Malta Is Back - Fingers Crossed

A WELCOME announcement has appeared at the ChessOrg.de site to the effect that its Malta tournament should return in 2026 after a seven-year absence.

The event ran from 2011-19, before being cancelled in 2020 due to covid, and not being revived.

But organiser Jürgen Wempe hopes to relaunch this year, although there is no indication if it will resume in its previous November timeslot.

Here is one of my better games from Malta.

Spanton (1940) - Kevin Goater (2102)

Buġibba 2018

Modern Defence

1.Nc3 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 a6!?

This is second in popularity to 4...Nf6, but scores five percentage points better in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database.

5.Bc4 e6!? 6.a4 b6 7.Bg5 Ne7 8.Qd2 h6 9.Be3 Nd7 10.Rd1 Bb7

Black has a 'perfect' Hippopotamus setup, at least as as defined in Wikipedia 

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The diagram position occurs nine times in Mega26, with White enjoying a slight edge, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1.

11.0-0

But now we have reached a position that appears 96 times in Mega26.

11...g5!?

With White having committed the king, a typical Black plan is to play ...g5, followed by moving the king's knight to f4 via g6.

12.d5!?

There is only one example of this move in Mega26, but it is the top choice of Stockfish17.1, although Dragon1 marginally prefers 12.h3.

12...Bxc3!? 13.Qxc3 e5 14.Qd2

Guenter Moser (2315) - Michael Bezold (2508), Austrian Team Championship 1999, went 14.h4!? f6!? 15.g3 Nc5 16.Bxc5 bxc5 17.Kg2, with a slight edge for White, according to the engines (½–½, 25 moves).

14...Ng6 15.Be2 Nf6 16.Bd3 Qd7 17.b3 Rg8 18.a5!? Nf4

How should White continue?

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19.Ne1

Not 19.axb6?! Nxg2!

19...b5 20.c4 bxc4 21.bxc4 c5 22.Rb1 Rd8 23.Bc2!? Bc8!? 24.Qd2 Kf8 25.Rb6 h5?

Missing a point of White's last move.

26.Bxc5! Qe7 27.Be3 h4 28.c5!?

A pawn sacrifice to open lines.

28...Nd7?!

Black almost certainly should have accepted the gambit.

29.Rxd6 g4 30.Ba4 g3 31.Bxf4 exf4 32.Bxd7 gxh2+ 33.Kxh2 Bxd7 34.Qf3 Bb5 35.Rxd8+ Qxd8 36.Rh1 h3!?

Desperation, but Black's kingside attack has got nowhere, and meanwhile White is two pawns up.

37.gxh3 Qg5 38.c6 Qe5 39.Qa3+ Ke8 40.Nf3 Qh5 41.Qd6!? Rg6

Or 41...Qxf3 42.Qb8+ Ke7 43.Qxg8.

42.Qxf4 Kf8 43.Ne5 Rh6 44.Nd7+ Kg7 45.Qe5+!?

Getting queens off the board greatly reduces the chance of an accident.

45...Qxe5+ 46.Nxe5 f6 47.Rg1+ Kf8 49.c7 1-0

Maltese Promise

Weight: 80.4kg (177lb)

MY room at the Fodele Beach Resort includes a set of electronic scales, so I intend weighing myself each morning to check the effects of all-inclusive living.

Meanwhile, this morning I received the following missive from chess organiser Clarence Psaila about a promising-looking tournament in Malta:

I am pleased to announce the XYChess Summer Open this 4th - 10th September!

The tournament will take place at the Kennedy Nova hotel in Gzira - right by the seafront in the best area!

It will be a 7 round Swiss system with games scheduled at 2pm to allow you to enjoy both mornings in the summer sunshine and the beautiful Maltese evenings after the game.

I have already made a test tournament at this hotel earlier and can confirm that they have excellent Covid safety measures which allows us to enjoy in a relaxed way whilst having peace of mind.

Further details and photos at  https://xychess.org/

Maltese Cross

ANNOUNCEMENT at chessorg.de:

10th Malta-Open 2020

15.-21.11.2020

We are sorry to announce that the tournament cannot take place this year.

More Czech Events Going Ahead - But Malta Cancelled?

WHILE playing at Prague last month I was told the CzechTour people planned to soon announce more tournaments.
Nothing was announced during Prague, but yesterday Hradec Kralove (Oct 31-Nov 7) and Brno (Nov 14-21) appeared on the site.
http://czechtour.net/hradec-kralove-open/regulations/
http://czechtour.net/brno-open/regulations/
Unfortunately I am unofficially told Malta (Nov 15-21) almost certainly will not be held.
http://chessorg.de/ausschreibungen/Malta-Open2020.pdf
I could not do Brno and Malta anyway, but I know which should have the better weather.

Morphing The French VII

Spanton (1934) - Børge Svanholm (1735)
Malta Round 9
French Exchange
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5
My seventh attempt to play against the French Defence in the style of Paul Morphy.
3...exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3
Carlsen and Kasparov have played 5.c4, but I do not believe that is in the style of Morphy, who emphasised fast development.
5...Ne7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 c6
This is overwhelmingly the most popular move. For 7...h6, see my round-five game: https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2019/11/morphing-french-vi.html
8.Re1 Bf5 9.Nh4
Not 9.Rxe7? Bxd3 10.Rxb7 Ba6 11.Rb3 Bc4 12.Rb7 Qc8.
Mir Sultan Khan - Sir George Thomas, Liege 1930, saw 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bh4 with a fairly even position (but 0-1, 44 moves).
9...Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Na6 11.a3
During the game, I could not help feeling Morphy would have found a way to avoid this non-developing defensive move.  Stockfish10 suggests 11.Ne2!?, and if 11...Nb4, then 12.Qb3 a5 13.a3 a4 14.Qc3 Na6 15.Bf4, although the position looks very drawish.
11...Qd7 12.Ne2 Qg4 13.Nf3 f6!?
This takes away the e5 and g5 squares from White's pieces, but creates a hole at e6 and slightly weakens the black king's position.
14.Ng3
I avoided the immediate 14.h3 because of the reply 14...Qf5.
14...Rae8 15.h3 Qd7
If 15...Qg6, the engines give 16.Qb3 b6 17.Nh4, with at best a small edge for White.
16.Bd2 Nc7 17.Nh4 Ne6 18.Ngf5 Nxf5 19.Qxf5 Qf7 20.c3 Nc7 21.Qg4 Rxe1+?!
Black gets a slight initiative after 21...f5. which must be better than giving up the e file for no apparent reason.
22.Rxe1 f5 23.Qf3 g6
Having said that, the engines reckon Black is equal after 23...f4 or 23...Qf6.
24.Bf4
This allows simplifications, but it is in White's favour to exchange dark-square bishops as Black's bishop is more active than White's.
24...Re8 25.Re3 Rxe3 26.Qxe3 Bxf4 27.Qxf4 Qe7
This position may look very drawish, but White is slightly better because a) the black king's position is airy, b) the white knight has an excellent outpost at e5, whereas a black knight on e4 can be evicted at will.
28.Nf3 Ne8 29.Ne5 Nd6 30.h4 Kg7 31.Nf3!?
In order to play h5 without allowing the reply ...g5.
31...Nc4
In the mini-postmortem, BS said he should have played 31...h6, although the engines slightly prefer White after 32.a4.
32.h5! Qd6
Best according to the engines, but Black's defence becomes tricky after …
33.h6+
The point is that a pawn on the sixth rank in the vicinity of an enemy king creates a surprising number of threats.
33...Kg8
The engines' choice, at least for most of the time, although Komodo10 for a while prefers 33...Kf8.
34.Qg5!?
White has an edge after 34.Qc1, but we were nearing the move-40 time control and I wanted to keep the pressure on.
34...Nxb2 35.Nh4

Black to make his 35th move

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35...Qe6??
Best seems to be 35...Kf7, when 36.Nf3 gives White full compensation for the pawn, according to Stockfish10, but Komodo10 reckons Black has a slight edge. I was contemplating 36.Nxf5??, missing that Black has 36...Qf6, which wins thanks to the weakness of h6 and the fact that Black has the more-active king.
36.Qd8+
Black is completely lost. The remaining moves were:
36...Kf7 37.Qh8 Qe1+ 38.Kh2 Qxf2 39.Qxh7+ Ke8 40.Qxg6+ Kd8 41.Nf3 Nd1 42.Qd6+ Ke8 43.h7 1-0
My final score of +5=0-4 saw me gain 17.4 Fide elo. It also tied a world record for fewest draws in a nine-round international tournament.

Oh Dear

Tor Gulbrandsen (2079) - Spanton (1934)
Malta Round 8
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.d3 Bg7 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nge7 7.Rb1 0-0 8.b4 f5 9.Bd2 a6 10.e3 h6
Preparing ...Be6.
11.0-0 Be6 12.Qe2
Part of a plan to latently protect c4 so he can push his d pawn.
12...Qd7 13.d4 e4
The pawn cannot be won, eg 13...exd4 14.exd4 Nxd4? 15.Nxd4 Bxd4 16.Rfe1 Be5 17.Bxh6, with a large advantage for White.
14.d5 exf3 15.Bxf3 Bf7 16.dxc6 Nxc6 17.Rfc1?!
This leads to problems because of the weakness of c4. Better was a consolidating move, for example 17.Bg2.
17...Rab8 18.a4 Ne5 19.Bd5
Stockfish10 and Komodo10 suggest sacrificing the a pawn by 19.Nd5!? Nxf3+ 20.Qxf3 Qxa4. Komodo10 reckons Black is a little better, but Stockfish10 reckons White gets almost full compensation for the pawn after 21.Bc3.
19...c6 20.Bxf7+ Qxf7 21.Nd1
This seems to be best as 21.c5? is well-met by my planned 21...d5, or by the engines' 21...dxc5 22.bxc5 Rbd8.
21...b5 22.axb5 axb5 23.e4?
A mistake, but then so is 23.cxb5? Qd5. White has to play 23.Nb2, and if 23...g5, then the engines reckon 24.Bc3 holds.
23...Nxc4 24.exf5 Na3?
The simple 24...Qxf5 is very strong.
25.fxg6
I had somehow missed this, although Black is still better after …
25...Qxg6 26.Rb3 Nc4 27.Ne3 Ne5 28.Ng2

Black to play and gain a substantial advantage

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28...Qf7, hitting b3 and threatening ...Nf3+, is good for Black. Indeed the engines reckon White's best response is to give up the exchange by 29.Re3 Nf3+ 30.Rxf3 (30.Kh1 Nxd2 31.Qxd2 Qxf2 is even better for Black, according to the engines) Qxf3 31.Qxf3 Rxf3 32.Rxc6, although Black has the upper hand.
28...Nf3+?? 29.Rxf3 1-0

Self-Destruction

YESTERDAY was the second double-round day at Malta. In the morning I beat a 1765 (https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2019/11/a-city-called-city.html). Here is my evening game.
Spanton (1934) - Michael Frey (2115)
Malta Round 7
Sicilian Bb5(+)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 Nf6 5.Qe2 Bg7 6.d4
6.0-0 is the normal move, but the text seems fine too.
6...cxd4 7.cxd4 0-0 8.Nc3 d6 9.0-0 Bg4 10.Rd1 Nd7 11.Be3 a6 12.Ba4?!
Black gets a queenside initiative after this. 12.Bxc6 was played in Nigel Davies (2450) - Goran Cabrilo (2505), Vrnjacka Banja 1988 (½–½, 22 moves).
12...b5 13.Bc2?!
Almost certainly better was 13.Bb3, and if 13...Na5, then 14.h3 ensures Black does not get the bishop-pair.
13...Nb6
13...e5! was strong as 14.d5? runs into 14...Nd4 15.Bxd4 exd4 16.Nb1 d3! White is more-or-less obliged to play 14.dxe5, when Black replies 14...Ndxe5 and can wreck White's kingside at will.
14.h3 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 Rc8 16.Qe2 Nc4 17.Bb3 Nxe3 18.Qxe3
I was tempted by 18.fxe3!? but finally settled for the conventional.
18...Qb6 19.Ne2 Na5
19...e5 20.dxe5 Qxe3 21.fxe3 Bxe5 is also good for Black.
20.Rac1 Nxb3 21.axb3 e6 22.Rc3 Rxc3 23.bxc3 a5 24.Ra1 Ra8 25.Qd2 Qb7 26.Qc2 d5 27.e5
Black is better, but I hoped to erect a fortress on the dark squares to blunt the black bishop.
27...Qc6 28.Qd3 Bf8 29.h4 a4 30.b4 Rc8 31.Ra3 Bh6 32.f4!?
Stockfish10 and Komodo10 prefer Black, but it is hard to envisage a breakthrough without cooperation from White.
32...Bf8 33.Kh2 Be7 34.Kh3 h5?!
This may be wrong as it leaves Black's pawn-formation completely inflexible.
35.g3 Kf8

White to self-destruct

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Seeing the black king heading for the queenside, I decided to open the game on the kingside, hoping to infiltrate with my queen and knight. However, there is a serious flaw in this thinking.
36.g4?? hxg4+ 37.Kxg4 Kg7
The net result of 36.g4?? is that White, instead of having one defendable weakness on c3, now has two glaring weaknesses - c3 and h4. The general rule is that you need two weaknesses to win an ending, and indeed Stockfish10 reckons Black's advantage is worth more than two pawns. Komodo10 puts it at 1.25 pawns.
38.Ng1 Rh8 39.Nf3 Kf8
Now the black king resumes its journey to the queenside, with White unable to do little but await developments.
40.Ng5 Ke8 41.Nf3 Kd7 42.Ng5 Kc7 43.Kg3 Kb6 44.Kg4 Qe8 45.Qg3 Qf8 46.Kh3 Rh5 47.Qe3 Qc8 48.Qd3 Qc4 49.Qxc4?
I should have avoided this exchange, which opens a way into White's position for the black king.  After, say 49.Qf3, it is still not clear to me how Black wins, although the engines are confident Black is well on top.
49...dxc4 50.Ra1 Kc6 51.Kg3 Kd5 52.Re1 Rh8 53.Re2 Ra8!?
The engines do not like this, but it seems to win - just.
54.Nxf7 a3 55.Ra2 Ke4 56.Nd6+ Bxd6 57.exd6 Kd3 58.d7 Rd8
On 58...Kxc3 I planned the surprise 59.Rxa3+!? Rxa3 60.d8Q, but Black still seems to be winning after 60...Kb2+ 61.Kg4 c3-+ etc.
59.Rxa3 Rxd7 60.Kf3 Kc2 61.Ke3 Kb2 62.Ra6
62.Ra5 Rd5 63.Kd2 Rh5 also seems to be winning for Black.
62...Kxc3 63.Rxe6 Rxd4 64.Rxg6
White is a pawn ahead, but Black's c pawn more than makes up for this.
64...Rd3+ 65.Ke4 Rh3 66.Rg4 Kb2!
66...Kxb4 67.f5 is drawn.
67.f5 c3 68.f6 c2 69.Rg1 Rxh4+ 70.Ke5 c1Q 71.Rxc1 Kxc1 72.f7 Rh8 73.Kd6 Kb2 74.Kc5 Rb8 75.f8Q Rxf8 76.Kxb5 Rb8+ 77.Kc5 Ka3 78.b5 Ka4 0-1

A City Called City

MANY visitors to Malta admire the modern capital Valletta, others like the beauty of the Blue Lagoon, but for me the most interesting site is the old capital Mdina.
It got its name, which comes from the Arabic for city (as does Medina in Saudi Arabia), after the Christian population was massacred and replaced by Muslims in 870.
They were in turn conquered by Normans from Sicily, and in 1530 the whole of the island was given by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to the Knights of St John.
It was the Knights who effectively transferred the capital to the coast, alongside the Grand Harbour, which was the main setting for the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.
But Mdina - pronounced Im-deen-er by the Maltese - still had symbolic and military value.
So the besieging Turks, looking for a way to boost morale and secure a base for the winter, advanced to attack the city when their efforts to force the Grand Harbour and its fortifications were held up.
The Mdina garrison was low in numbers and ammunition, but opened fire with its guns at a ridiculously long range, leading the Turks to cancel their planned assault as they assumed the city was abundantly supplied.

Main entrance to Mdina

Close-up of the gate

A typically walled and paved street

View from a bastion with the Mediterranean in the distance

Almost certainly St Paul - his shipwrecking on the way to Rome in about AD59 is traditionally located near here

Iluminada Minguez Greciano (1765) - Spanton (1934)
Malta Round 6
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.e3
5.e4 is common at club level in the UK, not least thanks to Tony Kosten's The Dynamic English, but the text and 5.d3 remain the most popular moves at higher levels and abroad.
5...d6 6.Nge2 Nge7 7.Nd5!?
Unusual this early, but it seems reasonable.
7...0-0 8.Nec3!?
This may be a novelty. White's knight-dancing looks strange, but I could see no way to exploit it.
8...Be6 9.0-0
The game has transposed to a known position.
9...Qd7 10.Re1 f5
Now we leave Mega20 for good. 10...Nd8 was played in Vladimir Botto - Milan Cenker, Slovakian championship 1997.
11.d3 Rf7 12.Bd2 Raf8 13.Rb1 Nd8 14.b4 c6 15.Nxe7+ Qxe7 16.b5 Qd7 17.Qa4

How should Black meet the threat to the a7 pawn?

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17...f4!
Offering the a7 pawn, but a line such as 17...cxb5 18.cxb5 b6 was distinctly unpalatable.
18.bxc6
Black gets a strong attack after 18.Qxa7, but the position is unclear. I intended 18...fxg3 19.fxg3 Rf2, when Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon White is OK after 20.Re2, but that Black has full compensation for the pawn.
18...bxc6 19.exf4 exf4 20.Ne4
A great square for the knight. Black will have difficulty evicting it while ...d5 can be met by Nc5.
20...fxg3 21.hxg3 h6
Just about playable is 21...Bh3? as 22.Bxh3 Qxh3 23.Ng5 can be met by 23...Qh6, but the text is better.
22.Bb4 Bd4 23.Rf1
The engines very slightly prefer to sac the exchange with 23.Bxd6!? Bxf2+ 24.Kh2 Bxe1 25.Rxe1 Re8, when they reckon White has full compensation.
23...Nb7 24.Bd2?
White needed to play something like 24...Bc3.
24...Kh7?
I looked at 24...Nc5 25.dxc5 dxc5 and rejected it because of 26.Bxc6?, but I did not look far enough as the engines point out 26...Qc7 (26...Rxf2!? also wins). So White has to allow 26.Be3 Bxe3 27.fxe3 Qxd3, or 26.Bf4 Bh3, when Bxc6 this time loses to 27...Qf5 with a huge attack for a pawn.
25.Be3 Bxe3 26.fxe3 Nd8 27.Nd2?
A very strange retreat as the knight was performing great duty on e4.
27...Bg4?!
27...Bf5 seems to give more pressure.
28.Rbe1?!
Preventing 28...Be2, but a less passive way to save the d3 pawn was 28.Rxf7+ Rxf7 29.Ne4, when 29...Be2?! can be simply met by 30.Qc2 (but not 30.d4?? Bd3 31.Rd1 Bxe4 32.Bxe4 Qg4 etc).
28...Bh3!?
Again ...Bf5 may be objectively slightly better, but the text exchanges off a major defender of the white king's position, making it easy for White to go wrong.
29.Rf4 Bxg2 30.Kxg2 Ne6 31.Rxf7+ Rxf7 32.Ne4 d5 33.Nf2?
White is fine after 33.cxd5 Qxd5 34.Qc4.
33...Nc5
Even stronger, according to the engines, is 33...Ng5.
34.Qc2?
Better is 34.Qd1 when 34...Qf5, as in the game, is not so catastrophic, although after 35.Rf1 dxc4 36.dxc4 Nd7 37.Qe2 Ne5, White's four isolated pawns will start dropping off.
34...Qf5
Threatens 35...Qxf2+! 36.Qxf2 Rxf2+ 37.Kxf2 Nxd3+ etc.
35.Re2 Qf3+ 36.Kh2 Rf5 37.Nh3??
Much better is 37.g4, but Black is more-or-less winning after 37...Rf7, eg 38.cxd5 cxd5 39.Nh3 (39.Qxc5?? Qxe2) Rc7, when White's g or e pawn will fall and her king remains exposed.
37...Rh5 38.Re1 Qg4 39.Qg2 Nxd3 40.Rf1 dxc4 41.a4 c3 42.Kg1 Rxh3 0-1

Morphing The French VI

TWO years ago, when I first came to Malta to play chess in November, the weather was marvellous - even warmer than Benidorm in December.
Last year it rained, seemingly incessantly. Not only did the main road down to Bugibba's seafront turn into a river, but the pavements alongside it did too.
This year, with the exception of yesterday when there was a downpour that partly flooded my hotel room (no damage - easily cleared up after a call to reception), it has again been warm and sunny. Officially the daily highs have been in the low 20s, but it feels much warmer in the sun.

Today I went for a walk around St Paul's Bay - in the centre background can be seen the island where the apostle is traditionally said to have been shipwrecked on his way to Rome in about AD59

This afternoon I got my sixth chance to try to play against the French Defence in the style of Paul Morphy.
Spanton (1934) - Manfred Wacker (1763)
Malta Round 5
French Exchange
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3 Ne7
The most popular move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
There is a school of thought that there are two major ways in the Exchange Variation of the French for Black to create winning chances by unbalancing the position. One, not surprisingly, is to castle on opposite wings.
The other is to watch how White develops his king's knight, and then develop the black king's knight differently. So if the white knight goes to f3, Black, according to this way of thinking, should develop his king's knight to e7. Similarly, if the white knight goes to e2, the black one should go to f6.
6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3
More popular are 7.Bg5, 7.Re1 and 7.c3, but Morphy liked to play an early Nc3. However, I have no evidence to prove he would have played it in this exact position.
7...h6
Overwhelmingly most popular is 7...c6.
8.Re1
White can win the bishop-pair with 8.Nb5!? Bf5 9.Nxd6 Qxd6, and either 10.Be2 or 10.Bb5, but the loss of time involved seems to give Black at least equal play.
8...Re8 9.Ne5!?
Nb5 is now liked by Stockfish10 and Komodo10. One point is that the reply ...Bf5 is now a blunder thanks to 10.Nxd6 Qxd6 11.Rxe7.
9...Be6?!
Not a great square for the bishop. The engines suggest either 9...Bxe5, when 10.dxe5 gives  rival pawn-majorities, which I would have been happy with, or 9....Nbc6, when 10.Nxc6 bxc6 gives Black queenside weaknesses, but is better, according to the engines, than 10...Nxc6 11.Rxe8+ Qxe8 12.Nb5.
10.f4!?
The engines have a major difference of opinion here. Stockfish10 reckons 10.Qh5!? is winning for White, while Komodo10 reckons the position would be equal.
10...c6?!
Almost certainly too slow. The engines reckon Black should, in classic style, counterattack in the centre with 10...c5 or 10...Nbc6.
11.Qh5

Can you find a defence for Black?

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11...Nd7!
This seems to be the best move in a difficult position. Another try is 11...Qb6!?, when one fascinating line given by the engines runs 12.Be3 Nd7 13.f5 Nf6 14.fxe6!? Nxh5 15.exf7+ Kf8 (15...Kh8? 16.fxe8=Q+ Rxe8 17.Nf7+ Kg8 18.Nxd6 gives White a rook and two bishops for his queen) 16.Nd7+ Kxf7 17.Nxb6 axb6 18.Bd2, with White's bishop-pair perhaps giving a slight edge.
12.f5 Nf6 13.Qf3
I could not decide between this and 13.Qh3!? In the end I went for the text as it seems more conventional, but the engines prefer the self-pin.
13...Bd7 14.g4
I was not about to give up my lovely knight on e5 for Black's bad bishop, even though it would give me the bishop-pair. However, the engines are OK with 14.Nxd7.
14...c5
14...Qb6 15.Be3 Qxb2!? looks like a very risky pawn grab, but the engines reckon 15...c5 might well be fine for Black.
15.g5 cxd4?
Black had to play 15...hxg5 16.Bxg5 cxd4, when White gets good play for the pawn after 17.Bxf6 or 17.Nxd7.
16.gxf6 Nxf5 17.Bxf5
Even stronger may be 17.Nxd5.
17...Bxe5?
Better was 17...dxc3, although White emerges a piece-for-two-pawns up after the engines' knight-promotion line 18.Nxd7! Rxe1+ 19.Kf2 Re6! (19...Re8? 20.Qg4) 20.Bxe6 fxe6 21.f7+ Kh7! (21...Kh8 22.Qh5 Qxd7 23.Bxh6!) 22.f8=N+! Bxf8 23.Nxf8+ Qxf8 24.bxc3.
18.Bxh6??
Right idea; wrong execution. White wins easily after either 18.Bxd7! Bxh2+ 19.Kxh2 Rxe1 20.Bxh6! (20.Qg3 also wins) or 18.Nxd5! Bxh2+? (better, but still losing, is 18...Bxf6 19.Rxe8+) 19.Kxh2 Rxe1 20.Bxh6!, eg 20...Rxa1 21.Qg3 Qb8 22.Bf4.
18...dxc3??
Black wins after the simple 18...Qxf6 as White has too many pieces hanging.
19.Qg4??
The comedy of errors continues (but there is more to come).
White has a draw after 19.Bxg7 Bxf6 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.Qg4+ Kh8 22.Qh5+ (but not 22.Bxd7?? Rg8), or 19.Bh7+!? Kxh7 20.Bxg7 Bxf6 (Black has to give back the piece) 21.Bxf6 Rxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Qg8+ 23.Kf2, when White will win the c3 pawn as 23...cxb2?? loses to 24.Qh5#.
19...Qxf6
Black is two pawns up and in some lines wins a third.
20.Bxd7 Bd4+
20...Qxh6, threatening mate on h2, is even stronger, but the text is plenty good enough.
21.Kh1 Rxe1+??
Black wins easily after 21...cxb2, eg 22.Rab1 Rxe1+ 23.Rxe1 Bc3, when White cannot save both his rook and dark-square bishop.
22.Rxe1 Qxh6??
The final blunder. Again ...cxb2 was correct, although the position is unclear as White has a bishop (and the bishop-pair) for three pawns.
23.Qxd4
Black has two pawns for a bishop, but his position is hopeless.
The game finished:
23...cxb2 24.Qxb2 Qd2 25.Rg1 d4 26.Qxb7 Rd8 27.Qc7 Rf8 28.Bf5 Qf2 29.Qg3 1-0

Quick Crush

Joakim Nyander (2267) - Spanton (1934)
Malta Round 4
London System
1.Nf3 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.Bf4 Bg4 4.e3 e6 5.c4 Bd6!?
The main line runs 5...Bb4+ 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Rc1 0-0 8.h3, but many strong players, including Mikhail Chigorin and Nigel Short, have favoured the text.
6.Bg3
This is the most popular move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, and it scores well for White, but Stockfish10 and Komodo10 prefer 6.Bxd6.
6...Nf6
Chigorin and Short preferred 6...Nge7.
7.Nc3 0-0 8.Be2 dxc4 9.Bxc4 e5?!
This central break often turns out to be premature, and this seems to be no exception.
10.dxe5
10.d5 was played by Kateryna Lagno (2523) against a 2324 four years ago, but she could only draw.
10...Nxe5?
The engines prefer 10...Bxf3, for reasons that will become obvious, but after 11.gxf3 they like White whichever way Black captures on e5.

White to play and win material

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11.Be2?
Correct is 11.Bxe5 Bxe5 12.Bxf7+!, winning a pawn, eg 12...Rxf7 13.Qxd8+ Rxd8 14.Nxe5.
11...Nxf3+ 12.Bxf3 Bxg3 13.hxg3 Qxd1+ 14.Rxd1 Bxf3?!
This strengthens White's centre, which is going to be a factor even as the game enters an ending. Almost certainly better was Komdo10's 14...Rad8 or Stockfish10's 14...Be6.
15.gxf3 Rfd8 16.Ke2 Kf8 17.e4 Rxd1
17...h6 was played in Maksim Serov (2366) - Dmitry Verobjev (2225), St Petersburg championship semi-final 2013 (1-0, 51 moves). The engines slightly prefer the text, but reckon White is more than half a pawn better.
18.Rxd1 c6?!
Stockfish10 suggests 18...Re8 19.Nb5 c6 20.Nd6 Re7 21.Nc4, giving White the upper hand. Komodo10 prefers 18...Ke7 20.e5 Ne8 21.Nd5+ Ke6 22.f4, reckoning White has a slight edge.
19.f4?!
I was more concerned about 19.e5 Re8 20.f4, when the engines agree White is much better.
19...Ke7 20.e5 Ne8?
Too passive. The engines give 20...Nd7, and if 21.Ne4, then 21...f6, not fearing 22.exf6+ Nxf6 23.Nxf6 Kxf6 24.Rd7 as Black has 25...Re8+ followed by 26...Re7.
21.Ne4 b6
I rejected 21...Rd8 because of 22.Rxd8 Kxd8 23.Ng5, but the engines point out that 23...f6 24.Nxh7 can be met by 24...Ke7 25.exf6+ gxf6 26.g4 Kf7 27.g5 f5 28.Kd3 Kg7 29.g6 Kxg6, when they reckon 30.Ng5 is dead-equal despite Black's 3-2 queenside majority. However, this is somewhat academic as they give 23.f5 as very strong for White.
22.g4 h6?!
A better try may still have been ...Rd8, although now White does win a pawn after 23.Rxd8 Kxd8 24.Ng5 f6 25.Nxh7 Ke7 26.exf6+ gxf6 27.f5 Kf7 28.g5 Kg7 29.gxf6+ Nxf6 30.Ng5. However, in this line the engines reckon 27...c5 or 27...Nd6 gives drawing chances.
23.Ng3!
A strong move that is very hard to meet.
23...c5
As good as anything else, it seems.
24.Ke3 Rc8
Not 24...Rd8?? 25.Nf5+.
25.Ke4

Can you find a decent move for Black?

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25...Rc7?
This loses quickly, but Black is almost in zugzwang. After the engines' 25...Ke6, White plays 26.Nf5, when Black cannot move a piece without catastrophe, eg 26...Rb8 27.Nxg7+ Nxg7 28.f5+ Ke7 (or 28...Nxf5 29.gxf5+ Ke7 30.f6+ Ke8 31.Rh1) 29.f6+ Kf8 30.fxg7+ Kxg7 31.Rd7. So eventually the engines more-or-less settle on 26...b5 27.Ne3 Ke7 28.f5 Rc6 29.Nd5+ Kf8 30.f4, when Black is still alive but it is hard to believe he can survive for long.
26.Nf5+ Ke6 27.Rd8 1-0

After The Lord Mayor's Show

Alessandro Santagati (2291) - Spanton (1934)
Malta Round 3
Giuoco Piano
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d4!?
A popular gambit that at first glance looks ridiculous, but has been tried by strong players, including Nigel Short.
5...Bxd4 6.Nxd4 Nxd4 7.f4 d6 8.fxe5

Two moves have been tried in this position, according to ChessBase's 2020 Mega database … I chose the less-successful one 

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8...Bg4?? 9.Qxd4 1-0

Morphing the French V

THE good news in today's round two at Malta is that I had the white pieces for the second time in the tournament.
The bad news is that I will be due the black pieces in both games in the first double-round day tomorrow.
Spanton (1934) - Andre Heidel (2178)
French Exchange
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5
My fifth attempt at playing against the French Defence in the style of Paul Morphy.
3...exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3 Bg4 6.h3!?
A double-edged move - not so much putting the question to the bishop, as trying to tempt Black to go for opposite-side castling now that he will have a target on h3 for a pawn-storm.
6...Bh5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Re1+ Nge7

White to make his ninth move

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9.c3
This is the most popular move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, but I cannot help thinking Morphy would have found a way to make the developing move 9.Nc3!? work. In fact 9.Nc3!? is narrowly the choice of Komodo10, and if 9...Nb4, then 10.g4. White wins a central pawn after 10...Nxd3!? 11.cxd3 Bg6 12.Nxd5, albeit the extra pawn is doubled and isolated. Black can instead play 10...Bg6, when 11.Bxg6 hxg6 12.a3 Nc6 13.Nxd5 Rxh3 14.Nxe7 Bxe7 15.Kg2 gives White the upper hand, according to Komodo10.
9...Qd7 10.Nbd2 0-0-0
So I have got what I wished for.
11.b4 Bg6!?
11...Rde8 was played by Vadim Malakhatko (2612) in a win over a 2102, and is the choice of Komodo10, although both Komodo10 and Stockfish10 reckon White is slightly better.
I thought the text was a sign of AH worrying that my attack would come first. But he explained in the postmortem, if I understood him correctly, that he had an ending in mind in which he would play against my bad dark-square bishop.
12.Nb3
The engines prefer to preserve the light-square bishop with 12.Be2!? or 12.Bf1!?
12...Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Ng6?!
The engines reckon White is only a little better after 13...Qf5 or 13...Rde8.
14.Nc5?!
I rejected 14.b5 because I thought that, if anything, I would be helping Black relocate his queen's knight to the kingside, where his pieces look threatening. But after 14...Nce7 White has 15.Nc5, when the knight is very strong, and Black's queenside would be under tremendous pressure after 15...Bxc5 16.dxc5.
14...Bxc5 15.bxc5
15.dxc5 is not so strong as in the last note as Black gets access to the e5 square.
15...Rde8 16.Bd2
I was tempted to play 16.Be3 to keep rooks on so I could use the half-open b file, but I was worried, probably unnecessarily, about Black playing a rook to e4 and doubling on the e file.
16...Rxe1+ 17.Rxe1 Re8 18.Rxe8+ Qxe8 19.Qf5+?!
I thought getting queens off would make it harder for Black to attack my queenside weaknesses, but the engines give 19.Ng5, when 19...f6 20.Qf5+ Qd7 21.Ne6 Nge7 22.Qg4 g5 23.f4 h6 24.Qe2 is assessed as being slightly better for White.
19...Qd7 20.Qxd7+ Kxd7 21.Kf1 f6!?
AH was quite strongly critical of this in the postmortem, I think because it puts a pawn on a dark square, but the engines are happy enough with it.
22.Ke2 Na5 23.Kd3 Nc4 24.g3 Kc6 25.Ne1 b6!?
This surprised me, but the engines quite like the move (it hovers around being their first or second choice).
26.cxb6 cxb6
I presume AH hoped to later have chances of creating a passed pawn on the a file, but the engines narrowly prefer 26...axb6.
27.Bc1 Ne7 28.Nc2 a5 29.Ba3 Ng8!?
White completely equalises after this, but the move the engines eventually settle on, 29...Nxa3, does not seem to give serious winning chances either.
30.Bf8 g6 31.g4
Planning to meet 31...f5 with 32.g5.
31...Kd7 32.Ne3 Nxe3
The bishop is not trapped after 32...Ke8? as White has 33.Nxd5 Nb2+ 34.Kc2 Nc4 35.Bg7 Kf7 36.Bh8, when the bishop will escape.
33.fxe3 b5 34.e4 Ke6?
The simplest way to draw was probably the engines' 34...Ne7 35.Bxe7 Kxe7 36.exd5 Kd6 37.Ke4 Kd7, when there is no way for White to make progress. Note that 37.c4?? b4 is a winning pawn-ending for Black as White's king will not be able to cope with passed black pawns on both sides of the board.
35.a4?
Right idea; wrong execution. Correct was 35.exd5+ Kxd5 36.a4! with serious winning chances after 36...bxa4 37.c4+.
35...dxe4+ 36.Kxe4 f5+ 37.Kf4?
White has better chances of holding after 37.gxf5+ gxf5 38.Ke3 bxa4 39.Ba3.
37...bxa4?
Black is winning after 37...fxg4, eg 38.hxg4 bxa4, eg 39.Ba3 Kd5 etc, or 39.c4 Ne7 40.Bg7 Kf7! 41.Be5 a3 42.d5 h5 43.Kg5 hxg4, when White's pieces cannot cope with Black's passed pawns on each flank.
38.gxf5+ gxf5 39.Ba3 Ne7 40.c4 Ng6+ 41.Kf3 Kd7
AH explained he played this so d5 can be met by ...Ne5(+). The position is level, according to the engines.
42.Ke3 Ne7 43.d5 Ng6 44.c5 Ne5? 45.Kd4 Ng3+ 46.Kc4 f4?
This loses relatively easily. It seems Black still had a draw with the long line 46...Ne5+ 47.Kb5 f4 48.c6+ Kc8, eg 49.d6 f3 50.Bc5 a3 51.Bd4 Nd7! 52.cxd7+ Kxd7 53.Kc4 Kxd6 54.Kd3 a2 55.Ke3 Kd5 56.Ba1 f2 57.Kxf2 Ke4 58.Kg3 Kd3 59.Kf4 Kc2 60.Ke3 Kb1 61.Kd2 Kxa1 62.Kc1 etc.
47.c6+
Black is completely lost.
47...Kc7 48.Kc5 Ne5 49.d6+ Kc8 50.Bb2
50.Kd5 also wins.
50...Nd3+ 51.Kb6 Nxb2 52.d7+ Kd8 53.Kb7 a3 54.c7+ Kxd7 55.c8=Q+
The remaining moves were:
55...Kd6 56.Qf8+ Kd5 57.Qxa3 Nc4 58.Qf3+ Ke5 59.Kc6 Ne3 60.Kb5 Nf5 61.Kxa5 Nd4 62.Qh5+ Ke4 63.Qxh7+ Ke3 64.Qe7+ Kd3 65.Qe1 f3 66.h4 Ne2 67.h5 Ke3 68.h6 f2 69.Qxf2+ Kxf2 70.h7 1-0

Short But Sweet

FACED a junior from Singapore this afternoon in the first round of the Malta international open, which is being held in the Topaz hotel in the seaside resort of Bugibba.
Spanton (1934) - Xiu Ning Charlene Mak (1465)
Sicilian Bb5(+)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 Bg7 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 Qb6?!
Easily the most popular move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, but it may be a mistake.

White to make his seventh move

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7.Nc3
At least one grandmaster has bottled out here with 7.Bxc6?!, but the text is a very promising pawn sac.*
7...Nxd4?
Again the most popular move, but this time definitely a mistake.
Stockfish10 suggests 7...e6 8.e5 (other moves are also good) Nge7 9.0-0 with a clear advantage to White. Komodo10 gives 7...Nf6 8.Qe2 0-0 (8...Nxd4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4 10.Be3 gives White good compensation for a pawn) 9.d5 with a slight edge to White.
Another possibility is to take the d4 pawn immediately, but with the bishop. However, after 7...Bxd4 8.Nxd4 Qxd4 9.Qe2, White again has obvious compensation for the pawn.
8.Nd5 Nxf3+ 9.Qxf3 Qd8?!
Probably better is 9...Qd6, when the engines reckon 10.0-0 gives White the upper hand, although a junior rated 2000+ was happy enough to reach this position twice last year.
10.Bf4 e5 11.Qc3
Much stronger than 11.Rc1?
11...Kf8
There seems to be nothing better.
12.Bxe5 Bxe5 13.Qxe5 f6
Or 13...Qa5+ 14.b4!
14.Qd6+ Kg7 15.Nc7 Rb8? 16.Ne6+
The game is effectively over. XM played on to the bitter end (1-0, 45 moves), but for once it is no exaggeration to say the result was never in doubt.
Addendum: having just checked my databases, I see that when I previously reached the position after 6...Qb6?!, against a 2296 at Hradec Kralove (Czech Rep) in 2013, I too bottled out with 7.Bxc6?! (0-1, 30 moves).

Malta Concluded

I FINISHED Malta by drawing with White this morning against a 2075.
That left me with a score of +4=3-2 for a Fide elo gain of 13.8.
I should be pretty pleased with that, but one of my losses was against an unrated player (although he has an ECF of 142), so my tournament performance was not as good as the rating gain would suggest.
In 2017, my first year playing in Malta, I scored a slightly more-modest +3=4-2, but gained 21.2 elo.
To be fair, my rating at this time last year was 1859, against 1940 now, so it was easier to gain elo. Even so, my performance last year was definitely better.

Internet Down

THE Malta Open is held at Hotel Topaz in the seaside town of Bugibba.
Rooms are very cheap - 29.50 euros a night, including breakfast - and the facilities are generally good, especially considering the price.
But yesterday the internet in the  hotel annexe, where I an staying, was down - the signal disappeared completely.
It was back this morning, but too feeble to be of much use, so I am blogging from the Bistroteca grill and café overlooking St Paul's Bay.
Alas, I have nothing good to report of yesterday's round-eight game. I put up little resistance against a 2150 and was beaten in well under two hours.

Hat Trick

IN the second game of today's double-rounder in Malta I scored my third win on the trot, increasing my score to +4=2-1.

Black has just played 25...h6-h5? in Spanton (1940) - Kevin Goater (2102)

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Black's last move missed a tactic, but my main analysis engines, Stockfish9 and Komodo9, reckon White has the upper hand anyway.
26.Bxc5! Qe7
Stockfish9's choice; Komodo9 narrowly prefers 26...dxc5.
27.Be3 h4 28.c5
Black's kingside attack is too slow, and I duly converted my advantage into a win.

Zugzwang In An Opposite-Coloured Bishop Ending

TODAY sees the second double-rounder at Malta, and this morning I won thanks to my opponent blundering horribly in an ending of opposite-coloured bishops.
Such endings are notoriously drawish, especially when material is equal (!), but a modicum of care is required.

White to make his 53rd move in the round-six game Walter Cools (1766) - Spanton (1940)

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53.Kd3??
White had a simple draw after 53.Kd2.
53...Kc1
But now White is in zugzwang, and so was obliged to resign.

Pleasing Combo

MANAGED to find quite a nice combination in today's round-five game in Malta.

White to make his 22nd move in Spanton (1940) - Albert Passchier (1748)

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22.Bd6
Deflecting Black's queen from Black's second rank.
22...Qf6 23.Bxb7! Kxb7 24.Qe4+
So far we have been following Stockfish9's main line, but here my opponent played the analysis engine's second choice …
24...Ka6
...although the first choice of 24...Kb6 also loses, to 25.c5+. Stockfish9's main line runs 25...Ka5 26.b4+ Ka6 27.Qc6+ with Black facing catastrophic loss of material.
25.Qc6+ Nb6 26.Re5!
Much better than 26.Be5 Qe5+.
26...Qxe5
Forced, as White threatened 27.Ra5+! Kxa5 28.Qb5#
27.Bxe5 Bxe5
Here I missed unstoppable mate starting with 28.Rd7. Instead I played 28.Qb5+? Kb7 29.Qxe5 (again 29.Rd7 was a quicker win) and was never less than winning, according to my analysis engines, but the game lasted a further nerve-wracking 46 moves.

Double Up

TODAY was the first of two double-round days in the Malta Open.
This morning I positionally crushed a 1659.
In the  evening I drew a pawn-down against a 1763 - someone who before the game began recalled beating me 15 years ago in the Linares Open (I also knew I'd lost that game).
This puts me on +1=2-1 for a loss of 9.8 Fide elo.
I am actually playing quite a bit worse than those figures would suggest - my loss came to a player who does not have a Fide elo, so my Fide rating is not penalised for losing to him.
After four rounds my tournament rating-performance, if translating the unrated's ECF grade into a rating, is 1657 - 283pts below my Fide rating of 1940.

Oh Dear, Oh Dear

THINGS went from bad to worse in Malta today when I lost in round two to an unrated player (albeit one with an ECF grade of 142).

White has just played 28.d4xe5 in Richard Boylan - Spanton (1940)

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28...dxe5??
I had to play 28...Qxe5, when 29.Qxd6 Qxe4 looks rather drawish. Stockfish9 certainly reckons so, although Komodo9 gives 30.Qd4 Kg6 31.Qd7 Re7 32.Qg4+ Kh7 33.Kh2 with what it assesses as being a slight edge for White.
At any rate that would have been much better than the game, which continued:
29.Qd7
Black has no defence. The remaining moves were:
29...Kg8 30.Qg4+ Qg5 31.Qxg5+ hxg5 32.Rd7 c5 33.bxc5 Ra8 34.Rxb7 Rxa5 35.c6 1-0