Calvià Round Two

My game from last night.

Max Hoffmann (2072) - Spanton (1731)

Spanish Berlin

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3

This scores just as well - 59% - in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database as the much more popular 4.0-0.

4...Bc5 5.0-0 Nd4 6.Bc4!?

Normal is 6.Nxd4 but the text has also been played by grandmasters and is, very narrowly, the choice of Stockfish14.

6...d6 7.h3 Be6

Not in Mega21, but then the position after 7.h3 is uncommon and is often reached with White to move, White having lost a tempo in this game with Bb5-c4.

8.Nbd2 Qd7 9.c3 Nxf3+ 10.Qxf3 0-0 11.a4 a5 12.Bb3!?
Both Stockfish14 and Komodo12.1.1 are happy with this move - indeed it is the latter's top choice for a while - but it lets Black gain a slight initiative in the centre. Perhaps Stockfish14's 12.Re1 is better, or at least simpler to play.

12...d5 13.Bc2?!

The bishop moves for the fourth time, and that is probably one time too many. The engines reckon White maintains equality with 13.exd5 Bxd5 14.Bxd5 Qxd5 15.Qxd5 Nxd5 16.Nc4, although it would be easy to worry about the d3 pawn.

13...dxe4

White gets a pleasant advantage after 13...d4?! 14.Qg3, according to the engines.

14.Nxe4

On 14.dxe4 I planned 14...Qc6 with lasting pressure.

14...Nxe4 15.Qxe4

Similarly 15.dxe4 Qc6 seems better for Black.

How should Black proceed?

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15...f5!?

Offering the white queen the choice of two pawns - e5 and b7.

The engines prefer 15...Qd5.

How should White reply?

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16.Qxb7?!

The engines give best-play as 16.Qxe5 Bd6 17.Qe2 Rae8 18.Qf3 c6, when Stockfish14 reckons White has the upper hand but Komodo12.1.1 judges Black as having good compensation for a pawn.

16...Bb6!?

Even stronger seems to be 16...Rab8. If then, as in the game, 17.Qf3 Bd5 18.Qh5 Qc6 19.Kh2 Bxg2 20.Rg1 Bf3 21.Qh6, White seems to be busted as, unlike in the game, White does not have the resource ...Bb3+ at a timely moment. Instead the engines reckon White should play 17.Qa6, but 17...Rf6 puts the white position under intense pressure.

17.Qf3 Bd5 18.Qh5?!

Probably better is 18.Qd1!?, giving the option of Bb3, but Black gets plenty of play after 18...Kh8 or 18...f4.

18...Qc6 19.Kh2 Bxg2 20.Rg1 Bf3?!

Probably better is 20...Bd5, keeping the white light-square bishop out of play.

21.Qh5 g6

Even stronger seems to be 21...Qd7!?

22.d4 Rae8?

Both 22...Bd5 and 22...Rf7 (23.Bb3 Bd5) are better.

23.Be3?

The engines reckon 23.Bb3+ Kh8 24.Re1 gives White an advantage.

23...exd4

Not 23...f4? 24.Bxg6!

24.Bb3+ Kh8 25.cxd4

Black to play and lose

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25...Bxd4?? 1-0

Black has a big  advantage after 25...f4 26.Bd2 Bxd4, when the engines reckon best-play runs 27.Rae1 Be4 28.f3 Bg7 29.Bc3!? Qxc3! 30.bxc3 Bxh6 31.Rxe4 Rxe4 32.fxe4 Rb8 - Black is a pawn up and all White's pawns are isolated, but opposite-coloured bishops must give White some drawing chances.

The Shortest Game

AT last weekend's Steve Boniface Memorial in Bristol I played - and lost - my longest ever recorded game, which took a draining 141 moves.
It got me thinking about my shortest decisive games, ie competitive games which resulted in a win or a loss.
I have 12 such games that finished in 10 moves or fewer, with Black winning eight of them. I seem to do rather well at this sort of thing as 10 of the 12 games were won by me.
Here is the shortest:
John Nicholson* (1910) - Spanton (1982)
Isle of Man 2007, Round 6
Spanish Closed Berlin
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Ne7!?
This is known as Mortimer's Trap, named after a James Mortimer who, if ChessBase's Mega database is taken as the sole authority, played it with a particular lack of success in the late 1800s. My notes to the game include a Kenilworth Chess Club online quote from Michael Goeller: "If White does not fall for the trap and does play aggressively, he can get a strong attack in at least three ways: with an early h4 thrust to harass the wandering knight on g6, a d4 break to blow open the centre, or a direct attack on f7 by Bc4 and Ng5."
And yet 4...Ne7!? comes to be the analysis engine Stockfish10's top choice!
5.Nxe5?
Can you see the trap White has fallen into?
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5...c6 0-1
White resigned because he is losing a piece. Stockfish10 gives White's best as 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Bc4+, giving Black the upper hand - but not a winning advantage - after 7...d5.
Note that 6.Nc4? threatens mate but is easily met by 6...Ng6 or 6...d6. I was planning 6...d5?, but as John Saunders pointed out with the help of Fritz (I cannot recall which version), Black stays in the game with 7.e5.
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Here is my quickest checkmate:
Jim Ship (119) - Spanton (160)
Southern Counties Chess Union Championship 2011-12, Herts @ Sussex
Albin Countergambit
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bg5!?
This logical-looking but uncommon continuation has been tried by strong players, including grandmaster Keith Arkell.
5...Be7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7?!
More popular, and almost certainly better, is 6...Ngxe7.
7.Nbd2?
This defends against 7...Qb4+, but that was not the threat it appears to be at first glance, eg 7.Nxd4! (I see from my notes that I was expecting 7.Qd2, which is solid but not as strong) Qb4+? 8.Nc3 Qxb2? 9.Ndb5, when White wins material. Better in this line is 7...Nxe5, but Black does not seem to have sufficient compensation for his pawn-minus.
7...Nxe5
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8.Nxd4?? Nd3#
*This is the Irish John Nicholson; not to be confused with England's John G Nicholson.

Guernsey Time Again

PLAYING in the 44th Guernsey chess festival, which began today.
Daniel Rosen (2081) - Spanton (1923), Round One
Ruy Lopez, Closed Berlin
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3
Much less popular than 4.0-0, but in ChessBase's 2018 Mega database it scores a very slightly better percentage. In practice, many top grandmasters play both variations.
4...Bc5 5.0-0 Nd4
Again the much-less popular choice - behind 5...d6 - but scoring a much better percentage.
6.Nxd4
Overwhelmingly the first choice of players at all levels, but it is not clear it is any better than, say, 6.Bc4.
6...Bxd4 7.c3 Bb6 8.Nd2 c6 9.Ba4 0-0 10.Nf3
The commonest move, but note that after …
10...d6
… we have a position that is symmetrical, except that Black's king's bishop is slightly better-placed than White's king's bishop.
11.Bc2
DB said in the post-mortem that best might be 11.Bb3, but he could not bring himself to play it as then the position would be fully symmetrical … with Black to move.
11...Re8
Played to prevent 12.d4.
12.Qe2 Qe7 13.Be3 d5 14.Bxb6 axb6 15.Bb3
If 13.exd5, then 15...Nxd5.
15...dxe4 16.dxe4 Be6 17.Qe3 Nd7 18.Bxe6 Qxe6 19.b3 Nc5 20.Rfd1

Black to reply to White's 20.Rfd1

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20...f6
This is OK, but it is really little more than a safety-first move.
DB feared 20...Qg6, when Stockfish9 gives 21.Nd2 Rad8 22.b4 Na4 23.Nc4, with maybe a tiny pull for Black.
Perhaps stronger is 20...Qg4, and if 21.Nd2, then 21...Rxa2! Stockfish9 continues: 22.h3 Rxa1 23.Rxa1 Qg6, when Black is a (doubled) pawn up.
After the text, the game fairly quickly petered out to a draw.
21.h3 Red8 22.Qe2 Qe7 23.Ne1 Ra3 24.Rxd8+ Qxd8 25.Rd1 Qe7 26.Rd2 Ra8 27.f3 Ne6 28.Qe3 Qc5 29.Kf2 Qxe3+ 30.Kxe3 Rd8 31.Rxd8+ ½-½