emphasising development à la Morphy. Perhaps more in Morphy's style is 6.Be3, and if 6...Nb4 7.Be2 Bf5 then 8.Na3 with c3 to come with tempo.
6...Bd6 7.O-O Nge7 8.Re1 Qd7 9.Nbd2 O-O-O
The classic French Defence player's answer to the Exchange Variation - castle on opposite wings.
10.b4 Rde8 11.Nb3 Nf5
Several grandmaster games have seen 11...Ng6 12.Be3 Nh4 13.Be2 with equal chances, according to the analysis engines Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01.
12.Be3 f6 13.Nc5!?
The engines do not like this, preferring 13.b5 (and, come to that, 11.b5).
13...Bxc5 14.bxc5
I rejected 14.dxc5 because it surrenders control of the e5 square.
14...Na5!?
The engines reckon Black has a pleasant advantage after 14...Nh4 15.Be2 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 Nxf3+ 17.Qxf3. Certainly Black has the better minor piece and the better pawn structure.
15.h3 Nxe3 16.Rxe3 Rxe3 17.fxe3 Bf5 18.Nh4 Be4 19.Qf1 Re8 20.Bb5!?
Trying to induce ...c6 so as to weaken the d6 square.
20...c6 21 Bd3 Nc4
The engines prefer the initiative Black gets after 21...Bxd3!? 22.Qxd3 Re4.
22.Bxc4 dxc4 23.Re1
23.Qxc4?! g5 24.Nf3 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Qxh3 is not the end of the world for White, but is easier for Black to play.
23...Bd3 24.Qf2 b6!
Black gets rid of the potential White outpost at d6.
25.cxb6 axb6 26.Nf3 Kb7 27.Kh1?!
Played with the vague intention of letting the knight use g1. But the knight has no real future doing that as, for example, Ng1-e2-f4 can easily be stopped by, or met with, ...g5, which Black probably
wants to play anyway to open lines to the white king.
27...Qf5 28.Qg3 g5 29.Qd6 h5 30.d5?!
Offering a pawn in return for the d4 square, but it does not seem to work if Black refuses the offer.
30...Qxd5
White gets a dangerous initiative after 30...cxd5? 31.Nd4.
31.Qxf6
Unfortunately 31.Qxd5 cxd5 32.Nd4 does not give White enough compensation for a pawn now that queens are off.
31...g4!
Black's turn to offer a pawn for attacking chances.
32.hxg4 hxg4 33.Qg7+ Ka6 34.Qxg4 Be4 35.Ng5!
Offering the pawn back in return for breaking the attack. The main alternative, according to the engines, is 35.Qf4, but Black has lots of play after 35...Qd3 or 35...Qa5.
35... Bxg2+?
Taking the pawn the 'clever' way, but much stronger is 35...Qd2, when White has too much hanging, eg 36.Rd1 runs into 36...Rh8+ 37.Nh3 (not 37.Kg1?? 37...Qxe3+ 38.Kf1 Rh1#) Rxh3+ 38.Qxh3 Qxd1+.
36. Qxg2 Rh8+!
The engines reckon equally good is 36...Qxg2+ 37.Kxg2 Rg8, but then White has a passed pawn.
37.Kg1 Rg8
Whereas now White is obliged to undouble Black's c pawns.
38.Qxd5 cxd5 39.Kf2 Rxg5 40.e4 dxe4 41.Rxe4 b5 42.Re8 Rh5 43.Ke3 Rh3+ 44.Kd2
Rh1 45.Re1 Rh2+
45...Rxe1 46.Kxe1 Ka5 47.Kd2 Ka4 48.Kc2 Ka3 49.Kb1 is a simple draw.
46.Re2 Rh1 47.Re1 Rh5 48.Re2 Kb6 49.Kc2 Kc5 50.Rd2 Rh3 51.Kb2 Rh5 52.Kc2 Rg5 53.Kb2 Rd5 54.Kc2
I thought 54.Rxd5+ Kxd5 55.Kc2 Ke4 56.Kd2 Kf3 57.Kd1 Ke3 58.Kc2 Ke2 looked lost for White as the white king is getting shouldered out of the way, eg Black wins after 59.Kc1 Kd3 60.Kb2 b4 etc. What I missed is that White draws with stalemate after 59. Kb2! Kd3 60.Ka3 Kxc3.
54...Rf5 55.Kb2 b4
The only way to try to make progress.
56.cxb4+ Kxb4 57.a3+ Kc5 58.Rc2 Rf3 59.Rc3 Rf2+ 60.Rc2 Rf8 61.Rd2 Rf3 62.Rd8 Rh3 63.Rc8+ Kd4 64. Rd8+ Ke4 65.Rc8 Kd3 66.Rd8+ Ke2 67.Re8+ Kd2 68.Rc8 c3+ 69.Ka2 Rd3 70.Kb1 Rd7

Black has definitely made progress. Although the position is still drawn, White is faced with making a series of only-moves.

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71.a4 Rb7+
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72.Ka2 c2
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73.Rd8+ Kc1
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74.Rc8 Rb1
After four only-moves, White now has two moves that draw - I failed to find either.
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75.Rc7?
According to the engines, 75.a5 and 75.Ka3 keep the position dead-equal, the point after 75.Ka3 being that 75...Kd2 76.a5 c1=Q+ 77.Rxc1 Kxc1 78.Ka4 is a draw as Black has to give up his rook to
stop the white pawn. I try the same idea in the game, but too late.
75...Kd2 76.a5
Black wins easily after 76.Rd7+ Ke3 77.Re7+ Kd4 78.Rd7+ Ke5.
76...c1=Q 77.Rxc1 Kxc1 78.Ka3 Kc2 79.Ka4 Kc3 80.a6 Kc4 81.Ka5 Kc5 0-1

Swiss Farce

Black to play and lose in Marc Norden (1690) - Spanton (1855), Biel Special Corona Amateur Tournament Round 8

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I had been a pawn up for much of the game, but my Dutch opponent had the bishop-pair and pressure. He was able to swop off into a late-middlegame/ending of a pair of rooks and opposite-coloured bishops.
I was able to get a pair of rooks off and thought (correctly) I had decent chances of pushing for a win. But I badly misplayed it and ended up having to sac a pawn to prevent myself losing on the kingside, and then had to force an exchange of the final pair of rooks to make the position a dead draw.
But I was determined to create winning chances, and I did, but not for me ...
55...h5??
I now expected 56.gxh6 Kxf6 57.Bc7 g5, hoping to somehow magic a win.
Can you see, as I saw after making my 55th move,  what is wrong with this sequence?
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56.gxh6 Kxf6 57.Bd4+
There have been no handshakes at the chess festival, for obvious reasons, but I now held out my hand. However, before I could get out my resignation (57...Kf7 loses to 58.h7), MN said words to the effect of: "Yes, it's been drawn for a long time - you cannot make progress. It's a draw." I was so stunned I cannot recall my exact words, but instead of just accepting his implicit draw offer, I said something like: "You are offering a draw?" And he repeated that there was nothing left in the position, so we agreed a draw and signed the scoresheets.
We had enjoyed quite a friendly chat before the game, and now MN suggested going for a drink. I plucked up the courage to show him White's win, which he took with good grace (perhaps because he had already gained 43.4 Fide elo before today's round), and I offered to pay for the drinks.
Over a beer at a nearby bar, MN revealed the secret of his success at Biel. He reckoned he would never have normally come here, but did so and was by himself rather than with a group, so the drink I bought him was his first of the festival. Normally, he explained, he would have enjoyed some serious socialising.
At the back of my mind a little voice is saying: "You held out your hand to resign - that should have counted, so the result should be 1-0 rather than ½–½." My reply is that my opponent did not accept my resignation, so a draw is fair enough. I am not sure whom to believe.

What Do Grandmasters Do On A Rest Day?

DRINK wine and play crazy special-needs golf, judging by these official photos from Biel: https://www.flickr.com/photos/143150736@N02/albums/72157715263241828

A Few Random Pix

EVEN away from the old town, Biel/Bienne has plenty to admire.

Biel Corona Round Seven

FACED a Frenchman in round seven of the Biel Special Corona Amateur Tournament this afternoon.
Spanton (1855) - Philippe Emmenecker (2100)
Spanish Classical
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5
In effect we have a battle of the Mediterranean - Black plays an Italian set-up against White's Spanish opening.
4.c3 Nf6 5.d3
More popular are 5.0-0 and 5.d4, but the text has also been played by top grandmasters.
5...0-0 6.Be3!?
White can grab a pawn with 6.Bxc6 bxc6 7.Nxe5, but Black gets lots of counterplay with 7...d5, one point being that the greedy 8.Nxc6?! runs into 8...Qe8, as demonstrated by Adolf Anderssen in 1865. The main move is 6.0-0.
6...Bxe3 7.fxe3 d6 8.0-0 Ne7 9.Nbd2 c6 10.Ba4 Ng6
Black forks two pawns after 10...Qb6, but White can reply 11.Nc4 or, as suggested by Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01, 11.d4, the point being Black's queen gets trapped after 11...Qxb2? 12.Nc4 Qxc3 13.Rc1 Qb4 14.a3.
11.Qe1 b5 12.Bb3 Qb6 13.Kh1
Not 13.Qe2? Nf4.
13...a5 14.a3 Ng4 15.d4 a4 16.Ba2 c5 17.h3 Nf6

How should White proceed?

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18.dxe5?!
Trying to keep my pieces active, but the engines prefer 18.Nh4, which I rejected because of 18...cxd4 19.Nxg6 hxg6 20.exd4 exd4 etc, but then White has 21.Qg3! with strong play. Note that Black cannot play 18...Nxh4 19.Qxh4 cxd4 20.exd4 exd4? as White replies 21.Rxf6! gxf6 22.Rf1! with what seems a winning attack.
18...dxe5 19.Nh4?!
During the game I regretted not playing 19.Rd1?!, but the engines reckon that is too slow, eg 19...Bb7 20.Bb1 c4, when White is very passive. Best is probably 19.Bd5.
19...Bb7 20.Nxg6 hxg6 21.Qg3 Rad8!
A strong move - both engines reckon Black is winning.
22.Qf2
I rejected 22.Rad1 because of 22...Rxd2!? 23.Rxd2 Nxe4, missing 24.Qxe5 Nxd2 25.Bxf7+ Kxf7 26.Qe8+ Kh7 27.Rxf7, which the engines reckon is equal after 27...Qc6 28.Qxc6 Bxc6 29.Rc7. However the engines also reckon the calm 22...Rd6 keeps a winning advantage for Black.
22...Rxd2?
This throws away most if not all of Black's advantage, which is maintained by a move such as 22...c4 followed by building up on the d file.
23.Qxd2 Nxe4
The engines find it difficult to decide if the text or 23...Bxe4 or 23...c4 is best. Given plenty of time, Stockfish11 settles on the text while Komodo11.01 prefers 23...c4.
24.Qe1 Qc6
And here they are hard-pressed to choose between the text and 24...c4.
25.Rf3?
The engines reckon the position is dead-equal after 25.Rg1 or 25.Rd1!? For some reason I did not consider the latter, and I do not think 25.Rd1!? seriously occurred to me as I feared 25...Nxc3?, missing that this loses to 26.Bxf7+! Rxf7 27.Rd8+.
25...g5
Not 25...Ng5 26.Rg3 Nxh3? as White simply replies with a move such as 27.Qf1, after which the knight is lost. But the engines' 25...c4!? seems strong, eg 26.Rd1 Nc5 27.Bb1 e4.
26.Rd1 c4 27.Bb1 g4 28.Bxe4
Komodo11.01 reckons 28.hxg4 Qh6+ 29.Kg1 (not 29.Rh3 Nf2+!) Ng5 30.Rg3 gives White a tiny edge, but Stockfish11.01 rates the position as exactly level.
28...Qxe4 29.hxg4 Qh7+ 30.Kg1 Bxf3 31.gxf3 e4!
The best try, putting pressure on the white position.
32.f4 Qh3 33.g5!?
This may be OK but simpler is 33.Qe2 Qg3+ 34.Kf1 (but not 34.Kh1?? as the h file is too dangerous for the white king after 34...g6 etc).
33...Qg4+ 34.Kh1??
Drawing is 34.Kf2 and probably 34.Kf1!?
34...Qh5+??
The engines give 34...Kh7, eg 35.Rd2 Kg6 36.Rg2 (if 36.Rh2 then 36...Rd8) Qf3 37.Kg1 Rd8 38.Qe2 Rd1+ 39.Kh2 Kf5 40.Qxf3 (otherwise Black plays ...Rd3 and ...Rxf3) exf3 41.Rf2 Kg4 and wins.
35.Kg1?
White is equal after 35.Kg2.
35...Qg4+?
Strong is 35...f6.
36.Kh1??
The same blunder as at move 34.
36...f6?
As already shown, ...Kh7 wins.
37.Rd5?
The engines give 37.g6!, which loses a pawn to 37...Qxg6, but after 38.Qh4 the danger to the white king is largely over, and White gets good counterplay thanks to controlling the open d file.
37...Qf3+ 38.Kg1 Qg4+ 39.Kf1
Or 39.Kh1 Kh7 etc.
39...fxg5
Black has won a pawn, and the white king is still exposed. The game finished:
40.Qe2 Qh4 41.Qf2 Qh3+ 42.Ke2 g4 43.Re5? (43.Qf1 puts up more resistance) g3 44.Qg1 Qg4+ 45.Kf1 Qf3+ 0-1

Flying Chess

THE higher of the two chess sets in the photo below revolves 360° while apparently suspended in mid-air.

In reality it is held by very fine strings, allowing it to slowly turn while off the ground, but it makes for an eye-catching Biel/Bienne window display.

Biel Corona Round Six

FACED a Swiss junior in round six of the Biel Special Corona Amateur Tournament this afternoon.

Tobias Thommen (1306) - Spanton (1855)

Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5

The Exchange Variation of the QGD has largely disappeared among elite grandmasters, but a move that scores 65% in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database is always likely to be popular at lower levels.

4...exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 0-0 7.Bd3 Nbd7 8.Nge2

White's score in Mega20 rises to 68% with this move.

8...Re8 9.0-0 Nf8 10.f3!?

The main move in Mega20 is 10.Qc2, while Kasparov famously played 10.b4!? to beat Short in their 1993 world championship match. The analysis engine Stockfish11 flicks back and forth between the text and Qc2, while Komodo11.01 likes 10.Rc1!? or 10.a3!? But the engines are not consistent - give them the position again and they come up with different suggestions.

10...Ne6 11.Bh4 c5!?

Active, but not necessarily good.

12.Qb1!?

Nana Ioseliani (2495) - Gennadij Ginsburg (2495), Bundesliga 1999, went 12.Rc1 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Nxd4 14.exd4 Nh5 15.Bxe7 Rxe7, when White's better bishop maybe helped give her a small edge (the game is recorded in Mega20 as a win for White, although Black is a piece up in the final position). The text puts the queen on a square where it obstructs the white queen's rook and has less central influence, but there is a threat to h7.

12...g6?!

The engines do not like this move, mainly because of the reply seen in the game. The obvious alternative is 12...h6, but the engines also like 12...cxd4 as 13.Bxf6? Bxf6 14.Bxh7+ runs into 14...Kh8, when White can hardly meet all the threats to his pieces.

How should White proceed?

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13.Bb5!

I had not considered this moving of a piece in the opening for a second time (perhaps it is no wonder that TT's tournament performance before this game was 1946).

13...Bd7

The engines prefer the abject 13...Rf8!?, albeit liking White.

14.Bxd7 Qxd7

And here they prefer giving up a pawn by 14...Nxd7!? 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Nxd5.

15.dxc5 g5!?

This is horribly weakening but I felt it gave better practical chances than giving up a pawn by 15...Nxc5 16.Rd1 etc.

16.Bf2 Bxc5 17.Rd1?!

This looks reasonable but the move I feared is 17.Qf5, when Black's position is very loose.

17...Nc7

The engines prefer 17...Ng7, giving added protection to the f5 square rather than the d pawn.

18.Nd4 Bxd4 19.Rxd4 Qe6 20.e4?!

This seems to largely let Black off the hook. The engines like 20.Qd3.

20...Rad8?

Rather than defending the d pawn, this sets up a white pin. Better was 20...dxe4 21.Nxe4 Nxe4 22.Rxe4, when White's edge is probably manageable.

21.exd5?

White has a large advantage after 21.Qd1 (but less so after 21.Qd3?! dxe4).

21...Ncxd5 22.Ne4!?

White still has an edge after 22.Qd3, according to the engines.

22...Qf5 23.Nxf6+?!

And here the engines reckon 23.Ng3 is better.

23...Qxf6 24.Qc2 Nf4

The g5 pawn looks silly, but suddenly Black has counterplay.

25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Re1

Risky looking is 26.Bxa7!?, when I think I intended 26...Re8 with active play.

26...b6

The engines very slightly prefer 26...Nd3, intending ...Nxf2, but I felt my knight is at least equal to White's bishop.

27.Bg3 Qd4+

Not leading anywhere, and perhaps even slightly better for White, is 27...Nd3 28.Rd1 Qd4+ 29.Bf2.

28.Kf1!?

This seems a smidgen better than 28.Kh1, after which the engines reckon 28...Qd2 may give Black a tiny pull.

28...h6

I felt consolidation was in order as it was not clear, to me at any rate, what White could play to improve his position.

29.Bxf4

The engines suggest 29.Re4 Qd3+ 30.Qxd3 Nxd3 with an equal position after 31.Re7 or 31.Re2.

29...Qxf4 30.Rd1?

This loses a pawn. White seems to be equal after, for example, 30.Kg1 Rd2 31.Qc3.

30...Rxd1+ 31.Qxd1 Qc4+

Stockfish11 prefers 31...Qxh2!? but I felt, and Komodo11.01 agrees, it is better to create a queenside pawn-majority.

32.Qe2 Qxa2

Black is a pawn up but the airy black queen makes the position tricky to play.

33.Qe8+ Kg7 34.Qe5+ f6 35.Qb5 Qb1+ 36.Kf2 Qc2+ 37.Kg3 Qc7+ 38.Kh3 Qe5 39.Qd7+ Kg6 40.g4!

I had not considered this. It is Black's best chance, according to the engines.

40...a5 41.Qd8

Threatening mate, but the engines reckon 41.Qc8!, which also threatens mate, is close to equalising, eg 41...Qd5 42.Kg2 b5 43.Qb8, although the position seems unclear to me.

41...Qe6 42.Qc7 h5 43.Qc3 h4

Even stronger, according to the engines, is 43...Qe2.

44.Qc2+ Kh6 45.Qd2 Qc6 46.Qd1 a4 47.f4!?

This is best, according to the engines, presumably because otherwise White just loses on the queenside.

47...gxf4 48.Qf1 Qe4 49.Kxh4 Qe5 50.Qc1 b5

The engines reckon 50...Qg5+ and 50...Kg7 are stronger, but the text seems strong enough.

51.Qd2 Qe3?

But this is definitely a mistake. Black has several paths to victory, including 51...Qg5+ 52.Kh3 f3.

52.Qd6?

White seems to be equal after the engines' 52.Qd8, eg 52...Qe6 53.Qh8+ Kg6 54.Qh5+ Kg7 and now the moved I missed: 55.Qxb5.

52...Kg6?

Both 52...Qf2+ and 52...Qe1+ win, eg 52...Qf2+ 53.Kh3 Qf3+ 54.Kh4 Kg6 55.Qd8 Qf2+ 56.Kh3 Qf1+ 57.Kh4 Qe1+ 58.Kh3 Qe6, when there is no perpetual.

53.Qf8?

White appears to draw after 53.Qd5.

53...Qe6 54.Qb4

There is no perpetual after 54.Qh8.

54...Qe5 55.Qd2?

This loses almost immediately, but Stockfish11 reckons Black has a mate-in-20 in any case.

55...Qg5+ 56.Kh3 Qh6+ 57.Kg2 0-1

Sanity

THIS official photo from the Biel chess festival site shows the (presumably) sanitised boards and pieces yesterday, which was a rest day in the Special Corona Amateur Tournament.

There are more photos from the tournament here https://www.flickr.com/photos/143150736@N02/albums/72157715169574008

Biel Without Chess

TODAY is a rest day in the Biel Special Corona Amateur Tournament, so at 9.15am I was on a mountain train - Biel/Bienne has two - heading uphill for a morning of walking.

I took the one to Magglingen, which is actually a fully automated funicular. There is no driver, no guard, not even a ticket office - you buy your ticket from a machine.

This cost seven francs - about £6 - and seems a bargain when compared with regular Swiss railways.

The only other passengers were two middle-aged women who, as soon as they had sat down, dutifully donned masks, which are compulsory on all Swiss public transport (but not in supermarkets, despite what reception at my hotel told me).

I stepped out at the top onto a scene that could have been devised by the Swiss Tourist Board: cows grazing on a mountain slope below a small white-washed chapel with a Swiss flag in the foreground.

These were the only cows I saw all day, and it occurred to me later that perhaps they really were placed there by the tourist authorities.

I had chosen to walk the Twannbachschlucht-Weg, partly because although I would not be able to recall how to spell it, I was confident of spotting the name on signposts.

This is a great joy of walking in Switzerland - maps are largely superfluous as routes are usually very well waymarked, with distances given in hours and minutes rather than kilometres.

It was quite lucky that today was the tournament rest day as thunderstorms had passed through the area on the previous three days, producing short but sharp bursts of rain.

Today was forecast, correctly, to be "partly cloudy," which covers a lot of sins but meant no rain and, perhaps more to the point, no lightning, which is just as well as the walk begins at 450 metres above Biel/Bienne, which itself is more than 400 metres above sea level.

At first I walked through woodland that, if not dappled in sunlight, was clear and easy to navigate.

But soon cloud closed in, and for a while I was walking through it before the trail took me higher so that I was above the cloud I had been walking through, but below another layer of cloud above that.

I have often walked through cloud, and often walked above it, but I cannot recall walking above and below cloud at the same time - something I normally only experience on a plane.

The walk promised magnificent views of Lake Biel, but only occasionally did trees and cloud recede simultaneously so that any sort of view was possible.

I continued upwards and eventually reached a plateau of meadows at the same time as the sun broke through the cloud above.

A short diversion confirmed what I already knew - although I was definitely undertaking a mountain walk I was in reality only in the foothills of the Jura mountains.

One thing quite noticeable by its absence was wildlife. Yes, I could hear birds, although not many, and I saw two cats running away while I was more than 100 metres from them, and I saw the occasional dog being walked, but the most exciting creature I spotted was a butterfly, and I have no clue what species it was.

When you take a funicular up a mountain, and then ascend some more on foot, you can be sure there will come a time when you need to descend.

The first hint I got of what was to come was when I rejoined woodland and saw a stream babbling along on my left.

If I had bothered to discover beforehand what Twannbachschlucht-Weg meant in English, I would have found it translates, at least according to Google, as Twannbach gorge path.

Pretty soon I was in an amazingly beautiful and endlessly fascinating gorge that I fear my smartphone photos will not do justice to.

At first there were just hints of the ruggedness ahead.

But soon there were rocks that had been rubbed as smooth as marble by presumably millennia of flowing water.

At times the path had been cut into overhanging rock so that I felt I was walking inside the mountain.

Claustrophobia started to get to me, mildly, and I was pleased to see the path opening up ahead, although I decided maybe claustrophobia was not so bad when I saw a sign warning of falling rocks.

I guess the odds of being hit on the head by a large rock in a gorge are probably no higher than dying of some horrible virus, but the chances must increase, I would have thought, after several days of thunderstorms.
Be that as it may, nothing exciting along those lines occurred, but there was plenty else to see of interest.

All good things come to an end, and eventually I reached the end of the gorge, only to be stung for a two-franc fee (there had been no warning of this at the top).
By now the sun had burnt through almost all of the cloud, giving fine views of the town of Twann and its vineyards - I could see a restaurant from above - and of Lake Biel.

I could easily have stopped for lunch in Twann - the church clock chimed 12 as I walked the main street (the only street, as far as I could tell - the town is squeezed between the lake and the mountains).
Twann has an olde worlde look that I like, but I feared that an expansive lunch would dissuade me from walking back to Biel/Bienne along the side of the lake.

So instead I used a subway to get under the main road and railtracks that run pass Twann and separate it from Lake Biel.
As I headed back to Biel/Bienne, I had cars and trains on my left and the lake, or rather lakeside development, on my right.

Actually the houses were as attractive as the lake - more so, perhaps, only in a different way.
They petered out after a mile or so and I was able to get good views of the lake while admiring the productivity of mini-vineyards too.

By now the sun was getting to me, my shoulders were aching from having too much in my backpack (did I really need to take a book to read, a notebook, a diary and a bunch of tournament flyers?) and my legs were starting to give ominous twinges.
But perhaps I am being unnecessarily melodramatic - I got back to Biel/Bienne in one piece and headed for the old town.
By 2pm I was sat down to a lunch of cheese salad - I ordered sausage and cheese with boiled potatoes, but I could not be bothered to argue (I am not the type of person to cause offence if it can be avoided) - and lashings of lemonade beer.

New Grades Are Out

THE ECF's July grades have been published (although not yet announced on the front page of the website): http://www.ecfgrading.org.uk/new/menu.php

I am pleased to say my grade has crept up from 170 to 173, my highest since January 2017, when I was 174.

Biel Corona Round Five

FACED a Swiss senior in round five of the Biel Special Corona Amateur Tournament today.

Spanton (1855) - Marcellus Geiser (1628)

Sicilian Hungarian

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4

The key move of the Hungarian Variation, one of the ideas of which is to emphasise speedy development, often at the cost of giving up the bishop-pair.

4...Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Nc3 e6

Normal is 7...Nf6 but the text is also popular.

8.Bg5 Nf6 9.0-0-0

Via a minor transposition we have reached a mainline position of the variation with more than 4,800 games in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.

How should Black proceed?

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9...e5?

This loses a clear tempo over those lines where Black plays ...e5 in one move. Perfectly fine is 9...Be7 as 10.Bxf6 Bxf6! 11.Qxd6 Qxd6 12.Rxd6 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Bxe4 is at best equal for White, although it has been played by grandmasters.

10.Qd3?!

Almost certainly stronger is 10.Qc4 as it creates the threat Nxe5.

10...Be7

This is Komodo11.01's choice, although Stockfish11 prefers 10...h6.

11.Bxf6 gxf6

Giving up the d pawn by 11...Bxf6!? is the lesser evil, according to the analysis engines.

12.Nh4 Rg8 13.Nf5 Qc7

13...Rxg2 14.Qh3 is not an improvement for Black.

14.g3 0-0-0 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.Qxd5 Bf8 17.Rd3 Kb8 18.Rhd1 Qc6

Black has been positionally lost since move 11, according to the engines, but now falls behind on material as well.

19.Qxf7 Qxe4 20.Qxg8 Qxf5

Even worse, according to the engines, is 20...Bh6+ 21.Nxh6 Rxg8 22.Nxg8.

21.Qf7 Qxf2 22.Rc3 Bh6+ 23.Kb1 Qb6 24.Qxf6 Bd2

Objectively best is the depressing 24...Bf8, but White is massively on top after 25.Rf1.

25.Rd3 Bb4 26.Rb3 Rc8 27.c3 Qc6 28.Rxb4 1-0

Always Something There To Remind Me

BECAUSE Biel/Bienne is bilingual, most signs are in German and French, with English notable by its absence.
But wandering fairly aimlessly around town I was rarely far from reminders of home.

One of two smart-looking tattoo parlours in the centre of town is called Camden Town 

The Queen - at least I think it is supposed to be Britain's monarch - waves from a shop window under the watchful gaze of a budgie

Biel Corona Round Four

FACED a German junior in round four of the Biel Special Corona Amateur Tournament today.
Janne Rempe (1539) - Spanton (1855)
London System
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 Bd6 4.Bg3
The main move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, but 4.Bxd6 and 4.e3!? are also popular.
4....Nc6!?
Seventh(!) most-popular in Mega20, and it scores badly, but it is playable.
5.e3 Nge7!?
Played with the intention of winning the bishop-pair, or at least forcing Bxd6, but the manoeuvre costs valuable time.
6.c3!?
White has a lot of choices here including 6.Bd3 (if 6...Nb4 then 7.Be2), 6.Nbd2 and 6.c4, all of which give White an edge, according to Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01.
6...Nf5 7.Bd3!?
The obvious alternative is 7.Bxd6, which at least gives Black a tricky decision to make as to how to recapture.
7...Nxg3 8.hxg3 e5 9.dxe5
White's bishop gets trapped after 9.Rxh7?
9...Nxe5 10.Bc2!?
Almost certainly a novelty - two games in Mega20 saw the obvious 10.Nxe5.
10...c6 11.Qd4
Black has the bishop-pair but White has a lead in development. The engines prefer Black but kingside castling looks decidedly iffy, and queenside castling will be difficult as long as the white queen eyes a7.
11...Qf6
And there goes Black's edge, at least according to the engines, who prefer a move I did not even consider, 11...Qb6.
12.Nbd2 Nxf3+
I had hoped to play 12...Be6 followed by ...c5, but Qa4+ is a good reply - so good in fact that Stockfish11 reckons White is better even after the illegal sequence 12...Be6 12...c5 13.Qa4+ (Komodo11.01 rates the position as level).
13.Nxf3
I expected 13.gxf3, but either way I get the queens off - rarely a bad thing against juniors.
13....Qxd4 14.exd4!?
Here I expected 14.cxd4 with a Minority Attack to follow, but the engines much prefer the text - presumably because 14.cxd4 leads to unbalanced pawn-majorities, which bishops are usually better than knights at supporting.
14...h6
The engines prefer 14...g6, or even 14...Kf8!? with ...g6 to come. I rejected 14...Be6 because of 15.Ng5, after which White can force opposite-coloured bishops.
15.0-0-0 0-0 16.Rde1 Bd7 17.Ne5 Bxe5!?
Surrendering the bishop-pair but getting closer to an endgame, which is where juniors are supposed to be weakest.
18.dxe5!?
The engines marginally prefer this over 18.Rxe5, but (not for the first time) I was surprised as I thought JR was intent on a draw and so would keep a (more-or-less) symmetrical pawn-structure.
18....Rae8 19.f4 Re7 20.Rh4?
20.Kd2 maintains the balance, according to the engines. It is rarely a good idea to disconnect rooks in an ending without good reason.
20...f6 21.Kd2 fxe5 22.Kd1
Clearly White is in trouble whatever he plays, eg 22.fxe5 Rf2+ 23.Re2 Rxe2+ 24.Kxe2 Rxe5+, or 22.Rxe5 Rxe5 23.dxe5 Rf2+. The main advantage of the text is that it keeps the game more complicated than is the case after the alternatives.
22...e4 23.b4 b6 24.Bb3 Be6 25.Rf1 Ref7 26.Re1 Rf6 27.Kd2 a5 28.a3 Ra8 29.Rf1 axb4 30.axb4 Ra3 31.Kc2

How should Black proceed?

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If a diagram like this were to appear in a magazine, then the answer would be 31...Rxb3! 32.Kxb3 d4+, but after 33.Kc2 the position is equal, according to the engines, which is not at all what Black wants.
31...Kf8 32.g4 Ke7
I rejected 32...g5? because of 33.Rxh6! Rxh6 34.fxg5+, but the engines reckon 34...Rf6! 35.gxf6 is at least equal for Black, despite being a pawn down, and he may even have an edge thanks to the weakness of White's kingside pawns. However this is academic as Black has the upper hand after 33...Kg7! 34.Rxf6 Kxf6 35.fxg5+ Ke5!? (or the more prosaic 33...Kxg5).
33.f5 Kd6 34.Rd1 Bf7 35.c4 Ke5 36.cxd5 cxd5
White is completely lost - his kingside majority is immobile so Black is effectively up by a pair of connected passers. The game finished:
37.g3 d4 38.Bxf7 Rxf7 39.Rh3 Rc7+ 40.Kd2 Rcc3 41.Ke1 Re3+ 42.Kf1 Rf3+ 43.Ke1 Rxg3 44.Rxg3 Rxg3 0-1

The Knights Who Say Ni-dau

WANDERED under the railtracks at Biel/Bienne train station to see what is on the other side.
Turned out there is a small shopping mall and not much else.
But I walked on and found the impressive-looking Schloss Nidau.

Originally built of wood in 1140, it was replaced by a stone castle almost 100 years later.
The adjacent town of Nidau was not founded until the 14th century, but presumably there would have been some farming activity and workshops connected with the castle before then.
A river and water-filled moat surrounded the castle for many centuries, but disappeared due to major anti-flooding measures undertaken from 1868 in what is known as Swiss Seeland.

Biel Corona Round Three

FACED an Israeli pre-teen junior in round three of the Biel Special Corona Amateur Tournament today.

Spanton (1855) - Or Shatil (1530)

Sicilian Bb5(+)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Na5!?

There are more than 800 games with this move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, although the oldest is only from 45 years ago.

4.c3

Part of the idea of this, the most-popular reply, is to give White's light-square bishop a retreat route to c2.

4...a6 5.Ba4 b5 6.Bc2 e6 7.d4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb7 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Qe2 Be7 11.a4!?

This may be a novelty, and it is one that is not liked by Stockfish11 or Komodo11.01. The highest-rated player to reach this position in Mega20, Ivan Jakić (2419), preferred 11.Nc3.

11...b4

The engines reckon 11...bxa4 12.Rxa4 Bc6 13.Ra1 Bb5 14.Bd3 is fine for White, although I would probably have played 12.Nc3.

12.Nbd2 0-0!?

This seemed rather risky to me, but the engines are happy enough with it.

13.e5 Nd5 14.Ne4 b3 15.Bb1 h6?

A natural-looking defensive move, but the engines give 15...Nb4, and if 16.Neg5 then 16...h6 17.Nh7 Re8 with an unclear position. The point of the engines' move is that the white queen has no access to the b1-h7 diagonal.

16.Bd2?

This is good enough for a large advantage, but only after moving did I see the strength of 16.Qd3. I rejected it because of 16...Nb4? but that loses on the spot to 17.Nf6+! So Black has nothing better than giving up material (and position) by 16...g6.

16...f6 17.exf6 Nxf6 18.Nxf6+ Rxf6?

White is better after 18...Bxf6 but Black is still very much in the game.

19.Ne5 Nc6 20.Ng4?

Materialism - White has a big advantage after 20.Qd3 (or 20.Qe4).

How should Black proceed?

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20...Nxd4!

This exchange sacrifice may not be enough for equality, but it is Black's only hope and gives him active play.

21.Nxf6+ Bxf6 22.Qd3 Nf5 23.Bc3??

This turns a win into a loss. I was worried about ...Bxb2 and felt that 23.Qxb3 Bd5 gave Black a lot of activity. It does, but it was the best line, eg 24.Qd3! Bxb2 25.Ba2 Bxa1 26.Bxd5 exd5 27.Qxd5+ Kh8 28.Rxa1, when material equality has been restored but White's more-active pieces, safer king and fewer pawn-islands give him the upper hand, according to the engines.

23...Bxc3 24.Qxc3 Nh4!

Much stronger than the arguably more-obvious 24...Qg5, according to the engines.

25.Qd3?

The engines give 25.Re1 Rc8 26.Qg3 Nxg2 with a winning advantage for Black (Stockfish11) or at least much the better game (Komodo11.01).

25...Bxg2 26.Qh7+?!

This does not help, but White is lost anyway.

26...Kf7 27.Bg6+ Nxg6 28.Kxg2 Qg5+ 29.Kh1 Rh8 30.f4 Qd5+ 0-1

Lake Biel

LAKE Biel - Bielersee in German, Lac de Bienne in French - is a surprisingly long walk from the town of Biel/Bienne.
It is not that the walk is really long, but rather that the town is not on the shore as I expected.
Having been on and passed alongside quite a few lakes in this region, I will probably be giving a boat ride on Lake Biel a miss.
But it was worth finding what passes for the Biel/Bienne port or marina.

Biel Corona Round Two

PLAYED a Swiss FM this afternoon in round two of the Biel Special Corona Amateur Tournament.
Daniel Borner (FM 2154) - Spanton (1855)
Sicilian Hyper-Accelerated Dragon
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3
The main move is 5.e5 but the text is also popular with grandmasters.
5...Nc6 6.Qa4 d6
Ponomariov has played 6...Bg7!? but 7.e5 Ng8 (7...Ng4?? appears in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database) but 8.Bf4 seems to give White easy play.
7.e5
This is the energetic point of White's play.
7...dxe5
Now 7...Ng4!? is possible although Black's queen is a target after 8.exd6 Qxd6.
8.Nxe5 Bd7 9.Nxd7 Qxd7
White has won the bishop-pair on an open board. The only flies in his ointment are that Black is a smidgen ahead on development and has the sole central pawn.
10.Be3 Bg7 11.Rad1
I had a quick draw in a 2005 correspondence game in which White, who had a rating of 2226, played the less-direct 11.Be2.
11...Qg4 12.Qb5

How should Black proceed?

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12...Qb4?!
I rejected 12...0-0!? because of 13.Qxb7 Nb4 14.Be2 Nxc2+ 15.Kd2 Qf5 16.Bd3, but Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01 continue 16...Qe5 17.Bxc2 Rab8 18.Qxa7 Rxb2 19.Qa3 Rfb8 with play that they reckon is worth the piece Black is down. In this line if 17.Kxc2 then the engines give 17...Rab8 18.Qxa7 Nd5 with full compensation for Black.
13.Qxb4 Nxb4 14.Bb5+ Nc6
White must be better - he still has the bishop-pair and Black no longer has an edge in development.
15.h3
Presumably played to prevent ...Ng4 followed by ...Bxc3, but after, for example 15.0-0 Ng4 16.Bc5 Bxc6, the engines reckon White is much better with 17.Bxc6+ bxc6 18.bxc3. Certainly White has the better minor piece, and Black has problems getting his rooks into play. However, White has the advantage after the text anyway.
15...0-0 16.0-0 Rfc8 17.Be2!?
This may be over elaborate - the engines reckon White keeps a pleasant edge with 17.Rd2.
17...Ne5
More-or-less equalising is 17...Ne8!?, according to the engines.
18.Rd4
Preventing ...Nc4, but this was not much of a threat, according to the engines, who reckon a line such as 18.Rfe1 Nc4 19.Bc1 is better for White, who is clearly more coordinated.
18...Nc6?!
Probably better is the engines' 18...Ne8, eg 19.Rfd1 Nd6.
19.Rd2
White has gained a tempo on the position after 17.Be2.
19...Rd8?!
The black position is difficult but this belated challenge for the open file seems faulty. The engines reckon White's advantage is smaller after 19...Ne8.
20.Rfd1 Rxd2 21.Rxd2 Kf8 22.Bf3 Ne8?!
The engines marginally prefer 22...Rb8, which only goes to show how bad the black position is. The problem with the text, even though Komodo11.01 likes it, is that it makes White's play easy.
23.Rd7 Nd6
What else? 23...Ne5 24.Rxb7 Nxf3+ 25.gxf3 Bxc3 26.bxc3 gives White six isolated pawns, but with what seems a fairly straightforward plan of using his rook and bishop to advance his queenside passer(s). I rejected 23...Bxc3 because of 24.Rxb7, although the engines reckon 24.bxc3 and 24.Bxc6 are even stronger.
24.Bxc6 bxc6 25.Rxa7 Rb8!?
Hoping for practical chances. Best, according to the engines, is 25...Rxa7 26.Bxa7 Bxc3, but I found it hard to believe an FM would not win that (sure, his rating is now well-below 2300 but that is presumably because 'old age' - he was born in 1963 - is blunting his tactical skills, not his positional endgame abilities).
26.Nd1 Nc4 27.Bc5 Bf6 28.b3 Rd8 29.Ne3 Nxe3 30.Bxe3 Kg7 31.Kf1
White is 'only' a pawn up but his simple plan of pushing the a pawn, while Black has few prospects of activating his kingside majority in any meaningful way, gives White an advantage worth a minor piece (Komodo11.01) or almost a rook (Stockfish11).
The game finished:
31...e5 32.Ke2 e4 33.a4 Rd5 34.Rc7 Rd6 35.Bc5 Re6 36.b4 Be5 37.Rc8 f5 38.a5 f4 39.a6 f3+ 40.gxf3 exf3+ 41.Kxf3 1-0

Biel Old Town

MODERN Biel/Bienne has a spacious feel with wide pavements that allow restaurants and bars to put lots of tables outside in the summer.
But for picturesque you need to visit 'medieval' old-town Biel, as I hope these photos help illustrate.