County Match

PLAYED on board 14 for Sussex away to Middlesex in the Southern Counties championship yesterday.
Spanton (170) - Jonathan Rubeck (166)
Scandinavian
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 c6 5.Bd2 Qc7
Black can grab a pawn after 5...Qb6, but he rarely does.
6.Bc4
Kasparov played 6.Bd3 in a 1998 simul.
6...Nf6 7.Nf3 Bf5

How should White proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
8.0-0
This popular move is strongly disliked by the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10, who prefer the unpopular 8.Nh4!?
8...e6 9.Re1 Bd6 10.Qe2 0-0
Again Black can grab a pawn, but on 10...Bxc2?! I was seriously considering 11.Bxe6!? Other moves, including 11.Bg5, also give White plenty of compensation for a pawn.
11.Bg5 Nbd7 12.Rad1 Rae8 13.Bxf6!?
Giving up the bishop-pair to prevent ...e5 (or weaken the black king's position in the event of 13...gxf6).
13...Nxf6 14.Ne5?!
More prudent is 14.h3.
14...Nd5 15.h3
White cannot capture on d5 because the reply ...exd5 pins the white knight. Perhaps best is 15.Bb3, but 15...Nxc3 16.bxc3 leaves Black with the better game. Another reasonable option is the retreat 15.Nf3.
15...Nxc3 16.bxc3 Bxe5 17.dxe5
White loses a pawn after 17.Qxe5!? Qxe5 18.dxe5 Bxc2, although 19.Rd7 gives some compensation.
17...Rd8 18.g4 Bg6 19.h4?!
19.f4 makes more sense, but advancing pawns in front of the king while queens remain on the board is usually double-edged at best, especially when the centre is not closed.
19...h6 20.h5 Bh7 21.Bd3 Qe7 22.Qe3 b6?!
Objectively a mistake, but it works out well for Black.
23.Bxh7+ Kxh7 24.Qe4+ Kg8 25.Qxc6?
Much better is 25.Rxd8 as it prevents Black's next.
25...Rc8 26.Qd6?
26.Qe4 Rxc3 27.Re3 gives defensive chances.
26...Qh4 27.Qd4 b5!?
Threatening ...Rc4.
28.Qxa7?
The engines give 28.Qf4 Rxc3 29.Re2, when Black has multiple pleasant continuations, and White's multiple weaknesses must be fatal.
The game finished:
28...Qxg4+ 29.Kf1 Rxc3 30.Qd4 Qh3+ 31.Kg1 Rc4 32.Rd3 Qxh5 33.Qe3 Rxc2 34.Rd2 Rfc8 35.Rde2 R2c4 36.f3 Rh4 37.Rg2 Rh1+ 38.Kf2 Rc2+ 39.Re2 Qh4+ 40.Rg3 Rh2+ 0-1

Marching On

MARCH has been my busiest ever month, as far as I can recall, for team chess.
For Battersea I lost to a 174, drew with a 169, drew with a 159 and beat a 165.
For Sussex I lost to a 173 and beat a 171.
For Hastings & St Leonards I beat a 148 and drew with a 152.

My updated first-season Battersea stats (CLL is Central London League; LL is London League):
Event..............Colour...Grade...Opponent's Grade...Result
CLL................White.....169.........183............................L
CLL................White.....169.........197............................L
LL...................Black.....169.........158............................W
CLL................White.....169.........158............................W
LL....................Black.....169........204............................L
CLL................White....169.........203.............................L
CLL..................Black.....169........180............................L
Eastman Cup...Black.....169........199............................D
CLL.................Black.....163.........172*...........................L
CLL.................White.....163.........153...........................W
LL...................White.....163.........188............................D
CLL.................Black......163.........166...........................L
LL...................White.....163.........150............................D
CLL.................Black.....163.........175............................D
CLL.................White.....163.........174............................L
LL....................White.....163.........169............................D
CLL.................White......163........159............................D
LL....................Black......163........165............................W
*Opponent has no official grade. Last published grade was 172 in 1997, which was pre-recalibration, and he was in the 180s before then.
Overall for Battersea I am +4=6-8 for a grading performance of 164.

Overall for Sussex this season I have lost to a 172, beaten a 169, lost to a 173 and beaten a 171, for a grading performance of 171.

Overall for Hastings & St Leonards this season I have beaten a 156, beaten a 148 and drawn with a 152, for a grading performance of 185.

It is said you can prove anything with statistics. That is an exaggeration but, despite my 185 grading performance for Hastings, there is no way I would rate my results there as better than my results for Sussex.
Indeed, it could be argued that my results for Battersea (no losses against lower-graded opponents, but a win against a higher-graded opponent, and with four of my six draws coming against higher-graded opponents) are better than for either Hastings or Sussex. I guess it is just a quirk of the English Chess Federation grading system.

Team Spanton

PLAYED five team games in the space of eight days.

I lost for Battersea against an Athenaeum 166.
I won for Sussex against a Kent 169.
I won for Hastings against a Tunbridge Wells 156.
I drew for Battersea against a Metropolitan 150.
I drew for Battersea against a West London 175.

My updated Battersea stats:

Date..........Event..............Colour...Grade...Opponent's Grade...Result
14/9/17.....CLL................White.....169.........183............................L
26/10/17...CLL................White.....169.........197............................L
1/11/17.....LL...................Black.....169.........158............................W
2/11/17.....CLL (Div2).....White.....169.........158............................W
15/11/17...LL....................Black.....169........204............................L
16/11/17...CLL (Div2)......White....169.........203.............................L
14/12/17...CLL..................Black.....169........180............................L
19/12/17...Eastman Cup...Black.....169........199............................D
10/1/18.....CLL.................Black.....163.........172*...........................L
16/1/18.....CLL.................White.....163.........153...........................W
17/1/18.....LL (Div 3).......White.....163.........188............................D
1/2/18.......CLL.................Black......163.........166...........................L
7/2/18.......LL (Div 3).......White.....163.........150............................D
8/2/18.......CLL (Div 2).....Black.....163.........175............................D
*Opponent has no official grade. Last published grade was 172 in 1997, which was pre-recalibration, and he was in the 180s before then.

Overall for Battersea I am +3=4-7 for a grading performance of 163.