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.

Miniatures 4

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

Spanton (ungraded) - Colin Mackenzie (172 BCF)

Sutton Easter 1989

Stonewall Attack*

1.d4 e6 2.e3 b6 3.f4

Stockfish17 and Dragon1 recommend 3.e4!?, with Dragon1 claiming White is slightly better.

3...Nf6 4.Bd3 Bb7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Nbd2 Qc7 7.c3?!

The engines are happy with this, but one of the points of the Stonewall Attack is be able to recapture on d4 with the e pawn if Black plays ...cxd4. So probably better is 7.0-0, intending to meet 7...cxd4 with 8.exd4, when 8...Qxf4!? is playable but risky.

7...cxd4 8.cxd4 Nd5 9.Nb3

Black threatened ...Nxe3.

9....Bb4+

Continuing to target e3.

10.Kf2 a5 11.Bd2 a4!? 12.Bxb4?! Nxb4

How should White proceed?

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13.Rc1?

Black is only slightly better after 13.Nc1, according to the engines.

13...N8c6

This is enough for a good advantage, but best may be 13...Bxf3!? 14.gxf3, and now 14...N8c6.
14.Na1?!

Almost certainly better is 14.d5.

14...Nxa2 15.Nc2? 0-1

LESSON: success can hardly be hoped for if simple tactical errors proliferate,
*I was much taken at the time with the book How To Think Ahead In Chess, in which Al Horowitz and Fred Reinfeld recommended this opening for White.

British 65+ Championship Round One

Mike O'Mahony (1726 ECF/1780 Fide) - Spanton (1947 ECF/1982 Fide)

Stonewall Attack

1.d4 d5 2.e3 e6 3.Bd3 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.f4!?

Emanuel Lasker in an 1892 game played 5.Nf3, switching into a Colle, not that he would have realised it at the time - Edgard Colle was born five years later.

This position occurs 227 times in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database

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5...Bd6!?

More popular are 5...f5!? and 5...Nf6, but the text has been played by Wilhelm Steinitz,
Fedor Duz-Khotimirsky and Daniel King.

6.Nf3 Bd7

Stockfish17 and Dragon1 like Steinitz's 6...Nh6!?

7.Qe2

Frank Marshall preferred 7.Nbd2 in a 1908 game against Duz-Khotimirsky.

7...Nf6 8.g3!?

This has been played by a 2221, but is not liked by the engines, which suggest 8.Ne5 or 8.0-0.

8...Ne4!?

The engines agree this is an improvement over the known 8...Qe7.

9.Nbd2

The engines suggest giving up White's better bishop with 9.Bxe4 dxe4 10.Nfd2, but agree 10...f5 gives Black a slight edge.

9...f5 10.Ne5 Nxe5

The engines like this, but reckon giving up Black's better bishop with 10...Bxe5!? may be slightly better, whichever way White recaptures.

11.fxe5 Be7 12.Nf3

The engines dislike this, preferring 12.0-0 or 12.a4.

12...g5!?

Gaining space, albeit in a way that leaves the black king looking less safe.

13.Ng1!? 0-0

13...g4!? prevents White's next move, but leaves an outpost square at f4.

14.Nh3 Be8 15.0-0

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

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Black has more space on the kingside, and has the only piece in the opponent's half, and Black's bad bishop (e8) is better than White's bad bishop (c1). White's only plus of any significance is the spearhead pawn on e5. The engines give Black the upper hand.

15...Bg6 16.Bd2 a6 17.a4 Rc8 18.Bc1?

If this were White's best move, White would be in a bad way indeed, but the chances of it being best are negligible. The engines suggest 18.Nf2 or 18.b4!?

18...Qe8 19.Qg2 Bh5 20.Be2!? Bxe2 21.Qxe2 g4!?

Giving up the f4 square, but gaining more space and highlighting the weakness of Black's kingside light squares.

22.Nf4 Ng5

The engines much prefer 22...Bg5.

23.Kg2 Qf7 24.Bd2

The bishop has spent three tempi getting here from its starting square.

24...Qg7 25.Rh1 Rc6!?

A multi-purpose move - defending e6, allowing quick doubling on the c file, and possibly preparing pressure down the b file.

How should White respond?

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26.h3

The engines fluctuate between several moves, including 26.Rac1, 26.Rad1 and 26.c4!?, the idea after 26.c4!? dxc4 being to continue 27.Bc3!?, but Black remains better.

26...gxh3+ 27.Nxh3?!

Probably better is the engines' 27.Kf1!?, leaving capture of the h3 pawn to later.

27...Ne4 28.Be1?!

Another probable improvement is 28.Rag1!?, when the g3 pawn is poisoned, eg 28...Nxg3? 29.Qf3 Ne4+ 30.Kh2! Ng5 31.Nxg5 Bxg5 32.Rxg5! Qxg5 33.Rg1.

After the text, how should Black proceed?

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28...cxd4!

Other moves also keep an advantage, but this is strongest.

29.cxd4

If 29.exd4, then 29...f4!

29...Bh4

Going after the g pawn, but the engines reckon 29...Rfc8 is much stronger.

30.Nf4

Even so there seems to be no defence.

30...Nxg3

The engines point out 30...Bxg3! is possible, meeting 31.Nh5 with 31...Qg6, when 32.Bxg3 (32.Nxg3 is even worse) runs into 32...f4! 33.exf4 Nxg3 34.Nxg3 Rc2 etc.

31.Bxg3 Qxg3+ 32.Kf1

How should Black continue?

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32...Rfc8

Not 32...Rc2?, which wins after 33.Qxc2? Qf3+ 34.Kg1 Qxe3+, eg 35.Kg2 Qg3+ 36.Kf1 Qxf4+ 37.Kg2 Qg4+ 38.Kf1 Kh8 etc. But White has 33.Rh3!, which the engines reckon gives complete equality, eg 33...Rxe2 34.Rxg3+ Bxg3 35.Nxe2 Bh4 36.Nf4 Kf7 37.Rc1 with good play for a pawn.

33.Rd1

Possibly slightly better is 33.Rg1!? Rc1+ 34.Qd1! Rxd1+ 35.Rxd1 Qxg1+ 36.Kxg1, but after 36...Bg5!? Black has at least the upper hand, according to the engines, thanks to being a pawn up and, in contrast to the last note, having the more-active rook.

33...Rc2 34.Qxc2??

This allows Black a quick mate, but after 34.Rh3! Qg5! 35.Nxe6 Qg6 36.Nf4 Rxe2 37.Nxg6 Rf2+ 38.Kg1 hxg6 39.Rxh4 Rxb2 Black has a good double-rook-and-pawn ending. Alternatively 34.Rg1 Qxg1+ 35.Kxg1 Rxe2 36.Nxe2 Rc2 is very good for Black.

34...Qf3+ 0-1

Embarrassing Ending

BACK at Bradford for a three-day, five-round U171 tournament, which I won in 2016 and did horribly in last year.
My round-one game this evening was reasonably played on both sides ... until we reached a king-and-pawn-ending.
Richard Desmedt (144) - Spanton (167)
Stonewall Attack
1. d4 d5 2. e3 Nc6 3. f4 Bf5
Chigorin played 3... Nh6 at London 1899, drawing with Showalter and losing to Tinsley.
4. c3 f6!?
Hoping to smash White's central wall with a quick ...e5, but ...e5 does not
come until move 19.
5. Nf3 Qd6 6. Bb5
This may be a new move. 6. b3 was played in a Swedish game by a 1959.
6... a6 7. Qa4 Rb8 8. Bxc6+ Qxc6 9. Qxc6+ bxc6

The queens have come off early

White has stopped a quick ...e5 and has broken up Black's queenside pawns, but at the cost of giving up his good bishop.
10. b3
An exchange of dark-square bishops must help White.
10... Nh6
Nevertheless it might have been better for me to play 10... e6 11. Ba3 Bd6, so that 12. Bxd6 cxd6 would reinforce Black's centre.
11. Ba3 a5
Hoping to prove a weakness at b3, but I had not seen far enough ahead.
12. Nbd2 a4 13. Ke2 Kd7
13... axb3 14. axb3 Bc2 is no threat as I cannot capture on b3 with my bishop because of a subsequent pin along the b file.
14. h3 e6 15. Bc5!?
My main analysis engines Stockfish9 and Komodo9 slightly prefer 15. Bxf8, but they do not hate the text.
15... Bxc5 16. dxc5 Rb5 17. b4 Re8 18. Nd4 Rbb8 19. N2f3
The engines give 19. g4 Bg6 20. N4f3!? with what they reckon is a roughly equal position.
19... e5 20. fxe5 fxe5 21. Nxf5 Nxf5 22. Kf2 e4 23. Nd4?!
Although the engines reckon White can get away with this, I thought it was rather risky.
23... Nxd4 24. exd4 Rf8+ 25. Ke2 Rf6 26. Rhf1 Rbf8 27. Rxf6 Rxf6

A difficult position for White, whatever he plays

28. Rf1?
The king-and-pawn ending should be lost for White with correct play. But even if White keeps a pair of rooks on, Black can carry on probing.
28... Rxf1 29. Kxf1 Ke6
My original idea was 29... Kc8 30. Ke2 Kb7 31. Ke3 Ka6, which does indeed
seem to win, but the text is fine too, although it requires more-precise play.
30. Ke2 Kf5 31. Ke3 h5 32. g3 h4?
White is in big trouble after 32... a3, eg 33. h4 g6 (but not 33... Kg4? 34. c4! Kf5 35. cxd5 cxd5 36. b5 with a draw) 34. Kf2 Kg4
33. g4+ Ke6 34. Kf4?
34. a3 seems to draw as neither side can make progress.
34... Kd7?
Again 34... a3, and if 35. Ke3 the engines give 35... g6, eg 36. Kf4 g5+ 37.
Ke3 Kd7 with lines similar to my original idea of 29...Kc8
35. c4?
35. a3= K9/S9.
35... dxc4 36. Kxe4 Ke6?
36... a3 is still key, eg 37. Ke3 Ke6 38. Ke4 g5 39. Kf3 Kd5 40. Ke3 c3 41. Kd3 c2 42. Kxc2 Kc4! and Black wins (K9/S9).
37. a3! g5 38. d5+??
38. Kf3 holds, ie 38... Kd5 39. Ke3 c3 40. Kd3 c2 41. Kxc2 Kc4 (or 41... Kxd4 42. Kd2) 42. Kc1! Kxd4 43. Kd2 and White draws thanks to having the opposition (K9/S9).
The game finished:
38... cxd5+ 39. Kd4 c6 40. Kc3 Ke5 41. Kd2 Kd4 42. Kc1 c3 43. Kc2 Kc4 44. Kc1 d4 45. Kc2 d3+ 46. Kd1 Kb3 47. b5 Kb2 48. bxc6 c2+ 49. Kd2 c1=Q+ 0-1