Morphing The French XXII

FACED a junior (born 2009) in the last round at Hradec Králové, which was played on November 13.

The game gave me another chance to try to play against the French Defence in the style of Paul Morphy.

Spanton (1804) - Lukas Zelba (1883)

Hradec Králové Round Nine

French Exchange

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3 Nc6!?

As far as I can discover, Morphy never faced this continuation, which scores 63% for Black in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database.

6.0-0 Nge7

This move, which is the most popular continuation, has been played by Vladimir Kramnik and many other strong grandmasters.

7.Re1 Bg4 8.c3 Qd7

There are more than 1,000 games with this position in Mega22.

9.Nbd2 0-0-0!?

Castling on opposite flanks is often suggested as a recipe for Black to avoid a draw, and the text has been played by the likes of  Alexander Alekhine, Rudolf Spielmann, Nigel Short and Wesley So. That is a very good pedigree, but the move is certainly risky.

The stage is set for rival flank attacks

10.b4 Rdf8?!

Apparently a novelty, and almost certainly not a good one as the rook's prospects for action seem slim on the f file. The main moves are 10...Ng6 and 10...Rde8.

11.b5 Nd8 12.a4 f6 13.a5 g5 14.b6 Kb8 15.bxa7+ Ka8!?

A reasonably well-known idea - the king shelters behind an enemy pawn.

16.Rb1 h5 17.c4 h4?!

Also dubious is 17...dxc4?! 18.Nxc4, when the threat is 19.a6 b6 20.Rxb6! Possibly best is 17...Bf5, but the engines reckon White is much better after 18.Bxf5 Nxf5 19.c5.

18.c5 Bxh2+?!

Best, according to Stockfish14.1 and Komodo12.1.1, is 18...Bf4, but they reckon 19.a6 gives White a large advantage.

19.Kxh2 Bxf3 20.Qxf3 g4 21.Qe2 g3+ 22.Kg1 Nec6 23.Nf3 Re8 24.Be3 f5 25.a6 f4 26.axb7+Nxb7 27.Qb2 1-0

Hradec Králové Round Eight

Marek Krása (1619) - Spanton (1804)

Queen's Pawn Irregular

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.a3!?

This is more popular than you might think. There are 189 examples of the move in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database, including being played four times by Éric Prié. Some of the ideas will become clear as the game progresses.

3...c5 4.e3

This is the main move, but Prié preferred 4.c3 the only time in Mega22 he faced 3...c5.

4...Nc6 5.dxc5!?

Both Stockfish14.1 and Komodo12.1.1 like this, which is preparation for fianchettoing the dark-square bishop.

5...Bxc5 6.c4

The immediate b4 is more popular.

6...Nf6!?

The engines are not keen on this natural-looking developing move, preferring 6...a5 or 6...Be7!? The latter is not in Mega22, but the idea is to meet 7.b4 with 7...Bf6.

7.b4

This was the choice of Magus Carlsen and other strong grandmasters when they reached the position after 6...Nf6!? by transposition.

7...Bd6 8.Bb2 0-0 9.Be2!?

Possibly a novelty. Normal is 9.Nbd2.

9...Qe7

The engines strongly prefer 9...dxc4!? 10.Bxc4, reaching a position that occurs once in Mega22, but with White to move.

10.0-0 Rd8 11.Qc2 Bd7

Black has connected rooks, and the opening can be thought of as being over. How would you assess the position?

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Black's position looks a little cramped, to me, and the black light-square bishop is not very impressive, but Black has a lead in development. White's dark-square bishop is powerful, and White is threatening to grab more space on the queenside at a suitable moment (but White has to be careful this does not give Black a free hand in the centre). The engines reckon White has at least a slight edge.

12.Rd1

But they are not keen on this, preferring 12.Nbd2 or 12.c5!?

12...Rac8 13.Nc3?!

This allows a simple combination, although the resulting position is not completely clear-cut. Probably better is 13.Nbd2 or 13.c5!?

13...dxc4 14.Bxc4 Nxb4 15.axb4 Rxc4 16.Qd3 Rc6 17.b5 Rb6 18.Qe2?

The obvious 18.Rxa7 is best, according to the engines, although they reckon Black has a slight edge.

18...Bb4 19.Rxa7 Bxc3 20.Bxc3 Bxb5 21.Rxd8+ Qxd8 22.Qc2!?

This is best, according to the engines.

How should Black proceed?

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22...Rc6?

This lets White equalise. The engines reckon 22...h6!? is enough for at least a slight edge.

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23.h3??

Apparently oblivious to the danger down the c file. The simple 23.Rxb7 Ba6 28.Rb3 is equal.

23...Qc8

Also very strong is 23...Nd5.

24.Qb2?

Better is 24.Qa2 Ba6 25.Be5, but Black is effectively the exchange up.

24...Rxc3 25.Qxb5 Rc1+ 26.Kh2 Qb8+ 27.g3 Qxa7 28.Qd3 Rc8 29.g4 h6 0-1

Hradec Králové Round Seven

Spanton (1804) - Jiří Kůtek (1545)

Sicilian Bb5(+)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4!?

More popular are 4.Bxc6 and especially 4.0-0.

4...cxd4 5.Qxd4 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Nc3

At the cost of giving up the bishop-pair, White has obtained a handy lead in development.

7...Nf6 8.Bg5 e5!?

This is Black's second-most popular choice, but a long way behind 8...e6.

9.Qd3 Be7 10.0-0-0 Ng4

This is best, according to Stockfish14.1, although Komodo12.1.1 narrowly prefers 10...0-0.

11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Rd2 Rd8 13.Nd5!?

The engines do not like this, preferring 13.Rhd1, 13.h3 or 13.Qc4.

13...Bxd5 14.Qxd5 0-0 15.Rhd1 Nf6 16.Qd3 Qc7!?

Black could catch up in development with 16...Rfe8 and thus equalise, according to the engines.

17.Nxe5!? d5

Maybe even better is the engines' 17...Qa5!? 18.Nc4 Qxa2 19.Na3 d5.

18.Nf3 Nxe4 19.Re2 Rfe8 20.Rde1 Kf8!?

A risky manoeuvre with so much material on the board. The engines prefer 20...Re6.

21.g3 Qc5 22.Nd2 g6 23.Nb3 Qb6 24.f3 Nf6 25.Nd4 Rxe2 26.Rxe2 Qc5 27.c3

How should Black proceed?

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27...Nd7?!

Probably the wrong idea. The engines reckon White is only slightly better after 27...Re8 28.Rxe8+ Nxe8 29.Qe3 Qe7 30.Qh6+ Kg8 31.Kd2.

28.Qe3 a6?

Missing White's pawn-winning threat. The engines give 28...Kg8, but strongly prefer White after 29.h4.

29.Qh6+ Kg8 30.Nf5 Qf8

Black loses at least the exchange after 30...gxf5? 31.Qg5+ and 32.Qxd8+.

31.Ne7+ Kh8 32.Qxf8+ Nxf8 33.Rd2 d4 34.Rxd4 Rxd4 35.cxd4 Kg7

35...Ne6 fails to the simple 36.d5.

36.Kd2 Kf6 37.Nd5+ Ke6 38.Nf4+ Kd6 39.Kd3 h5 40.Ke4 Nd7 41.Kd3 b5 42.Kc3 a5 43.Nd3 g5 44.h4 f6 45.Nf2 gxh4 46.gxh4 f5 47.Nd3 Nf6 48.Nf4 Nd5+?!

Letting the knights come off does not help Black's cause, but Black was almost in zugzwang.

49.Nxd5 Kxd5 50.b3?

One of the few moves that does not win.

Black to play and draw

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50...Kd6?

As I saw to my horror while waiting for JK to move, Black draws with 50...b4+ 51.Kd3 f4, when White has to avoid the losing 52.Kd2? (but 52.Kc2 and 52.Ke2 hold).

The game finished:

51.a4 bxa4 52.bxa4 Kd5 53.Kd3 f4 54.Kc3 Kd6 55.Kc4 Kc6 56.d5+ Kd6 57.Kd4 Kd7 58.Ke5 Ke7 59.Kxf4 1-0

Hradec Králové Round Six

NOW that I have a working laptop again, I hope to catch up with posting my recent games.

Ironically, or perhaps not, I can now access the 2022 version of ChessBase's Mega database through ChessBase 9, which I will use for the foreseeable future rather than ChessBase 16, which at least for now I regard as much less user-friendly.

Spanton (1804) - Miroslav Macho (1653)

Hradec Králové Round Six

Vienna Game

1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3 Be7 6.d3

The main line in Mega22 runs 6.Qe2 Nxc3 7.dxc3, which the analysis engines Stockfish14.1 and Komodo12.1.1 reckon very slightly favours Black.

6...Bh4+!?

A very rare continuation, which is quite liked by the engines, although they prefer the normal 6...Nxc3.

7.g3

Not 7.Nxh4?? Qxh4 8.g3 Nxg3.

7...Nxc3 8.Nxc3 Be7 9.Bg2

White has gained two tempi (g3 and Bg2) compared with the normal line starting with 6...Nxc3, but the engines reckon White has at best equality

9...0-0 10.0-0 Bg4 11.Rb1 Qc8 12.d4 c6 13.Bf4 b6 14.Qd2 Bh3?!

This is presumably meant to weaken the white king's position, but the coming exchange is of doubtful value as the black light-square bishop is more active than its white counterpart.

15.Bg5 Bxg5 16.Qxg5

Good enough for an advantage, but the engines prefer 26.Nxg5!?

16...Bxg2?! 17.Kxg2 Na6 18.Nh4 Nc7 19.Nf5 Ne6 20.Qg4 Qe8 21.Nd6!?

This is a strong outpost for the knight, but the engines reckon the knight is even better off staying on f5, so they prefer 21.Rf3 or 21.h4.

21...Qe7 22.Rf5?!

Much better, according to the engines, is 22.Nf5.

22...f6 23.Rh5?

This lets Black equalise. Correct is building up with 23.Rbf1.

23...fxe5 24.Nf5 Qd7

How should Black proceed?

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25.Nxg7??

Losing instantly. There were several ways to maintain equality, including 25.Nh6+ Kh8 26.Rxe5.

25...Nf4+ 0-1

Hradec Králové Round Five

Pavel Mráz (1508) - Spanton (1804)

Sicilian Hyper-Accelerated Dragon

1.Nf3 c5 2.e4 g6 3.Bc4!?

This move, a speciality of Ilya Smirin, is more popular than might be expected, ranking third in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database behind 3.d4 and 3.c3 but well ahead of 3.Nc3 and 3.g3.

3...Bg7 4.c3

Smirin's choice, and preferred by the analysis engines Stockfish14 and Komodo12.1.1 over the more-popular 4.0-0.

4...e6 5.0-0

Smirin played 5.d4 in wins against fellow grandmasters Monika Soćko and Gadir Guseinov. The main line after 5.d4 continues 5...cxd4, when Smirin likes the slightly unusual 6.Nxd4!?

5...Ne7 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4!? 0-0 8.Qb3?!

This seems to be a novelty, and is probably not a good one, not least because it does not stop the threatened ...d5. The main line, as far as there is one, goes 8.Bg5 a6, reaching a position in the Smirin - Soćko game where 9.Nd2 was played, which the engines reckon gives White a small edge.

8...d5 9.exd5 exd5 10.Bd3 Nbc6 11.Nxc6

The engines prefer 11.Be3.

11...bxc6 12.Be3 Bf5 13.Qc2 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 Nf5 15.Bc5 Re8 16.Nd2 Qc7 17.Nf3 Rab8 18.b3

This is not strictly necessary as the b2 pawn is taboo after 18.Rfe1!?

18...Re4 19.Rfe1 Rbe8 20.Qc2

Not 20.Rxe4? dxe4 21.Qe2 Bxc3.

How should Black proceed?

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20...a6

Putting the pawn on a square where it is not attacked by the white bishop, the point being that 20...Rxe1+ 21.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 22.Nxe1 Qe5?! 23.Nf3 Qxc3 24.Qxc3 Bxc3 25.Bxa7 favours White, who has the outside passed pawn.

However, better is 20...Nh4!? I rejected it because of 21.Rxe4? Nxf3+ 22.gxf3 dxe4 23.Re1, missing that 23...Re5 is very strong. The engines give 21.Qd2, claiming only a small edge for Black after 21...Nxf3+ 22.gxf3 R4e5.

Possibly even a tad stronger, according to the engines, is 20...Qa5!?, eg 21.Rxe4 Rxe4 22.Bb4 Qb6 with continuing pressure.

21.Rxe4 Rxe4 22.Re1?!

The engines prefer 22.Rc1 or 22.h3.

The text looks as if it fully justifies 20...a6, but after ...

22...Rxe1+ 23.Nxe1 Qe5 24.Nd3! Qxc3 25.Qxc3 Bxc3 26.Bb4

... the engines reckon the position is dead-equal.

Dead-equal? Maybe, but I think it is easier for Black to play

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26...Bd4

I felt this move kept most play in the position, but not 26...Bxb4? 27.Nxb4, which is good for White.

27.Kf1

This is almost certainly better than 27.Bc5?! a5.

27...Kg7 28.Bc5?!

The engines reckon White keeps equality, despite being a pawn down, after both 28.Ba5!? and 28.g4!?

28...Kf6?!

Black has a slight edge after 28...a5 and possibly after 28...h5, according to the engines.

29.Bxd4+?

Equal is 29.g4 Bxc5 30.Nxc5, after which White will recover his pawn but Black's pieces are active enough to hold the draw. White also regains his pawn after the text, but in much less-favourable circumstances.

29...Nxd4 30.Nc5 a5 31.Nb7

What is Black's best continuation?

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31...a4

This gives an advantage, but even stronger seems to be the engines' surprising 31...Ke6!? 32.Nxa5 Kd7, the point being the awkward position of the white knight, eg 33.Ke1 c5 34.Kd2 Kc7 35.Kd3 Kb6 36.b4 Nb5 etc.

32.bxa4 Ke6 33.Ke1?!

Probably stronger is pushing the a4 pawn as quickly as possible, eg 33.a5 Kd7 34.a6 Kc7 35.Nd6!? Kb6 36.Nxf7, when White is, at least temporarily, a pawn up, but after 36...c5 Black's connected passers seem strong.

33...Kd7 34.Kd2 Kc7 35.Nc5

PM offered a draw.

35...Ne6 36.Nb3

The engines reckon 36.Nd3 f6 37.Nb4 prolongs resistance.

36...Kb6 37.g3 c5 38.Kc3 c4 39.Nd2

Not 39.Nd4?? Nxd4 40.Kxd4 Ka5 etc.

39...Ka5 40.f4 f5?

40...Kxa4 wins easily.

White to play and draw

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41.Nf3

The time is right to sac the knight, ie 41.Nxc4+! dxc4 42.Kxc4, when Black's win has vanished, according to the engines.

Note that after 40...Kxa4 the sac does not work, eg 41.Nxc4+?! dxc4 42.Kxc4 Ka3 43.Kd5 Ng7! 44.Ke5 Ne8 etc.

41...Kxa4 42.Ne5 Kb5 43.Nf3 Kc5 44.Ne5 d4+ 45.Kc2 Kd5 46.Nd7 c3 47.Nb6+ Kc5 48.Nd7+ Kb4 49.Ne5 Ka3

White has to either allow a second pawn to fall or retreat the king.

The game finished:

50.Nc6 Kxa2 51.Nb4+ Ka3 52.Nd3 Ka4 53.Nc1 Nc5 54.Ne2 0-1

Hradec Králové Round Four

TODAY is the double-round day at Hradec Králové.

This morning I faced a Polish teenager (born 2003).

Spanton (1804) - Bartosz Smukowski (1558)

Caro-Kann Tartakower

1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 c6 3.e4 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6!?

Perhaps slightly better known is 5...gxf6, but the text, which has been a favourite of players such as Tartakower, Capablanca, Nimzowitsch, Alekhine, Flohr and Donner, is preferred by the analysis engines Stockfish14 and Komodo12.1.1.

6.Nf3 Be6 7.c3 Nd7 8.Bd3 Qc7 9.0-0 Nb6 10.Re1 0-0-0 11.a4 Bd6?!

The engines suggest 11...g5, albeit preferring White.

12.Qc2?!

More-forceful play is required. After 12.c4 Black appears to be in difficulties, eg 12...Bb4 13.a5! Nd7 14.Bd2 Bxd2 15.Qxd2, when White's queenside play is ahead of Black's play on the kingside, or 12...Nd7 13.c5!? Bf4 14.b4, when again White's play seems much quicker.

12...g5 13.g3 h5 14.Bf5 Bd7?!

The natural-looking 14...Qd7 15.Bxe6 fxe6 is equal, according to the engines.

15.c4 Bb4 16.Re2

Also good is 16.Bd2.

16...Rde8 17.Be3!?

The engines prefer 17.Rxe8+ Rxe8 18.a5 Bxf5 19.Qxf5+ Qd7 20.Qd3.

17...h4 18.g4 Bxf5 19.Qxf5+ Qd7 20.Qxd7+ Kxd7 21.b3 h3

How should White proceed?

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22.Nd2?

White is slightly better, according to the engines, after both 22.Ne1 and 22.Kf1.

22...Rh4 23.Rae1??

23.Kf1 keeps the loss to a single pawn.

23...Rxg4+ 24.Kh1 f5 25.f3 Rg2 26.Bf2

Or 25.Rxg2 hxg2+ 26.Kxg2 f4.

26...Bxd2 0-1

Hradec Králové Round Three

WAS upfloated against a Frenchman who does not have a Fide rating.

Vincent Haefliger - Spanton (1804)

Sicilian 2.g3

1.e4 c5 2.g3!?

Grandmaster Nigel Davies explains on his Closed Sicilian dvd for ChessBase that he used to play this in order to try to reach a Closed Sicilian set-up without committing to the move Nc3, the point being White often wants to play c3 in the Closed Sicilian to evict a knight from d4.

2...d5

This, he says, is the move that made him give up on the idea. The commonest move, by quite a margin, in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database is 2...Nc6, which is preferred by Komodo12.1.1 (Stockfish14 likes the text).

3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Bg2 Qe4+?!

Grandmasters tend to play 5...Qe6+ or 5...Nc6.

6.Kf1

White can offer a pawn with 6.Qe2!? as 6...Qxc2!? allows White plenty of compensation after, for example, 7.Na3 or 7.0-0. However the text is the main line and is preferred by the engines.

6...Nc6 7.d3 Qe6

The same position is often reached in the 5...Qe6 line, except there White will not have got in the move d3. The engines reckon the tempo difference is enough to turn a roughly equal line into one that is advantageous for White.

8.Bf4 Nf6!?

The engines prefer 8...Qd7.

9.h3 Bh5 10.g4 Bg6

Sacrifices on g4 do not work, eg 10...Nxg4? 11.hxg4 Qxg4 (11...Bxg4 12.Nbd2) 12.Qd2.

11.Nc3 Rd8?

Black needs to defend against the threat of Nb5, and the engines reckon best is 11...Rc8.

12.Nb5 Nd5 13.c4 Qf6

White to play and win

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14.cxd5?

Correct is 14.Bg5 Qxb2, which VH said after the game he had looked at but could not calculate the complications. The engines reckon best-play runs 15.cxd5 (not 15.Rb1? Nc3) Bxd3+ 16.Qxd3! Qxa1+ 17.Ne1 when Black, if anyone, is ahead on material, but White's lead in development and the endangered black king mean White is winning, eg 17...Nd4 18.Nc7+ Kd7 19.Nb5!

14...Qxf4 15.dxc6?

The engines reckon 15.d4 is about level.

15...Bxd3+ 16.Kg1?!

Probably better is 16.Qxd3 Rxd3 17.c7 Kd7, when the engines find 18.Ne5+! Qxe5 19.Bxb7 Qxc7 20.Nxc7 Kxc7, albeit leaving Black a pawn up.

16...Bxb5 17.Qe2??

As often happens in chess, mistakes closely follow mistakes. The engines reckon best is 17.Qc1 Qxc1+ 18.Rxc1 Bxc6 19.Rxc5, when Black is a pawn up and has the bishop-pair on a relatively open board.

17...Bxe2 0-1

Castle Of The Queen

HRADEC Králové, which means "castle of the queen" in Czech, was for hundreds of years part of the Habsburg empire, becoming Königgrätz in German.

The city is perhaps best known to historians for giving its name to the 1866 battle that decided the Seven Weeks War.

Prussia's victory over Austria helped lead to a united Germany that excluded Austria - future German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck apparently feared catholic Austria within Germany would provide too much of a counterbalance to protestant Prussia.

These days the city is something of a tourist destination, at least within Czechia and other parts of Central Europe, which is why it has many more restaurants and bars than its population of under 100,0000 would otherwise suggest.

As well as the chess festival - this is the 11th edition - Hradec Králové also hosts other cultural events and has the impressive-looking (at least from the outside) East Bohemian Museum.

The East Bohemian Museum

Hradec Králové Round Two

FACED a teenager (born 2004).

Matěj Vošmik (1464) - Spanton (1804)

Scotch

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qf6!?

A little refinement in the move-order. The point is that after 4...Bc5 White, in addition to the currently popular 5.Be3 and 5.Nxc6, has the old mainline 5.Nb3. Whether Black should be denying White the chance to play the old main line is arguable.

5.Be3 Bc5

The normal move-order to reach this position is 4...Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6.

6.c3 Nge7 7.Bc4 0-0 8.0-0 Bb6 9.Re1!?

A relatively new move - the first appearance in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database is from 1992 - whereas 9.f4 goes back to the Dubois-Steinitz match of 1862.

9...Na5?!

Possibly a novelty, and probably not a good one. The main move is 9...d6, which Komodo12.1.1 reckons equalises although Stockfish14 gives White a slight edge.

10.Bd3 d5?

This was the point of ...Na5, but the continuation is tactically flawed. The engines give 10...d6 or 10...Nac6, preferring White.

White to play and win material

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11.Qf3?

11.exd5 wins at least a pawn as 11...Nxd5? fails to 12.Qh5 etc.

11...Qxf3 12.Nxf3 Bxe3 13.Rxe3 dxe4 14.Bxe4 Nc4?

14...Nac6 is roughly equal.

15.Bxh7+ Kxh7 16.Rxe7 Rd8 17.Na3!

This slightly surprising move is best, according to the engines.

17...Nxa3 18.bxa3 c5?!

There is no good continuation, but probably better than the text is the engines' 18...Kg8, although 19.Rxc7 wins a second pawn.

19.Rae1?!

Perhaps overly cautious. The engines like 19.Rxf7 or 19.Ng5+.

19...f6 20.h3 Bd7?!

My originally intended 20...b6 is better, according to the engines.

21.Rf7 Bc6 22.Ree7 Rg8 23.Rxf6 Rge8 24.Rff7?

The engines reckon White should preserve his kingside pawn-structure with 24.Ng5+ Kg8 25.Rff7 Rxe7 27.Rxe7.

24...Rxe7 25.Rxe7 Rd8?!

The engines prefer going for a rook-and-pawn ending with 25...Bxf3 26.gxf3 Rd8 27.Rxb7 Rd3, when White is temporarily three pawns up but they reckon 'only' has the upper hand.

26.Ng5+ Kg6

How should White proceed?

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27.Rxg7+??

27.h4 is the simplest way to keep well on top.

27...Kxg7??

Black is winning after 27...Kf6 as White loses a piece.

The game finished:

28.Ne6+ Kf6 29.Nxd8 Bd5 30.c4 Bxc4 31.Nxb7 Bxa2 32.Nxc5 Ke5 33.f3 Kd4 34.Ne4 Kc4 35.h4 a5 36.h5 a4 37.h6 1-0

Hradec Králové Round One

Spanton (1804) - Pavel Jirásek (FM 2271)

Sicilian Bb5(+)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.Bxc6

This is regarded as a positional approach. More popular is 4.0-0.

4...bxc6 5.d3 Ne7 6.Qe2 Qc7 7.e5!?

The idea is to make it awkward for Black to mobilise the light-square bishop.

7...f6 8.Bf4 Ng6 9.Bg3 fxe5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Qh5+!?

White has the upper hand after 11.Bxe5 d6 12.Bg3, according to Stockfish14, but Komodo12.1.1 rates the position as equal..

11...g6 12.Qxe5 Qxe5 13.Bxe5 Rg8 14.Nd2 d6 15.Bc3 Be7 16.Ne4

The engines prefer 16.a3, intending b4, eg 16.a3 Rb8 17.b4 cxb4 18.axb4, which undoubles Black's c pawns but leaves Black with a weak a pawn.

16...e5 17.Bd2 Bf5

How would you assess this position?

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Black has retained the bishop-pair and freed his light-square bishop. Black also has more space in the centre, but has one more pawn-island than White and his pawns in general are disrupted. The engines reckon the position is equal.

18.0-0?!

The engines strongly dislike this because it gives Black the chance to dissolve his doubled pawns. Instead they suggest 18.f3.

18...g5!?

Stockfish14 reckons 18...c4 leaves Black much better. Komodo12.1.1 also prefers 18...c4, but reckons Black has at best a slight edge.

19.b3 Kd7 20.Rad1 Raf8 21.Be3 h5 22.Ng3 Bg6 23.Ne4 Bh7 24.f3 Rf7 25.a3 a5!?

Preventing b4 but creating another target for White. However, the engines do not believe the drawback is serious - indeed the text is Komodo12.1.1's top choice for a while.

26.a4 Kc7 27.Bd2 Kb6 28.Be3?!

This makes it easy for Black to mobilise his central pawns. Probably better is the engines' 28.Rde1, although Stockfish14 continues 28...d5!? 29.Nf2 Bd6, albeit slightly preferring White.

28...d5 29.Nf2 Bd5 30.Rde1 Bd6 31.Bd2 Bd7 32.Bc3 Re7 33.Re2?!

Black now gets an initiative. The engines prefer 33.g4!? Rf8 34.Kg2 Ref7 35.gxh5 Rxf3 36.h6!?, claiming equality.

33...g4 34.fxg4 hxg4 35.Nh1!?

The knight is destined to never leave the corner, but the engines reckon 35.g3 also gives Black an edge.

35...c4

The engines reckon the best way to play this idea is 35...e4!? 36.dxe4 c4.

36.d4?

Better is 36.bxc4 Bc5+ 37.Nf2 with at best a slight edge for Black.

36...cxb3 37.Rb1?

Better, according to the engines, but still horrible is 37.cxb3 exd4 38.Bxd4+ c5 39.Rxe7 Bxe7, when the black bishop-pair and passed pawn give a large advantage.

37...e4?!

Almost certainly even stronger is 37...exd4, with similar play to the previous note.

38.cxb3?!

I got cold feet about Rxb3+ because a4 would be weak, but the engines reckon it is the better option.

38...Rh8 39.g3 Ka6 40.Reb2 Rf8 41.Rf1

Consistent is 41.b4, but the engines reckon Black is winning after 41...Rb8.

41...Rf3 42.Rxf3 gxf3 43.Kf2 Bf5 44.Bd2 c5 45.Be3 cxd4 46.Bxd4 Ba3 47.Ra2

Not 47.Rc2? e3+ etc.

47...Bc1 48.h4 e3+ 49.Kxf3 Be4+ 50.Ke2 Bf5!?

Also winning is 50...Bxh1 despite the small amount of counterplay White gets after 51.Rc2.

51.Kf3 Re4 52.Bc3 Bg4+ 53.Kg2 d4 54.Be1 d3 0-1

My laptop seems to be back to working more-as-less normally, despite me spilling water over it yesterday, except that the arrow keys no longer have any effect.

Calamity!

THIS afternoon, shortly before round one at Hradec Králové, I knocked a bottle of water over my laptop.

Initially the result seemed pretty devastating, but now, more than three hours later, the computer is working a little better, but some keys still do not function.

How much I will be able to blog is up in the air.

There was more bad news when I lost my game with white in 54 moves to Fide master Pavel Jirasek (2271).

An Englishman Abroad

FLEW to Prague yesterday to play in a CzechTour congress at Hradec Králové, a city about 60 miles east of the capital.

There are 71 entries from 13 countries, the full list being at http://chess-results.com/tnr584333.aspx?lan=1&art=0&turdet=YES&flag=30

The venue is the Hotel Černigov, opposite the main train station, which was also the venue when I played eight years ago.

It was dark when I arrived, but I was interested to see how much had changed since my previous visit and so walked to the old town, which is a good 20 minutes away.

I do not remember this giant Tesco

I very much recall this red miniature Eiffel Tower

Some things have stayed essentially the same for hundreds of years (apart from the nature of the traffic in the foreground)

The main tournament is nine rounds over eight days, starting today at 4pm, with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment.

The hotel had been recently refurbished in 2013 at a time when quite a few of the CzechTour venues were unreconstructed from the communist era.

It remains good value: 38 euros a night for a single room, including breakfast.

Hradec Králové Update

ENTRIES for next month's CzechTour tournament in Hradec Králové have been updated.

There are now 49 players from 10 countries, as can be seen at http://chess-results.com/tnr584333.aspx?lan=1&art=0&turdet=YES&flag=30

Bad News, Good News

BAD news for anyone thinking of playing at Hradec Kralove, a CzechTour fixture, later this month.

It has been called off due to the Czech government's three-week state of emergency that bans, among other things, indoor cultural events.

However, there is good news in that the event has been rescheduled for early December, which is when I usually play at Benidorm.

Here is the announcement this afternoon at the CzechTour site:

Dear chess friends,
We regretly inform you that due to anti-covid measures in the Czech Republic, the HRADEC KRALOVE OPEN festival was postponed from 31st October - 7th November to 5th - 12th December 2020. Regulations remain unchanged except dates.

Czechia in December will not bear much resemblance to Alicante, but Benidorm shows no signs of going ahead, and anyway who needs sunshine and temperatures of 20C+ when you are indoors playing chess?