Summing Up Kidlington

MY score of +1=1-2 in the U2000 (I also took a halfpoint bye) lost 29.4 ECF elo.

Kidlington U2000 Round Five

Spanton (1929) - Jeffrey Bryant (1745)

French Exchange

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

The main move in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database is 5.Bb5!?

5...Nb4 6.Be2 Bd6

If 6...Bf5, then 7.Na3, with c3 to come.

7.a3 Nc6 8.c4!? dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nge7?

Sensible is 9...Nf6.

How should White proceed?

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10.Ng5

Crude, but effective.

10...0-0 11.Qh5

Black has no good way to defend both h7 and f7.

11...Bf5

Much worse is 11..h6?

12.Nxf7 Rxf7

Slightly less ruinous is the engines' 12...Bb4+!? 13.axb4 Qxd4, when White needs to find 14.Qe2! to maintain a large advantage.

13.Qxf7+ Kh8

White is the exchange and a pawn up, but is uncastled and well behind in development - indeed White has only one move that keeps a winning advantage

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14.Bg5

Winning is 14.Bh6!!, when 14...gxh6?? allows 15.Qf6#, while 14...Qf8 15.Qxf8+ Rxf8 16.Be3 sees White consolidate his material advantage.

14...Bg6 15.Bxe7 Bxf7

The engines prefer 15...Nxe7!?, claiming Black has full compensation for being down the exchange and a pawn.

16.Bxd8 Bxc4 17.Nd2 Bd3 18.Bxg5 Nxd4

Black has won back the pawn, and now 19.Nf3 Nc2+ 20.Kd2 Nxa1 21.Kxd3 Nb3 wins back the exchange, after which the engines reckon 22.Re1 gives White a slight edge.

19.0-0-0?? Ne2#

Kidlington U2000 Round Four

FACED a junior (born 2016).

Aviraj Bhaduri (1707) - Spanton (1929)

Sicilian Hyper-Accelerated Dragon

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.c3 d5!?

The main line in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database runs 3...Bg7 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 d5 6.e5, with at least a slight edge for White, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1.

4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Bb5+!?

This trails 5.Be2, 5.Na3 and especially 5.d4 in popularity.

5...Bd7 6.Bxd7+ Nxd7 7.d4 Ngf6 8.0-0 Bg7 9.Be3 cxd4 10.Qxd4 0-0

Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the position?

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Black has the only pawn on the two centre files, which could be a middlegame asset, while White has the possible endgame asset of a farside pawn-majority. The engines reckon the position is equal. 

11.Re1!?

They much prefer 11.Rd1 or 11.Na3.

11...Rfe8

The engines reckon 11...e5 12.Qxd5 Nxd5 gives Black the upper hand.

12.Na3 a6 13.Nc4 b5 14.Nb6 Qxd4 15.Bxd4 Nxb6 16.Bxb6 Nd5 17.Bd4 e6 18.Bxg7 Kxg7

How would you assess this late-middlegame position?

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Black has more space on the queenside, but the only other major difference between the two sides is the rival pawn-majorities. The engines agree the game is equal.

19.g3 Rec8 20.Rec1 Rc7 21.Rc2 Rac8 22.Rac1 Kf6

Not 22...Nb4 23.Rd2 Nxa2? 24.Ra1 Nxc3 25.bxc3 Rxc3 as, after 26.Kg2, White is well-placed to blockade, and ultimately destroy, Black's connected passers.

23.a3 h5 24.Kf1 g5!? 25.Ke2 g4!? 26.Nd2 Ke7 27.Kd3 f5 28.c4 bxc4+ 29.Rxc4 Rxc4 30.Rxc4 Rxc4 31.Nxc4

How would you assess this knight-and-pawn ending?

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White's queenside majority looks dangerous, but the engines reckon the position is completely equal.

31...f4?

But this is the wrong plan. Instead 31...Nf6, eyeing the e4 square, keeps White in check.

32.Ke4 f3 33.Ne3?

White is winning after 33.Ke5, according to the engines.

How should Black proceed?

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33...Nb6

The engines prefer a move I dismissed without bothering to analyse, namely 33...Nxe3!? I assumed 34.Kxe3 gave White a winning pawn ending. However, after 34...e5!? 35.Ke4 Ke6 36.b4 Kd6 37.a4 Ke6 38.b5 axb5 39.axb5 (39.a5?? loses to 39...Kd6) Kd6 40.b6 Kc6 41.Kxe5 Kxb7 42.Kf5 Kc5 43.Kg5 Kd4 44.Kxh5 Kd3 45.Kxg4 Ke2 46.h4 Kxf2 47.h5 Kg2 48.h6 f2 49.h7 f1=Q 50.h8=Q Qf3+, the game is drawn.

34.b3 Nd7!?

The text is for a long time strongly disliked by Dragon1, but the move seems to be fine. However, the engines are sure Black maintains complete equality with 34...Kd6, one point being 35.Kf4? loses to 35...Nd5+, eg 36.Nxd5 Kxd5! 37.Kg5 e5 38.Kxh5 e4 39.Kxg4 Kd4 40.h4 Kd3 41.h5 e3 etc.

35.b4 Nb6 36.Nd1!?

The engines for quite some time marginally prefer this over 36.Ke5, but come to view the two moves as equal.

36...Nc4 37.a4 Nb6

Going after the h2 pawn with 37...Nd2+? does not work, eg 38.Kf4 Nf1? 39.Kg5 Nxh2 40.Ne3!? Kd6 41.Kxh5. Slightly better is 38...Kf6, but 39.Ke3 Nf1 40.Kd4, with b5 to come, wins for White.

How should White proceed?

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38.Nc3

Interesting is 38.a5!? Nd5 39.b5 axb5 40.a6 Nc7 41.a7, but both 41...b4 and 41...Kd6 seem to hold.

The engines suggest 38.Kf4!? Kf6 (38...Nxa4? 39.Kg5 Nb6 40.Nc3! is very good for White, and if 40...Nd5 41.Nxd5+ exd5, White wins with 42.Kxh5 d4 43.Kxg4 etc), and now 39.Nc3, when 39...e5+ 40.Ke4 Ke6 transposes to the final position in the game, except with White, rather than Black, to move. The engines reckon White has to continue 41.a5!?, when Dragon1's 41...Nd7?! loses, according to Stcokfish17.1, but 41...Nc4 42.b5!? axb5 43.a6 b4!? 44.a7 Nb6 45.Na4 Na8 seems to hold.

38...Kd6 39.Kd4

39.Kf4 Nd5+ 40.Nxd5 exd5! is completely equal, according to the engines.

39...e5+ 40.Kd3 Ke6 41.Ke4 ½–½

Kidlington U2000 Round Three

AFTER taking a halfpoint bye in round two, I was upfloated.

Spanton (1929) - Matthew Stewart (1694)

Sicilian Bb5(+)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.0-0 Nc6 6.c3 Nf6

Stockfish17.1 marginally prefers 6...d5!?, when the main line in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database runs 7.exd5 Qxd5 8.d4 e6 9.Be3 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nf6, with what Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 agree is an equal position.

After 6...Nf6, how should White proceed?

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7.Qe2

Most popular in Mega26 is 7.Re1, while the engines like the gambit move 7.d4!?, eg 7...Nxe4 8.d5 Ne5 9.Re1 Nxf3+ 10.Qxf3 Nf6, after which they reckon White has at least enough for a pawn.

7...g6

The engines prefer 7...e6 or 7...e5!?

8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 Bg7 10.Nc3 0-0

Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the position?

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White's classical centre gives a slight edge, according to the engines.

11.Rd1 e6

The engines suggest 11...d5!? 12.e5 Ne8.

12.Bf4!?

How should Black respond?

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12...Nh5!?

This comes to be Stockfish17.1's top choice, at least for a while, but the engines come to more-or-less settle on 12...h6!? or 12...Rad8, eg 12...h6!? 13.Nb5 a6!? 14.Nxd6!? Nh5 15.Qe3 g5 16.Be5 f6 17.Bg3 Nxg3 18.Nc4 (threatening a fork with Nb6) Nxe4!? 19.Qe4 Rad8, a long and complicated line that they reckon ends in equality.

But note that 12...Nxd4?? fails to 13.Rxd4.

13.Be3 a6?!

The engines suggest 13...Nf6, but then White has got in the move Be3 for free.

14.e5

Threatening to win a piece with 15.g4.

14...f5 15.exf6?!

This throws away most of White's advantage. The engines give 15.Na4 Rad8 16.Bg5 Rb8 17.Nb6 Qc7 18.Nc4, claiming White has a positionally won game.

15...Nxf6 16.d5 Nb4?

Better is 16...exd5 17.Nxd5 Nxd5 18.Rxd5 Ne7, although Black's isolani means White has an edge.

17.dxe6 Qxe6 18.Ng5 Qe7 19.Qc4+ 1-0

MS resigned almost instantly - was he right to do so?

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Black has 19...d5, when best play, according to the engines, runs 20.Bc5!? dxc4 21.Bxe7 (forking rook and knight, as well as capturing the queen) Nd3 22.Bxf8 Bxf8!?, after which Black is the exchange down, but not without chances, and, at least below elite level, I feel most people would play on.

Kidlington U2000 Round One

Philip Neatherway (1811) - Spanton (1929)

Spanish Four Knights

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.d3 0-0!?

The main move is 5...d6.

How should White proceed?

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6.0-0

This is Stockfish17.1's top choice. Dragon1 prefers 6.Bxc6 bxc6 7.Nxe5, although it reckons 7...d5 8.0-0 Qe8 gives equality.

6...d6 7.Bg5 Bxc3

This is overwhelmingly the commonest move, but the engines marginally prefer 7...Ne7!? Keeping symmetry with 7...Bg4?! has been tried, but 8.Bxf6!? gxf6 9.Bxc6!? bxc6 gives White at least a slight edge, according to the engines.

8.bxc3 Qe7 9.Re1 h6 10.Be3!?

This may be a novelty. Known moves are 10.Bxf6, 10.Bd2, 10.Bc1!? and especially 10.Bh4.

10...Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Qd2?

White's pieces are not well-placed to protect a shattered kingside.

12...Bxf3 13.gxf3 Kh7 14.Kh2 Nh5 15.f4?

The engines much prefer 15.d4.

15...exf4 16.Bxf4 Ne5 17.Qe3?!

The engines reckon White should offer the exchange with 17.Kh1!?, or protect the f3 square with 17.Kg2.

17...f5

Even stronger is 17...Qf6.

18.d4

Black to play and win

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18...Nxf4?

Winning is 18...Ng4! 19.hxg4 Qh4+, eg 20.Qh3 Qxf2+ 21.Qg2 Qh4+!? 22.Qh3 Qxh3+ 23.Kxh3 fxg4+ 24.Kxg4 Rxf4+ 25.Kh3 (Kxh5?? g6#) Rf3+ 26.Kh2 (26.Kg4?? Raf8 etc) Rxc3, netting two pawns, or 20.Kg1 Qxg4+ 21.Kf1 Nxf4, when Black is a pawn up, with a continuing attack. The engines reckon 18...a6!? is also better than the text.

19.Qxf4 Ng6

Not 19...fxe4?? 20.Qxe4+ and 21.dxe5.

20.Qg3?

The game is equal after 20.exf5 Nxf4 21.Rxe7, according to the engines.

Black to play and win

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20...f4?

Winning is 20...fxe4, eg 21.Bd3 d5 22.c4 Qf6!? with a large advantage.

21.Qg4 Nh4!? 22.e5 d5?

It was time to go for king safety with 22...Qg5, although 23.Bd3+ Kh8 24.Qxg5 Nf3+! 25.Kh1 hxg5 leaves White with at least a slight edge, according to the engines.

23.Bd3+ Kh8 24.Rg1 Rae8?

Too slow, but the engines' 24...c5 25.Qh5 c4 26.Bg6 is also very good for White.

25.Qh5 f3

Black's game is past saving, eg 25...Rf7 26.e6, or 25...Qd8 26.Rxg7! Nf3+ 27.Kh1!

26.Rg4 Ng2 27.Qg6 Kg8 28.Qh7+ Kf7 29.Rxg7+ 1-0

Quick Weekender

ARRIVED in Kidlington, five miles north of Oxford, after making a late decision to play in a five-round weekender that starts tomorrow.

It is being played at a venue, the Leonardo Royal Hotel, that was apparently recommended by the 4NCL, and is a short walk from Oxford Parkway train station.

There are 179 entries, divided into four sections, with a time control of 90 minutes and a 15-second increment.

I have entered the U2000, where I am seeded fifth. However, I have booked a halfpoint bye for Saturday afternoon, so by the evening will be at least a halfpoint behind the leaders ...