Miniatures 2

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Spanton - A Cooper*

Yorkshire League 1979

Spanish Berlin

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6

Very modern play for 1979!

4.0-0 Be7

Nowadays 4...Nxe4 is all the rage.

5.Re1 a6?

This blunders a pawn. Normal is 5...d6.

6.Ba4?

Well, it should have blundered a pawn. Amusingly the text is the commonest continuation in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database, but 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.Nxe5 leaves Black with no compensation for being a pawn down as 7...Qd4 is simply met by 8.Nf3.

6...b5 7.Bb3

The game has transposed to a hardcore Spanish position occurring 94,646 times in Mega25

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7...0-0 8.c3 d5!?
The Marshall Attack, aka the Marshall Gambit.

Black scores an excellent 52% with 8...d5!?

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9.d4!?

Stockfish17 and Dragon1 prefer accepting the gambit with 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5, but the text has been played by Magnus Carlsen, and scores 10 percentage points better in Mega25.

9...exd4

Also popular are 9...dxe4 and 9...Nxe4, but the text is the main line.

10.e5 Ne8?!

Almost certainly better is 10...Ne4.

11.cxd4 Be6 12.Nc3 Na5 13.Bc2 c5!?

The engines prefer this over the known move 13...Rac8.

14.Be3?!

The engines give 14.dxc5!? Bxc5, and possibly 15.Bg5, claiming White is positionally winning.

14...Nc4

The engines like 14...c4!?

15.Qd3!?

Black to play and lose

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15...Nxb2?? 16.Qxh7#
*Apart from the fact my opponent came from York, I have no further details. He probably had a grade, but I did not record it, and I do not think I had one.

LESSON: 15...Nxb2?? is the result of focusing on one's own threats, instead of considering what the opponent might do. Instead 15...g6 would have left White with only a slight edge, according to the engines.

Summer Time

MY chess plans for the summer are more or less settled.

Munich Seniors Jun 8-14

Part of the 3rd Munich Chess Festival, which includes open, junior and norm events. Tournament director Richard Holzberger tells me he expects about 30 players in the seniors, which is for people born before 1966. All seven rounds start at 10:00, with a time control of 60 minutes plus a 30-second increment.

Upper Franconia Senior Championship Jun 27-Jul 5

A ChessOrg event for players born before 1971. Eight rounds at 14:30, with the ninth and final round at 09:00. The time control is 40 moves in 100 minutes, plus 30 minutes to finish, and a 30-second increment throughout.

Bad Bertrich 50+ Jul 18-26

The 31st edition of this event at a German spa town about 40 miles from the border with Luxembourg. The first round is at 15:00, rounds two to eight at 10:00, and round nine at 09:30. The time control is 40 moves in 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes to finish, and a 30-second increment throughout.

British 65+ Championship Aug 4-10

Held at Liverpool with six rounds at 14:30, and round seven at 10:00. The time control is 40 moves in 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes to finish, and a 30-second increment throughout.

Czech 65+ Championship Aug 17-24

Held at Olomouc as part of the CzechTour. Nine mostly-afternoon rounds, but with a double-round day. The time control is 40 moves in 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes to finish, and a 30-second increment throughout.

 

Torquay Riviera Open Aug 30-Sep 5

The 3rd edition of the 'New Paignton'. All seven rounds start at 14:30. The time control is 90 minutes, with a 30-second increment.

Summing Up Bregenz

MY score of +4=0-3 in the Bodensee Senioren at Bregenz, Austria, lost 6.4 Fide elo, and means I have extended my drawless streak to 22 games.

A Zeppelin can just be seen flying over Lake Constance (Bodensee) against a foreground of Bregenz' 'floating' opera stage