Weight 4

I AM keeping a check on my weight while staying at an all-inclusive resort.

Day One: 82.3kg/181lb
Day Two: 82.4kg/182lb
Day Three: 81.9kg/181lb

Day Four: 82.3kg/181lb

A Look At The Playing Conditions

THERE are two airconditioned playing halls.

The hall I am playing in - it looks idyllic, but tables are placed unnecessarily close back-to-back, at times resulting in incessant bumping as people struggle to get by

Crete Round Four

FACED a Spaniard.

Spanton (2013) - Pedro José Maria Chidichimo (1867)

Amateur Chess Organization 50+ World Championship Group C
English v Dutch

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 f5 3.e4!?

More popular are 3.Nf3, 3.d4 and especially 3.g3.

3...fxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qc2!?

A rare continuation.

5...Nc6 6.Nf3 e5!?

Apparently a novelty. It discourages a quick d4, but costs a tempo.

6.Be2 Be7 8.0-0 d6 9.b3 Bg4 10.Bb2 Qd7 11.d3!?

Stockfish17 and Dragon1 much prefer 11.Ng3 or 11.d4.

11...0-0-0!?

Now both sides have castled, who stands better?

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As usual with openings in which there is opposite-side castling, it is difficult to be sure whose chances are better, but the engines give White a slight edge.
12.Rab1

The engines like 12.h3!?

12...Nh5 13.b4?!

The engines call this a mistake, still preferring h3!?

How can Black take advantage of White's last move?

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13...Nf4

Both engines like the text, but Dragon1 prefers 13...Rhf8!?, and Stockfish17 prefers 13...Nxb4!?  After the latter I intended 14.Qb3, but then comes 14...Nf4 15.Bd1 (even worse are 15.Rfe1? Nxe2+ 16.Nxe2 Bxf3 and 15.Qxb4? Nxe2+ 16.Kh1 Bxf3) Nfxd3 16.Bc3 d5!?

14.b5 Nxe2+?

The king's knight is too valuable to swop for a passive bishop, unless something major is achieved. So better is 14...Nb8, but strongest is the engines' 14...Nb4!, virtually forcing 15.Qd1, after which the engines reckon 15...Rhf8!? gives Black the upper hand.

15.Qxe2 Nd4!? 16.Bxd4 exd4 17.h3!?

A key move, more-or-less forcing Black to give up the bishop-pair.

17...Bxf3

Possible is 17...Bh5 18.Ng3 Bg6?!, when 19.Nxd4 d5!? comes close to equalising, but instead the engines give 19.Qc2! Bf6 20.Rb3, claiming White's queenside attack is going to come long before Black can muster anything on the kingside.

18.Qxf3 h5 19.Rfe1 Rdf8 20.Qg3?!

The queen is vulnerable here, whereas 20.Qe2 gives White the upper hand, according to the engines.

20...Qf5?!

The position is unclear after 20...g5.

How should White proceed?

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21.b6!?

A pawn sacrifice that was highly praised by ACO resident grandmaster Spyridon Skembris, but the engines reckon even stronger is 21.Qxg7!?, which I did not seriously consider, believing it to be foolhardy in the extreme. However concrete analysis seems to support the engines' recommendation, the point being Black has to do something about the attacked bishop. As 21...Re8? 22.Qxd4 Kb8 23.Ng3 is just about hopeless, Black has to try 21...Bh4, but then 22.Qxd4 Rhg8 23.Qe3 (or 23.Kh1) holds, although the position looks hairy, at least to this human.

21...axb6 22.Rb5

The engines still prefer, albeit this time only slightly, Qxg7!?

22...Qf7 23.Rd5

Skembris's suggested 23.a4!? may be stronger.

23...Rh6 24.h4!?

Skembris praised this for gaining space, but possibly 24.Ng5 is better.

24...Rg6 25.Ng5 Bxg5 26.hxg5?!

Probably the wrong way to recapture.

How should Black proceed?

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26...c5

Strong is 26...c6! 27.Rxd4 Rxg5!, the point being 28.Qxg5? fails to 28...Qxf2+ 29.Kh2 Qxd4, when Black is, at least temporarily, two pawns up and has much the safer king. So White has to play 28.Qe3, but 28...Re4 leaves Black a safe pawn up. During the game I was considering 27.Rxd6?? Rxd6 28.Qxd6, but 28...Qxf2+ 29.Kh2 Qh4+ 30.Kg1 Qxe1+ 31.Kh2 Rf1 wins as White does not have perpetual check (indeed, White cannot give a single check without losing the queen).

27.f3 Kc7 28.Qh3?

The queen should maintain its pin on the d6 pawn, so the engines suggest 28.a4 or 28.Re4.

28...Re8!

This is much better than the passive 28...Rh8.

29.Rxe8 Qxe8 30.Qxh5 Qe3+

Also good is 30...Qe1+ 31.Kh2 Re6.

31.Kh2 Re6?

Black is on top after 31...Qxd3.

32.Rf5

Perhaps best is 32.Qf7+ Re7 33.Qg6 Qe6 34.Qxe6 Rxe6 35.f4 with a complicated rook-and-pawn ending that the engines reckon gives equal chances.

32...Re7

The engines' 32...b5!? looks very promising.

33.Qh8?!

This may be losing, whereas 33.Qg6 gives complete equality, according to the engines.

33...Qe6

The engines reckon 33...b5!?, giving luft for the black king, is winning, eg 34.Rf8 bxc4 35.dxc4 Kb6, although the position remains sharp.

34.Rf8 g6?!

White seems better after this, whereas 34...Qe5+ 35.f4 Qe3 36.Rc8+ Kd7 37.Rd8+ Kc7 etc draws. Possibly also OK is 34...b5!?, although the engines reckon 34. gives White a slight edge.

35.Rf6

The engines reckon 35.a4!? gives White an edge.

35...Qd7?

Black has complete equality after 35...Qe5, 35...Qe3, 35...Qe2 and 35...Qe1, according to the engines.

36.Qf8

This is good enough for an advantage, but stronger is 38.Qg8!?, according to the engines.

36...Re8 37.Qh6 Qe7

What should Black play?

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38.Qxg6??

White should not surrender the h file. Instead 38.Kg3, planning to meet a queen check with Kg4, allows the g6 pawn to be safely captured. Also winning, according to the engines, is 38.Kh3.

38...Rh8+ 39.Kg3

Black to play and mate in three

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39...Qe5+??

Correct is 39...Qe1+ 40.Kg4 (or 40.Kf4) Rh4+ 41.Kf5 Qe5#.

40.Kg4

Black is lost.

40...Rh2 41.g3 Rg2 42.Qf7+ Kb8

Or 42...Kc6 43.Qd5+ Qxd5 44.cxd5+ Kxd5 45.g6 etc.

43.Rf4!?

Other moves also win.

43...Qe1 44.Qg8+ Ka7 45.Rf8 Qxg3+ 46.Kh5 Rh2+ 47.Kg6 b5

White to play and mate in three

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48.Ra8+ Kb6 49.Qd8+ 1-0

Weight 3

I AM keeping a check on my weight while staying at an all-inclusive resort.

Day One: 82.3kg/181lb
Day Two: 82.4kg/182lb

Day Three: 81.9kg/181lb

Crete Round Three

FACED a German in the second of today's double-round games.

Spanton (2013) - Jens Müller (1914)

Amateur Chess Organization 50+ World Championship Group C
Modern

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5!? 4.Nf3!?

This is the main move in ChessBase's 2024 Mega database.

4...Qa5!?

After 4...cxd4 5.Nxd4 we have an Accelerated Dragon. The text keeps the game in independent Modern lines.

5.d5!?

There are just 33 (out of 763) games with this continuation in Mega24, but it packs plenty of venom.

How should Black respond?

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5...d6!?

This may be best. The problem with 5...Bxc3+, as twice played by Raymond Keene, is that after 6.bxc3 Qxc3+ 7.Bd2 White gets a lot of compensation for a pawn. Keens preferred 6...Nf6!?, but the engines give White at least the upper hand.

6.Bd2 Nf6 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0

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

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It looks like a Benoni, rather than a Modern, and a version of the Benoni in which White has kept the c4 square clear for possible occupation by the king's knight, which is usually good for White. The engines give White the upper hand.

8...a6 9.Re1 Qc7

Not 9...b5? 10.Nxb5.

10.a4 b6 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4 Bg4

The engines like 12...g5!? 13.Bg3 Nh5 and ...Nxg3.

13.Nd2!? Bxe2 14.Qe2 Nh5 15.Nc4 Nf4 16.Qd2 g5 17.Bg3 Ng6 18.Ne3 Nd7 19.Nf5 Nde5 20.Qe2?!

The engines do not like this, preferring, for example, 20.Bxe5!?, 20.Ne2 and 20.f4.

20...e6 21.Nxg7 Kxg7 22.Rad1 Qe7 23.Qh5!? Rad8 24.Ne2 Qf6!?

The engines at first dislike this, but Stokcfish17 comes to view it as OK, although agreeing with Dragon1 that best is 24...Rfe8!?

25.Rf1 exd5

How should White recapture?

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26.exd5?!

Much better, according to the engines is 26.Rxd5.

26...Qf5 27.f4 Qg4 28.Qxg4 Nxg4

The engines reckon Black has a slight edge (Stockfish17), or at least has completely equalised (Dragon1)

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29.f5 N6e5 30.Bxe5+ dxe5!?

The game is equal after both the text and 30...Nxe5, according to the engines.

31.Rf3 c4!? 32.Nc3 Nf6 33.Re3 Re8 34.h3 e4!? 35.Rd4 Re5 36.Rxc4 Rxf5 37.Nxe4 Nxe4 38.Rcxe4 Rdxd5

JM offered a draw.

39.g4!? Rf6 40.Kg2 Rc6 41.Re2 Rdc5 42.c3 Kg6 43.Ree3 Rc4 44.Kf2 Rxe4 45.Rxe4 f5 46.gxf5 Kxf5 47.Rd4 Re6 48.b4 h5 49.Kf3 Ke5 50.Re4+ Kf5 51.Rd4

Not 51.Rxe6? as 51...Kxe6 52.Ke4 (52.c4 Ke5) b5 wins easily.

51...Ke5 ½–½

New Pen

The latest addition to my collection of chess pens

Crete Round Two

FACED a Scot, with my second black in a row.

Michael Ridge (1885) - Spanton (2013)
Amateur Chess Organization 50+ World Championship Group C
Réti/Reversed Grünfeld/Catalan/QGD Tarrasch
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.d4 Nf6

Varying from round one, when I played 4...Bg4!?

5.0-0 e6 6.c4

There are 7,833 games with this position in ChessBase's 2024 Mega database

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6...dxc4

This is the main move in Mega24, and leads ChessBase to classify the opening as "E04: Open Catalan: 5 Nf3," but other classifications are possible.

7.Qa4 Bd7 8.Qxc4 b5! 9.Qd3

Probably not 9.Qxb5?! Nxd4.

9...Nb4!?

The main moves are 9...Rc8 and, a tad more popular in Mega24, 9...c4.

10.Qd1 Bc6!?

A superficial glance at the position might lead one to suppose Black is doing well - the white queen has been chased back to its starting square, and the white king's knight cannot move without allowing a swop of light-square bishops

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However after ...

11.a3

... the impetuous black knight does not have a good retreat square, eg 11...Nbd5?! 12.e4 is positionally winning for White, according to Stockfish17 and Dragon1.

That leaves ...

11...Na6

... but the knight is sidelined for the foreseeable future.

12.Bg5!?

This may be a novelty. The engines prefer the known 12.Nc3.

12...cxd4 13.b4!?

Fixing the b5 weakness and preventing ...Nc5.

13...h6?!

Probably better is 13...Be7.

14.Bxf6 Qxf6

The engines prefer 14..gxf6!?

15.Qxd4

Even stronger is 15.Qd3!?, according to the engines.

15...Be7 16.Nbd2 Qxd4

Both 17.Ne4 and 17.Rac1 were unpleasant threats.

17.Nxd4 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Bf6

Perhaps better is 18...Nc7, but Black's position is very difficult.

19.N2b3 0-0 20.Rac1

Can you find a decent continuation for Black?

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No, unless your abilities surpass those of Stockfish17 and Dragon1. They reckon best-play goes 20...Bxd4!? 21.Nxd4 Nb8 22.Nxb5 a5, but White is winning.

20...Rfd8 21.Nxb5 Rd7 22.Rfd1 Rad8?!

Perhaps better is the engines' 22...Rb7 23.Nd6 Re7!?, but it is all rather hopeless.

23.Rxd7 Rxd7 24.Rc6 Rb7

There is nothing better, eg 24...Nb8 25.Rc8+ Rd8 26.Nxa7.

25.Rxa6 Rxb5 26.Rxa7 Bb2 27.Nc5 Bd4 28.Rb7!? (1-0, 41 moves)

Weight 2

I AM keeping a check on my weight while staying at an all-inclusive resort.

Day One: 82.3kg/181lb

Day Two: 82.4kg/182lb

Crete Round One

FACED a German.

Daniel Schröder (1975) - Spanton (2013)

Amateur Chess Organization 50+ World Championship Group C
Réti/Reversed Grünfeld

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.d4

How should Black proceed?

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4...Bg4!?

This has been tried by many grandmasters, but Greek GM Spyridon Skembris, who is one of the ACO's resident GMs and kindly offered to go over my game, said Black should play 4...e6 or 4...Nf6. Stockfish17 and Dragon1 basically agree, while also being happy with 4...cxd4. All three moves are more popular than the text in ChessBase's 2024 Mega database.

How should White respond to the bishop's development?

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5.c3!?

This is somewhat passive, but is second in popularity behind Skembris's suggested 5.Ne5, and if then 5...Nxe5, White has 6.dxe5, with c4 to come, enhancing the influence of the white light-square bishop.

5...e6 6.0-0 Qb6!?

Normal is 6...Nf6.

7.e3!? Nf6

As Skembris pointed out, Black has a type of position more usually associated with White, and vice versa

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8.Nbd2 Be7 9.Qb3 c4 10.Qxb6

The engines prefer 10.Qa4!?

10...a6 11.Re1 Bf5!?

The engines agree that stopping an immediate e4 is Black's best plan.

12.h3!?

The engines strongly dislike this, suggesting 13.Ng5!? with 14.e4 to come.

12...0-0 13.Nh2 b5 14.g4!?

The engines like 14.e4, eg 14...Nxe4 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.Bxe4 dxe4 17.Rxe4, reaching the same position as is reached in the game, but with the white g pawn on g3 instead of g4.

14...Bd3 15.e4

What should Black play?

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15...dxe4

Skembris wanted Black to undertake immediate queenside play, first suggesting 15...b4!? and later 15...Na5? The latter is a mistake, however, as White has 16.exd5, when Black cannot recapture as the bishop at e7 will hang. The engines like 15...b4!? and 15...h6!?

16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.Rxe4 b4

White has opened the position to the benefit of White's bishop and king's rook, but Black has a queenside initiative

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19.Re2

Perhaps it was better to start bringing the white knight back into play with 19.Nf1!?

19...Ra4 20.Bf4?!

The engines' 20.Nf3 is probably better.

20...Rfa8 21.Rae1!? bxc3

As Chelmsford's Edgar Wilson, who was watching the analysis, pointed out, 21...Rxa2!? may be stronger, the engines showing that if 22.d5 then 22...exd5!? 23.Rxe7 Nxe7 24.Rxe7 Rxb2 leaves Black winning thanks to the preponderance of black queenside pawns.

22.bxc3 Rxa2 23.Rxa2 Rxa2 24.Rb1

Now that White suddenly has strong counterplay, how should Black continue?

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24...g5!

The engines agree this is best, but Skembris's 24...Na5 also seems reasonable.

25.Bc7!?

This may give the best practical chances as, after 25.Be3, Black has 25...Nd8, with the black rook remaining active and the b pawn not falling.

How should Black reply?

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25...Rc2

Even stronger seems to be the engines' 25...Nxd4!?, eg 26.cxd4 c3 and 27...c2, or 26.Rxb7 Ne2+ and 27...f6.

26.Rxb7 Rxc3 27.Rb6

Black to play and maintain a winning advantage

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27...Nb4!

This proved very difficult to find, as was illustrated by the number of people who could not find it during the post-game analysis.

While playing I thought Black has a draw with 27...Nxd4!? 28.Bxe5 Rb3?? 29.Bxd4 Rxb6 30.Bxb6 c3 31.Be3? Ba3 32.Nf3 c2 33.Nxg5 c1=Q+ 34.Bxc1 Bxc1, but the engines point out that winning for White is the simple 31.Bd4 c2 32.Bb2 as White retains an extra piece. However 27...Nxd4!? does win as 28.Be5 can be met by the engines' 28...Bd8!, eg 29.Rb8 Rc1+ 30.Kg2 Nc6.

28.Rb8+

Or 28.Be5 f6 29.Bxf6 (29.Rxe6? Kf7) Bxf6 30.Rxb4 Bxd4, when, as Skembris pointed out, White's kingside is horribly weak.

28...Kg7 29.Ba5

This pin is easily dealt with, but White is lost anyway.

29...Rc1+ 30.Kg2 Nc6 31.Rb5?!

Objectively better is 31.Bd2.

31...Nxd4

This is plenty good enough, but, as Skembris noted, even stronger is 31...c3!?

32.Rb7 Bf6 33.Nf3 Ne2 34.Rc7?

Better, but still losing, is 34.Bd2.

34...c3 35.Rc5 h6 36.h4!? gxh4 37.Kh3 c2 38.Bd2 Rh1+ 39.Kg2 c1=Q 40.Bxc1 Rxc1 0-1

In Search of Coffee

SLEPT badly last night, due at least to having had a double-espresso shortly after arriving at Fodele Beach late yesterday afternoon.

That meant I was down for breakfast at first knockings, ie 07:00, which was fine, except proper coffee is not available at the resort until 10:00, when the 'all-day' restaurant opens.

So after breakfast I walked into the hills, up to the village of Fodele, which is about three kilometres (two miles) away.

There were occasional cars, but my main companions came from a flock of goats, with whom I shared the road for part of the way

It was easy walking as the sun had not got above the hills.

Fodele has a surprising number of cafes and shops for such a small village, but I arrived before most opened

I did get an espresso - not from a machine - although the cafe I enjoyed visiting three years ago when I played in the same tournament during covid still had its doors closed.

The sun crept above the hills on my way back, but even then was mostly blocked by unforecast cloud

Weight For It

MY room at Fodele Beach has an electronic bathroom scale, so I have decided to weigh myself each morning to see how all-inclusive living measures up.

Day one: 82.3kg/181lb.

Growing Old Improvingly

JOE Skielnik has followed up my post earlier today about improving with age.

He writes: "Your blog today raises an interesting question, can one improve as one gets older?"

Joe included a link to a short but interesting article that, reading between the lines, suggests players below professional level never reach a point beyond which they can no longer improve.

One of the claims in the article is that, for non-professionals, your rating rather than your age is the better indicator of how much you can/will improve if you put in some study.

As Joe points out, the article is "a little complicated," and it may be I have misrepresented it in my words above, but at any rate it provides food for thought.

Getting There (Fodele Beach)

I OVERNIGHTED in a Premier Inn at Gatwick as I had a 09:40 flight today with Turkish airline Corendon to Crete's Heraklion airport.

From there I got a taxi (50 euros) to the venue-resort, Fodele Beach, arriving at about 17:00 East European time (ie UK +2 hours).

Last of the evening sunshine

View from my balcony

Must Be Doing Something Right

I STARTED this blog seven years ago, one of the main motivations being the hope that analysing my games to a publishable state would improve my chess.

Back in September 2017 my English Chess Federation grade was 169, which converted to an elo rating of 1968 - my ECF today, with the publication of October's ratings, is also 1968.

My Fide international rating was 1858 - today it is 2013, a rise of 155 points.

My rating at the Fide-recognised International Correspondence Chess Federation was 2267 - today it is 2325, a rise of 58 points.

No doubt the blog is not the only reason I have been able to at least maintain my ratings, but I am sure it is helping.