When the opponent is considerably stronger, this is not surprising, but when ratings are not so different, the results are harder to explain.
My biggest bogeyman is probably John Bass, whose record against me is +6=1-0.
Seven games is not a huge sample, but such a poor performance on my part must signify something.
So in this mini-series I am looking at my games against JB to try to discover what is going on.
Fourteen years after my fourth defeat, we met again.
Spanton (1955) - Bass (1953)
Central London League Division Two 2022
French Alekhine-Chatard
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4
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| The gambit move 6.h4 scores 61% in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, three percentage points more than the mainline 6.Bxe7 |
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6...Bxg5
Declining the gambit is much more popular, but this acceptance has been played by Korchnoi and other strong grandmasters.
7.hxg5 Qxg5 8.Nh3
This seems to have been Alekhine's innovation, varying from Albin's original 8.Nf3.
8...Qe7
Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 suggest 8...Qh4!?, when 9.Nb5!? might be better than the commoner 9.g3.
9.Qg4
If you tend to think of Réti as a master of manoeuvre rather than all-out attacker, it might be a revelation to you - it was to me - that the first two games with this move in Mega26 feature Réti as White.
9...g6 10.Bd3?!
A developing move, but without much purpose as the bishop does little here. The engines prefer 10.Ng5!? or 10.0-0-0.
10...Nc6 11.Nb5!?
This rare continuation - just two examples in Mega26 - is Stockfish17.1's top choice for quite some time, but it comes to agree with Dragon1 that, marginally marginally, better is the normal 11.0-0-0.
11...Nb6 12.Ng5 a6!
By transposition the game had reached a position occurring three times in Mega26, all of which saw 12...h5. The engines agree the text is an improvement.
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| How should White proceed? |
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13.Nxh7?
Correct is 13.Nxf7! Qxf7 14.Bxg6! Qxg6 15.Qxg6 hxg6 16.Rxh8+ Kd7, with equal chances, according to the engines, which reckon 13...Kxf7!? 14.Bxg6+ Kg8 15.Bh5+ Qg7 16.Nxc7 Qxg4 17.Bxg4 gives White at least a slight edge.
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| What should Black play? |
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13...Kd8??
Giving up the exchange with 13...Rxh7? is better than the text, according to the engines, but winning is 13...axb5!, the point being 14.Nf6+?! runs into 14...Qxf6! 15.exf6 Rxh1+, when, after 16.Bf1, Black has rook and two knights for a queen.
14.Nd6??
Giving up a piece for no good reason. After 14.Nc3 White has a positionally won game, according to the engines.
14...cxd6 15.exd6 Qxd6 16.0-0-0 Kc7 17.Nf6 Bd7 18.Kb1 Rad8
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| The black king is just as safe as White's, so the only significant difference between the two sides is Black's extra knight |
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19.c3 e5!? 20.Nxd7 Nxd7 21.dxe5 Ndxe5 22.Qg3 Rxh1 23.Rxh1 Nxd3 24.Qxd3 Qf4 0-1
LESSON: sharp play was decided by back-to-back blunders, with the player of the next-to-last-blunder emerging victorious.
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