Here is his win in round one, which starts with interesting opening play, after which a faulty combination by White gives Black a winning middlegame.
JF nurses it into a winning rook-and-pawn ending, which is where the fun starts, as the endgame becomes a fiendishly difficult series of positions in which first one player, then the other, has to find only-moves to save a half-point (for White) or to bring home the win (for Black).
Even Dragon1 does not understand what is going on, although, to its credit, Stockfish18 does much better.
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Robert Kane (1828 ECF/1792 Fide) - John Fletcher (1999 ECF/1955 Fide)
QGD Ragozin
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4
The Ragozin, characterised by the move 4...Bb4, is Black's third-most popular continuation at move four, behind 4...c6 and especially 4...Be7, but is the top choice of Stockfish18, and is Dragon1's equal-first choice, along with 4...c5. But the evaluation-differences between the moves are tiny, and, given more time, 4...dxc4 takes over as Dragon1's top choice, while 4...c6 becomes Stockfish18's second favourite.
5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.Ne5
The engines prefer 6.e3 or 6.cxd5.
6...Bd7 7.Nxc6
Somewhat more popular, at least in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, is 7.Nxd7 - either way, White wins the bishop-pair.
7...Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Bxc6 9.Qb3 0-0
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| With the immediate tactics having died down, how would you assess the position? |
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White has the bishop-pair, and can get rid of his doubled pawns at any time, but Black is well ahead on development. The engines reckon the game gives equal chances.
10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 g5!? 12.Bg3 Ne4 13.e3 Kg7!?
The engines are OK with this apparent-novelty, and prefer it over the known 13...h5, which was played by a 2193 in the 2003 Marseille Open.
14.c5!?
The engines much prefer 14.cxd5 or 14.f3.
14...b6 15.Be5+?
The engines reckon 15.cxb6 axb6 16.Bd3 Nxg3!? 17.hxg3 leaves Black slightly better (Stockfish18) or at best with the upper hand (Dragon1).
15...f6 16.Bxc7?
'Clever', but bad, although Black is also on top after the engines' 16.Bg3 bxc5.
16...Qxc7 17.f3
This is the point of White's combination, but after ...
17...Nxc5 18.dxc5 bxc5
... White has lost a pawn, as well as the bishop-pair.
19.Be2 Qa5 20.0-0 Rab8 21.Qc2 Ba4 22.Qc1 Bb5 23.c4 Ba6 24.f4?!
The engines suggest 24.Re1 or 24.h4!?
24...Qb4 25.fxg5 hxg5 26.Bd3 Bxc4 27.a3 Qa4 28.Bxc4 Qxc4 29.Qxc4 dxc4
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| How big is Black's advantage in this rook-and-pawn ending? |
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Black's two extra pawns are doubled and isolated, but White also has weaknesses, and the engines reckon Black's advantage is roughly the equivalent of being up a minor piece.
30.Rfc1 Rb2!
The engines prefer grabbing the seventh rank over attacking the white isolanis with 30...Rb3.
31.Rxc4 Rd8 32.Rac1 Rdd2 33.Rg4 Kg6 34.Rh4 Kh5 35.Rg3?
White had to play 35.Rcc4, according to the engines.
35...Kxh4 36.Kh2 Rbc2 37.Rb1 Rd7 38.Rb8
Threatening mate in two!
38...Kh5 39.Rg8 Rc4 40.Rf3 Rf7 41.Re8 g4?!
This seriously lessens Black's advantage, whereas, after 41...Re4 or 41...Rh4+, Black is in the region of being the equivalent of a rook up, according to the engines.
42.Rf4?
The engines reckon that after 42.Rf1!? Black's advantage is 'only' about +2.50.
42...Rc3??
Black wins easily after 42...Rxf4 43.exf4 Rc7, eg 44.Rxe6 c4 45.Re1 c3 46.Rc1 c2 47.Kg3 Rc3+ 48.Kf2 Kg6, with an overwhelming position.
Black wins easily after 42...Rxf4 43.exf4 Rc7, eg 44.Rxe6 c4 45.Re1 c3 46.Rc1 c2 47.Kg3 Rc3+ 48.Kf2 Kg6, with an overwhelming position.
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| White to play and equalise |
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43.Rh8+?
After 43.Rxe6, Black's material advantage is reduced to one pawn, and that, as is well-known, is often insufficient in rook-and-pawn endings, this one included, eg 43...Rxa3 can be met by 44.Rf5+ Kg6 45.Rxc5, with complete equality, according to the engines, one line running 45...a5 46.Kg3 Rg7 (defending g4 indirectly) 47.Rc4 Kf5 48.Re8, when it seems Black cannot make progress. The engines prefer 43...f5, but agree White is fine after 44.a4.
43...Kg6 44.Rg8+ Kh7 45.Rfxg4 Rxe3
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| White's rooks may look menacing, but Black's king is not in serious danger, and meanwhile Black is still two pawns up |
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46.Rc8 Re5
46.Rc8 Re5
There is nothing wrong with 46...Rxa3.
47.Rc4 Kg6 48.R8xc5 Rxc5 49.Rxc5
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| Now a pair of rooks has been exchanged, how big is Black's advantage? |
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Black is not only a pawn up, but has a passed pawn that can easily be made a protected passer; the a7 pawn is easily protected (and cannot be got at by the white king); and Black's king is well-placed to support the black pawn-duo. Black's advantage is almost the equivalent of being a piece and a pawn up, according to the engines.
49...Rb7 50.Ra5 e5 51.Kg3 Kg5 52.Kf3 f5??
Impatient. Correct is 52...Re7, getting behind the passed pawn, while still protecting a7.
53.Rxe5 Rb3+
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| All three legal moves draw |
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54.Kf2 Rxa3
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| The Syzygy endgame tablebase shows 10 of White's 18 legal moves draw |
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55.Re8 Kf4 56.Re2?
There were still eight drawing moves - all seven rook moves along the back rank, and 56.Kg1!?
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| Black has one winning move |
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56...a5!
Stockfish18 works out that this is winning, but Dragon1 does not.
57.Rc2
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| Again there is only one winning move |
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57...Rd3
Syzygy, and Stockfish18, show 57...Ra4! wins. Play might continue 58.Rc5 (Dragon1 erroneously believes this draws) Ra2+ 59.Kg1 (Dragon1's idea) a4 60.Rc4+ Ke3 61.Kh2 (equal, according to Dragon1) f4! 62.Kg1, and only now does Dragon1 realise Black is winning, after 62...a3. Actually, Syzygy shows 62...Ra1+ and 62...Ra3 also win, but the most direct path to victory runs (with White putting up the most dogged resistance) 62...a3 63.Rc3+ Kd4 64.Rc3 Kc5! 65.Kh2 Kb5 66.Kg1 Kb6!? (other moves also win, but Syzygy shows this is the fastest) 67.Rb3+ Ka5 68.Rf3 Ra1+ 69.Kh2 Kb5! 70.Rb3+ Ka4 (70...Ka4 is also a good answer to, for example, 70.Rc3) 71.Rb7 (71.Rf3 Rb1 72.Rxf4+ Rb4 73.Rf2 Rc4 74.Re2 Rb3 etc) Rc172.Ra7+ Kb3 73.Rb7+ Ka2, and the rest is relatively simple, eg 74.Ra7 Rc3 75.Ra8 Ka1 76.Ra7 Rb3 etc.
58.Ra2 Rd5 59.Ra4+ Ke5 60.g3 Kd6
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| White has one drawing move |
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61.Ke3
White had to play 61.g4!, forcing an ending of rook and rook's pawn versus rook - the most drawish of all rook-and-pawn endings.
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| Black has one winning move |
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61...Kc6
An only-move, but is fairly easy to see other moves get Black nowhere.
62.Kf4 Kb5
Six other moves also win.
Six other moves also win.
63.Ra1 a4 64.g4
Too late.
64...fxg4 65.Kxg4 Rd3 66.Kf4 a3 67.Rb1+ Kc4 68.Ke4 a2 0-1
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