World Team 65+ Round Five

Bo.	46	England - 5	Rtg	-	32	Germany (W)	Rtg	0 : 0
16.1		Freeman, Richard C P	1897	-	WFM	Malachowski, Margrit	1953
16.2	CM	Stokes, Michael	1861	-	WIM	Wagner-Michel, Annett	1982
16.3		Spanton, Tim R	1908	-	WFM	Skibbe, Diana	1930
16.4		Marshall, Michael	1859	-	WFM	Kierzek, Mira	1958

Spanton (1908) - Diana Skibbe (1930)

English Botvinnik v Dutch Leningrad

1.c4 f5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 g6

Setting up the Leningrad Variation of the Dutch Defence.

4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.e4

This, combined with the king's knight going to e2, constitutes the Botvinnik Setup in the English.

6...c6!?

This is second in popularity in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database to 6...Nc6. Both moves prepare ...e5, while leaving open the opportunity of recapturing on f5 with the light-square bishop if White plays exf5. However, very interesting is 6...e5 7.exf5 Bxf5!? 8.Bxb7 Nbd7 9.Bxa8 Qxa8, when, for the exchange and a pawn, Black has the bishop-pair, a lead in development, and light-square targets. Indeed, Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 reckon White should play 9.Nf3!?, 9.Qc2 or 9.Be4.

7.Nge2 e5 8.0-0 0-0

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

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White has a little more space on the queenside, Black on the kingside, while the white king has arguably more pawn cover than its black counterpart, although perhaps this is not important, bearing in mind Black's kingside space edge. The engines give White a slight advantage, but dependent on a specific continuation.

9.h3

Best, according to the engines, is 9.exf5!?, meeting both 9...Bxf5 and 9...gxf5 with 10.d4. The text is marginally more common in Mega26, but the engines have a sharp response in mind.

How should Black respond?

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9...h6

The engines suggest 9...f4!? 10.gxf4 Nh5, when they reckon 11.fxe5 dxe5 gives Black at least a slight edge, eg 11.f3!? (apparently a novelty, but best, according to the engines) Be6 12.Be3 Rf7, with a steady build-up, relying on the weakness of White's kingside as long-term compensation for a pawn. So they suggest offering the pawn back immediately with 11.f5!?, claiming equal chances.

10.Be3

This allows 10...f4!?, with similar ideas to 9...f4!?, so the engines suggest an apparent-novelty in 10.exf5!?, meeting 10...Bxf5 with 11.d4, and 10...gxf5 with 11.f4 or 11.Be3, in each case claiming White is better.

10...Be6 11.exf5!?

This may also be a novelty. The engines fluctuate in their preference between it and the known-move 11.Qd2.

11...Bxf5

This loses a tempo over those lines in which White plays exf5 before the bishop moves. However, Dragon1 rates the text and 11...gxf5 as of roughly equal strength; Stockfish17.1 prefers the pawn recapture.

12.d4 Qe7

The engines suggest 12...h5!?, 12...Na6 or 12...Nbd7.

13.Qd2

Even stronger, according to the engines, are 13.Qb3 and 13.g4!?

13...Kh7 14.Rad1 Na6 15.Kh2

The engines still like g4.

15...Rad8

How should White proceed?

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16.d5

This comes to be the engines' top choice, at least for a while, but they also like 16.g4!? and 16.Kg1!?

16...cxd5 17.cxd5

The engines prefer 17.Nxd5, only playing cxd5 in the event of ...Nxd5.

17...b6

The engines give 17...Nc5!?, the idea being 18.b4 can be met by 18...Nce4 19.Nxe4 Nxe4, when 20.Bxe4!? Bxe4 21.Bxa7 is possibly too much of a price to pay for a pawn.

18.f4 e4?

Perhaps played to try to keep lines closed, but it allows the white king's knight to occupy the plum d4 square. The engines prefer 18...h5!? or 18...Nc5.

19.Nd4

The engines suggest 19...Rde8, but both 20.g4 and 20.Nc6 are very good for White.

19...Bd7 20.f5 gxf5 21.Rxf5!?

The engines agree sacrificing the exchange is marginally stronger than 21.Nxf5.

21...Bxf5 22.Nxf5 Qf7

The engines are unsure whether f7 or e5 is the best square for the queen.

23.Bxh6 Bxh6

The engines give 23...e3!?, but agree that, after 24.Bxe3, White's advantage is the equivalent of being more than a piece up.

24.Qxh6+ Kg8 25.Nxe4 Nxe4 26.Bxe4 Qf6 27.Qh5 Nc5!?

This may be Black's best try. The main alternative seems to be 27...Rd7, but 28.Nh6+ Kg7 29.Ng4! Qxb2+ 30.Kg1 is crushing, eg 30...Rff7 (30...Rdf7? 31.Qh7#) 31.Qh6+ Kg8 32.Bh7+! Rxh7 33.Nf6+ Qxf6 (forced) 34.Qxf6 leaves White with queen, pawn and a continuing attack for rook and knight.

White to play and win

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28.Nh6+

Not the winning move, but this spoils nothing as, after ....

28...Kg7 29.Nf5+ Kg8

... the same position is reached, without Black having a chance to vary.

30.Bc2!

Preserving the bishop, and ensuring Black cannot capture on b2 with check.

30...Rde8

All moves lose.

31.Rd4

Not the only winning continuation.

31...Rf7 32.Nh6+ Kf8

Worth a try is 32...Qxh6!? as 33.Qxh6? concedes a draw to 33...Re2+ 34.Kg1 Re1+ 35.Kg2 Re2+ etc. However, 33.Rg4+ Qg7 (33...Rg7? 34.Qxe8#) 34.Rxg7+ Kxg7 35.h4! leaves White with queen, bishop and two pawns against two rooks and a knight, and with much the safer king, adding up to an advantage worth more than a rook (much more than a rook, according to Dragon1).

33.Rf4 1-0

Team Result

Freeman = Malachowski

Stokes 1-0 Wagner-Michel

Spanton 1-0 Skibbe

Marshall 0-1 Kierzek

England 5 2.5-1.5 Germany Women

Hastings Streak Conquered

MY unbeaten streak for Hastings & St Leonards, which went back to 2011, ended last night away to Rainham in the Kent League (155 average).
OK, the streak only covered eight games, but it was disappointing to lose it the way I did.
Spanton (171) - Andrew Waters (168)
English v Dutch
1.c4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.d3
This may look unambitious, and is not liked by my main analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo9, but it is the most popular move in the position and has been played by Kasparov, Grischuk and Adams.
5...0-0 6.e4 d6 7.Nge2 c6 8.0-0 Na6 9.d4?!
A novelty, it seems, and probably not a good one. It would have been better to have gone with my original thought of 9.h3.
9...e5
The engines reckon Black should exchange knights on e4, getting a (temporarily) backward e pawn but with pressure down the f file.
10.exf5 gxf5
10...Bxf5 was also possible as the isolani Black gets after 11.dxe5 dxe5 is not easy for White to attack and gives Black active play for his pieces.
11.dxe5?!
It was better to maintain the tension, eg by 11.Bg5, as the hanging pawns Black now gets are not weak and have a Nimzowitschean lust to expand.
11...dxe5 12.Bg5 Nc5 13.Qc2

AW came up with a somewhat counter-intuitive choice here

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13...Qd3!?
Normally the player with hanging pawns wants to keep queens on the board as they help his attacking chances, but here exchanging them gets Black's knight to the sixth rank. The question then becomes whether the knight can maintain its position or will be forced to retreat or be exchanged (or, worse, trapped).
Note that 13...Nd3?? would be a blunder due to the pinning reply 14.Rad1.
14.Qxd3 Nxd3 15.b3 Be6 16.Rad1 Rad8 17.Rd2 h6?!
This natural-looking move drives the bishop to a good square. The engines reckon Black should play 17...Nc5, with equal chances.
18.Be3 Ng4?!
A pawn sac that should not work. The engines suggest 18...Nb4 or 18...f4, with an edge for White in either case.
19.Bxa7 f4?
This is definitely a mistake. Best, according to the engines, was 19...e4, with White better after 20.Bb6, 20.f3 (the move I had been planning if Black supported his d3 knight with the e pawn) or 20.Rdd1.

White to play and win

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20.Be4??
White is winning easily after 20.Bb6, eg 20...f3 21.Bxf3! or 20...Rd7 21.Rfd1 f3 22.Rxd3 Rxd3 23.Rxd3.
20...Ndxf2 21.Rxd8 Nh3+ 22.Kg2?
White is still very much in the game after 22.Kh1.
22...Rxd8 23.Rd1 Rxd1?!
The engines reckon Black gets a bigger advantage by keeping rooks on, eg by 23...Ra8 or 23...Rf8.
24.Nxd1 Ng5 25.Ndc3??
The final blunder, losing a piece. Correct was 25.Nec3, avoiding a fork at f3. Black then has maybe a tiny edge.
25...Nf6 (0-1, 50 moves)

Trying Too Hard As White

I HAVE  a database of my games - 3,448 in all.
There are some rapid and some correspondence games, but the vast majority are at normal time limits.
As Black I score 47 percent - slightly above the average for black of 45-46 percent in large databases. But as White I score 51 percent - significantly below the average for white of 54-55 percent.
Why is this? I have come to the conclusion the main problem is trying for too much as White.
Take today's game as an example.
Spanton (1923) - Mike Waddington (2096), Guernsey Round Two
Leningrad Dutch
1.c4 f5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 0-0 6.e4 e5
Much more popular are 6...fxe4 and 6...d6, but the text has been tried by some strong players.
7.exf5!?
This scores just 28 percent in ChessBase's 2018 Mega database, but it is the choice of my main analysis engines, Stockfish9 and Komodo9.
The idea is to capture on f5 when Black is forced to take back with a pawn rather than a piece.
7...gxf5 8.Nge2 Nc6 9.d4?!
This extravagant move has been played by a 2460, but it is asking too much of the position.
Natural was 9.0-0, and if the normal 9...d6, then 10.f4!? fixes Black's f pawn, while the engines also like 10.d4!? - better now there is no check on the e file.
9...e4?
Black has no difficulties after the simple 9...Nxd4 10.Nxd4 exd4 11.Qxd4 Re8+.
The problem with the text is it gives White a juicy outpost at f4.
10.0-0?
"Castle because you must or because you want to, not because you can."
It was important to play 10.Bg5, setting up a pin that prevents Black grabbing his fair share of the centre with 10...d5.
10...d6?
Failing to challenge White's central control.
After 10...d5 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.Be3, White may well be better, eg 13...Rd8 is met by 14.Nf4 and 15.d5, but Black is in no danger of being overrun.
11.Bg5 Qe8

Try to guess White's boneheaded 12th move

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12.Bxf6?
Continuing development with 12.Qd2, or immediately challenging Black's e pawn with 12.f3, are superior ideas.
Stockfish9 very much likes 12.Rc1?!, which I confess I do not understand.
12...Rxf6 13.Nd5 Rf7 14.b4?
Ridiculously trying for too much.
Again, attacking Black's e pawn with 14.f3 was good.
14...Be6 15.Ne3?
Retreating in a position like this is unlikely to be the answer.
Stockfish9 gives 15.Qd2 Bxd5 16.cxd5 Ne7 17.Nc3, with a small edge for Black.
Komodo9 prefers 15.f3 Bxd5 16.cxd5 Nxb4 17.fxe4 fxe4 18.Qb3, with some compensation for the pawn.
15...Nxb4 16.d5?
I rejected 16.Rb1 because of 16...c5, but the text is weaker.
16...Bc8 17.Rb1 Nd3 18.f3 Bh6 19.f4 Bg7 20.Nc1 Bd4 21.Qxd2 Nxc1
I now picked up my queen, intending to play 22.Qxd4??, saw the reply 22...Ne2+, and resigned. I should have played on with 22.Qxc1, but perhaps early resignation was for the best.