League Chess

PLAYED on board four (of eight) for Battersea against Athenaeum in London League Division Two last night.

Spanton (1929) - Tony Wells (1971)

Spanish Cozio

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7 4.Nc3

More popular in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database are 4.c3 and especially 4.0-0, but the text is the top choice of Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1, although they do fluctuate between it and castling.

4...Ng6

The main move in Mega26 is still 4...g6, but that has fallen out of favour since the strength of 5.d4 exd4 6.Nd5!? was more widely realised.

5.0-0 Nd4!?

This is apparently a novelty. The engines are OK with it, but they prefer 5...a6 or 5...Bc5.

How should White proceed?

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6.Nxd4 exd4

The position resembles a Bird, but one with the extra moves Nc3 and 0-0 for White, ...Ne7-g6 for Black. The engines reckon this is an improvement for Black.

7.Ne2 a6!?

The engines do not like this, preferring 7...c6 or 7...Bc5, but not 7...Qg5?, when both 8.Nxd4 and 8.Bc4 are good for White.

8.Ba4 b5 9.Bb3 Bb7 10.d3 Qf6!?

The engines suggest 10..c5, but give White the upper hand.

11.c3 0-0-0?!

Opposite-side castling makes the game trickier for both players, but the main effect here is to lose a pawn.

12.Nxd4 d5? 13.Qg4+ Kb8 14.Bg5 Qd6 15.Bxd8 Qxd8 16.exd5 h5 17.Qe4 h4 18.Rfe1 Bd6 19.Nc6+ Bxc6 20.bxc6 Qg5

Black is the exchange and two pawns down, but has some practical chances thanks to the black pieces being more active, and the presence of opposite-coloured bishops

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21.Re3

There was nothing wrong with 21.Bxf7, eg 21...Nf4 22.a4 b4, and now 23.Re3.

21...f5 22.Qf3 f4 23.Re6 h3 24.Rxg6?

Giving back the exchange throws away much of White's advantage.

24...Qxg6 25.g3?

And now Black has complete equality, according to the engines, which suggest 25.Bd5!? or 25.Re1.

25...fxg3 26.fxg3

The engines reckon both recaptures leave the position completely equal.

26...Qe8?!

A strange retreat. It is hard to understand why 26...Rf8 was not played.

27.Qf7?

Now Black gets at least the upper hand, while 27.Bf7 and 27.Qe4 give White at least a slight edge, according to the engines.

27...Qe3+ 28.Qf2 Qxd3

This is not just a pawn - it also stops White closing the g1-a7 diagonal with d4.

29.Rd1 Qg6 30.Bc2?!

The bishop should probably stay on the a2-g8 diagonal, with 30.Bd5 or 30.Bf7.

30...Qe6 31.Bb3 Qh6?!

Rightly rejecting the chance to repeat, but much stronger is 31...Qe7 or 31...Qe5, according to the engines.

32.Qd2?!

The engines prefer 32.Bd5, 32.Rd5 or 32.Bf7.

32...Bc5+ 33.Kh1 Qf6 34.Qf4!?

This is best, according to the engines, but inadequate.

Black to play and win

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34...Qxc6+

Even stronger is 34...Qxf4 35.gxf4 Re8, with ...Re2 to come, and an advantage worth about a minor piece, according to the engines.

35.Bd5 Qe8

Black still has at least the upper hand after the engines' 35...Rd8!

36.Qg4?!

It was time to offer an exchange of queens, with 36.Qe4 or 36.Qf7, according to the engines.
36...Qe3

Activating the rook with 36...Rf8! gives a slight edge, according to the engines, one point being 37.Qxh3? loses to 37...Qe2.

37.Qf3 Rd8 38.Qxe3 Bxe3 39.Bf3 Rxd1+ 40.Bxd1

How would you assess this bishops-of-opposite-colour ending?

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White can win the h3 pawn, but the ending remains drawn.

40...a5 41.Bg4 Kb7 42.Bxh3 a4 43.Kg2 Bc1 44.b3 axb3 45.axb3 Bb2 46.c4 gxc4 47.bxc4 Kc6 48.Kf3 Kd6 49.Ke4 c5 50.Bc8 Ke7 51.h4 Kf6 52.g4 Bd4 53.Bf5 Kf7 54.h5 Kf6 55.Bh7 Kg5 56.Bf5 Kf6 57.Kd5 Kg5 58.Ke6 Bf6 59.Kf7 Bd4 60.Be6 Be5 ½–½

Battersea won the match 6.5-1.5 (Athenaeum defaulted on bottom board).

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            

CLL: Central London League

LL: London League

BCC: Battersea club championship

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

Morphy v The Petrov

PAUL Morphy always played 1.e4 as White, and 79.5% of his games continued 1...e5.
Nevertheless Morphy only faced the Petrov six times, despite it being a popular defence in the mid-19th century.
Perhaps this had something to do with Morphy being recognised as a genius of Open games, and there may have been a feeling that the Petrov allowed a very-open Open game.
Although Morphy only faced the Petrov seven times, he tried three different systems against it.
He seems to have respected the Petrov - he certainly rated the defence enough to try it three times in his celebrated match against Johann Löwenthal.
Morphy first faced the Petrov in a 'casual'* game in 1850 against the same Löwenthal.
Morphy - Löwenthal
Petrov Defence Cozio Attack
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qe2!?

Position after 5.Qe2!?

Wikipedia attributes this move to Lasker. But while it became a favourite of his - and of Capablanca - it is normally credited to the 18th-century Italian Carlo Cozio. This game is the first in which it appears in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database. It probably appealed to Morphy because White aims for a small lead in development in a symmetrical pawn-structure, and therefore is reminiscent of his play against the French.
5...Qe7 6.d3 Nf6 7.Nc3!?
Normal is 7.Bg5, but Carlsen, Ivanchuk, Nakamura and So have experimented with the text. It is also the preference of the engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
7...Be6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6!?
Giving up the bishop-pair in the interest of speedy development. Capablanca also played this way in a win over Marshall at St Petersburg 1914.
9...Qxf6 10.d4
Löwenthal notes in his Morphy's Games Of Chess: "10.Nd5 does not yield any advantage as Black can safely reply with 10...Qxb2."
10...c6?!
Marshall played 10...Be7?! against Capablanca, only to be hit with 11.Qb5+. Marshall was an attacking player, and probably sacrificed his b pawn deliberately (he played the same move 11 years later against Mieses), but the idea is not liked by the engines.
Those same engines reckon Black's best is 10...Qe7, in which case White has a slight lead in development, but Black has the long-term advantage of the bishop-pair.

White to make his 11th move

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11.0-0-0?!
Morphy seems to have missed a trick here. 11.d5, as pointed out by Löwenthal, is strong. After the forced 11...cxd5, Löwenthal gave 12.Nxd4, but that allows unclear complications with 12...Qxb2. Better, as given by the engines, is 12.0-0-0, when White will recover his d pawn while leaving Black with a weakness at d6 and a lag in development.
11...d5
 "In order to prevent the advance of the [white] d pawn" - Löwenthal.
12.Ne5 Bb4 13.Nxd5?
A rare miscalculation by Morphy. An anonymous annotator in ChessBase suggests 13.Qe3.
13...Bxd5 14.Ng6+
This is better than 14.Nxc6+ Be7, eg 15.Nxe7 Qxe7 16.Qh5 Qg5+.
14...Qe6?
White is better after this. What both players missed is 14...Kd7! After 15.Nxh8 Na6 19.Nxf7 Qxf7, White has rook and two pawns for bishop and knight. This may be OK materially, but Black has open lines for his bishop-pair, and White has problems untangling his kingside. Meanwhile, the black king is safe on d7 as White has no pieces that can get at it.
15.Nxh8 Qxe2
Best, according to the engines, but the whole sequence helps White activate his kingside.
16.Bxe2 Kf8 17.a3
ChessBase gives "17.c4! Be6 18.d5 cxd5 19.Bf3 Kg8 20.Bxd5 Bxd5 21.Rxd5," when ChessBase's 21...Kh8? loses to 22.Rd8+ etc. However, Black can improve with 21...Be7, when White will again emerge with rook and two pawns for bishop and knight, but this time Black will not have the bishop-pair, and White will have no problems with kingside development. The engines prefer White.
17...Bd6 18.Bd3
Better is ChessBase's 18.Bh5! as White subsequently gets rid of Black's bishop-pair with a double-capture on f7.
18...Kg8?!
Löwenthal: "18...Bxg2, although it looks hazardous, might have been played with advantage." Certainly, 19.Rhg1 is nothing to be worried about. But Löwenthal may have feared 19.Bc4 Bd5 20.Bxd5 cxd5 21.Rd3, but the engines reckon Black is much better after 21...Nd7.
19.Nxf7 Kxf7 20.f3 b5 21.Be4 Nd7 22.Rde1 Nf6 23.Re2 Re8?
A positional error that I suspect many club players today would know to avoid. The point is that, as a general rule, when you have one rook and the opponent has two, it is a mistake to exchange a pair as the opponent's two rooks have a degree of redundancy.
24.Bxd5+ cxd5 25.Rxe8 Nxe8 26.g3 g5 27.Kg2 Ng7 28.Ra1 a5 29.Kd3 Ke6 30.a4 b4 31.c4!
Löwenthal: "An excellent move."
31...Bc7
Black faced a tricky decision. Neither Stockfish10's 31...dxc4+ 32.Kxc4, nor Komodo10's 31...bxc3 32.Re1+ Kd7 33.bxc3, seems satisfactory for Black.
32.Re1+ Kd6 33.Re5 dxc4+ 34.Kxc4 Ne6 35.Rb5 Nf8 36.Rd5+ Ke6 37.Rc5+ Kd6 38.d5 Kd7 39.Rc6 Bd6 40.Ra6 Ng6 41.Rxa5
Morphy's skilful rook manoeuvres have netted him a second pawn, and an overwhelming advantage.
41...Ne5+ 42.Kb5 b3!?
Hoping to make this pawn passed and thus create counterplay. 42...Nxf3 is met by 43.Ra7+, eg 43...Kc8 44.a5 Nd4+ 45.Kb6, and the a pawn will cost Black a piece.
43.Ra7+ Kd8 44.f4 gxf4 45.gxf4 Nd3 46.Kxc4 Nxf4 47.Rh7 Be5 48.Rxh6 Bxb2 49.Kxb3 Bg7 50.Rh7 Be5 51.a5 Nxd5!?
ChessBase gives this a question-mark, but Black is lost in any case.
52.Rxh5 Bxh2 53.Rxd5 Kc8 54.Rb5 Kc7 55.Kc4 Kc6 56.Rh5 Bg1 57.Rh6+?
The engines reckon White is still winning after this, but the position now seems to be drawn. Correct, as pointed out in ChessBase, is 57.Rh7 followed by a6 etc.
57...Kc7?
In Morphy's Games Of Chess, there comes the note: "After a few moves the game was declared drawn."
But Black is losing here. He should have played 57...Kb7, which draws, as a check with the Nalimov endgame tablebase shows.
In ChessBase the game continues:
58.Kb5?
A mistake. As ChessBase points out, White wins with 58.Rh1 Be3 59.Rb1 Kc6 60.a6 Bb6 61.Rb5 Ba7 62.Rb7 Bb6 63.Rf7 followed by a7 etc. If in this line Black tries 61...Kc7, then 62.Kd5 leads to similar play.
58...Kb8 ½–½
ChessBase claims White is winning, as indeed do the engines. But the Nalimov endgame tablebase shows the position to be drawn.
*As I pointed out in my series on Morphy v The French, most games in Morphy's times were 'casual' - tournaments were rare and matches not much less so.

All's Well In Tunbridge Wells

WELL, I did not win the open tournament at the 2nd Tunbridge Wells Congress in memory of Southern Counties Chess Union stalwart Richard Haddrell, but I surprised quite a few people, myself included.
I drew with a 180, beat a 166, beat a 208, lost to a 243 and drew with a 182. That is a tournament performance of 205.8, although the ECF's 40pt rule means it will not count so high for grading purposes.
My best result came in round three, on Saturday evening, against Kent junior Freddie Hand.
Spanton (163) - Hand (208)
Ruy Lopez, Cozio Defence
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7 4.Nc3!?
This is an old move - it goes back to at least 1836 - but has recently been growing in popularity. Black's most popular fourth move in the Cozio is 4...g6, but in this variation there is a serious problem, as can be seen in the game J Ellis (2130) - Spanton (2054), 1996 US Open (Alexandria, Virginia), which continued, after 4.Nc3!? g6, with 5.d4 exd4 6.Nd5! (the punctuation is Grandmaster Alexey Dreev's in Anti-Spanish: The Cozio Defence) Bg7 7.Bg5! (again, Dreev's exclamation mark) h6 8.Bf6 Bxf6! (Dreev) 9.Nxf6+ Kf8 10.0-0

Black is temporarily a pawn up, but I cannot imagine anyone preferring Black's position over White's

I played 10...Nf5, which Dreev calls dubious - he gives 10...a6! as leading to "approximately equal" chances.
My move was met by 11.Nd5, which Dreev says is good for White, and certainly I was struggling after the further moves 11...Nfe7 12.Nxd4 (1-0, 27 moves).
I tried 4...Ng6 in two more-recent games, drawing with David Littlejohns (2055) at Paignton in 2012. but losing to Kevin Roser (2409) at Gibraltar the following year.
Dreev says the big drawback to 4...Ng6 is the line Roser played against me, namely 5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd4, which looks a bit like a Scotch Four Knights, but with White having an extra tempo (Bg5) and Black's king's knight being slid from the f6 square to the less active g6.
Black could try 4...a6, but this gives White a tempo to play 5.Bc4, switching the light-square bishop to a more promising diagonal now that Black has reinforced c6 (and indirectly the protection of e5).
All of this helps explain why Dreev endorses the move Hand played against me, viz:
4...d6
Dreev says: "The idea (is) to transpose into the Old Steinitz Defence in which White has played Nc3 too early,"
5.d4
"This is the only way to fight for a slight opening edge," says Dreev, who gives Black's best as 5...a6. The game saw a line he warns against:
5...exd4 6.Nxd4 Bd7 7.0-0
Dreev leaves this line here, saying the game has transposed to "one of the positions in the Steinitz Defence in which White maintains a slight but stable positional edge."
7...Ng6?
A mistake, which I failed to exploit. Perhaps best was to initiate exchanges with the typical freeing manoeuvre 7...Nxd4, when I intended 8.Qxd4, with a pleasant game.
8.Re1?
My main analysis engines, Stockfish9 and Komodo9, scream out for 8.Nf5, which they are so enthusiastic about that at first they reckon White is winning. They sober down after considering the position for a while, but still believe White is much better after 8...Nce7 9.Re1 (Stockfish9) or 8...Nge7!? 9.Bg5 (Komodo9).
I rejected 8.Nf5 because I was not sure White was better after 8...Bxf5, but 9.exf5 Nge7 (9...Nge5 10.Re1) 10.Bg5 Qd7 (10...f6 11.Qh5+) 11.f6 gxf6 12.Bxf6 Rg8 13.Re1 0-0-0 14.Nd5, as given by Stockfish9, looks crushing.
8...Be7 9.Be3 Bf6 10.Qd2 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Bxd4 12.Qxd4 Bxb5 13.Nxb5 0-0
The mass exchanges begun on move 10 have freed Black's game, although White has a lead in development and more central space.
14.c4!?
Not 14.Nxa7?? c5.
I thought the text gave me a pleasant bind, but the engines do not like the move, preferring 14.Qc3, 14.Nc3 or even 14.f3.
14...a6 15.Nc3 Qg5
Perhaps this is the problem with my 14th move - Black gets a small but annoying initiative on the kingside.
16.Qe3 Qe5 17.Rad1 Rfd8?!
This looks like the wrong rook, but possibly FH thought his queenside would be vulnerable to a queen invasion if he moved the a8 rook.
18.Rd5 Qf6 19.b3 c6!?
Komodo9's choice, but it clearly weakens the d6 pawn.
20.Rdd1 Nf4 21.g3? Ne6?
The fast time control (all moves in 80 minutes, with a 10-second increment) may have saved me here, as otherwise FH would surely have found 21...Nh3+ 22.Kg2 Nxf2!
22.Kg2 g5!?
Presumably an anti-rabbit move.
23.h3 Qe5 24.Ne2 Kh8 25.Nd4
Forcing exchanges, as Black can hardly allow a White knight to (at last!) occupy the f5 square.
25...Nxd4 26.Qxd4 Qxd4?
The analysis engines aren't too harsh about this, but to me it seems a clear mistake, more-or-less condemning Black to passive defence of the d6 weakness.
27.Rxd4 Rd7 28.Red1 Rad8 29.Kf3 Kg7 30.Kg4 Kg6 31.f4 gxf4 32.gxf4
This gives Black a drawing resource. Better was 32.Kxf4, eg 32...Kf6 33.Rxd6+ Rxd6 34.Rxd6+ Rxd6 35.e5+ Ke6 36.exd6 Kxd6, leaving a king-and-pawn ending that looks very good for White. Stockfish9 suggests 32...c5!?, but White is clearly much better after 33.Rd5.

Position after the seemingly natural 32.gxf4

32...f6
The engines give 32...f5!, the point being that 33.exf5+ Kf6 takes much of the pressure off d6. It is still White for choice, but difficult to make progress.
33.f5+! Kh6 34.c5 d5 35.Kf4 Kg7 36.h4 Kf7 37.h5 Ke7?
This eases White's task.
The engines prefer 37..Kg7, but after, say, 38.exd5 cxd5 39.b4, Black can do nothing but wait for White to slowly make progress, as an attempt at counterplay by 39...Kh6 could end in tears, eg 40.a3 Kxh6?? 41.Rh1#.
38.Rg1
Simpler, and stronger, was 38.exd5 cxd5 39.b4, with mounting pressure on Black's position.
But 38.h6?! would have allowed 38...dxe4, when 39.Rxd7+ Rxd7 40.Rxd7 Kxd7 leaves White's king with no way into Black's position. White's best would probably be 40.Rg1 Kf8 41.Kxe4, but Black has some drawing chances.
38...Kf8 39.Rgd1?
Giving Black a second chance to find the best defence of ...Kg7.
I should have continued switching my attack to the g file. The engines give 39.Rd2 Re7 40.Rgd2! Rxe4+ 41.Kf3 Rde8 42.Rg8+ Ke7 43.R1g7+ Kd8 44.Rxe8+ Kxe8 45.Rxh7, when White's dominant rook gives excellent winning chances.
39...Kf7? 40.h6
This is good, now that Black cannot reply ...dxe4.
40...Kf8 41.b4 Kf7 42.exd5 cxd5 43.a4 Kf8 44.Re1 Re7 45.Rdd1 Rxe1 46.Rxe1 Rd7 47.Re6 Kf7 48.Ke3 d4+ 49.Kd3 a5 50.b5 Rd5. 51.c6 bxc6 52.b6
Black cannot stop this pawn, except by allowing a lost king-and-pawn ending. The game finished:
52...Rd7 53.Rxc6 Ke7 54.Rc7 Rxc7 55.bxc7 Kd7 56.Kxd4 Kxc7 57.Kc5 Kd7 58.Kb5 Kd6 59.Kxa5 Ke5
59...Kc5 60.Ka6 Kc6 61.a5 is no improvement.
60.Kb6 1-0