Hull Of A Lucky Start

ARRIVED in Hull yesterday for the British Chess Championships, which are being held at Hull City Hall.

The venue is centrally located, and the main playing hall is thankfully well-airconditioned

My event, the Seniors 50+, began today, and I was paired with black against the No2 seed, Australian Murray D Smith (2262).
After an appalling opening, I managed to remain materially equal but was positionally lost:

Position after 17...Nb6-a4 in Smith (2262) - Spanton (1927)

White has many good moves here, but best seems to be 18.d6, when 18...exd6 19.Rxd6 costs Black material, eg 19...Nc5 20.Qd1 Re8 21.Ne5 etc,
If 18...Re8, then 19.Bg5 is very unpleasant, while 18...e6 is met by 19.Bh6 Re8 20.Ne5 with a winning attack.
MDS actually played 18.Rc1, which slightly surprised me, although White is still well on top.
I struggled on and gradually got back into the game, but was still worse here:

Position after 27...Kg8-f7

Looking at this late-middlegame position, two rules-of-thumb should spring to mind.
1. Rooks cooperate better with a bishop than with a knight.
2. All rook-and-pawn endings are drawn.
OK, the second rule-of-thumb is often wrong, but there is much to be said for bearing it in mind.
The first rule is more reliable, although again there are exceptions.
In any event, a sensible consolidating move such as 28.Kg2, 28.Rd5 or perhaps 28.Rcd1 would have left White with an edge. Analysis engines like 28.h4!?
The game saw 28.Bxc5?! Rxc5 29.Rxa6, when White had won a pawn, but had little chance of converting it after the simple 29...Re7
Play continued: 30.Kg2 Kg6 31.Rc3 Rec7 32.Ra4 Kf5 33.Rca3 h5 34.Rxa7 Rxa7 35.Rxa7 Rxc4
White's four isolated pawns, and Black's strong king's position, make a draw inevitable. The remaining moves were: 36.a3 h4 37.Rb7 Rc3 38.Rb5+ Kf4 39.Rb4+ Kf5 40.a4 Ra3 41.Re4 Ra1 42.Rd4 Ra3 43.Rb4 ½-½.