4NCL Easter Round Three

AFTER taking a halfpoint bye in round two, I faced a junior (born 2016).

Spanton (1944 ECF/1908 Fide) - Tara Tamilselvan (1879 ECF/1820 Fide)

King's Indian Defence

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Qc2!?

White can get away with moves like this early in the opening, but it can hardly be the best continuation.

3...Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.d4 e5 7.d5

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 prefer 7.dxe5, albeit giving Black at least equality after the reply 7...dxe5.

How should Black proceed?

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7...Nd4!

A typical idea in the King's Indian, and here almost a necessity, according to the engines, as they reckon White is doing well after 7...Ne7.

8.Nxd4!?

Dragon1 is quite happy with this, but Stockfish17.1 prefers playing around the knight.

8...exd4 9.Ne2 0-0 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 c5 12.dxc6?

The engines suggest 12.f3 or 12.Bxf6!?, but reckon Black has at least the upper hand.

12...Qa5+!

This zwischenzug gives White a major headache.

13.Kd1

Also deeply unpleasant is 13.Qd2 Qxd2+ 14.Kxd2 Nxe4.

13...bxc6 14.f3 Qb6 15.Qd2 c5

The engines prefer 15...Rb8, and if 16.Bf2!?, then 16...c5.

16.Rb1 Ba6

Stockfish17.1 likes 16...d5!?, the idea being to meet 17.exd5 with 17...Bf5 18.Rc1 Rae8. giving pressure, and 17.cxd5 with 17...Ba6, again enjoying a strong initiative for a pawn.

17.Nc1

The engines much prefer 17.Bxf6!? Bxf6 18.Nf4, but certainly not 17.b3? g5!? 18.Bg3 Bxc4!

17...Nd7 18.Bd3 Ne5 19.b3 Rfe8 20.Bg3 Nxd3!?

An odd decision, at first sight, giving up a well-placed knight for a hemmed-in bishop, but the engines agree it is clearly the best move.

21.Qxd3 Rad8

Almost certainly even stronger is the positional pawn sacrifice 21...d5!? 22.exd5 Re3.

22.Re1 d5 23.exd5 Rxe1+ 24.Kxe1 Rd8 25.Qc2

Probably not 25.Qe4?! Rd8.

25...Rd8 26.Nd3 Qa5+ 27.Kf1 Kh7?!

The engines reckon this gives away almost all of Black's advantage, whereas 27...Bc8 maintains the upper hand.

28.Re1

But they agree the best response is 28.Bh4, and if 28...Re8, then 29.Re1 with what they reckon is complete equality.

28...Bc8 29.Bh4 Rd6

29...g5!? looks very risky, but White has nothing better than retreating the bishop, according to the engines, after which 30...Bf5 is good.

30.Be7 Rc6 31.Re2 Qc7 32.Kg1

The position of the white king at last looks normal

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32...Bf5 33.Bh4!? Re6 34.Rxe6 fxe6!? 35.Bg3?

This drives the black queen to a good square, whereas after 35.Be1!?, or 35.g4 Bxd3 36.Qxd3, the engines agree the game is equal.

35...Qa5 36.a4?

After 36.Kf1!? Bxd3 (36...Qc3? 37.Qxc3 bxc3 38.Ke2=) 37.Qxd3 Qxa2 38.Bd6 Black is a pawn up but, at best, only slightly better, according to the engines.

36...Qc3 37.Qxc3

Forced.

37...bxc3 38.Nc1 Bd4+ 39.Bf2

39.Kf1? Be3.

39...Bc2 40.Kf1 Kg7 41.a5 Kf7?

This almost certainly should not win, whereas certainly winning is 41...e5,  the idea being to meet 42.Bxd4 with 42...exd4.

42.b4??

Also losing, according to Dragon1 for quite some time, is 42.Bxd4 cxd4 43.Ke2, but Stockfish17.1 reckons Black is only slightly better. At first 43...Ke7 is Dragon1's top choice, but eventually it comes to see 44.b4 as more-or-less equalising, so it switches to 43...e5 44.b4 e4!? 45.fxe4 Bxe4, but after 46.Nd3 Ke6 47.Nc5+ Ke5 48.b5 it agrees with Stockfish17.1 that White holds.

42...Bxf2 43.b5

The point behind 42.b4??, but it is easily parried.

Black has three winning moves

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43...Bd4

Also winning are 43...Be3 and 43...Bh4.

44.f4 Be4 45.Ke2 Ke7 46.Nb3 Kd7 47.g3 Kc7 48.h3 c2 49.Kd2 Bb2 50.Ke3 Bf5 0-1

4NCL Easter Round One

Phil Watkinson (1682 ECF/1717 Fide) - Spanton (1944 ECF/1908 Fide)

QGD Semi-Tarrasch

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 cxd4!?

Much more popular in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database are 5...exd5 and especially 5...Nxd5, but the text is, by a small margin, the top choice of Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1

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6.Qa4+!?

The main line in Mega26 runs 6.Qxd4 exd5 7.Bg5 Be7 8.e3 0-0 9.Be2 Nc6 10.Qd3 h6 11.Bh4 Qb6 12.0-0!?, with equal chances, according to the engines.

6...Bd7 7.Qxd4

The point of White's queen manoeuvre is that the bishop at d7 interferes with Black's fight for the d5 square

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7...exd5 8.Nxd5

More common, but scoring 11 percentage points less in Mega26, is declining the pawn with 8.Bg5!?

8...Qa5+ 9.Nc3 Nc6 10.Qd1

This is most popular, but the engines also like a move not in Mega26, 10.Qd3!?, eg 10...0-0-0 11.Bd2 Bg4 12.Qb5!? Qxb5 13.Nxb5 Ne4!?, when they reckon Black has enough for a pawn, but no more. However, note that 10.Qd2?!, also apparently a novelty, is problematic for White after both 10...0-0-0 and 10...Bb4.

10...Ne4 11.Bd2

If 11.Qd5, Black has 11...Qxd5!? 12.Nxd5, and then the engines suggest an apparent-novelty in 12...Nb4!?, after which 13.Nxb4 Bxb4+ 14.Bd2 (not 14.Nd2? Rc8!) Nxd2 15.Nxd2 0-0 gives Black good compensation for a pawn, according to the engines.

11...Nxd2 12.Qxd2 Bb4!?

This may be a novelty. Harry Golombek - Stuart Milner-Barry, British Championship (Brighton) 1938, went 12...0-0-0 13.Nd5? Qxd5?? (13...Nb4! wins) 14.Qxd5 Bb4 15.Nd2 Be6 16.Qxd8+?! (16.Qg5!? is preferred by the engines) Rxd8 17.0-0-0 (1-0, 31 moves). Best after 12...0-0-0 may be the surprising retreat 13.Qc1!?, when Cliff Wichman (2319) - Konstantin Cebulla (2054), Staufer Open (Schwäbisch Gmünd) 2017, continued 13...Bf5 14.a3, with what the engines reckon may be a slight edge for White.

13.e4?!

The engines prefer 13.Rc1 or 13.e3, claiming a slight edge for White.

13...0-0-0 14.Bd3?!

It is hard to come up with an acceptable suggestion, the engines fluctuating between several moves, but possibly best is 14.Qc2, although 14...Bg4 15.Be2 Bxf3!? 16.Bxf3 Nd4 gives Black the upper hand, according to the engines.

14...Bg4 15.0-0?

The engines give 15.Rd1 or 15.0-0-0, but agree Black is well on top.

15...Bxf3 16.gxf3 Ne5

White is losing a piece

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17.Qc2 Bxc3 18.Rfd1 Rxd3 19.Rxd3 Nxd3 20.Qxd3 Qg5+ 21.Kf1 Be5 22.Qd5 Rd8 23.Qc5+ Kb8 24.Rc1 Qf4 25.Kg2?

White is lost anyway, but this makes matters much worse.

25...Qxh2+ 26.Kf1 Bd4 27.Qc2 Bb6 28.b4 Qh1+ 29.Ke2 Qg2 30.Rf1 Qg5 31.a4 a5!? 32.b5 Qc5 33.Qb2 Qd4 34.Qc2 Rc8 35.Qa2 Qc4+ 36.Qxc4 Rxc4 37.Ra1 Rc2+ 38.Ke1 Rxf2 39.Ra3 h5 0-1

Easter Egg-stras

AS well as the three swisses run by the Four Nations Chess League at Daventry, Northants, over Easter, there is a Saturday evening blitz and two 10-player round-robins, featuring five grandmasters and six international masters.

Main playing-hall

Easter Treat

AM traveling to the Northamptonshire market town of Daventry today for the Four Nations Chess League's Easter congress, which has three seven-round tournaments over four days: open, U2000 and U1700.

I have entered the U2000, which, with 65 entries, is easily the biggest of the tournaments.

All three have what can be thought of as the modern standard time-control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment.

Two halfpoint byes are allowed, and I am taking mine in the morning rounds on Saturday and Monday.

Players in the open include two grandmasters - full details at the 4NCL.

League Chess

PLAYED on board one (of four) for Battersea against Lewisham last night in Croydon & District League's Dave Luckin division, where teams are allowed a rating total of 6,600 elo, ie a player-average of 1650.

Anthony Agu (2091) - Spanton (1921)

Spanish Berlin

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d5!?

Much more common is 5...0-0, but the pawn-thrust is growing in popularity

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6.exd5

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 like the text and 6.Nbd2. Naturally, 6.Nxe5 is possible, but after 6...0-0! note that 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bxc6 runs into 8...Bxf2+!, with a sharp position that the engines reckon favours Black.

6...Qxd5

The engines prefer this over 6...Nxd5.

7.Bc4 Qd6

This is the commonest queen-retreat in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database.

8.0-0 0-0

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

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Black has more space in the centre, but White can take the initiative on the queenside, and the engines reckon this is the slightly more important factor.

9.b4 Bb6 10.a4 a6

This may be a novelty. The engines prefer 10...e4!?, when 11.dxe4 Qxd1 12.Rxd1 Nxe4 gives equal chances, according to Stockfish17.1, although Dragon1 gives White an edge.

11.Ba3 Ne7 12.Nbd2 Bf5 13.Qb3 Rad8!?

The engines fluctuate a lot, but come to more-or-less agree Black should play 13...c6 or 13...Ng6.

14.Ng5

Perhaps best is 14.a5 Ba7 15.b5 Bc5 16.Nxe5!? Qxe5 17.d4 Qf4 18.Bxc5, when White is a pawn up, has the bishop-pair and is better coordinated.

14...Bg6 15.a5 Ba7 16.Nde4 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 Qd7 18.b5 axb5 19.Qxb5 c6!?

The engines give this as best.

20.Qxe5!?

Withdrawing the queen to b2 or b3 maintains a bigger advantage, according to the engines.

20...Rfe8 21.Nc5 Qc8!? 22.Qg5 Nd5 23.a6?

The engines reckon White is slightly better after 23.Qd2.

23...b5 24.Bb3 Nxc3 25.h4?

Too slow. The engines suggest 25.Kh1!? or 25.Bb2, but prefer Black.

25...Rd4

Even stronger, according to the engines, is 25...Ne2+, and then 26...Rd4 or 26...Nd4.

26.Rfe1 Ne2+ 27.Kf1

How should Black proceed?

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27...h6??

27...Rg4 can be met by 28.Be6!, so best may be 27...Bxc5 28.Bxc5 Rg4 29.Qd2 Rxh4!? 30.f3 Qd8!, with equal chances, according to the engines.

28.Qxg6

The engines reckon White's advantage is worth more than a rook.

The game finished:

28...Rxh4!? 29.Bxf7+ Kh8 30.Ne6 Rxe6 31.Qxe6 Qxe6 32.Bxe6 Nd4 33.Bh3 b4 34.Bb2 Rf4 35.Re8+ Kh7 36.Re7 Rxf2+? 37.Kxf2 Nf5+ 38.Rxa7 1-0

The match ended 2-2.

My Battersea Season 2025-6

Date       Event  Colour  Rating  Opp's Rating  Score  Season's Perf

16/9/25   CLL       W       1936         1952             0           1552

18/9/25   CLL       W       1936         1797             =           1675

16/10/25 CLL       W       1889         2047             0           1665

23/10/25 CLL       B        1889         1823             1           1805

18/11/25  LL         W       1891         1980             =           1840

20/11/25  CLL      W       1891         1866             1            1911

25/11/25  BCC     B        1891         1817             1            1955

9/12/25    LL         W       1904         1982             1            2008

16/12/25  LL         B        1904         2046             0            1968

18/12/25  CLL      B        1904         2066             1            2018

6/1/26      CLL      W       1929         2150             =            2066

7/1/26      LL         W       1929         1971             =            2058

8/1/26      CLL      B        1929         1800?           =            2038

13/1/26    LL         B        1929         2035             1            2067

27/1/26    LL         B        1929         2089             0            2041

29/1/26    CLL      B        1929         1882             =            2031

3/2/26      BCC     W       1928         1836             1            2043     

12/2/26    CDL      B        1928        1890              1            2057

25/2/26    LL         B        1928        1863              =            2047

26/2/26    CLL      B         1928        2015             0            2025

3/3/26      CDL      B        1914        1976              1            2043

24/3/26    BCC     W        1921        1780             1            2049

26/3/26    CLL      B         1921        1942             =            2045

31/3/26    CDL      B        1921         2091             0            2030           

CLL: Central London League

LL: London League

BCC: Battersea club championship

CDL: Croydon & District League

I also have a win-by-default in the Central London League