The Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) enjoyed a captivating finale over the early May bank holiday. As the final round commenced, three teams remained in close contention to win the title, each with nine wins out of ten matches, and each entering their final match as strong favourite. That meant the league would likely be decided on board points, so every half-point would count.
The surprise contenders were the Sharks, who had fielded consistently strong squads but with only a couple of grandmasters. Beating Cheddleton by 5-3 in the final round was another good result, but not the big one they needed. Manx Liberty, who won the event last year, had the strongest lineup on paper, led by the veteran elite grandmaster Alexei Shirov. But he suffered a tactical mishap against England’s Gawain Jones.
Alexei Shirov (Manx Liberty)-Gawain Jones (Chessable White Rose 1)
4NCL final round, May 2024 (see left diagram)
With two knights against rook and pawn, the chances would be roughly balanced after a cautious move such as 32 Bd2-c3. Instead: 32 Nh3? Bg2+! 33 Kxg2 Re2+ 34 Kf3 Rxd2 The upshot of the skirmish is that the White queenside pawns are both about to drop. 35 b3 Rxa2 36 Nc6 Ra3 changes nothing. 35 Nf4 Rxb2 36 Nc6 Ke8 37 Ng6 Rxa2 There is no reasonable way to counter the advance of the a6 pawn, so White resigns
Manx Liberty still won by a 5.5-2.5 margin, which put them half a board point ahead of the Sharks in the final standings. But that left the door open for Wood Green, who pulled off a huge 6.5-1.5 victory against Blackthorne, thereby snatching the title. It was the narrowest of margins: Wood Green on 61 board points, Manx Liberty on 60.5 and the Sharks on 60.
Jon Speelman was one of the top contributors to that board count, with a 9/11 score over the season. In the position below he has just played 28 Rf1-d1, attacking the knight and laying a wicked trap for his opponent.
Jon Speelman (Wood Green)-M. Paul Townsend (Chessable White Rose 2)
4NCL, March 2024 (see right diagram)
28…Nb5? The implausible 28…Nb7 was Black’s only decent option. The sole purpose of that act of contortion is to cover the d8 square. 29 Rd7 Rxb4 defends the knight, or 29 Rd4 Rxd4 30 Nxd4 c5 31 Nb3 c4 is also satisfactory. (The latter line shows why 28…Nb7 is a significantly better choice than 28…Ne8) 29 Rxc6!! A lovely twist on a back-rank mate trick. Now 29…Rxc6 leads to forced mate: 30 Rd8+ Kh7 31 Ng5+ Kh6 32 Nxf7+ (even better than capturing the rook) Kh5 33 Rd5+ Kg4 34 Rg5 mate. Little better is 29…Rce8, since 30 Rxa6 Rxb4 31 Rb6! and the pin will soon cost further material. Black resigns
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