Michael Adams and John Nunn have both become World Senior Chess Champions!
The World Senior Chess Championships were held in Terrasini, a small, pretty town near Palermo in Sicily, from 24th October until 5th November. As is now traditional in senior chess, there were two age groups, 50+ and 65+, with Open and Women’s sections in each case. The English delegation was relatively small with just two players in the 50+: Petra Nunn, who preferred to play in the Open section rather than the Women’s section, and top seed Mickey Adams. The 65+ section had a larger English contingent of eight players, with the leading names being top seed John Nunn, John Pigott, Terry Chapman, Tony Stebbings and myself. Travel to Sicily proved much easier than the difficult time most of us experienced when travelling to North Macedonia for the World Senior Team Championships in September, and everyone turned up on time with no major problems to report.
However, despite the weather being fantastic and the hotel beautifully located on the coast with wonderful sea views, the tournament didn’t get off to the best start as the players found a number of matters to challenge them. The first issue of note was that the Chief Arbiter wanted to enforce a ‘no draws in under 30 moves rule’, and this troubled quite a lot of the players who saw no reason for this restriction. Bearing in mind that we were all seniors, and this was an 11-round event, it was quite likely that some players would welcome the occasional short draw and an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather and the local facilities. This issue therefore became a major topic of discussion at the ‘technical meeting’ before the first round, and fortunately, after some pressure from the players, the arbiters checked with FIDE and this requirement was dropped. Further niggling matters arose during the event, such as only having a 15-minute default time rather than the more customary 30 minutes, which led to a number of totally avoidable and unhelpful defaults. I won’t trouble you with outlining the various other concerns but suffice it to say that the view amongst quite a few of us was that the event could have and should have been run much better than it was.
Fortunately, however, things were running much better over the board. Mickey made a strong start in the 50+, scoring 4½ from his first five games, but then he faced six GMs in a row and drew with the first four of them, before finishing very well with two wins to end on 8½/11 (undefeated) and edge out Serbian GM Suat Atalik on tie-break, after he too finished with 8½.
Here’s a crucial win by Mickey in round 10 to keep him in contention:
Adams, Michael (2670) - Minasian, Artashes (2462) [B12] World Senior Chess Championship 50+ (10), 04.11.2023 [Notes by Nigel Povah]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.Bd3 Currently very popular, and a move that Caro-Kann expert Daniel Fernandez admits poses Black some challenges. 5...Bxd3 6.Qxd3 e6 6...Qa5+ has been suggested as being the better follow-up, as Black tries to challenge White's attacking threats by offering an early queen exchange: 7.Nd2 (7.Bd2 Qa6 8.e6! Qxd3 9.exf7+ Kxf7 10.cxd3 Nh6 11.Nf3 Nf5 12.Nc3 Nd7 13.Ne2 g6=½-½ Nakamura, H (2736)-Fedoseev, V (2678) Speed Chess Super Swiss KO Chess.com INT blitz 2020 (4.3)) 7...e6 8.Ngf3 Nh6 9.0-0 Nf5 10.Nb3, when Black can choose between ...Qa6 or ...Qb5. 7.Nf3 7.Bg5 is the main move: 7...Qb6 8.Nd2 c5 9.c4 Qxb2 10.Rd1! Nc6 (10...Qxd4? 11.Qb3 Qxe5+ 12.Ne2 Qc7 13.cxd5 exd5 14.0-0+- when White's lead in development is crushing) 11.Ne2 Nb4 12.Qf3 Nc2+ 13.Kf1 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Qxd4 15.Qb3 Be7 16.cxd5 exd5 17.Qxb7 Rd8 18.Rh3=0-1 Greet, A (2399)-Ghasi, A (2471) BCF-chT 2223 (4NCL) England 2022 (7.1). 7...Nh6?! 7...Qa5+ is still the way to go: 8.Nbd2 Ne7 9.0-0 Nf5 10.Nb3, transposing to the note with 6...Qa5+ 8.Bxh6+- Rxh6 9.Nc3 9.Nbd2 has been the more common choice here: 9...c5 (9...Nd7?! 10.0-0 a6 11.Rfd1 Be7 12.g3 g6 13.c4+/-1-0 Le, Q (2713)-Speelman, J (2509) PRO League Stage Chess.com INT rapid 2020 (2)) 10.c3 Nc6 11.0-0+/= 9...Nd7 10.Ne2! Rerouting the knight to support his kingside play. 10...Qa5+ 11.c3 Qb5 12.Qd2 c5 13.a4 Qb6 14.0-0 c4?! This gives White a target to enable him to open the b-file [14...Be7 was better, although White is still comfortably on top]. 15.a5 Qc6 16.Rfb1+-
Preparing to open the b-file to create further pressure. 16...Be7 17.b3 cxb3 18.Rxb3 Rh8 19.Qb2 b6 20.axb6 axb6 21.Rxa8+ Qxa8 22.Nf4 Mickey is playing on both sides of the board. 22...g6 23.Ng5 The white knights are quite intimidating, with potential sacs on e6 and g6, and capturing on g5 will concede control of the dark squares. 23...Qc6 24.Qa1 Rg8 25.Qc1?!+= The engine likes the clever but unobvious pawn sac, opening the position: 25.c4! dxc4 (25...Qxc4 26.Rc3 Qb5 27.Qa8+ Bd8 28.Nfxe6 fxe6 29.Rc6 Nf8 30.Rd6+-) 26.Re3, threatening d5 followed by e6. 26...Bxg5 27.hxg5. Ke7 28.Qa3+ Ke8 29.d5 exd5 30.e6 Nc5 31.Qa7 Qb7 32.Qa1 fxe6 33.Nxe6 Nxe6 (33...Ne4 34.f3+-) 34.Rxe6+ Kd7 35.Qf6+- 25...Bxg5 26.hxg5 Kf8 27.Qa3+ Kg7 28.Qe7 Ra8?
Failing to appreciate the danger to f7, which Mickey's next move exploits. 28...Rf8! defending f7 was wiser, but this allows White to grab the a-file 29.Ra3 Kg8 30.Kh2, preparing Ra7 without allowing ...Qxc3-c1+ and ...Qxf4+ etc. 30...Qb7+= preventing Ra7, when, although White is slightly better, it isn't obvious how he can best improve his position. 29.c4! Once again the pawn sac, but this time in order to open the third rank for the rook. 29...dxc4 30.Rf3+- Rf8 31.d5! White's forces coordinate beautifully. 31...exd5 32.e6 Ne5 32...Nc5 33.Nxh5+! gxh5 34.Rxf7+ Rxf7 35.Qxf7+ Kh8 36.g6 with mate to follow. 33.Qf6+ Kh7 34.Qxe5 1-0
Petra Nunn (a member of the Women’s team which recently won the Women’s World Senior Team Championship), finished with 4½ in the Open 50+ section, which was more or less in line with her seeding, but she spoilt a number of very promising games, some of which were against some strong players, so she was rather disappointed with her performance.
The 65+ section saw three English players getting off to good starts. John Nunn scored 5/5 and looked to be playing well, while Tony Stebbings also made a good start with 4/5, only losing to John in round 4, but he struggled in the second half of the tournament, to end on 6/11. Terry Chapman was also having another good tournament and made a most impressive start with 6/7.
John Nunn had three tricky GMs to play in rounds 6-8, and he drew with French GM Nikolay Legky before losing in round 7 to Argentinian GM Daniel Campora after slipping up in a winning position, and then he drew with German GM Rainer Knaak in round 8. So at this stage on 6/8 John began to question his chances, but we all agreed that it was a case of taking it one game at a time and seeing what happened.
Meanwhile, Terry Chapman drew with the tournament leader Argentinian GM Daniel Campora in round 8 to reach 6½/8, the same score he made in World Senior Team Championship in North Macedonia. Sadly, however, he lost a very disappointing game in round 9 against GM Rainer Knaak after Terry had an overwhelming position, when a win would have seen him become joint leader on 7½/9. He bounced back the next day to have the better of the draw against John Nunn, but finished with an unfortunate loss to end on 7/11.
John Nunn’s last three games were quite eventful, and he managed to muster 2½/3 to finish with 8½/11, thus enabling him to edge ahead of Slovakian GM Lubomir Ftacnik on tie-break and retain the 65+ World Senior title he won last year. Here’s his critical game from round 9:
Nunn, John (2560) - Renman, Nils-Gustaf (2340) [C19] World Senior Chess Championship 65+ (9), 03.11.2023 [Notes by Nigel Povah]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.a4 Qa5 8.Bd2 Nbc6 9.Nf3 Bd7 10.Be2 f6 11.c4 Qc7 12.cxd5 12.exf6 gxf6 13.cxd5 Nxd5 transposes. 12...Nxd5 13.exf6 gxf6 14.c3 Rg8 14...0-0-0 15.0-0 Rhg8 again transposes. 15.0-0 0-0-0 16.a5!?
John comes up with an interesting novelty which, given it is engine-approved, might have been part of his preparation. 6.Re1 is the main move, and was played as long ago as 1977 in this game: 16...e5 17.c4 Bh3 18.Bf1 Nb6 19.d5 Nxc4 20.dxc6 Qxc6 21.g3 Bxf1 22.Rxf1 e4 23.Qb3 (23.Qc2 Qd5 24.Bf4 exf3 25.Rac1 Ne5) 23...Qd5 24.Rac1 Nxd2 25.Nxd2 Qxd2 26.Rxc5+ Kb8 27.Rb5 Rg7 28.Rb1 Rdd7 29.Qe6 e3 30.fxe3 Rge7 31.Qg8+ Rd8 32.Qb3 Rdd7 33.Qg8+ Rd8 34.Qb3 Rdd7 ½-½ Spassky, B (2610)-Korchnoi, V (2645), Candidates, Belgrade 1977. 16...e5 17.a6 17.Kh1+= was simpler, but John has never been one to shy away from complications. 17...Bh3 17...b6 18.Qb1 exd4 19.cxd4 Nxd4 20.Nxd4 Qe5 21.Bf3 Qxd4 22.Rd1+= 18.axb7+ =+ Bold but risky. 18.Nh4! was best: 18...b6 (Note that 18...Rxg2+ 19.Nxg2 Rg8 20.Bf3 Qg7 doesn't work because of the clever 21.Qb3! Bxg2 22.Qxb7+ Qxb7 23.axb7+ Kxb7 24.Bxg2+-) 19.Kh1 Be6 20.Nf3=) 18...Kb8 19.g3! 19.Nh4 no longer works because of 19...Rxg2+! 20.Nxg2 Rg8 21.Bf3 Qg7, when White doesn't have the Qb3xb7+ resource: 22.Bxd5 Bxg2 23.f3 Bxf3+ 24.Kf2 Qg2+ 25.Ke1 Bxd5 with a decisive advantage. 19...e4?! A reasonable idea, but Black should capture on d4 first: 19...cxd4! 20.cxd4 e4 21.Nh4 e3 with crazy complications, e.g. 22.fxe3 Rxg3+ 23.Kh1 (23.hxg3? Qxg3+ 24.Kh1 Qxh4 25.Be1 Bg2+! 26.Kxg2 Rg8+ 27.Bg4 Rxg4+ 28.Qxg4 Qxg4+-+) 23...Nxe3 24.hxg3 Nxd1 25.Bf4 Bxf1 26.Bxc7+ Kxc7 27.Bxf1 Ne3 when Black is slightly better; if 19...Bxf1 20.Bxf1 cxd4 21.cxd4 e4 22.Ne1 Nxd4 23.Qa4= when Black's weakened king position gives White enough compensation for the exchange. 20.Re1 20.Qa4! exf3 21.Bxf3 Bxf1 22.Kxf1, when the engine thinks White is slightly better, despite only having two pawns for the rook! Clearly Black's problem is the vulnerability of his exposed king, as the following sample line indicates: 22...Qb6 23.c4 Ndb4 24.Bf4+ Kxb7 25.dxc5 Qxc5 26.Qb5+ Qb6 27.Be3 Qxb5 28.cxb5 Kc8 29.Rc1 Rge8 30.bxc6 Rxe3 31.fxe3 Kc7 32.Ra1 Kb6 33.Ke2 with an edge. 20...e3! 21.Bxe3 Nxe3 22.Qa4! 22.fxe3? Rxg3+ 23.Kh1 Bg2+ 24.Kg1 Bxf3+ -+] 22...Nd5 [22...Nf5! targeting g3 and d4 23.Kh1 Rge8 24.dxc5 h5=+] 23.Qa3 John is trying to encourage Black to capture on d4 [23.Rec1=]. 23...Rge8! 23...cxd4? 24.Nxd4 Nde7 25.Qa6! Qb6 26.Qxb6 axb6 27.Bf3 Nxd4 28.cxd4 Nd5 29.Bxd5 Rxd5 30.Ra8+ Kxb7 31.Rxg8+- 24.Bb5 Rxe1+ 25.Nxe1 Nde7 26.Nd3
26...Kxb7?? Renman was clearly finding it difficult to decide how to continue here, as he took over 20 minutes on this move and made the wrong choice: 26...cxd4! sees Black maintaining his advantage, although perhaps Renman was wary of opening the c-file because of a possible Rc1 or 27.Nb4, but these come to nothing: 27.Nc5 (27.Nb4 Qxb7 28.Bxc6 Nxc6 29.Nxc6+ Qxc6 30.Qxa7+ Kc8 and Black is clearly winning.) Qb6 28.Rb1 dxc3 29.Na6+ Kxb7 30.Qxc3 Kc8 -+ 27.d5+- 27.Nxc5+ also wins: 27...Ka8 28.Bd3 Bc8 29.Be4 Rd6 30.Bg2+- with two pawns and a powerful attack for the piece. 27...Rxd5 27...Nxd5?? 28.Nxc5+ Kc8 29.Qa6+ Kb8 30.Bxc6+- 28.Nf4! Bd7 29.Qb3! Na5 29...Qe5 30.Bc4+ Nb4 31.Rc1+- 30.Qb1 Bxb5 31.Nxd5 Nxd5 32.Qxb5+ Qb6 33.Rxa5 Qxb5 34.Rxb5+ Kc6 35.c4 Nb6 36.Ra5 Nxc4 37.Rxa7 Nd2 38.f4 Intending Kf2. 38...Kd5? Short of time, Renman blunders his knight to Rd7+, but he was losing anyway. 1-0
Final standings
50+ (91 competitors)
1st Michael Adams 8½ Tiebreak 3 77
Buchholz
2nd Suat Atalik 8½ Tiebreak 3 76½
Buchholz
3rd Maxim Novik 8
67th Petra Nunn 4½
65+ (155 competitors)
1st John Nunn 8½ Tiebreak 2 70½
Buchholz
2nd Lubomir Ftacnik 8½ Tiebreak 2 69½
Buchholz
3rd Nikolay Legky 8
20th Terry Chapman 7
24th John Pigott 7
45th Nigel Povah 6½
48th Tony Stebbings 6
77th Brian Hewson 5½
92nd Mick Stokes 5
120th Hassan Erdogan 4½
Our successes at the senior level are further evidence of England's growing reputation as a leading nation at senior chess, following our recent successes at both the World and the European Senior Team Chess Championships.