League Chess

PLAYED on board one (of eight) for Battersea 2 against Charlton 2 in London League Division Four last night,

Daniel Douglas (1766) - Spanton (1958)

Queen's Gambit Declined Normal Variation

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e3!? Nf6 4.Nf3 c5 5.d4 Nc6

Aron Nimzowitsch recommended playing the Normal Variation of the QGD as White

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His idea was to sometimes leave Black with an isolated queen's pawn, sometimes to accept an IQP oneself (the latter requiring assistance from Black, although Nimzowitsch did not mention this in My System, if memory serves me correctly). Nimzowitsch argued that exploring the fine details of such a position would awaken positional understanding.

6.cxd5 exd5 7.dxc5!? Bxc5

I suspect Nimzowitsch did not seriously entertain my opponent's next move

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8.e4?

Probably a novelty; definitely not a good one.

How should Black respond?

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8...dxe4

Stockfish17 and Dragon1 prefer not capturing. Their top choice is 8...0-0!?, one line running 9.exd5 Ng4! 10.Be2!? (10.dxc6?? allows mate, starting with 10...Bxf2+ 11.Ke2 Re8+) Nxf2 11.Qa4 Nd4!? 12.Nxd4 Nxh1, with a sharp position that the engines reckon is winning for Black.

Stockfish17's second choice, 8...Qb6!?, also leads to sharp play, as does Dragon1's second choice, 8...Ng4!?

The text may not objectively be as strong, but has the merit of being straightforward, and so less likely to lead to accidents.

9.Qxd8+ Nxd8

The engines prefer 9...Kxd8!?, meeting 10.Ng5 with 10...Nb4 (Stockfish17) or 10...Re8 (Dragon1).

10.Bb5+ Bd7

Not 10...Nc6? 11.Ne5.

11.Bxd7+ Kxd7 12.Ng5 h6!

Judging by body language, DD had missed this.

13.Nh3

Not 13.Nxe4?? Nxe4 14.Nxe4 Re8 15.f3 f5.

13...Ne6 14.Bf4!? Rhd8!?

This is Stockfish17's top choice. Dragon1 prefers 14...Nxf4, but I felt that helped White by bringing the h3 knight back into play.

15.0-0-0+ Ke8

Now both sides have effectively castled - either normally or 'by hand' - how would you assess the position?

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Black's extra pawn is reasonably secure for the moment, but may be vulnerable in the long run. The other main feature of the position, in my opinion, is the offside white knight at h3. The engines reckon Black's advantage is worth about 2.5 pawns.

16.Be5?!

The engines like moving the bishop, but not here, preferring Bg3 or Bd2.

16...Ng4 17.Bg3 f5 18.Rd5 Rxd5 19.Nxd5 Rc8 20.Kb1 Kf7 21.Rc1

DD offered a draw.

21...Rd8 22.Nc7 Bd6!? 23.Nxe6 Kxe6 24.Bxd6 Rxd6 25.f3 Nf6 26.Re1 g5 27.fxe4 fxe4

How big is Black's advantage in this rook-and-knight ending?

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White has no serious opportunity of counterplay. The engines reckon Black is roughly the equivalent of a minor piece and a pawn ahead, Dragon1 being the more fulsome in its assessment.

28.Nf2 Ke5 29.Kc2 h5 30.a3!? g4 31.Nd1 Rc6+ 32.Kd2 Nd5 33.Ne3 Nf4 34.g3 Nd5 35.Nxd5 Kxd5 36.Re3 Kd4 37.Re1 e3+!? 38.Rxe3 0-1 (Time)

White's flag fell as he made his 38th move, but he is lost anyway as after 38...Rc2+ 39.Kxc2 Kxe3 Black queens a kingside pawn.

Battersea 2 won the match 5-3.

MY BATTERSEA SEASON 2024-5

DATE.....EVENT...........................COL..RATING..OPP'S RATING..SCORE..SEASON PERF

12/9/24..Central London League....W......1933..........1886................1............2286

26/9/24..Central London League....B.......1933..........2112................1............2399

15/10/24.Club Championship.........W......1968..........1578................1............2259*

31/10/24.Central London League...B.......1968..........1867.................0...........2061*

19/11/24.London League...............W......1957..........1991................1............2127*

21/11/24.Central London League....B.......1957..........2035................=...........2112*

27/11/24.London League...............W......1957..........1723................=...........2056*

12/12/24.Central London League....B.......1965..........2153................0...........2018*

7/1/25.....Club Championship.........B.......1958..........1785................1...........2037*

9/1/25.....Central London League....B.......1958..........1851................0...........1978

14/1/25....Eastman Cup.................B.......1958..........2052................1............2021*

28/1/25....London League..............B.......1958..........1766................1............2033*

*My season's performance is slightly better than this, the point being my win against a 1578 counts as a 1978 performance, which lowers my average despite me winning the game.

Brno: Typical Mistakes & How To Avoid Them (Part Six)

MY opponent in round six of the Brno Open had 66 games with white in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database.

In 61 of those games he started 1.e4, in two he played 1.d4, two also for 1.Nf3 and one for 1.c4.

Stefan Arndt (2176) - Spanton (1771)

So it was something of a surprise when our game began 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Nf6 4.e3!?

The oldest game in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database to reach the position after 3...Nf6 also saw 4.e3!? That game was played in 1877 and featured Johannes Zukertort with white.

The set-up with the white dark-square bishop inside the white pawn-chain is known as the Normal Position of the Queen's Gambit Declined, or at least it used to be so known when such play was popular.

I replied 4...c5, at which point Aron Nimzowitsch in chapter 12 of My System recommends continuing 5.Nc3 Nc6.

His idea was White should practise playing two continuations: A) 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.exd4 dxc4 8.Bxc4, and B) 6.cxd5 exd5 7.dxc5 Bxc5.

Nimzowitsch wrote (Lou Hays' 1991 translation for the "21st Century Edition): "It will do [White] good to realise how dangerous an enemy isolani may be, and how difficult it is to save his own from an untimely end."

Nimzowitsch also stated: "The problem of the isolated d pawn is in my opinion one of the fundamental problems in the whole theory of positional play."

My opponent accelerated, as it were, the second continuation by choosing 5.cxd5, but after 5...exd5 he omitted 6.dxc5 in favour of the much more popular 6.Bb5+!?

He told me after the game his plan was to give me an isolated queen's pawn and play against its weakness.

It is well known White should try to avoid playing dxc5 until Black has spent a tempo on developing the dark-square bishop, the hope being dxc5 will then oblige Black to move the dark-square bishop for a second time.

The move 6.Bb5+!? has been played by Magnus Carlsen, and Vladimir Kramnik, and is a favourite of English grandmaster Mark Hebden. It is also the choice of Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02.

However, after 6...Bd7 7.Bxd7+ Qxd7 White has speeded Black's development. True, a possible defender of the isolani has been exchanged, but so has a potential attacker.

The later is arguably the more significant in that it is generally accepted the best role for the white light-square bishop in this type of position is to be fianchettoed by g3 and Bg2.

For example the mainline of the Tarrasch Defence to the Queen's Gambit starts 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6, and now 6.g3, as seems to have been first played by Carl Schlechter at Prague 1908.

Position in the Tarrasch Defence to the Queen's Gambit after 6.g3

The move 6.g3 was avidly taken up by Akiba Rubinstein, Frank Marshall and many other strong players.

Returning to my game in Brno, it continued 8.0-0 Nc6 9.b3, White's plan being to fianchetto the dark-square bishop so it covers d4, the square the black d pawn will "lust to expand" into, using Nimzowitsch's memorable phrase.

I now played 9...cxd4!?, voluntarily isolating my queen's pawn. The point is that if, instead, 9...Be7, then 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.Bb2 Be7 causes Black problems.

Position after 11...Be7

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The engines reckon both 12.Qd3 and 12.Nc3 give White at least a slight edge, thanks to pressure against d5.

After 9...cxd4!? my game continued 10.Nxd4, when the white knight is ideally placed as a blockader but also neutralises some of the white pressure against d5.

The game Magnus Carlsen (2863) - Fabiano Caruana (2835), Chessable Masters Internet Rapid 2020, continued 10...Nxd4!? 11.Qxd4, when the masking of potential pressure along the a1-h8 diagonal from the white dark-square bishop allowed Caruana to play the active 11...Bd6, although after 12.Bb2 0-0 the engines agree White has a slight edge (1-0, 45 moves).

I preferred 10...Be7 11.Bb2 0-0, reaching a position occurring six times in Mega22. Three of those games saw 12.Nc3, which pressurises d5 but obstructs the white dark-square bishop, while the other three continued 12.Nd2.

After 12...Rac8 13.N2f3 Rfd8 the following position was reached.

Black is fully developed, whereas the white rooks are passive and the white queen has not moved - nevertheless White may be able to get a slight edge

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14.a3

But this is probably too slow. The engines suggest the natural-looking 14.Rc1 and the interesting 14.Ne2!?

The text allowed me to equalise with 14...Ne4 15.Rc1 Nxd4!? 16.Nxd4 Rxc1 17.Qxc1 Rc8.

Following 19.Qd1 Bf6 20.f3?! Nc3 21.Qd2 Bxd4 22.exd4 Nb5 Black was probably slightly better, thanks to having an active knight against a bishop hampered by its own central pawn, and the game was quickly agreed drawn.

SA was more than 400 points stronger and had white, and so was heavily favoured to win.

His 'mistake' was a psychological one in using a system with which he was (apparently) not familiar.

Effectively he probably lowered his rating in this game by 200 points or more, but was perhaps also unlucky in that I knew some of the key ideas and was able to find reasonable moves.

Chess Evolution: The French Defence (part 10)

TARRASCH'S 3.Nd2 quickly became a popular weapon against the French, but another move, 3.e5, first mentioned by Greco in 1620 (see part one of this series) was revived by Nimzowitsch in the run-up to World War One.
The move 3.e5 had never fallen completely from favour, being extensively used by the Paulsen brothers, Wilfried and Louis, in the 1870s and 1880s, and by Steinitz in the 1890s.
Nimzowitsch played 3.e5 three times at Karlsbad 1911, drawing with Rubinstein but beating Salwe and Levenfish.
The move really took off the following year when at San Sebastian he used it to beat Tarrasch, Speilmann, Duras and Leonhardt.
Aron Nimzowitsch - Siegbert Tarrasch
San Sebastian 1912
French Advance
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5
This move divided opinion in the early 1900s and still does today. Is White punishing Black for failing to take his full share of the centre, or is White spending time on over-extending?
3...c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3!?
More common today are 6.Be2 and especially 6.a3.
6...cxd4 7.cxd4 Bd7
There are 71 examples in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database of Black falling for the well-known trap 7...Nxd4??, which loses because of 8.Nxd4 Qxd4?? 9.Bb5+ etc.
8.Be2!?
More popular today, but not necessarily better, is the Milner-Barry Gambit, starting with 8.0-0!?
The position after 8.Be2!? can also be reached if White plays 6.Be2 instead of 6.Bd3, in which case White gains a tempo as it would be his turn to move. But after 6.Be2 Black is not obliged to play an early ...Bd7, so 6.Bd3 followed by 8.Be2!? only loses a tempo if Black plays inaccurately.
8...Nge7 9.b3?!
This is probably too slow - 12 rounds later, against Duras, Nimzowitsch switched to 9.Na3.
9...Nf5 10.Bb2 Bb4+ 11.Kf1
The only way to save the d4 pawn.
11...Be7!?
The point of this move, which Tarrasch had played against Louis Paulsen 24 years earlier, is so 12.g4?! can be met by 12...Nh4. Rubinstein at Karlsbad prevented g4 by playing 11...h5. But according to Nimzowitsch, Black can play 11...0-0! (Nimzowitsch's punctuation) as 12.g4 Nh6 (12...Nfe7? 13.a3) is nothing to be feared.
12.g3 a5 13.a4
The text was also played against Tarrasch by Louis Paulsen at the Bavarian Congress (Nürnberg) 1888. Note that trying to stop ...a4 with 13.Nc3 does not work as 13...a4 14.Nxa4?! runs into 14...Rxa4 15.bxa4 Qxb2.
13...Rc8 14.Bb5 Nb4?!
Connecting rooks by 14...0-0, as suggested by the analysis engines Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01, seems better.
15.Nc3!?
Paulsen played 15.Bxd7+ against Tarrasch. After 15...Kxd7 16.Nc3 Black could have kept an edge, according to the engines, with 16...h5, when White's king seems the more vulnerable. The game saw 16...Nc6 17.Nb5 Na7 18.Nxa7 Qxa7 with a roughly level game (but 0-1, 62 moves).
15...Na6 16.Kg2 Nc7 17.Be2 Bb4
Tarrasch presumably had in mind keeping his king in the centre, as he did against Paulsen.
18.Na2 Na6 19.Bd3 Ne7 20.Rc1 Nc6 21.Nxb4 Naxb4
White has the bishop-pair, but the position remains fairly closed. The one major warning sign for Black, perhaps, is that his kingside is somewhat denuded of pieces.
22.Bb1 h6 23.Bb1 Ne7 24.Rxc8+ Bxc8 25.Ne1 Rf8 26.Nd3 f6 27.Nxb4 Qxb4 28.exf6 Rxf6 29.Bc1?
Nimzowitsch gave this an exclamation mark, but missed a tactical point of the position. Better is 29.Re1.

How can Black take advantage of White's last move?

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29...Nc6?
Black has a very good game after 29...e5 as 30.dxe5? runs into 30...Bxg4.
30.g5 hxg5 31.Bxg5 Rf8 32.Be3 Qe7?!
The engines reckon ...e5 is still Black's best shot, although the position is no longer favourable to him.
33.Qg4
Preventing 33...e5 by pinning the e pawn.
33...Qf6 34.Rg1 Rh8 35.Rh1 Rh4?
The engines reckon 35...Bd7 is decidedly better.
36.Qg3
There is no good answer to this, which leaves White threatening Bg5 and Qxg7.
36...Rxd4
Tarrasch hopes his central pawn-duo, along with depriving White of the bishop-pair, will compensate for the exchange.
37.Bxd4 Nxd4 38.Qxg7 Qf3+
Or 38...Qxg7 39.Rxg7 Nxb3 40.Rg8+ Kd7 41.h4 etc.
39.Qg2 Qxg2+ 40.Rxg2 Nxb3 41.h4 1-0

Northwick Park Round 5

Spanton (1951/168) - Robert Akeya-Price (1880/175)
Nimzo-Indian
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2
White scores very poorly with this move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database. But breaking a pin is logical, and the move has served me well in limited duty over 17 years, having scored +9=1-3 with it. In those games my average elo (Fide or converted ECF) was 1976, and I performed to a rating of 2046. That is a rating-plus of 70pts - exactly double White's normal rating-plus (based on database computer analysis by IM - now GM - Larry Kaufman).
4...0-0
The main reply. There is no need for Black to immediately commit to a plan of action.
5.Nf3 b6
Nimzowitsch preferred 5...d6 in a 1923 game, but switched to the text four years later. He won both games, but they were against lesser opposition.
6.e3 Bb7 7.Bd3 d6
Black is prepared to give up his dark-square bishop as long as he is ready to fight for the central dark squares with his pawns.
8.0-0 Nbd7 9.a3 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Ne4 11.Rc1
Tony Miles played Stockfish10's choice, 11.Bxe4!?, in a 1996 win over Ivan Morovic Fernandez (2575) at the Capablanca Memorial in Cuba.
11...f5 12.b4 Qf6?!
I expected 12...Nxc3 13.Rxc3, when Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon Black is at least equal.
13.Ba1 Qg6 14.Ne1
Planning f3. The engines prefer 14.d5!? e5 (14...exd5?! 15.cxd5 Bxd5? 16.Rxc7 is good for White),when Stockfish10 gives 15.Nh4 Qg5 16.g3!? g6 17.f4 with a large edge for White, although Komodo10 is much-less impressed.
14...c5?
This loses a pawn. The engines quite like the prophylactic retreat 14...Nef6!?, albeit preferring White.
15.Bxe4 fxe4 16.dxc5 bxc5 17.Qxd6 Rfd8?
Black gets into more trouble after this, but the engines' 17...Qe8 leaves White well on top.
18.Qc7 Rab8 19.Rd1 Qe8?
Better was 19...Qf7, but it is easy to come up with bad moves in a bad position.
20.Nc2 e5 21.b5 Nb6?
The engines suggest 21...Ba8 or 21...Bc8, but in each case with a winning advantage for White.
22.Bxe5 Nd7 23.Bc3?!
Even stronger is 23.Rxd7 Rxd7 24.Qxb8 Qxb8 25.Bxb8, and if 25...Rd2, then 26.Na1 leaves White a piece up and winning on the queenside.
23...Ba8 24.Qxa7 Rb7 25.Qa4 Nb6 26.Qb3 Rd3 27.Rxd3?
White is still much better after this, but the move gives Black unnecessary counterplay.
27...exd3 28.Ne1?
Better is the engines' 28.Nd4! cxd4 29.Bxd4, when White has four pawns for a knight, and is about to win the d3 pawn.
28...Rd7 29.Bd2 Qe4 30.Nf3?
30.Qc3 keeps an edge as 30...Qxc4? loses to 31.Qe5, when Black has too many loose pieces, while 30...Nxc4? runs into 31.f3 Qd5 32.Rf2, when White has more-or-less consolidated a two-pawn advantage.
30...Nxc4
It was only after moving that I saw the strength of 30...Rf7!? White's best seems to be 31.Ne1 Nxc4 32.Qc3 Nxd2 33.Qxd2, but after 33...Rd7 Black has lots of pressure, despite being two pawns down. The engines reckon 30...Rd6!? is also strong.
31.Rc1?!
31.Rd1 looks stronger.
31...Bd5 32.Qc3 Qg4?!
Stockfish10's 32...Ra7 and Komodo10's 32...Qg6 seem to give Black good counterplay.
33.h3 Qg6
Black offered a draw.
34.Ne1 Ra7 35.Ra1 Qf6?
White is only a little better after 35...Nxd2 36.Qxd2 c4 37.Qb4, according to Komodo10, although Stockfish10 has White winning.

White to make his 36th move

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36.Qxd3! Qxa1?
Better is 36...Nb6, but White is three pawns up and out of danger after 37.Bc3.
37.Qxd5+ Kf8 38.Qxc4 Qxa3 39.Nf3 (1-0, 90 moves)

Tarrasch Triumph

ANYONE with even a passing interest in the history of chess and its great players will know something of the rivalry between Nimzowitsch and Tarrasch.
Thanks to the power of the former's writings, this is often thought of as a clash between the old school, represented by Tarrasch, and the hypermoderns, represented by Nimzowtisch, and there is a lot of truth in this.
Their lifetime score favoured Nimzowitsch by the fairly convincing margin of +5=5-2, although it should be noted Tarrasch had white in just four of the 12 games.
Interestingly, both Tarrasch's wins came with the black pieces, including this excellent endgame performance at San Sebastian 1911.
Notes in italics are algebraicised from 500 Master Games Of Chess by Tartakower and du Mont.
Aron Nimzowitsch - Siegbert Tarrasch
Scotch Game
The following game, which very soon enters upon the endgame phase, skipping, so to speak, the middlegame, is impressive in its almost geometric character, reserving to the very end, in a king-and-pawn ending, a most thrilling surprise.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6
The modern defence, which tends to avoid fluctuation and thereby the pitfalls of the opening.
I am not sure what to make of this comment (the book was originally published in 1952 by G Bell & Sons - I have the 1975 Dover reprint), but I do not believe that people today play 4...Nf6 to avoid opening complications.
5.Nxc6
An impatient continuation, instead of 5.Nc3 with greater expectations. An amusing draw occurs after 5.e5 Nxe5 6. Qe2 Qe7 7.Ne5 Qe6 (or 7...Qb4+) 8.Nd4 Qe7 etc.
The text is today the main continuation, while the pawn-sac line given by Tartakower is considered dubious (because of 7...Qb4+).
5...bxc6 6.Bd3
Logical play. If 6.Nd2, 6...Bc5 seeking to assume the initiative.
Today's mainline runs 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Ba6 9.b3 g6, with  a position that occurs more than 1,000 times in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database.
6...d5
More straightforward than 6...d6.
7.exd5
If 7.Nd2, 7...Bc5, and if 7.e5, 7...Ng4.
7...cxd5 8.0-0
The tension would be relieved after 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Bxd7+ Qxd7 10.0-0 Be7 etc.
8...Be7 9.c4
White tries, in too dogmatic a fashion, to reduce the number of pawns. 9.Nc3 0-0 10.Bg5 c6 etc would lead to equality.
Armand Blackmar, of Blackmar-Diemer Gambit-fame, twice played 9.Bf4 at an 1891 New York state tournament.
9...0-0
Of doubtful value would be 9...d4 10.b4. In spite of its energetic appearance, White's last move only enable(s) all the hostile minor pieces to get into action.
10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.Be4 Be6 12.Nc3
Trying to speed up his backward development, but his pawns lose contact with each other.
12...Nxc3 13.bxc3 Qxd1 14.Rxd1 Rad8
Now it is Black who, with good reasons, seeks exchanges.
15.Be3
Hrvoje Stevic (2512) - Alexander Beliavsky (2650), 2002 Slovakian Championship, saw 15.Bf4, with a draw in 24 moves.
15...c5 16.Bf3
More to the point would be 16.h3, but he tries to make things complicated for his opponent.
16...Rxd1+ 17.Rxd1 Rb8
Occupying a more favourable file than that occupied by White's rook. If 17...Bxa2, 18.Rd7, easily recovering his pawn (not 18.Ra1 Rb8 19.Be4 Rb2 etc).
18.h3 Rb2 19.Bd5
The first attempt to save the loss of a pawn.
19...Bxd5 20.Rxd5 Rxa2 21.c4
The first disillusionment. If 21.Bxc5, 21...Ra5 and wins.
21...Ra1+ 22.Kh2 Ra5
Clearly not 22...Ra2, as White could play 23.Bxc5.
23.f4
With one pawn less, White cannot afford to remain inactive.
The analysis engines Komodo9 and Stockfish10 reckon White should start centralising his king with 23.Kg3.
23...f6 24.Kg3 Kf7 25.Kf3 a6 26.h4 Ra4
Having secured his weak points (the bishop by the king's proximity and the a pawn by moving it), Black can go on simplifying.
27.Bxc5 Rxc4 28.Bxe7 Kxe7
A rook-ending is now reached, which at first sight promises a drawn result, but some rare finessing is yet to enliven the game.
29.Rh5 h6 30.Ra5 Rc6 31.Kg4 Rb6
Now if 32.Kf5, 32...Rb5+ wins - a far more convincing way to prevent the white king getting into the game than 31...g6, which allows liquidation by 32.h5.
32.f5 Kf7 33.Kh5
Barring a miracle, White thinks himself safe, but the miracle occurs.
33...g6+
Accurately thought out. The result hangs by a thread.
The engines prefer 33...Rb5 34.Rxa6 Rxf5+ 35.Kg4 Kg6, but, with pawns on only one flank, White must have good drawing chances.
34.Kxh6
Or 34.fxg6+ Kg7 35.Ra2 Rb5+ 36.Kg4 h5+ 37.Kf3 a5, followed by ...Kxg6, and Black's advantage is definite.
The engines reckon Black only has a slight edge after the continuation 38.g4 hxg4+ 39.Kxg4 Kxg6. Earlier in this line, they assess 35.Kg4 Kxg6 36.Kf4 as dead equal, and it is indeed hard to see how Black makes progress. But it seems Nimzowitsch's choice should also draw.
34...gxf5 35.Rxf5 Rb8
The point being to force the exchange of rooks after 36.Kh5, as in the (game), or also after 36.Kh7.
Despite Tartakower's comment, White is not lost.

White to play and draw

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36.Kh5?
This loses, although it takes beautiful play by Tarrasch to prove it. The engines show White draws with 36.Kh7, as it turns out in this case the exchange of rooks is not decisive, viz 36...Rb5 37.Rxb5 axb5 38.g4 (the point is that White will queen as well as Black) b4 39.g5 fxg5 40.hxg5 b3 41.g6+ Kf6 42.g7 b2 43.g8=Q b1=Q+ 44.Kh8 (the only move, but it draws).
36...Rb5 37.Kg4
Trying to get into the "square."
37...Rxf5 38.Kxf5 a5 39.Ke4

Black to play and win

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39...f5+! 0-1
A beautiful final point.
This must have been what Nimzowitsch missed at move 36. White cannot capture the f pawn as his king would no longer be able to stop Black's a pawn, and after 40.Kd3, Black plays 40...f4!, preventing White's g pawn from protecting the h pawn. Black's king then has enough time to capture both of White's pawns before White's king can capture the a pawn and get back to the kingside. A "miracle" indeed.

How Nimzowitsch Won

I MENTIONED yesterday how Tarrasch suffered the embarrassment of losing a drawish-looking opposite-coloured bishops ending to Nimzowitsch at Bad Kissingen, 1928.
The ending arose with Tarrasch to make his 38th move as Black (notes in italics translated from the German of those of an anonymous annotator in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database):

Black is a pawn down but has more space

The ending, which gives the impression of being clearly drawn, is won thanks to a hard-to-see subtlety of White's position.
38...Kb7 39.Kh2 c4?!
This may be a mistake. Tarrasch takes a pawn off the same-coloured square as White's bishop, but the pawn was not immediately vulnerable and now White's bishop gets more freedom-of-movement.
Stockfish10 likes 39...f4?!, which leaves Black two pawns down after 40.Bg5 e3 41.fxe3 fxe3 42.Bxe3. This looks very dubious as White will be able to create threats on two distant parts of the board - the classic formula for winning an opposite-coloured bishops ending.
Komodo9 prefers a waiting move such as 39...Bb5 or 39...Bf7.
It would seem natural to centralise the king with 39...Kc6, but Tarrasch must have seen something he did not like about it (or he just thought ...c4 was better). After 39...Kc6, the engines give 40.Kg3, and if 40...Kd7, then 41.Bg5, when Black can play 41...Ke6 with what seem to me to be reasonable drawing chances (a major problem with analysing endings like this is that engines tend to over-emphasise a material advantage as they have trouble seeing that opposite-coloured bishops will often in the long term neutralise such an advantage).
40.Kg3 Kc8?!
I am at a loss to understand why this would be preferred over 40...Kc6, although after Nimzowitsch's continuation in the game it does not matter whether Black chose ...Kc8 or ...Kc6.
41.Kf4
The engines reckon 41.Bg5 is slightly better (but that Bg5 would not have been after 40...Kc6).
41...Kd7 42.Bb4 Ke6 43.Bc3 Bd7 44.g3 b5
Tarrasch has moved all his pawns to light squares, where they are invulnerable to White's bishop, but his problems are not over.
45.Kg5

Black to make his 45th move

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45...Kf7
The engines suggest the incredible-looking defence 45...e3!?, the point being that after 46.fxe3 Bc6 47.Kh6! (this seems better than the engines' 47.Bd4), Black has 47...Be4, when 48.Kxh7? lands White in trouble after 48...f4+. However, given enough time, the engines come up with 48.Be1 Bxc2 49.Kxh7. This now looks strong as 49...f4+ is met by 50.Kh6 fxg3 51.Bxg3, when White has two passed pawns separated by more than one file, which usually gives good winning chances. Note that in each case ...fxe3, instead of ...fxg3, seems inferior. But also note that this whole line is complicated, so it is possible 45...e3!? really does give drawing chances.
46.h4 Bc8 47.Kh6 Kg8 48.b3 cxb3 49.cxb3 f4
49...Bd7 50.Bb2 A waiting move Be8 (50...Bc8 51.a4 bxa4 52.bxa4 Bd7 53.a5 Bc8 54.Ba1 A waiting move, and Black is in zugzwang) 51.Kg5 Bd7 52.Kf6 Kf8 53.Ba3+ White wins.
50.gxf4 Bd7 51.Kg5 Kf7 52.f5 Bc6 53.Kf4 Ke7 54.Ke5 Be8
Also hopeless is 54...Bb7 55.f6+ Kf7 56.Kd6 etc.
55.Kxe4 (1-0, 66 moves)

Food For Thought

MY one loss at Newmarket came in round two as White in a Veresov that began 1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bg5 Nbd7 4.e3 - somewhat insipid stuff, at least by White.
Quite a few players are reluctant to play 1...d5 in this sequence because they are uncomfortable against what is by far White's most popular second move here, ie 2.e4!?
The mainline after 2...d4 runs 3.Nce2 e5 4.Ng3. The first person to have apparently reached this position as White was Lasker, albeit in a simul. One idea in the position is that Black's set-up is ripe for the pawn-lever f4, which Lasker did indeed play in the game (Lasker - Ewers, 1909).
Black's main alternative to pushing on with 2...d4 is to exchange with 2...dxe4. After 3.Nxe4, White can claim he has gained a tempo (it is Black to move, but only White has tempi on the board - N-c3-e4).
In a handful of games, including a win by 2300 over a 2370, Black has tried to punish White with the extravagant  3...f5!?, intending to meet 4.Nc3 or 4.Ng5 with 4...e5!? A word of warning - my main analysis engines, Stockfish10 and Komodo9, are not impressed with Black's play. On the other hand, engines are not very reliable in many early-opening positions.
Supposing, however, White is not happy with the lines after 2.e4!? (and wants to avoid the familiar lines starting with 2.d4)?
One possibility is 2.e3. After 2...e5, White can try 3.d4, when he is playing a French Defence with colours reversed and an extra tempo.
His extra tempo (the move Nc3) is not bad - after all, in the French proper, after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3, one option for Black is 3...Nc6!? Carlsen is among strong players who have tried it, albeit, in his case, as far as I know, only in a rapid game.
One "problem" with this is that after 1.Nc3 d5 2.e3 e5 3.d4 (3.Qh5!? is worth investigating), Black can reply 3...exd4, when 4.exd4 transposes to a French Exchange that is more usually reached via 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nc3. In this sequence the moves 4.Bd3 and 4.Nf3 are much more popular (and arguably more flexible).
However, instead of 4.exd4, White can get on with development with 4.Qxd4!?, threatening Black's d pawn.
The most natural defence is 4...Nf6, after which 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Bxc6 Bxc6 looks absolutely fine for Black, although Stockfish10 likes 8.b3 for White.
This last line is not very forcing. Indeed, White can vary right at the start with 5.e4!? My idea is that if Black wins a pawn, and holds on to it, with 5...dxe4 6.Qxd8+ Kxd8 7.Bg5 Bf5, White gets good compensation with 8.0-0-0+ (the engines reckon 8.Bc4 is even better).
You might think this is getting a bit far-fetched - I know I did when I was musing on it earlier this evening. So imagine my surprise when I checked the lines with ChessBase's 2019 Mega database and found 5.e4!? was played in Nimzowitsch - Tarrasch, Bad Kissingen 1928.
Tarrasch did not try to win a pawn, preferring 5...Nc6.
The game continued: 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Bxc6 Bxc6 8.e5 Ne4 9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Ne2 Be7 11.Be3 Qxd4 12.Nxd4 Bd7.

Position after Black preserved the bishop-pair with 12...Bc6-d7

Black has the bishop-pair but Nimzowitsch went on to positionally outplay his great rival, with Tarrasch suffering the embarrassment of losing an opposite-coloured bishops ending that I suspect many people would instinctively regard, at first sight, as being rather drawish (whether it really should have been drawn is another matter).

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)