4/11/2025 – The 2024 European Chess Championship in Romania drew nearly 400 players and concluded with Matthias Bluebaum claiming the title for a second time. Across eleven rounds, the tournament offered no shortage of drama and complexity. In this article, two games from the event are examined - both notable for their sharp conclusions and instructive endgame moments. Light annotations in the openings are followed by deeper analysis of the critical late-stage play. | Pictured: Mahammad Muradli from Azerbaijan (FIDE)
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[Note that Jon Speelman also looks at the content of the article in video format, here embedded at the end of the article.]
The recent European Championship in Romania, won by Matthias Bluebaum for a second time, was a massive affair with over a hundred grandmasters in a field of nearly four hundred. Over the course of the eleven rounds they contested something over two thousand games and I watched a number of these, mostly in fairly desultory fashion but taking more notice when the engine metaphorically beeped, suddenly changing value dramatically.
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Today I'm going to look at two of these games, which near their conclusion throw up some very interesting analysis. I've put some light notes in the openings (neither of which is in my repertoire) and then concentrated on melees which arose at the end. I'm taking them in chronological order.
There are numerous similar lines in the exchange Grunfeld, all slightly different - which may or may not lead to radically different tactical outcomes. This isn't my area of expertise, but I can say that this position has occurred over 150 times in my database of fairly recent games with the vast majority continuing as Navara did with Ne5.13...Ne513...Bxa114.Qxa1Nb415.0-0is obviously enormously dangerous, and my engine just says nearly +2 so +-.f614.0-0Nxf3+15.Bxf3Bd7With the knights exchanged it is much more plausible that Black could take the exchange and apparently this is playable after15...Bxa116.Qxa1f617.Rb1Rf7when e5 looks like the human move to me, though my engine slightly prefers the restrained17...a518.e518.Rb3Qd619.a418...Qd319.Bc3fxe520.Bxe5Rxf321.Rb3!16.Rb1Qxa217.Rxb7Ba418.Qe1Rfb819.Rxb8+19.Rxe7Bf620.d6Bb521.Be2Bxe222.Qxe2Bxe723.dxe7Re8This is still a mess, but the a-pawn looks like it could become a big factor later on.19...Rxb820.Bf4Re821.Qa5Bb322.Qc722.Qc5Qa423.Rb1keeps Black's bishop from d4.22...Bd423.Be3Bxe324.fxe3a525.Bg4Qd226.Qc5Bc227.Rf4a427...h528.Bd7Rb8made a lot of sense when White can't capture on e729.Qa729.Qxe7??Qxe3+30.Rf2Rb1+29...Rb1+30.Kh2Bxe4!31.Qa8+31.Rxe4Rb231...Kg732.Rxf7+Kxf733.Be6+Kg734.Qg8+Kh635.Qh8+35.Qf8+Kh736.Bg8+Kh8and since g6 is protected White still has nothing better than perpetual check.35...Kg536.Qe5+Kh628.Kh2g5?
This is the sort of move that you play to wind the enemy up. Since it "should" lose I suppose I should give it a "?". But in practice if Navara was getting nervous then it was a very decent idea, for the win is not at all easy to see.28...Rf829.h429.Rf529.Qc6!Rf829...gxf430.Qxe8+Kg731.Bh5Qxe332.Qxf7+Kh633.Bf3!+-Bxe434.Qf8+34.Qh5+Kg735.Qe5+Kf736.Qe6+Ke837.Qxe437.d6Bxf337...Qxe438.Bxe4a339.Bb1Kd740.Kg1Kd641.Ba2Ke542.Kf2Ke442...Kd443.Kf3Kc344.Kxf4Kb245.d6exd646.Bd5a247.Bxa2Kxa248.Ke4Kb349.Kd4Kc250.g4Kd251.g5Ke252.h443.Ke2h544.Kf2h445.Ke2Kd446.Kf3Kc347.Kxf4Kb248.d634...Kg635.Qg8+Kf636.Qe6+Kg737.Qxe7+Kg838.Qxe4a339.d629...Rb830.Qh6!still works.30.Qh6‼Qxe3!
Even after the engine told me that this was completely winning I spare I failed to spot the short poisonous sequence which proves this. If you'd like a clue, then I'll give it after the next pair of moves.30...gxf431.Bf531.Qxg5+31.Rf5f632.Rf3Qxe433.Be6+Rf7defends adequately.31...Kh8
The question that White now needs to ask himself is what colour squares he is attacking on - if you realise this, the solution perhaps shouldn't be too difficult to find.32.d6‼Destroying Black's dark squared defences and getting the pawn far enough advanced that in one crucial line it queens.exd632...Rg833.dxe7!Rxg534.e8Q+Rg835.Qe5+Rg736.Rxf7Qg537.Rf8#33.Qf6+Kg834.Bf3and mates.29.Rxf7Bxe430.Bf3Kxf731.Bxe4Qb232.Bf332.Qc7Qf632...Qe5+29...Bxe430.Rxg5+
30...Bg6This "looks" normal but the bishop is passive on g6, and instead Kh8 was correct.30...Kh8!31.Bd7Rg832.Qxe7Qxg2+32...Rxg5Is also sufficient but much less pretty33.Rxg2Rxg2+34.Kh1Rg4+=35.Kh2Rg2+=31.Bd7Ra831...Rb832.Qxe7was no better.32.Bc6Qa5?!
This allows an immediate clean kill, though other moves also lost32...Rb833.Qxe7a333...Qc334.Bxa433...Rb234.d634.Qxa3Rb435.Qa8+Kg736.Qe8Rb337.Qe5+Kg838.Rg332...a333.Bxa8a234.Qa3+-32...Ra633.Qxe7a334.Be8Qf235.d6a235...Rxd636.Qxd6a237.Qd4Qf138.Ra536.d7a1Q37.Bxf7+Qxf738.d8Q+Kg739.Qdf8#33.Qxa5Rxa534.d6!Rxg535.d7Kg736.d8QRe536...a337.Qd4+f638.Qa737.Bxa4f638.Qd4Be4?!Inaccuracy. Re4 was best.38...Re439.Qa7Re540.Bd1h641.Be2Be442.Bc4Bg643.Qd4Bf744.Be239.Bb3Bg640.Qc4Rxe341.Qg8+Kh642.Qf8+Kg543.h4+Kf544.Bc2+Ke6
45.Qg8+Personally I would have played45.Qh6but of course it doesn't matter a lot.1–0
In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.
Jonathan SpeelmanJonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.
3/26/2025 – The Romanian Chess Federation is hosting the 2025 European Championship, with over 330 players competing for titles, prize money and one of the 20 qualifying places for the World Cup. Romanian star Bogdan-Daniel Deac tops the seeding list. He is followed by some familiar names, including younger players like Daniel Dardha and experienced players like Pawel Eljanov. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 14.00 CET (9.00 ET, 18.30 IST)
3/12/2025 – The 2025 European Championship kicks off on Saturday in Eforie-Nord, Romania. As well as a €100,000 prize fund, the players will have the chance to qualify for the World Cup - with the top 20 players qualifying for the World Cup.
King’s Indian fans who choose the Mar del Plata attack (7...Nc6) against White’s classical system (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0) usually aim for a complex position with mutual attacks on open wings, requiring long-term strategic planning and tactical sharpness in critical moments. Computers often do not know how to handle the arising complex strategic positions, which suits players who like to think on their own instead of memorizing long variations. However, the fashionable Bayonet Attack (9.b4) interferes with Black’s ideas. After Black’s main move 9...Nh5 the positions opens, the lines get forced and computer analysis is important again. But this DVD offers an antidote against White’s Bayonet Attack, namely 9...a5! This move leads to sound positions with very few concrete lines, in which the focus is on strategy not on tactics. Objectively chances are equal but if Black knows what to do things might quickly become dangerous for White.
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