Double Trouble Tomorrow

TOMORROW is the second double-round day in the Amateur Chess Organization's world senior championship, which is being held at the Fodele Beach Resort in Crete.

I have white in both games, which ought to help, although my opponent in the afternoon game will have a bye in the morning, so he should be fresh.

Meanwhile, after my heartbreaking loss today, I walked to the top of the resort, and was cheered by this view.

Looking lovely

Roll on tomorrow.

Crete Round Four

Weight

Friday: 80.4kg (177lb)

Saturday: 80.7kg (178lb)

Yesterday: 80.4kg (177lb)

Today: 80.2kg (177lb)

FACED a Pole today.

Tomasz Sielicki (1938 Fide) - Spanton (1998 ECF)

ACO World Senior Championship Group C (Fodele Beach, Crete) Round 4

QGD Bf4

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bf4

This scores 63% in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database, while the more popular 5.Bg5 scores 58%. The analysis engines Stockfish13 and Komodo12.1.1 prefer the text.

5...0-0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.a3!?

This is second in popularity to 7.c5!?, which is preferred by Komodo12.1.1, whereas Stockfish13 vacillates between the two moves.

7...a6!?

This has been played by grandmasters, but may be too slow. Overwhelmingly more popular is 7...c5.

8.Qc2

White is set up to play 8.c5!?, and should do, according to the engines.
8...c5

Black in turn is set up to play 8...dxc4 9.Bxc4 b5 followed by a quick ...c5, although the engines are OK with the text.

9.dxc5 Bxc5!?

Possibly a novelty. Known is 9...Nxc5, which may well be better.

10.0-0-0!?

The engines reckon White should prefer the plan of exchanging on d5 followed by castling short.

10...Nb6

Somewhat defensive - the engines much prefer 10...b5!?

11.cxd5

The sharp 11.g4!? is strong, according to the engines.

11...exd5 12.Kb1

White is in massive trouble after 12.Nxd5? Nbxd5 13.Qxc5 Bf5.

12...Qe7

Getting the queen out of a pin while protecting the c5 bishop seems natural but the engines prefer developing the light-square bishop to e6 or d7.

13.Ng5!?

This threatens 14.Nxd5!, but the engines prefer development with 13.Bd3.

13...h6

How should White proceed?

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

14.Nxd5?

Capturing on d5 does not work after 13...h6. As TS pointed out after the game, better is 14.h4!, when the engines slightly prefer Black, but the position is very sharp.

14...Nbxd5 15.Rxd5 hxg5 16.Bxg5 Bd6?!

The bishop is a little vulnerable here, despite being protected by the queen, so probably better is 16...Bb6 or 16...Ba7.

17.Bd3

White has two pawns and an attack for a knight, so Black has to be careful

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

17...Rd8!

The engines agree this developing move, giving the black king luft, is best.

After 17...Be6 18.Bxf6 gxf6 (18...Qxf6?! 19.Rxd6 Ba2+ 20.Kxa2 Qxd6 21.Rd1!? favours White, according to Stockfish13, although Komodo12.1.1 reckons the position is equal) White gets play with both 19.Rh5 and 19.Qa4!?, although objectively Black is doing well.

I also rejected 17...Qe6, when White has chances after 18.Rd4, although again Black should come out on top.

18.Rd1 Be6 19.Bxf6

How should Black recapture?

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

19...gxf6

I thought White would be fine after19...Qxf6?! 20.Bh7+ Kf8 21.Rxd6 Rxd6 22.Rxd6 Ba2+ 23.Kxa2 Qxd6 24.Be4, and the engines agree, but Black can seemingly improve with 22...g6!?, when the engines give 23.Bxg6 fxg6 24.Qc5, after which White has three pawns and the safer king for a bishop. Black is better but only has the upper hand, according to Komodo12.1.1 (Stockfish13 reckons Black is winning).

20.Rh5!? Bg4

This is winning, but the engines slightly prefer 20...Ba3!?, the point being that 21.bxa3 Qxa3 leaves White facing murderous threats, eg 22.Bh7+ Kg7!, when the best the engines come up with for White is 23.Rd4 Rxd4 24.exd4 Qb4+ 25.Qb2 Qxb2+ 26.Kxb2, but after 26...Rh8 White will be a bishop down with effectively no compensation.

21.Rh4 Bxd1 22.Qxd1

Black is winning but still has to survive something of a storm

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

22....Qe5?!

This is probably good enough but the engines much prefer 22...f5 or 22...Bd7.

23.Rh5

If 23.Qg4+, then not 23...Qg5?, after which 24.Qh3 Kf8 25.Rh5! Qg7 26.Rh8+ Ke7 27.Rh7 Qg8 28.Bc4 gives White an edge, according to the engines, but instead the simple 23...Kf8 seems to get Black through the complications with a winning advantage, eg the engines' main line runs 24.Rh5 Qe6 25.Bf5 Qd5 26.Bc2 f5! 27.Rxf5 Qe6, when Black is more-or-less out of the woods and is up a rook for three pawns.

23...Qe6 24.Bf5 Qc4 25.Bd3 Be5! 26.Rh8+!?

A last desperate throw of the dice.

Position after 26.Rh8+!?

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

26...Kxh8??

Winning is 26...Kg7 27.Rh7+ Kf8.

27.Qh5+ Kg8 28.Bxc4 Rd7

Or 28...Rf8 29.Qg6+ Kh8 30.Qh6+ Kg8 31.Bd3 and mates.

Objectively best, according to the engines, but hopeless, is to allow White to capture on f7 with check, eg 28...Rd2 29.Qxf7+ Kh8 30.Qh5+ Kg7 31.Qg4+ Kh8 32.f4 Bxb2 33.Bf7 Bxa3 34.Qg6, but mate follows.

29.Qg4+ 1-0

Morphing The French XX

ANOTHER attempt to play against the French Defence in the style of Paul Morphy.

Spanton (1998 ECF) - Peter Menzinger (1938 Fide)

ACO World Senior Championship Group C (Fodele Beach, Crete) Round 3

French Exchange

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bg4 6.0-0 Be7 7.Re1

Kasparov and Kramnik are among those who have played 7.Bg5.

7...0-0 8.h3 Bh5 9.Bg5 Nbd7 10.Nc3!?

As PM pointed out in the postmortem, the knight has limited prospects on c3 after Black's next move.

10...c6 11.g4!?

Viesturs Meijers (2483) - Vladimir Potkin (2470), Úbeda (Spain) 2001, saw 11.Bf5 Re8 12.Qd3 Bg6 13.Bxg6 hxg6 14.Ne5 Nxe5 15.Rxe5 Bd6, when Black is at least equal (½–½, 48 moves).

11...Bg6 12.Ne5!?

This is not liked by Stockfish13 or Komodo12.1.1. They give 12.Qd2, but reckon Black already has an edge.

12...Re8 13.f4 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 h6 15.Bh4 Nxe5

Komodo12.1.1 prefers 15...Nf8 with the idea of continuing ...Ne6.

16.Rxe5?

Black gets a sizeable advantage after this. Best, according to the engines, is 16.fxe5, although Stockfish13, but not Komodo12.1.1, reckons Black is slightly better.

After 16.Rxe5? Black gains the upper hand

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

16...Nd7!

This forces exchanges that leave Black controlling the open file.

17.Rxe7

Not 17.Bxe7?? Nxe5.

17...Rxe7 18.Bxe7

PM offered a draw and played:

18...Qxe7 ½–½

I had little choice but to accept his offer. Black's control of the e file and the exposed position of the white king give Black an advantage worth almost 1.5 pawns, according to Stockfish13, although Komodo12.1.1 values the black edge at just under a pawn. Both engines' evaluations tend to creep upwards the more time they are given to calculate.

Double Trouble ... Halved

Weight

Friday: 80.4kg (177lb)

Yesterday: 80.7kg (178lb)

Today: 80.4kg (177lb)

IT is a double-round day in the Amateur Chess Organization's world senior championship.

But in this morning's round two it was my turn to have the bye, so I again set off into the interior to have a coffee in the village of Fodele.

Here are some sights along the way.

Much of the roadside scenery is a drab brown and green, with blue above 

Green often dominates the foreground

A household shrine, perhaps, or more probably just decoration

A general view

Welcome colour

Chapel in the foothills

This young goat caught my eye ... and I caught hers

Some older goats during round two

Crete Round One

Weight

Yesterday: 80.4kg (177lb)

Today: 80.7kg (178lb)

THE Amateur Chess Organization's world senior championship has been split into three sections, and I am in group C, along with six others.

Our group will be an all-play-all for the first seven rounds, with one player getting a bye each round, followed, presumably, by two rounds with swiss pairings.

One advantage of this format is everyone is much of a muchness rating-wise, so there should be no mismatches.

The last two rounds will involve playing previous opponents, which should make for some interesting games.

The big drawback is the possibility of a player or players dropping out - not a rare occurrence at senior events.

One interesting point: masks do not have to be worn at the board, but must be if moving around the playing hall.

Today I faced a Belgian.

Rudy Van de Wynkele (1908 Fide) - Spanton (1998 ECF*)

Sicilian 2.b3

1.e4 c5 2.b3!? Nc6 3.Bb2 e5!?

Blocking the fianchettoed bishop but leaving a hole at d5.

4.Nc3!?

Spassky is among those who played this, but more popular in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database are 4.Bc4, 4.f4, 4.Nf3 and 4.Bb5.

4...Nf6 5.Bc4

Position after 5.Bc4 - how should Black proceed?

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

5...Na5?!

Driving the light-square bishop off its good diagonal (or threatening to exchange it) and hoping to follow up with the freeing ...d5. But the latter does not prove immediately practical, and the loss of time is almost certainly more significant.

The text does not appear in Mega21, players usually choosing 5...Be7 or 5...d6.

Shirov is among those who have played 5...Nxe4!? 6.Nxe4 d5. I rejected it because of 7.Bb5 dxe4 8.Bxc6+ bxc6 9.Bxe5, but the analysis engines Stockfish13 and Komodo12.1.1 reckon Black is better after 9...Qd5.

6.Be2

The engines like leaving the bishop to be exchanged, preferring White after 6.d3!? or 6.f4!?

6...Be7

It was only after RVW played 6.Be2 that I realised the black position would almost certainly be too loose after 6...d5?! 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Bb5+.

7.Nf3 d6 8.h3!?

Hinting at long castling. White's play is slow but the position is not open to tactical thrusts so the text seems reasonable.

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

8...0-0!?

I could have delayed this, but I was pretty sure I was going to castle kingside anyway, so I decided to get on with it and prepare queenside counterplay.

9.d3 Nc6

We left theory, at least in Mega21, with 5...Na5?!, but now we have returned to a known position, albeit all five games in the database to reach this position did so with Black to move.

10.g3?!

Preparing to fianchetto his light-square bishop, but now Black's loss of time at move five becomes completely irrelevant. The engines suggest 10.a4 or kingside castling.

10...Nd4 11.Bf1

This is best, according to the engines, but they give Black a slight edge.

11...b5 12.Bg2

Not 12.Nxd4 cxd4 13.Nxb5?? Qa5+.

12...b4 13.Ne2 a5 14.a4 Ra7!?

Black's a pawn is weak after 14...bxa3?! The text gets the queen's rook off the long light-square diagonal and prepares for possible doubling on the f file.

15.Nd2!?

This is liked by the engines, whereas 15.Qd2, with thoughts of 0-0-0, is problematic because the white queenside would be susceptible to combinations if the white king were to take up residence there.

15...Be6 16.Nc4 Qc7!?

Covering e5 so that ...d5 is possible, but White counters this.

I strongly considered 16...Bxc4!?, but felt Black would be too weak on the light squares. Stockfish13 agrees, or at least gives White a large advantage after 17.dxc4, but Komodo12.1.1 reckons the position would be equal.

17.Ne3 Qd7!?

This prevents kingside castling by White, at least for now, but leaves the black light-square bishop short of squares.

18.g4!?

18.f4 g6 slightly favours Black, according to the engines.

18...h6!?

Giving White a target for kingside play, but again preparing ...d5.

19.Ng3 g6?!

Protecting the f5 square, but the engines like the immediate 19...d5!?, and if 20.Ngf5 then 20...dxe4 21.dxe4 Rd8 with a large advantage (winning, according to Stockfish13).

20.Qd2 d5 21.Rd1?!

I guess we both missed that White can drop a knight into f5 anyway, eg 21.Nef5!? gxf5 22.exf5 Kh7 23.0-0-0!? with fxe6 to follow.

But not 21.exd5 Nxd5 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.Bxd5 Bg5! 24.Qd1 (24.Bxf7+?? Qxf7 is curtains for White) Qxd5 with a strong attack for Black.

Even worse is 21.0-0-0?, when 21...dxe4 is good enough for a large advantage thanks to the threat of ...Bxb3! but even stronger is the engines' 21...c4!

21...Kh7 22.0-0 Rd8 23.f4

The engines give 23.Nef5!?, albeit preferring Black.

23...exf4 24.Rxf4 dxe4

Not 24...Bd6? 25.Rxf6 Bxg3 26.exd5.

25.Nxe4 Nxe4 26.Rxe4

Not 26.Bxe4? Bg5 27.Rf2 f5 28.gxf5 gxf5 29.Bg2 Nxc2! nor 26.dxe4? Nf3+!? (26...Bg5!? may be even stronger) 27.Rxf3 Qxd2 28.Qxd2 Rxd2.

26...Bg5

I was not confident 26...f5!? 27.gxf5 gxf5 was good for Black after 28.Re5. Stockfish13 gives Black the upper hand but Komodo12.1.1's evaluation changes, although finally settling on a slight edge for Black. However neither engine is sure how Black should proceed.

27.Qf2 Qe7!?

Again ...f5!? seemed unclear to me. It is the engines' top choice, but they also like my self-pin, the point of which is to control the h4 square.

28.Rf1 Bh4 29.Qd2

Not 29.Qf4?? Ne2+.

29...Qg5 30.Qd1?!

White keeps his disadvantage to a minimum, according to the engines, by giving up the bishop-pair with 30.Bxd4.

30...Rad7?

Again I was not sure pushing the f pawn worked, but here the engines give 30...f5!? 31.gxf5 Bxf5! 32.Nxf5 gxf5, when it seems the rook on e4 cannot be saved, eg 33.Bc1 Qg3! 34.Re3 Qg6, when 35.Re5? is met by 35...Rg8 36.Qd2 Rag7.

The text not only misses this but hands over the initiative to White.

31.Bc1 Qe7 32.Nc4

The engines give 32.Nf5! gxf5 33.gxf5 Nxf5 34.Rxf5 with sharp but unclear play.

32...Ra7

Again ...f5!? seems to be good, but is less clear than before.

33.Bf4 Ra6 34.Kh1!?

I thought this was a strange time to be repositioning the king, but the text is Komodo12.1.1's top choice at first, albeit later being supplanted by 34.Ne3. Stockfish13 also quite likes 34.Kh1!? but prefers 34.Re3.

34...Qf8

The move ...f5!? still favours Black, according to the engines.

35.Ne3 Re8 36.Be5 Bg5 37.Bg3 Ra7 38.Be5 Qe7

Declining the tacit draw offer (but White would anyway not have to repeat moves after 38...Ra6).

39.Bxd4!?

Giving up the bishop-pair (at least temporarily) is both engines' top choice.

39...cxd4 40.Nd5

The engines reckon Black has good compensation for a pawn, but no more, after 40.Nf5!? Qd8!? (40...gxf5? 41.gxf5 is good for White) 41.Nxd4 (41.Rxd4? Qf6) Bd5 42.Rxe8 Bxg2+ 43.Kxg2 Qxe8.

40...Qc5 41.Nf6+ Bxf6 42.Rxf6

Position after 42.Rxf6 - the game has entered a new phase in which heavy pieces will dominate

42...Rc8 43.Re2?!

Almost certainly better is 43.Rf2.

43...Rac7?!

Missing the strength of 43...Qg5, the point being 44.Rff2 runs into 44...Bxb3! White can play 44.Rf1, but then 44...Rac7 increases the pressure. The engines reckon White should then continue with 45.Rd2!?, but it is very passive.

44.Qf1?!

Here 44.Rff2 looks best, although Black has an edge.

44...Qg5 45.Rff2

The engines reckon White should try 45.Qf2!? Kg7 46.Rf3 or 45.Kh2!? Kg7 46.Rff2, but in each case Black is more active and has the safer king. Note that in the latter line 45...Rxc2? allows a draw after 46.Rxf7+!

45...Kg7

Missing 45...Bxb3! 46.cxb3 Rc1 47.Re1 Rxe1 48.Qxe1 Rc1.

46.Kh2?!

The engines' peculiar-looking 46.Bf3 may be best.

46...Rc5 47.Qa1?!

Again shoring up the king's defences with Bf3 may be best.

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

47...Qd8!

This retreat is much better than defending the d4 pawn with 47...Rd8.

48.Be4?

Missing the danger to his king.

The engines give 48.Qg1!? Qd6+ 49.Kh2 h5, but with a strong attack for Black.

Note that 48.Re4? Rxc2 49.Rxd4 fails to 49...Qc7+! 50.Rdf4+ Kg8, when White is losing a massive amount of material.

48...Qd6+ 49.Kg2 h5 50.Qf1

This loses, but so does everything else, eg 50.Bf3 Bxb3! (other moves also give an advantage) 51.cxb3 Rc1 52.Qb2 h4.

The game finished:

50...hxg4 51.hxg4 Rh8 52.Kg1 Rg5 53.Rg2 Rxg4 54.Rxg4 Bxg4 55.Rf2 f5 56.Rf4 fxe4 57.Rf7+ Kg8 0-1

*Players were asked to provide a national as well as an international rating, with the higher being used for seeding purposes.

Heating Up

THIS morning, instead of cutting inland, I turned left out of the Fodele Beach Resort and headed along the coast.

Roadside chapel, with the resort in the background

You do not have to go far before coming to a row of beachside tavernas, which were closed when I went by early on but, because it had been recommended to me yesterday, I knew at least one would be open later.

View returning to Fodele Beach in the heat of midday

Meanwhile there has been a late entry for the Amateur Chess Organization's postponed 2020 world amateur chess championship, which will be held alongside the senior event from tomorrow morning.

The full list of entries for these, and for later events in July and October, can be seen at https://amateurchess.com/participants-2021/

Greece Is The Word

ARRIVED in Crete early in the afternoon, Greek time, having caught a 7.25am flight with Tui from Gatwick airport.

Checking in and boarding the plane at Gatwick were straightforward, the only differences being that you had to present a QR code showing you had filled in the Greek equivalent of a passenger locator form and, in my case, proof of having been doubly vaccinated against covid.

At the Crete end you go through customs as normal, but then have to show a (friendly) Greek policeman your passenger locator QR and, again in my case, proof of having been doubly vaccinated.

I found at both ends it was convenient to have the NHS passport-vaccine letter as otherwise it would have got a little messy juggling downloads on my smartphone.

You can get to the hotel for the Amateur Chess Organization's championships, the Fodele Beach Resort, by taking two buses and a 400metre walk.

The resort recommends getting a taxi, which I did. It cost 50 euros, so anyone thinking of playing here later in the year might want to try to team up with other participants.

Seaview from the resort

Another seaview

The resort has four restaurants - main, Greek, Italian and all-day - and two cocktail bars along with a beach club and snack bar.

The deal for chess players is all-inclusive, which is going to be quite a challenge for me, but I started off well today by having a late lunch of a light Greek salad with two small bread rolls.

I then headed off into the interior, the resort being decidedly isolated from the rest of the island.

Along the way I came across the following structure, which will be familiar to anyone who has travelled much in Greece.

Roadside shrine

These shrines are erected to mark the spot where a loved one perished, or to give thanks to a saint for a miraculous-seeming escape from a similar result.

Opposite the shrine were what appeared to be two more of the same ilk.

Double trouble?

However I soon realised the 'shrine' on the right of the photo is actually a letter-box, or something similar.

A little further long the road was a third shrine.

Another tribute to Greek piety, if not Greek driving skills

The object of my walk was to reach the old village of Fodele, which is reckoned to be the birthplace of the painter El Greco (not to be confused with the Italian-born chess player of the same name).

The village of Fodele is about 1.5miles from the resort of the same name, and there I met two UK couples who happen to frequently holiday in the village.

One of the men told me that he and his wife usually book their taxi online, paying 35 euros for a considerably longer journey than the one I took - a tip worth remembering.