League Chess

PLAYED last night on board one (of five) for Battersea 3 against Hackney in Central London League Division One.

Paul Conway (1851) - Spanton (1958)

Sicilian Hyper-Accelerated Dragon

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.c3 Bg7 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 d5 6.exd5 Nf6!? 7.Bb5+ Nbd7 8.d6!?

Rather than let Black capture on d5, White offers back the pawn in return for inflicting an isolani on Black.

How should Black respond?

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8...0-0!?

The theoretical standing of this pawn sacrifice fluctuates. The mainline in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database runs 8...exd6 9.Qe2+ Qe7 10.Bf4 (10.Qe2+ is equally common, but the former scores 10 percentage points more) Qxe2+ 11.Bxe211.Bxe2 Ke7!?12.Nc3, with what Stockfish17 and Dragon1 reckon is an equal game.

9.dxe7 Re8?!

Only 9...Qxe7+ appears in Mega25.

10.0-0 Rxe7 11.Nc3 Nb6 12.h3 Bf5 13.Bf4 Nbd5 14.Bg5

The engines suggest 14.Nxd5!?, eg 14...Qxd5 15.Bd3, awarding White the upper hand.

14...h6 15.Bd2 Qb6 16.Qb3 Rd8

The engines prefer 16...Nxc3!?, with a quick ..Ne4 to follow, whichever way White recaptures.

17.Bc4 Qxb3 18.Bxb3 Nxc3 19.bxc3 Ne4 20.Rfd1 Rc7 21.Rac1 b5

The engines prefer 21...Nxd2, claiming full compensation for a pawn.

22.Be1!?

The engines like this, along with 22.Bf4.

22...Rdc8 23.g4!? Bd7 24.Rd3 a5 25.Ne5 Bxe5 26.dxe5 Nc5 27.Rd6

How should Black proceed?

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27...Ne4?

Missing White's threat. The engines reckon 27...Nxb3 28.axb3 a4!? equalises.

28.Rxg6+! Kh7 29.Ra6 Nc5 30.Bc2+ Kg7 31.Rf6?!

The simple 31.Rxa5 is better, but the text also leaves White with a substantial advantage.

31...Rc6

The engines give 31...Be6!? 32.Bd2 Nd7 33.Bxh6+ Kg8, but White is, at least temporarily, three pawns up.

32.Rf3!? Be6 33.Bf5 Re8 34.Bb1 Nd7 35.Re3 Nb6 36.f4 Nc4 37.Rd3 Na3 38.Bh4!? b4 39.Bf6+ Kf8 40.f5 Bc4

The engines suggest 40...Nxb1!? 41.fxe6 Nxc3 42.e7+ Rxe7 (42...Kg8? 43.Rd8 Rc8 44.Rc2 Kh7 45.Rcd2 etc) 43.Bxe7+ Kxe7, but Black is the exchange down in a fairly straightforward ending.

41.Rd6 Rc5 42.cxb4 axb4 43.Bd3 Rec8 44.Rd8+ Rxd8 45.Bxd8 Rd5 46.Bxc4 Rxd8 47.Bb3 (1-0, 61 moves)
Hackney won the match 4-1.

MY BATTERSEA SEASON 2024-5

DATE.....EVENT...........................COL..RATING..OPP'S RATING..SCORE..SEASON PERF

12/9/24  Central London League   W     1933         1886                   1            2286

26/9/24  Central London League   B      1933         2112                   1            2399

15/10/24 Club Championship        W     1968         1578                   1            2259*

31/10/24 Central London League  B      1968         1867                   0            2061*

19/11/24 London League               W     1957         1991                   1            2127*

21/11/24 Central London League   B      1957         2035                   =           2112*

27/11/24 London League               W     1957         1723                   =           2056*

12/12/24 Central London League   B     1965         2153                   0            2018*

7/1/25     Club Championship         B      1958        1785                   1            2037*

9/1/25     Central London League   B      1958        1851                   0            1978

*My season's performance is slightly better than this, the point being my win against the 1578 counts as a 1978 performance, which lowers my average despite me winning the game.