Hull 4NCL Round Four

Spanton (1953 ECF/1997 Fide) - Roger Greatorex (1758 ECF/1754 Fide)

Spanish Cozio

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7

For quite some time this is Dragon1's second choice, but the engine comes to agree with Stockfish18 that the best continuation is 3...Nf6, with 3...a6 second-best (!?).

4.Nc3!?

More popular in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database are 4.c3 and especially 4.0-0, but the text is fashionable, for a reason I will explain after Black's next move.

How should Black proceed?

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4...Ng6!?

The 'normal' Cozio move, 4...g6, is out of favour because of 5.d4 exd4 6.Nd5!? Bg7 7.Bg5, with the upper hand for White, according to the engines.

5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd4

6.Nd5?! makes much less sense without a hole at f6.

6...Bb4 7.0-0 Bxc3?!

Black smashes White's queenside, but the resulting structure is not easy to attack, at least not before an ending, and in the meantime White has the bishop-pair and a lead in development.

8.bxc3 0-0

White has the upper hand (Stockfish18) or possibly a positionally won game (Dragon1, but the evaluation fluctuates, and eventually more-or-less settles on plus-over-minus)

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9.f4!

The engines agree this is best. White takes control of the e5 square, while preparing a kingside attack.

9...a6!?

Apparently a novelty, and preferred by the engines over 9...Nxd4, which was played in games featuring a 2200 and a 2295 as Black.

10.Bd3 d6 11.Rb1 Re8

Not 11...Rb8?? 12.Nxc6.

12.Qh5!? Nxd4?!

Not 12...Qh4? 13.Qxh4 Nxh4 14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.f5, after which the black knight has no retreat squares. But, rather than the text, the engines much prefer 12...Qe7.

13.cxd4 Nf8!?

This looks horribly passive, but it is probably best.

14.f5 Qf6

Perhaps a better way to stop White playing f6 is for Black to play 14...f6, or 14...Nd7.

15.c3 h6

White threatened to win the black queen with 16.Bg5.

16.g4

Perhaps 16.Rf3 is strongest.

16...Nh7 17.h4 g5!? 18.fxg6 Qxg6 19.Qxg6+ fxg6

Black has foiled the mating attack, but is losing a pawn

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20.Bxh6 Bxg4 21.Rxb7 Re7 22.Bc4+ Kh8 23.Bxa6??

White is roughly the equivalent of being a rook up after 23.Rf7, according to the engines.

23...Bc8 24.Rfb1

The engines reckon 24.a4!? Bxb7 25.Rxb7 Rxa4 is equal, White having a pair of bishops and a pawn for the exchange. Note that 24...Rxa6!? 25.Rb8 Re8 26.Rf7 may slightly favour White, according to the engines.

24...Bxb7

But here the engines reckon 24...Ra6!? 25.Rb8 Re8 gives Black at least the better part of equality.

25.Rxb7

The engines reckon 25.Bxb7 Rb8 26.Rb3 is completely equal.

25...Rxa6!?

Black has a slight edge after 25...Rxe4, according to Dragon1, but Stockfish18 disagrees.

26.Rb8+ Nf8 27.Bxf8?!

Probably better is 27.Rxf8+ Kh7 28.Bg5.

27...Rxe4 28.Bxd6+ Kh7

Black has at least a slight edge after the somewhat counter-intuitive 28...Kg7!, according to the engines.

White to play and equalise

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29.Be5!

After 29.Bxc7 Rxa2, Dragon1 reckons Black is winning, but Stockfish18 gives Black just a slight edge. The text threatens mate.

29...g5 30.h5!? Rxe5

Forced.

31.dxe5

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

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White is two pawns up, but it is Black to move, and the black king is more active than its white counterpart. The endgame is completely equal, according to the engines.

31...Rc6?

But not any more. Three moves seem to hold the balance: 31...Rxa2, 31...Re6 and 31...Kh6

32.Rb4 Kh6 33.Re4 Re6

The central passed pawn is blockaded, and h5 is about to fall, but the black rook has become passive - White's advantage is again worth about a rook, according to the engines

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34.a4?

The king should be activated, eg 34.Kf2 Kxh5 35.Kg3, when Black is in zugzwang, a possible continuation being 35...Re8 (35...Kg6 36.Kg4; 35...g4 36.Kf4) 36.a4 Re6 (36...Re7 37.e6) 37.a5 Kh6 38.Kg4 Kg6 39.Re2, when Black has to give way.

34...Kxh5 35.a5

Activating the white king also only draws.

35...Kg6 36.a6?! Rxa6 37.e6 Ra8 38.Kf2 Re8

Black has the less-vulnerable passed pawn, and the more-active king, but the ending is still drawn

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39.Kf3 Kf6 40.Rc4 Re7 41.Kg4 Kxe6 42.Kxg5 Kd5 43.Rd4+

The only move to draw, but not so hard to find.

43...Kc5 44.Kf4

Again an only-move, according to the Syzygy endgame tablebase.

44...c6 45.Rb4 Re1 46.Re4!? Rxe4!?

The draw is easy after this, whereas care is still required after 46...Rc1, but one drawing line runs 47.Ke3!? Rxc3+ 48.Kd2, reaching a well-known drawn position, although there is nothing stopping Black playing on.

47.Kxe4 Kc4 48.Ke5 ½–½

48.Ke5 was also an only-move, after which play might have continued 48...c5 49.Kd6 Kxc3 50.Kxc5.

Lessons From Bad Bertrich IV

MY round-four game, in which I was White against Joachim Hiller (1879), featured an instructive moment in the opening, an Exchange Variation of the Spanish.

I have just played 10.Bc1-f4, and it is up to Black to decide what to do about the attacked c7 pawn

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As is well known, White in the Spanish Exchange gives up the bishop-pair in order to obtain the superior pawn-structure.

White gets a healthy 4-3 kingside majority, from which a passed pawn can be made with normal play, while Black gets a damaged 4-3 queenside majority, which will not produce a passed pawn with normal play, unless White gets careless.

In the diagram position, Black has three plausible ways of saving c7: (i) by castling, (ii) by defending the pawn with the dark-square bishop, (iii) by advancing the pawn.

I suspect most players would pretty quickly dismiss 10...c6 as not helping development, as well as weakening Black on the b8-h2 diagonal, including the square d6.

The overwhelmingly most popular choice in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database is 10...0-0-0, which not only defends the pawn, but gets the king to safety, and develops the rook - three good things for the price of one!

However, I was surprised 10...Bd6 appears only once in Mega26.

After 11.Bxd6 cxd6, Black no longer has the bishop-pair, but also no longer has doubled pawns. However, Black has also contracted a backward pawn on a half-open file.

The engines very much disapprove of 10...Bd6.

Part of the reason, no doubt, is the backward pawn, but there is also the fact that engines rate the bishop-pair as more than cancelling out the disadvantage of having doubled pawns - indeed, engines are not keen on White playing the Spanish Exchange from the get-go.

The move 4.Bxc6 sees Stockfish18 and Dragon1 drop their evaluation of the opening from slightly better for White to a game with equal chances.

Garry Kasparov might well agree, as I recall a John Watson review for The Week In Chess in which he quotes Kasparov as joking that "the bishop is always better than the knight!"

LESSON: the bishop-pair is a major factor in chess, and should not be given up without very good cause.

Bad Bertrich 50+ Game Four

Green lake

Spanton (1997) - Joachim Hiller (1879)

Spanish Exchange

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nc3!?

This trails 5.d4 and especially 5.0-0 in popularity in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database.

5...f6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4!?

7.Qxd4 would likely transpose to 5.d4 lines.

7...c5 8.Nde2 Qxd1+ 9.Nxd1 Bd7 10.Bf4 0-0-0

Stockfish18 and Dragon1 much dislike 10...Bd6!?, claiming 11.Bxd6 cxd6 leaves White with the upper hand.

11.Ne3 Ne7 12.0-0-0

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

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Black's bishop-pair and White's superior pawn-structure balance each other out, leaving the game completely equal, according to the engines.

12...g5!?

This is narrowly more popular than 12...Re8!? and 12...Ng6 in Mega26.

13.Bg3 h5 14.h4 Bh6?

New and active, but bad. Known moves are 14...g4 and 14...Bg7.

15.hxg5 Bxg5

Or 15...fxg5 16.Rxh5.

16.f4 Bh6 17.Rxh5 b6 18.Rdh1 Bg7 19.Rxh8 Rxh8 20.Rxh8+ Bxh8

How large is White's advantage in this minor-piece ending?

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White is 'only' a pawn up, but Black's 4-3 queenside majority cannot create a passer by itself, while White's 3-1 kingside majority should have little trouble doing exactly that. Black still has the bishop-pair, but the engines reckon White's advantage is the equivalent of being more than a piece up.

21.Kd2

The engines suggest 21.f5!?

21...f5!?

This is also the engines' top choice, but after ...

22.e5

... the position is hardly opening for the bishops.

22...Be6 23.a3 Kd7 24.Bh4 Nd5 25.Bg5 b5 26.Ng3 Nxe3 27.Kxe3 Ke8 28.Nf1 Bg7 29.Kf2 c4 30.c3

The engines prefer 30.g4!?

30...c5?

This is a serious positional error. On c5 the pawn hampers the future scope of Black's dark-square bishop, and becomes a target for the white pieces.

31.Ne3 Kf7 32.g4!? Kg6!?

32...fxg4 33.f5 Bc8 keeps alive Black's faint hope of bringing about an ending of opposite-colour bishops.

However, after ...

33.gxf5+ Bxf5 34.Nxf5 Kxf5

... Black can still hope for a draw by exchanging off as many pawns as possible, and then somehow sacrificing the black bishop to leave White with rook's pawn and wrong-colour bishop.

35.Kf3 Bf8

White to play and win

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36.e6!

Sacrificing White's extra pawn seems the only way to make progress.

36...Kxe6 37.Ke4

Thanks to Black's stifled 4-3 majority, White is effectively still a pawn to the good. The only fly in the ointment, from a White perspective, is that all the white queenside pawns are on the same-colour squares as Black's bishop, and therefore potentially vulnerable.

37...b4 38.f5+ Kf7

Or 38...Kd6 39.Bf4+ etc.

39.Kd5 Bg7!?

This is Stockfish18's top choice, but the position is hopeless for Black. Dragon1 prefers 39...a5.

The game finished:

40.Kxc4 bxa3 41.bxa3 a5 42.a4 Be5 43.Kd3 Bg3 44.Bd8 Be5 45.Bxa5 Kf6 46.Ke4 c4 47.Bd8+ 1-0

European 65+ Team: Game Eight

Mountain view

Sweden 1 v England 3

Anders Wengholm (2171) - Spanton (2003)

English Symmetrical

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e3 Nf6!? 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4

The idea of playing 4...Nf6!?, rather than the more popular 4...Bg7, is so 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 can be met by ...

6...d5

... when Black is playing the white side of a Tarrasch Defence to the Queen's Gambit, but with a tempo less.

How should White proceed?

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7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 Nxc3 9.Bc4!? Nd5!? 10.Bxd5 e6 11.Bxc6+ bxc6

How would you asses this opening position?

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Black has the bishop-pair, but has an extra pawn island and is behind in development. Stockfish18 and Dragon1 reckon White is slightly better.

12.0-0 Bg7

The main line in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database runs 12...Qd5 13.Be3 f6!? 14.Rfc1 Bd6 15.Nd2, with White maintaining a slight edge, according to the engines, but there are many plausible alternatives along the way.

13.Bg5

The engines reckon the immediate 13.Bf4 gives White the upper hand.

13...f6!? 14.Bf4 g5!?

The engines are fine with this apparent-novelty, switching between it and the known 14...0-0 as their top choice, although Dragon1 comes to also like another apparent-novelty in 14...Qd5.

15.Bg3!?

The engines agree with offering the d pawn.

How should Black proceed?

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15...h5?!

Probably a pawn move too many. The engines suggest 15...Qd5 or 15...0-0, but reckon 15...g4?! 16.Nd2 (the engines prefer this over 16.Nh4) Qxd4? is asking for trouble, eg 17.Nc4 0-0 18.Rad1 Qe4 19.Rfe1, and either 19...Nd6 or 19...Bd6, in each case with more than enough for a pawn.

16.h4!?

The engines rate this more highly than 16.h3.

16...g4 17.Nd2 0-0

Again, taking on d4 is bad.

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

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Black still has the bishop-pair, but lags in development and has numerous weaknesses. The engines agree White has at least the upper hand.

18.Qe3!?

This is the engines' top choice.

18...f5 19.Nb3 Qf6 20.Bf4 Qxh4!?

This comes to be quite liked by the engines, but they eventually prefer 20...a5 or 20...c5!?

21.Rac1!?

This seems even stronger than 21.Bg5 f4 22.Bxf4 Qf6 23.Be5.

21...Qe7?!

Black should probably play 21...Bd7 or 21...Qf6, albeit with advantage to White.

22.Rxc6 e5?!

A pawn sacrifice for activity, but Black should probably settle for 22...Bd7.

23.dxe5 Bb7 24.Rd6 Be4?!

This hardly helps.

25.Rfd1 Rfd8

Not 25...Bxe5? 26.Bxe5 Qxe5 27.Qg5+.

26.Nc5 Bxe5?

A bad move in a bad position.

27.Rxd8+

By no means the only winning move.

27...Rxd8 28.Rxd8+ Qxd8 29.Bxe5

White is a knight to the good

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29...Qe7 30.Qb3+ Kh7 31.Qb8 g3 32.Nxe4 fxe4 33.Qc7 1-0

TEAM RESULT

Bo.	7	Sweden 1	Rtg	-	13	England 3	Rtg	3 : 1
5.1	CM	Wengholm, Anders	2171	-		Spanton, Tim R	2003	1 - 0
5.2		Jaderberg, Bjorn	2059	-		Freeman, Jon A	1950	½ - ½
5.3		Lagerborg, Krister	2041	-		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	1 - 0
5.4	CM	Soderberg, Per	2022	-		Wilson, Edgar	1903	½ - ½

European 65+ Team: Game Seven

Roadside death announcements are commonplace

England 3 v Maccabi Matnas Kiryat Yam

Spanton (2003) - Boris Fainberg (2066)

Sicilian Bb5(+)

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

This is a popular alternative to the mainline 4.0-0.

4...bxc6 5.d3 d5!?

This is the top choice of Dragon1 for quite some time, although it eventually comes to equally like the commonest continuation, 5...Ne7. Stockfish18 likes the latter, and 5...Qc7.

6.0-0 Nf6

The engines prefer 5...Ne7.

7.e5 Nd7 8.Re1 Be7 9.c4 0-0

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

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As usual in variations of the Rosolimo with Bxc6, White's better pawn-structure is up against Black's bishop-pair. In this particular line, it may be that White's kingside space advantage, conferred by the pawn on e5, is what makes the engines give White a slight edge.
10.Nc3 Rb8 11.b3 f6

How should Black's attack on the white centre be met?

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12.Bb2?!

Apparently a novelty, and one that is strongly disliked by the engines. They suggest the known 12.exf6, or another apparent-novelty in 12.Bf4. After 12.exf6, the engines' main line runs 12...Bxf6 13.Bb2 Qe8 14.Rc1!?, claiming at least a slight edge for White. After the super-sharp 12.Bf4, their main line more-or-less runs 12...fxe5 13.Nxe5!? Rxf4 14.Nxc6 Qf8 15.Rxe6 Bf6 16.Nxd5!? Rxf2!? 17.Nxf6+ Rxf6 18.Rxf6 Qxf6 19.Nxb8 Nxb8, after which White has rook and two pawns for bishop and knight. That gives White at least a slight edge, according to the engines, but there are many sharp alternatives along the way.

12...Nxe5!?

The engines slightly prefer 12...fxe5.

13.Nxe5 fxe5 14.Rxe5?!

The engines award White a slight edge after 14.Na4!

14...Bd6

What should White play?

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15.Re1??
Better rook moves are 15.Re2 and 15.Rh5, but the engines suggest offering the exchange with 15.Na4!?, when 15...Bxe5 16.Bxe5 Rb7 17.Qe2 seems to give White good compensation. Instead, the engines reckon closing the long dark diagonal with 15...d4 is one of several moves giving Black the upper hand.

15...Bxh2+! 16.Kxh2

Declining the bishop is even worse.

16...Qh4+ 17.Kg1 Qxf2+ 18.Kh1 Rf4 19.Qh5

The only move that sort of keeps the game going.

19...Rh4+ 20.Qxh4 Qxh4+ 21.Kg1 Qd4+ 22.Kh1 Rb7

Black has queen and two pawns for rook and knight, and much the safer king, adding up to an advantage worth more than a rook, according to the engines

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23.Rf1!?

This is the engines' top choice - there is little point in trying to defend the d3 pawn.

23...Qxd3 24.cxd5 exd5 25.Rf3 Qc2 26.Raf1

Developing the rook is possible, thanks to the threat of mate at f8.

26...h6 27.Ba3 Rc7 28.Nb5 Rc6!? 29.Nxa7 Ra6 30.R3f2 Qe4

Black's advantage is now worth a little more than a rook, according to Stockfish18, and more than a rook and a pawn, according to Dragon1

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31.Bxc5 Bb7 32.b4 e5 33.Nb5 Rg6

Black is still winning comfortably after this, according to the engines, but they prefer 33...d4 or 33...Qg6.

34.Nd6 Qh4+ 35.Kg1 Ba6?!

Again, Black is still winning after this, according to the engines, but they reckon stronger are 35...Rg5 and 35...Rxd6!?

After 35...Ba6?!, how should White proceed?

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36.Nf5

Not 36.b5? Bxb5 37.Nxb5 Qc4.

How should Black respond?

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36...Qg4?

Best seems to be 36...Qe4 37.Ne7+ Kh7 38.Nxg6 Kxg6 39.Rd1 d4, which is winning for Black, according to the engines. They also quite like 36...Qg5.

37.Ne7+ Kh7 38.Nxg6 Kxg6

Dragon1 suggests 38...Bxf1!?, but 39.Nf8+ Kg8 40.Rxf1 gives equal chances, according to Stockfish18.

39.Re1 Qe6 40.Bd4! e4

Black's connected passers are blockaded, leaving the game completely equal, according to the engines

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41.a4 Bc4?!

The engines suggest 41...Qe7 or 41...Qd6, when 42.b5?? loses to 42...Qb4 (hitting a rook as well as the white bishop), so best may be 42.Re3!?, the point being 42...Qxb4 can be met by 43.Rg3+ Kh5 (forced) 44.Bc3!?, a possible finish being 44...Qb1+ 45.Kh2 Qb6 46.Rh3+ Kg4 47.Rg3+ Kh5 48.Rh3+ etc.

42.b5 h5?

Black had to play 42...Qg4!?, according to Stockfish18, eg 43.b6 Ba6 44.a5 h5!? 45.Rb2 e3!? 46.Bxe3 d4 47.Bc1 d3 48.Rf2 h4 49.Bd2 h3 50.Re3 Qd1+ 51.Kh2 hxg2 52.Rg3+ Kh7 53.Rfxg2 Qa1, after which it seems neither side can make progress. This is another tricky line, and one which Dragon1 misassesses until after 45.Rb2 is inputted.

43.b6?

Much stronger is 43.Rb2, eg 43...Qd7 44.a5!? Bxb5 45.a6 Bc6 46.Rb8!? (threatening Rg8 and Rxg7, as well as threatening to promote the a pawn) Kh7 (there is nothing better, according to the engines) 47.a7 etc.

43...Ba6 44.Rb2 Qc6??

The engines point out that both 44...Qc8 and 44...Qd7 draw.

45.b7 1-0

TEAM RESULT

Bo.	13	England 3	Rtg	-	12	Maccabi Matnas Kiryat Yam	Rtg	3 : 1
7.1		Spanton, Tim R	2003	-		Fainberg, Boris	2066	1 - 0
7.2		Freeman, Jon A	1950	-		Balishansky, Alexander	1958	0 - 1
7.3		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	-		Kalejman, Hector	1873	1 - 0
7.4		Wilson, Edgar	1903	-		Meizlin, Yaacov	1938	1 - 0

European 65+ Team: Game Six

Splash of colour

Israel 2 v England 3

Ido Yad-Shalom (-) - Spanton (2003)

Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 c5 6.Nf3 d5 7.0-0

Now both sides have castled, how would you assess this position, which occurs 10,214 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database?

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Stockfish18 and Dragon1 reckon chances are equal. However, White scores 52% from this position in Mega26, ie four percentage points better than Black

7...Nc6 8.a3

This is easily the commonest continuation, and means we now get a 'proper' Nimzo-Indian in that the game will (probably) become a battle between White's bishop-pair and Black's better structure.

8...Bxc3

Preserving the dark-square bishop with 8...Ba5!? is far from ridiculous, and has been played by top grandmasters. The main line in Mega26 continues 9.cxd5 exd5 10.dxc5, when Black is more-or-less to forced to give up the bishop anyway. After 10...Bxc3 11.bxc3 Bg4, the engines reckon White is slightly better.

9.bxc3 b6!?

The main line runs 9...dxc4 10.Bxc4 Qc7 11.Bd3 e5!?, with equal chances, according to the engines.

10.cxd5 exd5 11.h3!?

This scores 67% in Mega26, albeit from a small sample size, and is liked by Stockfish18. Nevertheless, both engines prefer the mainline 11.Ne5, when 11...Nxe5?! 12.dxe5 gives White the upper hand, according to the engines, wherever the f6 knight goes. The main reply is 11...Qc7, when Dragon1 reckons 12.Nxc6 Qxc6 is equal, but Stockfish18 prefers White.

11...Re8

The engines suggest an apparent-novelty in 11...Na5!?

After 11...Re8, how should White proceed?

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12.Bb5!?

This is the engines' second choice, narrowly behind 12.dxc5, when 12...bxc5 13.c4!? Na5!? 14.cxd5 c4!? 15.Bc2 Qxd5 16.Bb2 saw the bishop-pair start to dominate in Borsilav Ivkov - Stanimir Nikolić, Vrnjačka Banja (Yugoslavia) 1971 (1-0, 41 moves). The engines reckon 13...dxc4!? 14.Bxc4 Na5 is an improvement for Black.

12...Bd7 13.a4 c4!?

This seems to be a novelty, and is liked by the engines, along with another apparent-novelty in 13...Na5!? However, they are also OK with the known 13...Qc7. One point about the text is that it is far from clear if White will be able to get in the move e4, which is the usual counter when Black pushes on with ...c4 in the circumstances of this game.

14.Ba3 Ne4 15.Rc1!? Re6!?

What should White play?

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16.Bxc6

The engines suggest 16.Bxc4!? dxc4 17.d5, but reckon 17...Rg6 18.dxc6 Bxc6 19.Qxd8+ Rxd8 leaves Black at least slightly better.

16...Bxc6 17.Ne5 Qe8 18.Nxc6?!

This saves a5, but gives up a well-posted knight. The engines suggest 18.a5!? bxa5 19.f3 Ng3 20.Re1. but give Black the upper hand. Note that 18.Nxc4?? is a blunder in view of 18...dxc4 19.d5 Bxa4.

18...Qxc6

How would you assess this middlegame?

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This bishop has a nice-looking diagonal, but Black can play around it, and otherwise the bishop has very little scope. Meanwhile, the knight is well-placed, and Black's lead in development gives kingside attacking chances. The engines agree Black has a positionally won game.

19.f3!?

The engines are OK with this, albeit slightly preferring 19.a5!? or 19.Re1.

19...Ng3 20.Re1

How should Black proceed?

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20...Rae8

White has a sharp reply to this, so probably better is the engines' 20...f5!?, fixing the e3 weakness.

How does White keep the game going?

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21.e4! f6

This is good enough for a sizeable advantage, but the engines much prefer 21...Nh5!? Note that 21...dxe4?? loses to 22.d5.

22.Kf2

Perhaps best is 22.Qd2!?, although 22...Qxa4 23.Ra1 Qc6 wins a sound pawn.

22...Qc7 23.Qd2?

Better is 23.e5 fxe5 24.dxe5 Rxe5 25.Qxd5+! Rxd5 26.Rxe8+ Kf7 27.Re7+ Qxe7 28.Bxe7 Kxe7 29.Kxg3, when material is level, but the rook-and-pawn ending strongly favours Black's two pawn islands against White's three.

23...dxe4 24.d5!?

Complicating in this manner seems White's best chance, although it should not work.

24...e3+ 25.Rxe3 Rxe3 26.d6 Qd7

Other moves also win.

27.Kxg3 Rd3 28.Qf4

28.Qf4 protects White's major asset, the d6 pawn, and threatens the devastating 29.Qxc4+, but Black has a simple answer

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28...Qxa4 29.Bb4 Qb5 30.h4!?

This is liked by the engines, but it poses little threat.

30...Qe5 31.Qxe5 Rxe5 32.Kg4 Kf7 33.Ra1 a5 34.Ba3 Ke6 35.Rb1 b5 36.f4?

This loses on the spot, but the engines reckon Black's advantage is anyway the equivalent being more than a rook up (Stockfish18), or even up the equivalent of a rook and a minor piece (Dragon1).

36...h5#

TEAM RESULT

Bo.	18	Israel 2	Rtg	-	13	England 3	Rtg	2 : 2
9.1		Yad-Shalom, Ido	0	-		Spanton, Tim R	2003	0 - 1
9.2		Reem, Meir	1772	-		Freeman, Jon A	1950	1 - 0
9.3		Idesis, Yaacov	1821	-		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	1 - 0
9.4		Khokhlov, Yurii	1601	-		Wilson, Edgar	1903	0 - 1

European 65+ Team: Game One

Playing hall

England 3 v Finland

Spanton (2003) - Heikki Westerinen (GM 2205)

Spanish Exchange

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 Bd7 8.Nc3 0-0-0 9.Be3 Bd6 10.0-0-0

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

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As usual in the Exchange Variation of the Spanish, especially in lines with an early d4, the battle has quickly become a queenless-middlegame clash between Black's bishop-pair and White's better pawn-structure. Stockfish18 and Dragon1 reckon Black has the better part of equality, which is more-or-less borne out by the score from this position in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database of +13=38-17, ie Black scores 53% over 68 games.

10....Ne7 11.Nb3!? Ng6

Three games in Mega26 saw 11...b6?, when 12.Bxb6 wins a pawn, but possibly even better is 12.Rxd6!? cxd6 13.Bxb6, when Wilhelm Schönmann - Josef Lokvenc, German Chess Federation Congress (Frankfurt) 1923, continued 13...Rde8 14.Rd1 f5 15.Rxd6 fxe4 16.Nc5 Bf5 17.a4, with much more than enough for the exchange, according to the engines (1-0, 34 moves).

12.Nc5

How should Black proceed?

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12...Rhe8!?

Euwe preserved the bishop-pair with 12...Be8 in a 1920 game, but the engines reckon White is fine after both 13.h4 and 13.Nd3. The text is Dragon1's top choice, at least for a while, and Stockfish18 also comes to rate it highly, but the engines also like 12...h5 and 12...Nh4, and Dragon1 eventually rates Euwe's move and 12...Nh4 as equally good.

13.Nxd7 Rxd7 14.a3!?

An apparent-novelty, played to prevent 14...Bb4, but the engines prefer 14.f3, or another apparent-novelty in 14.h4!?

14...Ne5 15.f3?!

This is probably a mistake. The engines suggest 15.Bf4.

15...Nc4 16.Bf2 Bf4+ 17.Kb1

Black to play and gain at least the upper hand

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17...Bd2?!

Much better, according to the engines, is 17...Red8, when one of their main line runs 18.Bh4!? Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 20.Nxd1 Bxh2, netting Black a pawn, while they agree 18.Rxd7 Rxd7 19.Nd1 Rd2 20.g3 Bh6 leaves White positionally lost.

18.Na4

Not 18.Be1? Red8, when 19.Bxd2 Rxd2 20.Rxd2 Rxd2 21.Rg1 Ne3 leaves Black winning the g2 or c2 pawn.

18...b6

White seems fine after 18...Red8 19.Nc5.

19.Ka2 Red8 20.Kb3?!

Probably better is 20.b3. I was worried that 20...Nxa3!? 21.Kxa3 Bb4+ 22.Kxb2 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 Rxd1 was strong, but the engines give Black at best a slight edge.

20...Be3!? 21.Rxd7 Rxd7 22.Bxe3?!

Almost certainly better is 22.Kxc4, eg 22...b5+ 23.Kb4 Bxf2 24.Nc3, although the engines give Black the upper hand after, for example, 24...Bd4. Black could try the immediate 22...Bxf2, but 23.Nc3 b5+ 24.Kb3 c5 is, according to the engines, only slightly better for Black.

22...Nxe3 23.Kc3

What should Black play?

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23...g6

Possibly best is 23...Nd1+ 24.Kb3 Rd2 25.Re1, and now either 25...g6 or 25...a5, slowly increasing the pressure. The engines also like 23...Rd6, and they agree the text leaves Black positionally winning.

24.g3 c5 25.Re1 Nd1+ 26.Kb3 c4+?!

'Clever', but premature, whereas the engines' 26...Rd2 27.h4 c4+! 28.Ka2 c3! is very strong, eg 29.Nxc3 Nxc3+ 30.bxc3 Rxc2+ 31.Kb3 Rg2 32.g4 Rf2 33.Re3 Rh2, or 29.bxc3 b5 30.Kb1!? bxa4 31.Kc1 Rg2 32.Kxd1 Rxg3.

27.Ka2 g5?!

The engines give 27...b5 and 27...Rd2, in both cases claiming complete equality.

White to play and gain at least a slight edge

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28.g4?!

The engines suggest 28.Kb1, eg 28...Rd6 29.Kc1 Nf2 30.Nc3, when Black's initiative is spent, and White remains with the better pawn-structure.

28...Nf2 29.Re2?!

And here the engines much prefer 29.Nc3.

29...Nh3 30.Nc3 Nf4 31.Rf2 b5 32.Kb1 c5

Perhaps best is 32...Rd6 33.Kc1 Rh6, but White seems fine after 34.Ne2.

33.Kc1 Kc7 34.Rd2?!

The engines strongly dislike this, claiming 34.Ne2 and 34.h4!? give complete equality.

34...Rd4?!

Black has an edge after this, but the engines prefer 34...Rxd2!? 35.Kxd2 b4, eg 36.Nb1 Kc6!? 37.Ke3 Ne6!? 38.h3 Kb5 39.e5!? Ka4 (threatens 40...c3!) 40.axb4 cxb4 41.Ke4 h6!? 42.Kd5 Kb5, when White does not seem to have a good move, eg 43.Nd2 c3 44.bxc3 bxc3 45.Nb3 a5 46.Nc1 Nf4+ 47.Kd4 Nxh3 48.Kxc3 Ng1, after which f3 drops, and White has to contend with a passed a pawn. That is a very long line, with many alternatives along the way, but it illustrates White's difficulties.

35.Nd1

White comes close to equalising with 35.e5!?, according to the engines.

35...Kd6 36.Ne3 Ke5

The engines suggest 36...Ke6!?, and if, as in the game, 37.Nf5, then 37...Rxd2 38.Kxd2 Ng6!?, with what they claim is the upper hand for Black.

37.Nf5 Rxd2 38.Kxd2 h5

Here too the engines suggest 38...Ng6!?, but claim only a slight edge for Black, at best, the difference between the two lines presumably being due to the black king, in the second line, blocking the black knight's access to the e5 square.

39.gxh5 Nxh5 40.Ke3 Nf4 41.Ne7 Kd6 42.Nf5+

Not 42.Nc8+?? as 42...Kd7 traps the white knight.

42...Ke5 43.Ne7 f6 44.Nf5 b4!?

How should White respond?

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45.axb4!?

Also holding is 45.a4, but 45.c3? loses to 45...b3 as Black has ...Nd3 to come.

45...cxb4

Black's queenside pawns are straightened out, but White has enough threats to neutralise them

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46.Ne7 Kd6 47.Ng8

Not 47.Nf5+? as 47...Kc5 is very strong, eg 48.Kd2 Ng6 49.Kc1!? a5 (49...Ne5?! runs into 50.h4! gxh4 51.Nxh4) 50.b3 c3 51.Kd1 Kc6!? 52.Ke2 Nf4+ 53.Kd1 Kb5 54.Nd6+ Kc5 55.Nf5 Ng2 56.Ke2 a4!? 57.bxa4 Kb6 58.Kd1 Ka5 59.Nd4 Kxa4 60.Kc1 Ka3 61.Kb1 Ne3 62.Nb5+ Ka4 63.Nd4 Nf1 64.h3 Nd2+ 65.Ka2 Ka5 66.e5!? fxe5 67.Nc6+ Kb5 68.Nxe5 Ka4, when, at the end of another long engine-generated line, White is suddenly in zugzwang. Again there were lots of alternatives along the way, but Black was having all the fun.

47...Ke5 48.Ne7 Kd6 ½–½

TEAM RESULT

Bo.	13	England 3	Rtg	-	4	Finland	Rtg	2 : 2
4.1		Spanton, Tim R	2003	-	GM	Westerinen, Heikki M.J.	2205	½ - ½
4.2		Freeman, Jon A	1950	-	FM	Henttinen, Markku I.O.	2176	½ - ½
4.3		Guilfoyle, John M	1921	-		Joentausta, Hannu	2092	½ - ½
4.4		Wilson, Edgar	1903	-	FM	Vinke, Dietmar	2042	½ - ½