Miniatures 37

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Spanton (147 BCF) - A Darrington (?)

Highbury (London) Rapid 1991

Pirc

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be2!?

A modest continuation, but it develops a piece, and has been played by many grandmasters, including Garry Kasparov. One idea is to play a quick Be3, without fearing ...Ng4.

How should Black respond?

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4...e6!?

The main move is 4...Bg7. Stockfish17 and Dragon1 do not like the text, which is not in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database.

5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Bg5 0-0!? 7.Qd2 Nc6 8.0-0-0

White's large lead in development and greater space give a positionally won game, according to the engines

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8....Bd7?

The engines suggest 8...a6 or 8...d7.

9.h4

Even stronger is 9.e5.

9...Qb8 10.h5 Ng4 11.hxg6!? Nxf2?

This forks White's rooks, but Black has to play 11...fxg6 to have any sort of chance of escaping defeat.

12.Rxh7 f6?!

Again ...fxg6 is better, but still losing.

13.Bh6 1-0

LESSON: there are many mainstream defences in which Black falls well-behind in development or space, but none, as far as I know, in which Black falls behind in both.

Miniatures 36

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

D Jerome (101 BCF) - Spanton (147 BCF)

Highbury (London) Rapid 1991

King's Gambit

1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d5!? 4.fxe5? dxe4

How can White keep damage to a minimum?

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5.d4?

The engines give 5.Ng5!, when, after 5...Qxg5 6.d4 Qh4+!? 7.g3 Qe7 8.dxc5 Qxe5, White is a pawn down, but at least has the bishop-pair.

5...exf3 6.dxc5

At first glance White might seem OK, but the white queen cannot be saved

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6...f2+ 7.Ke2 Bg4+ 0-1

LESSON: in the King's Gambit, White is particularly sensitive on the h4-e1 diagonal.

Miniatures 35

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

William Watson (239 BCF) - Spanton (147 BCF)

Highbury (London) Rapid 1991

Spanish Berlin

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Be7!?

This has been largely superseded by 5...Nd6, heading for a Berlin Wall.

6.dxe5

Most popular is 6.Qe2.

6...0-0 7.Qe2 d5 8.Rd1 Re8?

Probably a novelty, and not in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database. Known moves are 8...a6 and 8...Bg4.

How should White proceed?

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9.c4

The logical follow-up to 8.Rd1.

9...Be6 10.cxd5

Even stronger. according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1, is 10.Be3.

10...Bxd5 11.Bd3?!

This seems to throw away White's advantage, whereas 11.Bf4 gives the upper hand, according to the engines.

What should Black play?

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11...Nc5!

An only-move (11...f5? 12.Bc4), but it gives complete equality, according to the engines.

How should White continue?

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12.Bc2??

Even grandmasters can blunder (Watson was awarded the title in 1990). The bishop could have been safely preserved by 12.Bb5 or 12.Bf5, but not the text.

12...Bxf3! 13.Qxf3 Nxe5??

Turning a win into a loss, whereas 13...Nd4 (13...Qc8!? is good enough for equality, according to the engines) leaves White without a good answer, eg 14.Qg4 Nxc2! 15.Rxd8 Raxd8, when Black gets more than enough for a queen. Another line given by the engines runs 14.Bxh7+!? Kxh7 15.Qh3+ Kg8 16.Nc3 Nce6, when White has nowhere near enough for a knight.

14.Qh3 Bd6?!

Other moves are a little better, but still losing.

15.Qxh7+ Kf8 16.Qh8+ Ke7 17.Qxg7 Kd7 18.Bg5 Qc8 19.Bf5+ Ne6 20.Qxe5 1-0

LESSON: a GM rarely gives a club player the chance to claim his scalp, but if the chance is not immediately taken, it is unlikely to be repeated.

Miniatures 33

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Spanton (147 BCF) - N Foster (200 BCF)

Barbican (London) Rapid1990

Nimzowitsch Defence

1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.g3!?

The main continuations in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database are 5.c3 and especially 5.Bd3.

5...f6!?

This immediate attack on the white centre is a rare continuation but is liked by Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1.

6.exf6 Qxf6!?

How should White proceed?

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7.Bg5?

The engines suggest 7.c3 or 7.Bg2, with what they reckon is equality.

7...Bxc2! 8.Qe2

Or 8.Bxf6 Bxd1 9.Kxd1 (forced) gxf6, when Black is a sound pawn up.

8...Qf5 9.Nc3?

Better is 9,Nbd2, developing and protecting the king's knight.

9...Bb4?

Missing the strength of 9...Be4.

10.h4?

The bishop should be moved, probably to e3.

10...Be4 11.Bg2 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 Qxf3 13.Bxf3 Nxd4

Winning a second healthy pawn.

14.Bd1 Nf6 15.0-0 0-0 16.Rc1 c6 17.a3 Bd6 18.Be3 Nf5 19.Re1?! 0-1

LESSON: success against a much higher-rated opponent is made infinitely harder if basic tactical mistakes are committed while still in the opening.

Miniatures 32

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

R White (?) - Spanton (147 BCF)

Highbury (London) Rapidplay 1990

King's Indian Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d3!?

White, going first, can afford liberties like this, which may be why the position after 3.d3!? occurs 4,216 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, with players on the white side including Nimzowitsch, Capablanca, Barcza, Benko, Shirov, Ehlvest, Topalov and Gukesh. Perhaps the idea is to take the opponent out of book, but it is also possible, as happens in this game, to transpose into lines of the King's Indian Attack with a quick g3.

3...Nf6 4.Nbd2 Be7 5.g3 d6

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 reckon 5...d5 gives Black a slight edge.

6.Bg2 Bg4 7.0-0 Qd7!?

Raising the spectre of opposite-side castling

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8.Re1 0-0!?

Cold feet? I cannot recall, but, for what it is worth, the engines are not keen on castling on either side at this point, suggesting instead 8...h5!?

9.c3 Ne8!?

Probably a novelty - the move is not in Mega26.

10.Nf1 Bh3 11.d4 Bxg2 12.Bxg2 exd4

How should White recapture?

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13.Nxd4!? 

Dragon1 prefers 13.cxd4, but Stockfish17.1 fluctuates between the two moves.

13...Nf6 14.h3 Rfe8 15.Nf5!?

The engines strongly dislike this, preferring 15.Bf4 or 15.f3!?

15...Bf8

Preserving the bishop-pair and unmasking pressure against e4. The engines now suggest 16.c4, albeit awarding Black a slight edge.

16.Qg4?? 0-1

RW resigned without waiting for 16...Nxg4.

LESSON: blunders do not come much bigger than putting the queen en prise, but there is always an underlying cause for such moves, and here I suggest it was a case of concentrating so much on one's own threats that the opponent's possibilities were overlooked.

Miniatures 31

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

P Orn (150 BCF) - Spanton (147 BCF)

Highbury (London) Rapidplay 1990

QGD

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 0-0 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Be2!?

This has been played by grandmasters, but trails 7.cxd5, 7.Qc2, 7.Bd3 and especially 7.Rc1 in popularity.

7...dxc4!?

Offering a transposition, which is accepted, to 7.Bd3 lines.

8.Bxc4

This position occurs 2,244 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database

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8...Nd5!? 9.Bxe7 Nxe7 10.0-0

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

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White's extra central space and lead in development give a slight edge, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1.

10...c5 11.Qc2 cxd4 12.Nxd4 b6?

Better is 12...Nf6.

How can White exploit Black's last move?

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13.Qe4

White has the upper hand after this, according to the engines, but they prefer 13.R(either)-d1 and 13.Bxe6!? fxe6 14.Nxe6  Qe8 15.Nc7 etc.

13...Rb8 14.Bd3

Again the engines like R(either)-d1, but not 14.Bxe6?? as Black has 14...Nc5.

14...Nf6 15.Qf4 Bb7 16.Bc2 Ned5 17.Nxd5 Qxd5 18.f3??

Spotting one threat (18...Qxg2#), but missing:

18...e5

The game finished:

19.Be4 exf4 0-1

LESSON: don't stop thinking when you have spotted an opponent's threat - the most dangerous moves have more than one idea.

Miniatures 29

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Peter Szabo (141 BCF) - Spanton (147 BCF)

Barbican (London) Rapid 1990

King's Indian Attack

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nbd7!? 4.0-0

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 suggest preventing ...e5 with 4.d4, or attacking Black's centre with 4.c4.

4...e5 5.d3 Be7 6.Nbd2 0-0

With both sides castling early, how would you assess the position?

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It looks like a Pirc, but with colours reversed and 'White' - Black in this case - having played the queen's knight to a somewhat unusual square. The engines reckon the position is equal.

7.c3 c6 8.e4 dxe4 9.dxe4

The engines prefer 9.Nxe4.

9...Qc7 10.Qe2 Nc5

The engines suggest 10...a5 or 10...Rd8.

How should White proceed?

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11.b4?!

Kicking the knight, before Black consolidates its position with ...a5, is normal in this type of position, but here specific analysis suggests it is too weakening. The engines suggest 11.Nc4 or 11.a4.

11...Na4 12.Qd3 Rd8 13.Qc2 Nb6

The engines like 13...b5!?

14.Nb3

White maintains equality with 14.Bb2, according to the engines.

14...Be6 15.Nfd2?!

The engines strongly dislike this, suggesting 15.Be3 or 15.Nc5!?

15...Nc4

Black has an edge after this, but even better, according to the engines, are 15...Na4 and 15...Nbd7!?

16.Rd1 Bg4 17.f3??

White is only slightly worse after 17.Re1.

17...Ne3 0-1

Resignation is not premature as, after 18.Qb1 Nxd1, White can hardly play 19.fxg4?! as Black has 19...Qb6+ etc.

LESSON: when an enemy knight is established on your fourth rank, tactics are rarely far away.

Miniatures 28

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Spanton (147 BCF) - William Upton (?)

Highbury (London) Rapid 1990

Nimzowitsch Defence

1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 Nf6?!

There are 200 examples of this position in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, but Black already has a lost game, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1

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3.Nc3!?

There seems no good reason not to play 3.d5.
3...d5 4.e5

This is a relatively mainstream position, reached 897 times in Mega26

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4...Bg4??

Normal is 4...Nd7, as played by Magnus Carlsen, although Edgar Colle back in 1925 preferred 4...Ng8.

5.f3 Bh5 6.exf6 gxf6 7.Bd3 Bh6?? 8.Bxh6 Nxd4 9.Bb5+ Qd7?? 10.Bxd7+ Kxd7 11.Qxd4 Rag8!? 12.Qxd5+ Ke8 13.0-0-0 e6 14.Qd8#

LESSON: for once I am lost for words.

Miniatures 26

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

J Martin (140 BCF) - Spanton (147 BCF)

London (Barbican) Rapid 1990

QGD Semi-Tarrasch

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nxd5!?

This occurs 143 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, and has been played by grandmasters, but more popular are 6.g3, 6.e3 and especially 6.e4.

6...Qxd5 7.e3 Nc6 8.Bb5 Bd7

Benoît Colin - Alexander Alekhine, Bern 1932, went 8...cxd4 8.Qxd4?? Qxb5 0-1.

9.0-0 cxd4 10.Bxc6

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 suggest making a gambit of it with 10.Qe2!?

10...Bxc6 11.Qxd4 Be7!?

Can White safely grab the g pawn?

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My opponent thought so, but he was wrong.

12.Qxg7? 0-0-0!?

Offering a second pawn, but it too is poisoned.

13.Qe5

The engines suggest 13.Re1 or 13.e4, but agree Black is winning.

13...Rhg8 14.Qxd5 Bxd5

Queens are off the board, but Black still has strong pressure against White's kingside, the obvious immediate threat being ...Bxf3.

15.Kh1

The engines give 15.e4!? Bxe4 16.Ne1, but 16...Rd1 leaves Black with a large advantage.

Black to play and win

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16...Rxg2!

Not the only way to win, but the most convincing.

17.Kxg2 Rg8+ 18.Kh3 Bxf3 0-1

Mate cannot be prevented.

LESSON: grabbing a pawn in front of your castled king often gives the opponent lots of compensation.

Miniatures 22

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Spanton (151 BCF) - Dan Mayers (178 BCF)

Barbican (London) Rapid 1990

Alekhine Defence

1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3!?

International master John Cox stated in Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence that in his experience with the opening he faced 2.Nc3!? more than half of the time.

2...d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Bc4!? Nxc3!?

More popular are 4...e6, 4...c6 and especially 4...Nb6, all of which score slightly better than the text in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database.

5.Qf3!? e6 6.dxc3!?

Slightly more common is 6.Qxc3, with pressure against g7, but Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 prefer text.

6...Nc6

How should White proceed?

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7.Ne2?!

Probably better is 7.Qe2, clearing the f3 square for the white king's knight, and preventing 7...Ne5.

7...Ne5 8.Bb5+!? c6 9.Qe4 Qd5 10.Qxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 Bd6 12.Be3 0-0 13.Kd2?! Ng4!? 14.f3 Nxe3 15.Kxe3 c5!? 16.Rae1??

Completely missing one of the points - arguably the only point - of Black's last move. Necessary is 16.b3, albeit Black is better.

16...c4 0-1

LESSON: when the opponent makes a move that does not seem at first glance to have much going for it, there are two possibilities - either the move really does not have much going for it, or you have missed the idea entirely.

Miniatures 20

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Spanton (151 BCF) - N Rutherford (105 BCF)

Barbican (London) Rapid 1990

St George Defence

1.e4 a6 2.d4 b5

This is how Tony Miles with black beat Anatoly Karpov in a 1980 game.

3.c4!?

Karpov preferred the more conventional 3.Nf3.

3...Bb7!? 4.cxb5 axb5 5.Bxb5 Bxe4 6.Nf3 Bxb1!? 7.Rxb1 Rxa2?!

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 dislike this.

How should White proceed?

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8.0-0

This is not bad, but strongest is 8.Qb3, according to the engines.

8...Ra8!?

The engines fluctuate between this and 8...Nf6, coming to prefer the latter.

9.Ne5

9.d5!? is suggested by the engines.

9...Nf6 10.g4?!

Again the engines like d5.

10...c6!?

This is the engines' top choice.

11.Qf3 d6??

Black is fine after 11...Qb6!?, according to the engines.

12.Nxc6 1-0

LESSON: when behind in development, and especially if uncastled, one slip can be fatal.

Miniatures 19

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Spanton (151 BCF) - Geoffrey Stearn (158 BCF)

Highbury (London) Rapid 1990

Spanish Schliemann

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Qe2!?

This is only sixth-most popular in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, but has been played by grandmasters.

4...fxe4 5.Qxe4 Nf6 6.Qe2

How should Black proceed?

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6...Be7

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 suggest 6...Bd6!?, which is second in popularity to 6...e4?! (after the latter, White gets the upper hand with 7.d3, according to the engines).

7.Nxe5?

Better is 7.Bxc6 dxc6 8.Nxe5, although after 8...0-0 Black has some compensation for a pawn.

7...Nxe5 8.Qxe5 0-0

Black is a pawn down, but has more than enough compensation, according to the engines

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9.0-0 c6

The engines prefer 9...d5.

10.Ba4?

White needed to play 10.Be2, with equality, according to the engines.

10...d5 11.d4 Bd6 12.Qg5!?

The engines agree this is best, but the white queen remains a target, and White is short of pieces on the kingside.

12...Qc7 13.h3?

This natural-looking move is a mistake. Better is 13.Qh4 or 13.f4!?, but Black is winning, according to the engines.

13...Ne4 14.Qe3 Be6?!

Much stronger is 14...Bh2+ 15.Kh1 Bf4 16.Qe1 Bxc1 17.Qxc1 Nxf2+.

15.Nd2?

Better is 15.Nc3.

15...Bf4 16.Qe2 Bh2+ 17.Kh1 Rxf2 18.Qd3 Rxf1+ 0-1

LESSON: early development of the queen is fraught with danger - it often becomes a target for tempi-gaining moves by the opponent's minor pieces.

All About That Bass II

MOST of us have an opponent against whom nothing seems to work.

When the opponent is considerably stronger, this is not surprising, but when ratings are not so different, the results are harder to explain.

My biggest bogeyman is probably John Bass, whose record against me is +6=1-0.

Seven games is not a huge sample, but such a poor performance on my part must signify something.

So in this mini-series I am looking at my games against JB to try to discover what is going on.

Our second game was at a rapidplay event.

Bass (159) - Spanton (unrated)

London University Rapid 1989

1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4?!

This is much less popular than 4.Nc3, 4.Bc4 and especially 4.c3, but was a favourite of Emanuel Lasker in simuls.

4...exd4 5.Nxd4

Lasker liked 5.Bd3.

5...Nf6 6.Nc3 Qe7

Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 reckon there is little to choose between this and the commoner 6...0-0.

7.Qd3!? 0-0 8.Nb3?!

This seems to be a novelty, and is still not in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database; White should probably get on with development.

How should Black respond?

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8...Bb4?!

The engines reckon Black should also develop, with either 8...Na6 or 8...Nc6.

9.Bd2 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Nxe4 11.Qe3 Re8 12.0-0-0 Nxc3 13.Qxc3

How would you assess this middlegame?

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Black is a pawn up, and the engines reckon Black has a winning advantage, but positions with opposite-side castling are tricky to evaluate and tricky to play.

13...Bg4 14.Bb5!?

This is the engines' top choice.

14...Bxd1 15.Bxe8 Qxe8?!

Much better, according to the engines, is 15...Bxc2.

16.Re1 Qd7?

How should White proceed?

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17.Rxd1

Missing 17.Qxc7!

17...Nc6 18.Nd2 Re8 19.Nf3 h6 20.h3?

Possibly best is 20.g3, defending f4.

20...Re6

Even stronger is 20...Qf5.

21.g4 Qe8 22.Rd3?!

The engines much prefer contesting the open file with 22.Re1.

22...Re7

The active 22...Re4 is probably best.

23.b3 Qd7 24.Kb2 Qe6 25.f5 Qd7 26.Nh4!? Ne5 27.Rd1 f6?

This is very weakening.

How can White exploit Black's weak light squares?

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28.Ng2

The engines' 28.Qa5! seems to equalise as either a7 or b7 falls.

28...Qc6 29.Qd2 Qd7?

Too passive.

30.Nf4?!

Almost certainly better is 30.Qd5+ and 31.Qxb7.

30...Nc6?

The knight was fine where it was, whereas the queen's position could have been improved with 30...Qc6 or 30...Qb5.

31.Qd5+ Kh7 32.Ne6 Qe8 33.h4 b6?!

The engines suggest 33...Nd8 or 33...Ne5.

34.Re1 Ne5 35.g5 fxg5?!

Probably better is 35...Kh8 or 35...b5!?
36.hxg5 h5?

36...Kh8 is better, but still losing.

37.g6+ Nxg6

Or 37...Kh8 38.Qh1.

38.fxg6+ Qxg6 39.Nf8+ Kh6 40.Nxg6 Rxe1 41.Qd2+ 1-0

LESSON: once again JB showed better tactical control, helped by my weakening of the black king's position, and by my passive middlegame play.

Miniatures 10

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Spanton (151) - J Lewis (141)

Highbury (London) Rapidplay 1989

Stonewall Attack/King's Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.e3 g6

This is easily Black's commonest continuation in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database.

3.Bd3 Bg7 4.f4

Stockfish17 and Dragon1 like 4.e4!?, at first claiming White has an edge, although they come to call the position equal. They do not like the text.

4...0-0 5.Nf3

Again the engines reckon White's best is e4.

5...d6 6.Nbd2 Nbd7 7.c3?!

This is a standard move in the Stonewall Attack, but it has little relevance here as Black has not played ...c5 (threatening a possible ...c4), and there is no question of a black knight landing on b4.

7...c5 8.0-0 a6 9.a4 Rb8!?

This move does not appear in Mega25, which only has 9...b6 and 9...Qc7.

10.Qe2 Qc7 11.Ng5 e5!?

How should White proceed?

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12.Nde4?!

White has equal chances after 12.dxe5!? dxe5 13.f5, according to the engines.

12...Nxe4 13.Nxe4 d5 14.Nxc5 dxc5 15.fxe5??

A hard-to-explain blunder. After 15.dxc5 e4!? 16.Bc2 Qxc5 Black is better, but the game goes on.

15...Nxd3 16.Qxd3 Bf5 17.Rxf5!? gxf5 18.Qxf5 Qc6 0-1

LESSON: no amount of 'sophisticated' opening preparation will avail if gross blunders are not avoided.