World Senior Championship

English grandmaster John Nunn was the top seed in the over-65 section at the World Senior Championship, held in Italy last month. A series of crisp attacking games put him in the lead with 6.5/7. But an uncharacteristic miscalculation in round eight saw him lose a miniature against Danish grandmaster Jens Kristiansen. Going into the 11th and final round, Nunn still trailed by half a point, so his fate was no longer in his hands. As the games unfolded, Kristiansen had the draw well within reach, but succumbed to a neat endgame zugzwang against Jose Luis Fernandez Garcia. Meanwhile, against Valentin Bogdanov, Nunn spun a slim advantage into gold with a leisurely king manoeuvre from the h-file to the b-file. Nunn took the title with 9/11, ahead of a quartet on 8.5/11.

In the third round, Nunn capitalised on Black’s slow development with an energetic sacrifice. The move 6…g6 was a mistake, weakening the dark squares for just a moment.