Refuting The King's Gambit

IN a recent post I pointed out Bobby Fischer took up the King's Gambit after he published his famous 'refutation' of the opening.

The story, briefly, is that Fischer lost to Boris Spassky on the black side of a King's Gambit at Argentina's 1960 Mar del Plata International.

Not only did he lose, but he lost relatively quickly - 29 moves - and apparently was reduced to tears (Fischer was 17 years old).

The following year, in the first issue of The American Chess Quarterly, he wrote A Bust To The King's Gambit.

The article was an instant success, not least thanks to Fischer's trenchant writing style, including: "In my opinion the King's Gambit is busted. It loses by force."

He concluded his analysis: "Of course White can always play differently, in which case he merely loses differently (Thank you, Weaver Adams!)."*

In 1963, at the US championship in New York, Fischer shocked the chess world by using the King's Gambit to beat Larry Evans.

But he did so by meeting 2...exf4 with 3.Bc4, which became his favourite weapon.

However Fischer twice tried 3.Nf3, with one of his opponents essaying Fischer's 'refutation'.
And what of Spassky? He apparently did not believe Fischer's Bust, as is evidenced by his continued success with the King's Gambit.

Here is probably a good point to interject a few words of caution.

When researching a subject such as this, it pays to double-check and, if possible, triple-check sources as myths are easily created and often repeated.

For example, a discussion at Chess.com of Romantic Openings includes the statement: "In 1960 (Mar del Plata) Spassky overwhelmed Fischer with a King's Gambit. Fischer wrote an article for American Chess Quarterly detailing his improved plan "refuting" the gambit, but Spassky used it again to beat Bronstein and Karpov. In fact, over his career Spassky won all 16 King's Gambits he played."

Whenever I see a statement as bold as this one, I instinctively think: "Can that really be true?" And if it is true, why on earth did Spassky not play the King's Gambit every chance he got?

A simple search of any decent database answers these questions.

ChessBase's 2023 Mega database has 31 games with Spassky on the white side of a King's Gambit. His score of +19=12-0 (81%), including wins against Furman and Najdorf as well as Bronstein and Karpov, is impressive, even though it does include games from simuls, but is not perfect.

Incidentally, the same database shows that all five times Spassky was on the black side of a King's Gambit, he won - perhaps that had something to do with his preference for 2.Nf3.

*Adams wrote a series of books and articles claiming White should win after 1.e4.

to be continued

Summing Up The World Senior Team Championships

GERMAN club side Lasker were held to a 2-2 draw by compatriots Germany in the last round of the 65+ championship, but still finished first on 15 match points.

England 1 pounded Switzerland's Riehen 4-0 to reach 14pts, and actually scored half a game point more than the champions.

Slovakia took bronze with 13pts after drawing 2-2 with France, who, along with Italy, Germany and Israel, were one of four teams to finish on 11pts.

The team I was playing for, England 2, finished on 9pts, along with Finland 1 and North Macedonia, but our inferior game-point tiebreak meant we were placed 13th, although that is well above our seeding of 20th.

ENGLAND 2

Player                                       Score      Rating Performance  Elo Change

1. John M Quinn (2077)           +1=6-1                2172                    +19

2. Geoffrey H James (2082)     +2=3-2               2066                      -3

3. Brian Valentine (1907)          +0=2-5               1754                     -23.2

4. Tim Spanton (1850)              +2=2-4               1933                     +14

Res. Stewart Reuben (1912)    +4=0-2               1970                     +10.8

The United States crushed Poland 4-0 in the last round of the 50+ championship, finishing on 15 match points.

Italy, who were equal with the US on match points going into the last round, were held 2-2 by Montenegro, finishing on 14pts.

Unfortunately for the Italians, that meant they missed out on medals, thanks to game-point tiebreaks, as England 1 beat the Chinese women's team 4-0, and Iceland won 2.5-1.5 against England 2.

Those results catapulted England 2 from fourth to second, while Iceland won bronze.

World Senior Teams Round Nine

Spanton (England 2 - 1850) - John Waterfield (Wales Silures - 1905)

Board Three

Sicilian Accelerated Dragon

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Nxc6!?

More popular are 6.Be3, 6.Nb3 and even 6.Nde2!?, all of which score at least 50% in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database. The text scores just 37%, but has some interesting points.

6...bxc6 7.Bc4

How should Black respond to White's unusual line?

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7...d6

This is the commonest continuation in Mega23, but also reasonably popular are 7...e6 and 7...Nf6!? Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1 like the text, along with 7...Qc7 and 7...Qa5.

8.0-0 e6?!

This does not sit well with having played ...d6. The engines suggest 8...Nf6 or 8...Qc7.

9.Bf4! d5?

Better is 9...e5, although the engines reckon White has the upper hand after 10.Be3.

10.exd5 Bxc3!?

This appears to be a novelty, and is an improvement on Aleksandr Shimanov (2581) - Qi B Chen (2485), Chess.com Blitz 2022, which saw 10...exd5? 11.Nxd5! (this is also the answer to 10...cxd5?)  cxd5, when 12.Bxd5 gives a winning advantage (Shimanov played 12.Qxd5, which is probably not so good, but won anyway).

11.bxc3

Even stronger seems to be the engines' 11.dxe6!?

11...cxd5 12.Bb5+ Bd7 13.Bxd7+

Stockfish16 gives 13.Re1!?, the idea being 13...Bxb5 can be met by 14.Qd4, when 14...f6?! 15.Rxe6+ looks catastrophic, and 14...Nf6 15.Bg5 is not nice either.

13...Qxd7 14.Qd4?

This 'obvious' move lets Black off the hook. The engines reckon White has the upper hand after 14.c4, the idea being to meet 14...dxc4? with 15.Qf3.

14...f6 15.Rfe1 Kf7!?

The engines agree this is best.

How should White proceed?

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16.Bg3?!

Probably best is 16.c4 (I looked at it, and at 16.Rab1, also with the same planned follow-up.) Both moves can be met by 16...e5, when 17.Rxe5! fxe5 18.Bxe5 is very interesting, but Black has 18...Nf6! 19.Bxf6 Rhe8. The engines reckon in both cases the game is roughly equal, but I was unsure (and 16...e5 is not forced). However, another possibility, 16.Bg5?!, certainly can be successfully met by 16...e5.

16...Ne7 17.Rab1 Nf5 18.Qd3 Nxg3!?

There was no rush to play this capture. The knight is probably at least as good as the bishop.

19.hxg3 Rhc8 20.Qa6 Rc7

Not 20...Rxc3? 21.Rb7 Rc7 22.Rxc7 Qxc7 23.Qxe6+! etc.

21.Re3 Rac8 22.Rbe1 Rc6

JW offered a draw - should I have accepted?

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Black has the upper hand (Komodo14.1) or is at least slightly better (Stockfish16), but I carried on. I think with most things in life I am a glass-half-full man, but not with draws at chess.

23.Qa4 Qc7?!

The best way to break the pin is probably 23...Rd6 - White's pawn weaknesses are not going away. If then, as in the game, 24.Qh4, Black has the simple 24...Kg7.

24.Qh4 Rh8

Marginally better may be 24...h5, although 25.g4 is unpleasant.

25.Rf3 e5 26.Rd1 Qd6

The engines suggest giving up a pawn with 26...Kg7!? 27.Rxd5, or to play 26...e4 followed by ...Qe5.

27.Rfd3 Rc5 28.Qa4 a5 29.c4 d4 30.c3 Qc6 31.Qb3 a4 32.Qa3 Rxc4 33.cxd4 exd4?!

Possibly better is 33...e4, although JW in the postmortem said he thought the passed d pawn would be very powerful.

34.Rxd4 Re8 35.Rd6!?

This seems better than 35.Rd7, when Black has 35...Kg8.

35...Qe4 36.Rd7+ Re7 37.Rd8?!

The engines give White the upper hand after 37.Qd6, eg 37...Rc2 38.Rb1! Rc7 39.Qxc7 Qxb1+ 40.Kh2 Qb4 41.Rxe7+ Qxe7 42.Qc4+ and 43.Qxa4.

37...Rc2?!

Black would be fine, according to the engines, after, for example, 37...Qe6.

38.R1d7! Qe2 39.Rxe7+ Qxe7 40.Qd3

Missing a win of a pawn with 41.Qxa4!, and if 41...Rc1+ then 42.Rd1.

40...Rc7 41.Qd5+ Qe6??

Black holds after 41...Kg7.

42.Rf8+ 1-0

FULL TEAM RESULT (England 2 had white on odd boards)
John M Quinn (2077) ½–½ Peter Varley (FM 2174)
Geoffrey M James (2082) 0-1 John Fletcher (2002)
Tim Spanton (1850) 1-0 John Waterfield (1905)
Stewart Reuben (1912) 1-0 Anthony Hughes (1838)
England 2 won 2.5-1.5.

Lots To Play For

GERMAN club team Lasker defend their 100% score in this afternoon's final round of the 65+ world senior team championship.

Their opponents are fellow compatriots Germany, who lie fourth with 10 match points from eight matches.

England 1, who are second with 14pts, face Swiss club side Riehen, who have 10pts like Germany but are placed sixth thanks to having fewer game points.

Third-placed Slovakia, on 12pts, play France, the other team on 10pts.

England 2, for whom I am playing, face Wales Silures. We are 18th, two places above our seeding, while Wales are 17th, also two places above their seeding, and ahead of us by virtue of having one more game point.

The venue - Hotel Izgrev

In the 50+ championship the United States have 13pts, leading Italy thanks to scoring half a game point more.

They are followed on 12pts by Iceland, who have the same game points as Italy, and England 1, who have one game point fewer.

None of the top four face each other today, and on paper England 1 have the easiest pairing, against China's women's team.

World Senior Teams Round Eight

Magnus Eriksson (Sweden - 1975) - Spanton (England 2 - 1850)

Board Three

Chigorin

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c4 Bg4 4.Nc3

The main move is 4.cxd5, but the text and 4.e3 are also popular.

4...e6 5.Bg5!?

Again cxd5 is the commonest continuation, but the text is also reasonably popular and is quite liked by Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1

5...Be7 6.Bxe7 Ngxe7 7.e3 0-0 8.Be2 a6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Rc1 Re8

This may be a novelty. All three games to reach the position in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database saw 10...Qd6.

11.h3 Bh5 12.0-0

With both sides castled, how would you assess the position?

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The pawn-structure will be familiar to anyone who plays either colour in the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, only the placing of the black knights being a little out of the ordinary. The engines give White a slight edge.

12...Qd6 13.Na4 b6 14.Re1 Ra7

This was probably a good time to reroute the black queen's knight, with the engines suggesting 14...Nd8 followed, fairly quickly, by ...Ne6.

15.Nc3 h6 16.Qa4 Raa8 17.Nb1 Bg6 18.Nbd2 Bf5 19.a3 Bd7 20.Qc2 Bf5 21.Qc3 a5?

Preventing a Minority Attack, but giving White the b5 square. The engines prefer 21...Rec8.
22.Bb5 Bd7 23.Ne5

White wins a pawn.

23...Nxe5 24.dxe5 Qe6 25.Bxd7 Qxd7 26.Qxc7 Qb5

Black has a little activity, but it is not enough for a pawn, even though the extra pawn is doubled (and anyway Black has an isolani)

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27.Qc2 Rac8 28.Qb3 Qxb3 29.Nxb3 g5!? 30.Nd4 Ng6 31.Nf5 Rxc1

Not 31...Nxe5?? 32.Rxc8 Rxc8 33.Ne7+ and 32.Nxc8.

32.Rxc1 Nxe5 33.Nxh6+ Kg7 34.Nf5+ Kg6 35.g4!? Rh8?

A waste of time as the white king is better on g2 than on g1.

36.Kg2 Rd8 37.b3 Ke6 38.Rd1 Rd7

Even worse is 38...Rc8 39.Ng7+ Kf6 40.Rxd5!

39.Rc1 Rd8 40.Rc7 Kf6 41.f4 Nd7?

A mistake, but Black's position is anyway close to resignable even at club level.

42.Rc6#

FULL TEAM RESULT (Sweden had white on odd boards)
Per Söderberg (2135) 0-1 John M Quinn (2077)
Matts Unander (2004) ½–½ Brian Valentine (1907)
Magnus Eriksson (1975) 1-0 Tim Spanton (1850)
Bengt Wihlborn (1791) 0-1 Stewart Reuben (1912)
England 2 won 2.5-1.5.

Home Stretch

THERE are two rounds left in the world senior team championships at Hotel Izgrev on Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia.

In the main event (65+) the German club side Lasker lead with a maximum 14pts from seven matches.

They are followed by England 1 on 12, Slovakia on 10 and three teams on nine: Finland 1, Italy and Israel.

In round eight this afternoon, Italy play Lasker, Finland 1 meet England 1, and Israel face Slovakia

The team I am playing for, England 2, are 22nd, but hoping to beat their seeding of 20th.

Our match today against Sweden - seeded 21st, but placed 19th - is likely to be pivotal.

In the junior event (50+) Italy lead on 12pts, followed by Iceland and the United States on 11, England 1 on 10 and Montenegro on nine.

In round eight, Iceland play Italy, the United States have a major downfloat against 10th-placed Uruguay, and Montenegro meet England 1.

Swan Lake

World Senior Teams Round Seven

Spanton (England 2 - 1850) - Ilija Stosevski (North Macedonia - 1968)

Board Three

Pirc

1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 0-0

Via a Modern Defence move-order, the game has reached a mainline position in the Austrian Attack of the Pirc Defence, with 18,160 examples in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database

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6.Bd3 Na6!?

This and 6...Nc6 are almost equally popular in Mega23.

7.0-0 c5 8.d5 Qa5!?

A rare continuation. Normal are 8...Nc7, 8...Rb8 and especially 8...Bg4.

How should White respond?

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9.Bd2

Probably better is 9.Kh1!?, when Goran Čabrilo (2406) - Stosevski (2108), Skopje Karpoš (Former Yugoslav Rep of Macedonia) 2014, continued 9...b5 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 Ng4 12.Nxb5 with a large advantage for White, according to Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1 (1-0, 24 moves).

9...c4! 10.Be2

Forced, as 10.Bxc4?? loses trivially to 10...Qc5+ etc.

10...Ng4!?

This may be a novelty. The engines prefer 10...b5 or a queen check (either on c5 or b6).

11.Qc1!?

The engines suggest 11.Qe1 or 11.Kh1.

11...Qc5+ 12.Kh1

How should Black continue?

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12...b5!?

Not 12...Nf2+? 13.Rxf2 Qxf2 14.Be3 as the black queen is trapped. Also bad is 12...Bxc3? 13.Bxc3 Nf2+? (13...Qe3 is a lesser evil) 14.Rxf2 Qxf2, when White has lots of compensation for the exchange, eg 15.f5! Qxe2 16.Qh6 f6 17.fxg6 hxg6 18.Qxg6+ Kh8 19.Ng5.

The engines agree the text is best.

13.e5!?

The engines reckon 13.a3 gives White at least a slight edge.

13...Bf5?!

Black is better after 13...b4, according to the engines.

If 13...dxe5, White has 14.h3 (other moves may also be good).

14.h3 Nf2+ 15.Kh2

Also interesting is the exchange sacrifice 15.Rxf2!? Qxf2 16.Be3 Qg3, when the engines continue 17.Bf1!? Bxh3 18.Ne2 Qg4 19.Ned4 with an unclear position (Stockfish16 reckons White is better, but Komodo14.1 fluctuates between agreeing with that evaluation and calling the game equal).

15...Ne4 16.Be3 Qc8 17.Nxb5 dxe5 18.fxe5 Nb4 19.Nbd4

The engines prefer going for a second pawn with 19.Nxa7!?

19...Nxd5 20.Nxf5?!

Black has the upper hand after 20.Bh6, according to the engines.

20...Qxf5?!

Probably better is 20...gxf5.

21.Bxc4 Nxe3 22.Qxe3 Bxe5+ 23.Nxe5 Qxe5+ 24.Rf4?

White is slightly better after 24.Qf4 or 24.Kg1.

24...g5 25.Qxe4?

Correct is 25.Raf1 gxf4 26.Rxf4, after which, for the exchange, White has a pawn, active bishop and the better pawn-structure.

25...Qxf4+ 26.Qxf4 gxf4 27.Re1 Rae8 28.Bb5 Rb8 29.Re5 e6 30.a4 Rfd8 31.b3 Rd8 32.Rg5+ Kf8 33.Bd3 h6 34.Rg4 f3 35.Kg1 Rxg2+ 36.Rxg2 fxg2 37.Kxg2 Ke7 (0-1, 50 moves)

FULL TEAM RESULT (England 2 had white on odd boards)
Geoffrey H James (2082) 0-1 Ljubomir Ilić (FM 2044)
Brian Valentine (1907) 0-1 Aleksander Kralevski (FM 2054)
Tim Spanton (1850) 0-1 Ilija Stosevski (1968)

Stewart Reuben (1912) 0-1 Mile Trajkovski (1947)
North Macedonia won 4-0.

Welcome Back

BETTER weather returned today, but with maximum temperatures in the low, rather than high, 20s.

Some rooms at the venue, Hotel Izgrev, suffered water pouring through the ceiling overnight, and the wifi is proving a nightmare today.

The force of the rain spread gravel over a road beside the hotel

After yesterday's free day in the championships, the last three rounds begin this afternoon, continuing tomorrow and Thursday.

What A Grey Day

WE have been very lucky with the weather in North Macedonia - lots of sun, and temperatures in the high 20s, but rarely higher.

Yesterday there were signs of change, with greying skies, and waves on the previously placid Lake Ohrid

The forecast for today was an 80-95% chance of rain all day, with thunder and lightning for most of the afternoon.

In fact the thunderstorms began overnight and intensified early morning.

Susan Lalic over breakfast predicted this might mean the bad weather had come early, and the rest of the day, which is a free day in the championships, would be OK.

And that, so far, is how it has turned out - a very accurate piece of prophesying that in earlier centuries might have seen her burnt as a witch, but of course these days such behaviour-modification techniques are frowned on as 'politically incorrect'.

Talking of which, on my morning walk into the nearest town, Struga, I have been stopping for an espresso at a cafe attached to a small campsite, Camping Lira.

It has an ablutions block divided into men's and women's sections. The former consists of a lavatory-cum-washroom, with next to it a shower; the latter also has a lavatory-cum-washroom, but next to it is a washing machine.

Incidentally, the espresso - made properly, rather than out of a machine - costs 55p, which gives some idea of prices here.

Despite the rain, I went for my usual walk on an off-road path beside the lake, but if only I had held off for an hour I would have missed discovering that my waterproof walking-shoes are anything but (to be fair, they may have been sold as being only showerproof).

Wet conditions brought out even more of these slugs than I have been used to seeing early-morning  

There were also many more examples of this beautifully coloured snail

These two seemed to be having an inter-species race, but I did not hang around to discover the outcome

Later, what I am fairly sure was an otter crossed the path ahead of me, running into a bed of reeds beside the lake.

It was far too quick for me to get out my smartphone to photograph it, but was a fun moment as I am fairly certain this is the first time I have seen an otter out of water (and I cannot remember seeing many in water).

Heavy rain beat down some of the vegetation

Little more than two hours later and the vegetation is recovering its upright stance, and the path is mostly dry

ADDENDUM: the bad weather returned with a vengeance at lunchtime, knocking out the electricity supply. Luckily Hotel Izgrev has its own generator, but - horror of horrors! - we were without internet for the rest of the afternoon, and it is only slowly returning this evening.

World Senior Teams Round Six

Walter Pregl (Austria 2 - 1971) - Spanton (England 2 - 1850)

Board Three

English Symmetrical

1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.0-0 0-0 7.d4

This more-or-less ensures symmetry comes to an end, and is easily the most popular move in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database, scoring a very good 61%.

7...cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 d6 10.Qd2!?

The main move in Mega23 is 10.Qd3, but the text is also popular. It may look strange to block White's dark-square bishop, but the idea is that the bishop will be fianchettoed.

10...Nd7

Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1 do not like this. Most popular is 10...Rb8, but the engines prefer 10...Be6!?, and if 11.Bxb7 Rb8 12.Bd5, then 12...Nxd5 gains the bishop-pair and leaves the white kingside looking a little airy.

11.b3 Nc5 12.Bb2

Not 12.b4? Na4.

12...a5 13.Rad1 Be6 14.h3

This does not seem to have much relevance to the position.. However, among moves preferred by the engines is 14.h4!?

14...Qb6 15.Nb5 Bxb2!?

Black need not worry about weakening the kingside as White's pieces are not well-placed to exploit holes there.

16.Qxb2 a4

Black has a little initiative

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17.Qc2

If 17.b4 then 17...Bxc4 leads to mass exchanges and equality, eg 18.bxc5 Qxb5 19.Qxb5 Bxb5 20.cxd6 Bxe2 21.dxe7 Rfe8 22.Bxb7 Rab8 23.Rd8 Rfxe8 24.exd8=Q+ Rxd8 25.Re1 Bc4 26.Re4.

17...axb3 18.axb3 Bf5 19.e4 Bd7 20.b4?!

Best, according to the engines, is 20.Nc3, when 20...Qxb3 21.Qxb3 Nxb3 can be met by 22.e5 or 22.Nd5, with equality.

20...Bxb5 21.cxb5

Not 21.bxc5? Qxc5 as the c pawn is pinned, meaning Black emerges a sound pawn up and with the better bishop.

21...Ne6?!

This may be enough for a tiny edge, but the engines reckon  21...Nd7 gives Black the upper hand.

22.Qb2 Qxb5 23.Rd5 Qb6 24.e5

Activating the bishop.

24...dxe5 25.Qxe5!?

White temporarily gives up a second pawn, but gets a lot of activity.

25...Qxb4 26.Rb5 Qd4 27.Qxd4 Nxd4 28.Rxb7

How should Black proceed?

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28...e6!?

This seems best. An obvious alternative is to anchor the knight with 28...e5, but that makes f7 weak.

29.Rd1 Ra4 30.Rd7 Nf5 31.Rb1 Rd4 32.Rc7 Rfd8 33.Rbb7 Rd1+ 34.Kh2 Nd6 35.Rb4 h5 36.g4!? hxg4 37.hxg4 Kg7 38.Bf3 Rd3 39.Kg2 Ne8 40.Ra7 R3d7!?

This lets White force a rook-and-pawn ending, which the engines reckon increases White's drawing chances.

41.Rxd7 Rxd7 42.Bc6 Rd8 43.Bxe8 Rxe8

How much of an advantage does Black have?

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None, according to Stockfish16; less than half a pawn, according to Komodo14.1.

44.Kg3 g5 45.f4 Kg6 46.Rb5 gxf4+ 47.Kxf4

We are now in seven-piece-endgame territory, so with the help of the Syzygy endgame tablebase it is possible to be 100% sure of the rest of the analysis 

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The ending is drawn, but Black can play on in the hope of inducing an error.

47...Rd8 48.Kg3 Rd5 49.Rb8 Rd4 50.Rb5 Kf6 51.Rb8 e5 52.Kf3 Ke6 53.Re8+ Kd5 54.g5!? Rf4+ 55.Ke3 Kd6

What should White play?

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56.g6?

Syzygy shows 10 moves draw, including 56.Kd2!?

56...fxg6 57.Ra8 Ke6 58.Re8+ Kf5 59.Rf8+ Kg4 60.Re8 Rf5 61.Ke4 Kg5 62.Re7 Kg4 63.Re8 Rf1 64.Ke3 g5 65.Ke2 Rf5 66.Ke3 Kg3 67.Ke4 Rf1 68.Rg8 g4!

Giving up one pawn to reach a winning rook-and-pawn-versus-rook ending.

69.Kxe5

Black to play and win

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69...Kf3?

There are 13 winning moves, according to Syzygy, one line being 69...Kh3 70.Rh8+ Kg2 71.Ke4 g3 72.Rg8 Kf22 73.Rf8+ Kg1 74.Rh8 g2 75.Ke3 Rf2 76.Ra8 Rf5 77.Ra1+ Kh2 etc.

70.Rf8+ ½–½

FULL TEAM RESULT (Austria 2 had white on odd boards)
Siegfried Zörnpfenning (2040)  ½–½ John M Quinn (2077)

Paul Meyer (2064) ½–½ Geoffrey H James (2082)

Walter Pregl (1971) ½–½ Tim Spanton (1850)

Karl Lang (1973) 0-1 Stewart Reuben (1912)

England 2 won the match 2.5-1.5.

Tasty

MACEDONIAN cuisine is more-or-less what is to be expected in the Balkans, with salads, kebabs and beans featuring heavily.

Red peppers drying in the morning sun - a common sight in villages

The players' deal at the venue, Hotel Izgrev, includes full board, and it is easy to try 'exotic' dishes along with more-commonly widespread foods.

World Senior Teams Round Five

Ferdinand Strobel (Austria 1 - FM 1952) - Spanton (England 2 - 1850)

Board Four

Bird's Opening

1.f4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.d4!?

This was played by Savielly Tartakower in the stem game at Berlin 1920, and continues to be popular, but the main move in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database is 4.Be2.

4...cxd4 5.exd4 Nf6

Tartakower's opponent, Paul Leonhardt, preferred 5...d6, and the game continued 6.Bd3 Qb6!? 7.c3 Nh6!? 8.0-0 0-0 9.Kh1 Bf5 10.Bxf5 gxf5!? 11.Qe1 with maybe a slight edge for White, according to Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1, although their evaluations fluctuate (1-0, 50 moves).

6.Bd3 Nc6 7.c3 d5 8.0-0 0-0

There are 87 games with this position in Mega23 - who stands better?

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White has more kingside space, thanks to the pawn at f4, but that pawn is helping make the white dark-square bishop bad. Black has the long-term plan of a queenside Minority Attack, but in the short-term White can hope to generate kingside attacking chances. The engines reckon the position is equal.

9.Qe1

More popular in Mega23 are 9.Ne5 and particularly 9.Nbd2.

9...Bf5!?

The engines quite like this. The point is that, as in the Tartakower-Leonhardt game, after ...

10.Bxf5 gxf5

... Black has control of e4 and has shut in White's remaining bishop. On the other hand Black's kingside pawn-structure has been broken up.

11.Ne5 e6 12.Nd2 Qe7 13.b3 Nxe5!?

The engines reckon Black is at least equal after 13...Rfc8.

14.dxe5!?

The engines prefer 14.fxe5 Ne4 15.Nxe4, when Black is in big trouble after 15...fxe4? 16.Qg3 (or 16.a4). Instead they reckon 15...dxe4 may give White a slight edge.

14...Qc5+ 15.Qf2?

White had to play 15.Kh1.

How should Black proceed?

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15...Qxf2+

This is enough for a slight edge, but winning is 15...Qxc3! I rejected it because of 16.exf6?! Qxa1? 17.fxg7, which after 17...Rfc8 is completely equal, according to the engines. I missed that Black has 16...Bxf6!, threatening to win the white queen with 17...Bd4. After 17.Nf3 Qxa1 18.Ba3 Qc3! (only move) 19.Rc1 Qd3 20.Bxf8 Kxf8 the position is still quite sharp, but Black is two pawns up and should win, according to the engines.

16.Rxf2 Ne4 17.Nxe4 fxe4 18.Be3 f6 19.Bd4 fxe5 20.fxe5 Rxf2 21.Kxf2 Rf8+ 22.Ke2 a6

After a flurry of exchanges, the game has reached a rook-and-bishop ending - how would you assess it?

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The white e pawn is weak but White has a 2-1 kingside pawn-majority and can create active play in the centre with 23.c4, or 23.Rd1 with c4 to come. White also has the more-active king, and these factors combine to offset Black's protected passed pawn, according to the engines, which reckon the position is completely equal.

23.Rf1?

But this causes White problems.

23...Rxf1 24.Kxf1 Kf7

Restraining White's queenside by 24...b5?! allows complete equality with 25.Kf2, according to the engines.

25.c4

Probably not 25.g4?! as then Black does have time for 25...b5.

25...Kg6 26.g4 dxc4

Not 26...Kg5 27.h3 Kf4? as White wins with 28.cxd5, eg 28...exd5 29.e6 Bf8 30.Bf6.

27.bxc4 Kg5 28.h3 Kf4 29.Kf2 Bf8

Not 29...Bxe5?? 30.Be3#.

30.a4 Be7

How can White save the game?

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31.Be3+! Kxe5 32.Kg3

The point of White's positional pawn sacrifice: White gets to activate his kingside majority.

32...Bb4 33.Kh4?

Correct is 33.h4 or 33.Kf2.

33...Kf6?

The engines show there were two winning moves: 33...Be1+ and 33...b6!? After 33...Be1+ 34.Kg5 Black has 34...Bg3!, eg 35.h4 h6+! 36.Kxh6 Bf4 etc, while 33...b6!? threatens 34...Bc5, and if 34.Bxb6 Black has 34...Kf4 etc.

After the text the game virtually never varies from complete equality.

34.Kh5 Bf8 35.h4 e5 36.Bb6 Ke6 37.Be3 Kf7 38.g5 Bb4 39.Kh6 Kg8 40.g6 Bf8+

Not 40...hxg6?? as the white h pawn is too strong.

41.Kg5 Be7+ 42.Kf5 hxg6+ 43.Kxg6 Bxh4 44.Kf5 Bg3 45.Kxe4 Kf7 46.Kd5 Ke7 47.Bc5+ Kd7 48.Bd6 Bh2 49.Bb8

Also drawing is 49.Bxe5.

49...Bf4 50.Bd6 Bh2 ½–½

FULL TEAM RESULT (England 2 had white on odd boards)
John M Quinn (2077) ½–½ Hans Singer (FM 2144)
Geoffrey H James (2082) 1-0 Lambert Danner (1967)
Brian Valentine (1907) 0-1 Wolfgang Weinwurm (2049)
Tim Spanton (1850) ½–½ Ferdinand Strobel (FM 1952)
Match drawn 2-2.

Country Views

WHEN walking through the English countryside it is quite common to see church steeples in the distance.

In the west of North Macedonia, near the Albanian border, there are similar views ...

... except here there are more likely to be minarets peeking through the trees

World Senior Teams Round Four

Spanton (England 2 - 1850) - Luigi Santolini (2178)

Board Four

French McCutcheon

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.bxc3!?

This is considerably more popular than 7.Bxc3, after which 7...Ne4 8.Bb4 c5!? 9.Bxc5 (9.dxc5? Nxf2!) Nxc5 10.dxc5 Qc7 is equal, according to Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1

7...Ne4 8.Bd3!?

The mainline in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database runs 8.Qg4 g6 9.Bd3 Nxd2 10.Kxd2 with a slight edge for White, according to Stockfish16, although Komodo14.1 calls the position equal.

8...Nxd2 9.Qxd2 c5 10.Nf3 c4!?

Much more common in Mega23 is 10...Nc6, but the engines prefer the committal text.

11.Be2 Bd7 12.0-0

Now White has castled, how would you assess the position?

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Black has more queenside space and no weak pawns, but a bad bishop. White has more central space, but queenside weaknesses. White's bishop is technically good, but has little scope. Komodo14.1 reckons the position is completely equal, but Stockfish16 gives Black a slight edge.
12...Bc6!? 13.Ne1 Nd7 14.f4 g6 15.Qc1!?

This may be a novelty. Known moves are 15.g4!?, which is Stockfish16's top choice, and 15.Rf3, which was played by a 2210 but is not liked by either engine.

15...Qe7 16.Qb2 Nb6 17.Qb4 Na4 18.Qxe7+ Kxe7 19.Rf3

Now queens are off the board, how would you assess the position?

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The essential features of the pawn-structure have remained the same as in the previous diagram. It is perhaps easier for Black to organise play on the queenside than it is for White to do so on the kingside. The engines reckon Black has the better side of equality.

19...b5 20.Rb1 Rab8 21.Re3 Rb6 22.Nf3 Rhb8 23.a3 h5 24.Nd2 a5 25.Kf2 b4 26.axb4 axb4 27.cxb4 Rxb4 28.Rxb4 Rxb4 29.Ra3!?

It is important to activate the rook, especially as 29.c3? loses a pawn to 29...Rb2 30.Ke1 Rc2 etc.

29...Rb2 30.Bd1 c3?!

A quieter move such as 30...Kd7 seems to maintain equality.

31.Nf3 Bb5 32.Ne1 Kd7 33.Be2 Kc6 34.Ra1 Bxe2 35.Rxa4

White is at least slightly better after 35.Kxe2, according to the engines.

35...Kb5 36.Ra1?

Correct is 36.Ra3 Kb4 and then 37.Ra1, with an equal position.

36...Bg4 37.Ke3 Bf5 38.Rc1?

Horrible passivity. Even worse is 38.Nd3+? Rxc2 39.Rb1+ Ka4, but counterplay with 38.Ra7 offered more hope.

38...Kc4 39.h3

Not 39.Nd3? Bxd3 40.cxd3+ Kb3.

39...Be4 40.g4 h4

White is in zugzwang

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The game finished:

41.Nf3 Bxf3 42.Kxf3 Kxd4 43.Rd1+ Kc4 44.Rc1 d4 45.Ke4 Rxc2! 46.Rxc2 d3 47.Ra2 c2 48.Ra4+ Kb3 49.Kxd3 c1=Q 50.Re4 Qf1+ 51.Kd4 Kc2 52.Re3 Qxf4+ 0-1

FULL TEAM RESULT (Italy had white on odd boards)

Carlos Garcia Palmero (GM 2410) 1-0 John M Quinn (2077)

Roberto Messa (IM 2289) ½–½ Geoffrey H James (2082)

Mario Cocozza (FM 2226) 1-0 Brian Valentine (1907)

Luigi Santolini (2178) 1-0 Tim Spanton (1850)

Italy won 3.5-0.5.

Ohrid Amphitheatre

OHRID amphitheatre is pre-Roman, having been built in about 200 BC.

Since being excavated in the 1980s, it has been returned to use, staging opera, ballet and other entertainment.

Originally there was also an upper section, which has long since collapsed

The modern stage is used during Ohrid's annual summer festival

World Senior Teams Round Three

Spanton (England 2 - 1850) - Heinz Kratschmer (Austria Steiermark - 2049)

Board Three

English Symmetrical/English Botvinnik

1.e4 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nge2 Bg7 5.d3

The most popular move in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database is 5.g3!?, which HK faced in a game in 2004. It is playable, as long as the reply 5...Ne5, which HK played, is met by 6.Ng1 or 6.Nf4.

5...d6 6.g3 e6 7.Bg2 Nge7 8.0-0 0-0

There are 2,196 games with this position in Mega23

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9.f4

Easily most popular is 9.Be3!?, although that allows 9...Nd4, which is almost always effective for Black when White cannot reply Nxd4. A good alternative to the text is queenside play with 9.Rb1 or 9.a3.

9...a6 10.Rb1 Rb8 11.a4 Bd7 12.Kh1 Qc7

This may be a novelty. The known move is 12...Qe8!?

13.b3 Nd4 14.Nxd4 cxd4 15.Ne2 b5 16.axb5 axb5 17.Bb2 e5 18.Qd2 f5!?

Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1 prefer queenside play with, for example, 18...Ra8.

19.Ra1?!

Almost certainly better is 19.fxe5 dxe5 20.Ba3 with activity.

19...fxe4 20.dxe4!?

The engines much prefer this pawn sacrifice to 20.Bxe4, when 20...Nf5 is good, but even stronger, according to the engines, is 20...bxc4!? 21.bxc4 Bc6.

20...bxc4 21.bxc4 Qxc4

The engines fluctuate between the text and 21...Be6, eg 22.Ba3 Rfc8 23.Ng1!? exf4 24.Qxf4 Be5 with what the engines reckon is a clear advantage for Black.

22.Ra7 Qe6

Even better, according to the engines, is 22...Rfd8!?

23.Rc1 Nc6 24.Rc7 Rfc8 25.Rxc8+ Rxc8 26.f5?

This was an interesting option on the previous two moves, but is simply a mistake here.

26...gxf5 27.exf5 Qxf5 28.Bd5+ Kh8 29.Ba3 e4 30.Nf4 Be5

Black is on top after this, but even stronger seems to be 30...e3!?

31.Qg2

How should Black proceed in this sharp position?

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31...Bxf4?

Black has a slight edge, according to the engines, after 31...Ne7 32.Bxe4 Qg4, but they reckon winning is 31...e3!, the point being 32.Bxc6? Bxc6 33.Rxc6 loses to 33...Qb1+ etc as the black passed pawns are very strong, eg 34.Rc1 Rxc1+ 35.Bxc1 Qxc1+ 36.Qg1 Qxg1+ 37.Kxg1 Bxf4 38.gxf4 d3. Better after 31...e3! is 32.Be4, but 32...Qg4 33.Bf3 Qg5 leaves Black two pawns up as 34.Bxc6 is met by 34...e2!, eg 35.Nxe2 Qxc1+! and 36...Bxc6.

32.Bxe4 Qa5 33.gxf4 Rg8 34.Qb2?!

White is at least equal after 34.Qa2, according to the engines.

34...d5

Black may be better after the engines' 34...Be6!?, eg 35.Bxd6? loses to 35...Bd5. However less clear are 35.Qb7 and 35.Bc5!? dxc5 36.Qb7.

35.Bf3 Rb8

White to play and draw

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36.Qa1!

The only move, eg 36.Qa2 loses to 36...Ra8.

36...Rb3?

Black holds the draw with several moves, according to the engines, including 36...Bf5, 36...Re8 and 36...Qd2, but 36...Ra8? loses to the same move as the text.

37.Rxc6! Bxc6 38.Qxd4+ Kg8 39.Qg1+

An easy move to miss when playing 36...Rb3?

39...Kh8

Black is quickly mated after 39...Kf7 40.Bh5+.

40.Bd6 h6?

Objectively best is 40...d4!? 41.Qxd4+ Kg8 42.Bxc6, after which White is winning as there is no perpetual, but there is always a chance of a blunder.

41.Be5+ 1-0
FULL TEAM RESULT (England 2 had white on odd boards)

John M Quinn (2077) ½–½ Fred Wegerer (FM 2101)

Brian Valentine (1907) 0-1 Alexander Dohr (2104)

Tim Spanton (1850) 1-0 Heinz Kratschemer (2049)

Stewart Reuben (1912) 0-1 Konstantinos Pitzl (1957)

Austria Steiermark won 2.5-1.5.

Ohrid Castle

TSAR Samuil of the Bulgarian Empire made Ohrid his capital and built Ohrid Castle in the late-900s, possibly on the hilltop site of fortifications built by Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great.

Because I walked to Ohrid, I approached the castle unconventionally up a track from a mainly Muslim part of the modern city

Parts of the castle have been reconstructed, as I think is clear from this imposing tower

This wall looks original

Entrance costs 80 deni (about £1.10) for locals, 120 deni (about £1.70) for foreigners

The remaining photos show views in and from the castle.

World Senior Teams Round Two

Sweden Skåne had white on odd boards against England 2.

1. Krister Lagerborg 2119 ½–½ John M Quinn (2077)

2. Christer Olesen 1857 0-1 Geoffrey H James 2082

3. Torgny Olsson 1792 ½–½ Brian Valentine 1907

4. Erik Andersson 1566 0-1 Stewart Reuben 1912

England 2 won 3-1.

Rest Day

ENGLAND 2 captain John Quinn dropped rested me today, so I took the chance to walk to Ohrid, a city declared a world heritage site by the United Nations' agency Unesco.

Since the route is about 20 kilometres (12.5 miles), according to Google Maps, I set off asap after breakfast to ensure I escaped the hottest part of the day.

The early part of the walk, from Hotel Izgrev, through the nearby village of Kališta, and on to Struga, is largely along a dedicated walkway with which I have become very familiar.

At first I thought this was an exotic bird - perhaps a fledgling, although it flew quite well - but a cafe owner with whom I have become friendly said it had probably escaped from one of a number of chicken coops beside the beach 

Yellow foxglove (maybe - I am pretty ignorant when it comes to flowers) with a minaret in the background

After Struga the route is along a wide pavement between a busy road and Lake Ohrid.

Tourism plays its part for a long distance from the centre of Struga

The road turns inland, but it is possible to continue along an old track that runs alongside the beach and is now apparently only used for service-access to hotels and holiday villas.

Lake Ohrid is regarded locally as very commercially developed, but it is easy to find peace and calm even beside the water

Thick reed-beds are common, but this seems to be one in the process of forming

Once the disused track runs out, one is left to walk along a verge-less road which, while not exceptionally busy, sees traffic bomb along (I lost my sunhat to a speeding lorry, but was able to retrieve it from the ground easily enough).

After Ohrid was captured by Turks in the late-1300s, Christians were for a time confined to a ghetto in the old town, with only Muslims allowed to live outside the walls.

Evidence of Muslim occupation, including this mid-1400s mosque, abound on reaching Ohrid's outskirts

Upper Gate to the old town