Highlands Open Update

MY final score of +5=2-2 at the Czech Tour's Highlands Open in Trebic was enough to gain 16.8 Fide rating points … and a four-figure sum in prize money.
Unfortunately, the four-figure sum was 1,000 Czech crowns - about £34.

Lake Lubi - actually man-made by a local angling club - is part of the attractive surroundings that draw me back to Trebic

Pretty Finish

MANAGED to pull off a pretty finish this morning against a Polish junior in the ninth and final round of the Czech Tour's Highlands Open in Trebic.

White has just played 24.Na4-b6 in Spanton (1923) - Szymon Skurniak (1763)

24...Rad8?
It takes Komodo9 something like two minutes to see what is wrong with this natural-looking move.
If SS had seen what was coming, he would have preferred 24...Bc6 25.Rxc6 bxc6 26.Nxa8 Rxa8, when White has decent drawing chances after 27.Rc4.
25.Nd5 Qd6 26.Nf6+ gxf6?
Slightly better is 26...Kh8 27.Rh4 gxf6 28.Qh6 Qd3 29.Qf6+, but White has an overwhelming attack.
27.Rg4+ Kh8 28.Qh6 Qb6+ 29.Kh1 1-0

Double Rounder

TODAY was a double-round day in the Czech Tour's Highlands Open at the Hotel Atom, Trebic.
My two games could hardly have been more different - game one being effectively decided in the opening, game two deep in the ending.

Spanton (1923) - Jan Kalveus (1854), Round 7
English Opening v Dutch Defence
1.c4 f5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 c6!?
Not a popular choice, but it has been played by a 2418.
4.Bg2 d6!?
Aiming for a Stonewall with 4...d5 looks more natural.
5.d4
By transposition we have reached a position that occurs 127 times in ChessBase's 2018 Mega database.

Black's fifth move is surprising but has a certain logic

5...Be6?!
Threatening the c4 pawn, but this awkward-looking move was not played in any of the database games.
6.d5 Bf7 7.Qb3 Qd7 8.Nh3 g6 9.Be3 Bg7 10.Ng5 0-0 11.Rd1 h6?
It cannot be nice as Black having a White knight hanging around on g5, but the text spends a tempo to make White play a move he wanted to play anyway.
12.Nxf7 Rxf7 13.c5
White already has a winning advantage, according to my main analysis engines Stockfish9 and Komodo9.

Neither player has connected rooks, but Black is busted

13...cxd5
The engines suggest 13...Ng4 or 13...Na6, but have White winning.
14.Nxd5 Nc6 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6 16.Bd5 (1-0, 44 moves)

My second game today reached a knight-and-pawn ending after 39 moves.

White has just captured a rook on d1 in Miroslav Zacharias (1727) - Spanton (1923), Round 8

It is often said a knight-and-pawn ending is the closest you can get to a pawn-ending. This is true in the sense that it is much closer than, say, a rook-and-pawn ending is to a pawn-ending.
But really there are some major differences, not least the fact that one player may sac his knight to get rid of the opponent's last pawn.
With the help of Stockfish9 and Komodo9, and later the Nalimov six-figure endgame tablebase, I will try to use John Nunn's endgame convention to annotate these moves.
39...Ke5?
Black is much better after 39...Nf5 or 39...Ke6, but the natural-looking text turns a probable Black win into a drawn position.
40.Kd2?
Again natural-looking, but the engines give 40.Nc6+! Kd5 41.Nb4+! Kd4 (or 41...Kc5 42.Nd3+ Kd4 43.Kd2) 42.Kd2 and Black cannot make progress.
40...Kd4?
I had seen the superior 40...Kd5, which threatens to trap White's knight, but then played the king too far forward.
41.Nc6+ Kc5 42.Ne7 Kb4?!
Better seems to be 42...Nb7, but probably not winning.
43.Kc2 Kc5
Dead drawn is 43...Nf5? 44.Nxf5 gxf5 45.Kb2
44.Kc3 b4+ 45.Kd3 Nb5 46.Ke4
46.Ng8 is possibly the more sure-fire draw, eg 46...Nd4 47.Nf6 Nxb3 48.Nxh7 Kb5 49.Nf8 Nc5+ 50.Kc2 b3+ 51.Kc3 g5 52.Nh7 Ka4 53.Kb2 Nd3+ 54.Kb1
46...Nd4 47.Nd5 Nxb3 48.Nxb4?!
This may draw, but Komodo9 strongly prefers 48.Ke5. Stockfish9 reckons both moves draw.
48...Kxb4 49.Kxf4 Kc5 50.Kg5 Kd6 51.Kh6?
Almost certainly drawing was 51.Kf6, eg 51...Nd4 52.h4 Kd7 (Komodo9's best shot, but not good enough) 53.h5 gxh5 54.Kg5 Ke6 55.Kxh5 (tablebase draw)
51...Ke6 52.g4 Nd4 53.f4
MZ offered a draw in my time.
53...Kf6 54.Kxh7

Black to play and win

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54...Ne6?
I was torn between this and the correct 54...Ne2 (54...Nf3 also wins)
55.h4?
On 55.f5, I planned 55...Ng5+ 56.Kf6 Nf7+ 57.Kh7 g5, and wins. But we both missed that White draws in this line thanks to 56.Kg8!
If I had played 54...Ne2, then 55.f5 loses trivially to 55...g5
55...Nxf4 56.Kh6 Ne6 57.g5+ Nxg5! 58.h5
Or 58.gxh5 Kf5 etc.
58...Nf7+ 0-1

Who Is Trapping Whom?

MY round-six game today from the Highlands Open in Trebic - part of the Czech Tour - featured a move by White in the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon that at first sight looks like a blunder … but it has been played by strong players, including Lothar Vogt (2515).
Jindrich Habada (1761) - Spanton (1923)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.e5 Nc6 6.Qh4?!
This move probably deserves a straight question-mark, but there are 74 examples of it being played in ChessBase's 2018 Mega database, and White scores a not-so-dreadful 44 percent.

Black to play and win material

6...Nxe5
Felipe de Cresce El Debs (2531) preferred 6...Nd5?!
7.Nxe5 Qa5+ 8.Nc3 Qxe5+ 9.Be2

How would you assess White's compensation?

Black has won a pawn but White has a slight lead in development and the prospect of good play for his rooks on the central files.
Perhaps it is not so surprising that the analysis engine Komodo9 reckons Black's advantage is not quite worth a third of a pawn. Stockfish9, on the other hand, has Black almost two-thirds of a pawn ahead.
9...Bg7 10.Bf4
Vogt (2515) - Markus Schaefer (2270), Bad Woerishofen 1992, saw 10.Bh6 0-0 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.0-0-0, with chances for both sides, but it is hard to believe Black is not better (½-½, 53 moves).
Also sensible looking is 10.0-0 0-0 11.Bg5 d6 12.Rfe1, and White went on to win in John Dodgson (2135) - Spanton (2010), Paignton 2008.
10...Qa5 11.0-0 0-0 12.Bh6
Viktor Ianov (2360) - Alexander Vaulin (2510), Policka 1995, saw 12.Bf3 d6 13.Rfe1 Be6, when Black is clearly better, but the game was drawn in 47 moves.
12...d6 13.Rae1 Be6 14.Bd3?! Qh5 (0-1, 31 moves)
So, to get back to my original question, who is getting trapped? I guess the answer has to be White, but there is no doubt White gets some compensation, and practical chances, even if most Whites, I suspect, play 6.Qh4?! without realising it loses a pawn.
In conclusion, then, annotating White's sixth move as "dubious" rather than "bad" may well be right after all.

Bad Loss

LOST rather feebly to a much-lower rated player today in round five of the Highlands Open in Trebic, Czech Rep.

White to play and avoid defeat in Spanton (1923) - Sylwester Grabraczyk (1782)

Despite Black having the bishop-pair, White is only a little worse after a consolidating move such as 30.Ra3 or 30.Rba1.
Instead, I played 30.Kf1, which effectively loses on the spot.
Can you find Black's game-winning idea?
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Black played 30...Bxe3 31.Nxe3 Rxe3! 32.fxe3 Bxc2 33.Rab4 Bxb1 34.Rxb1
Black has won a pawn and cannot be prevented from winning the b5 pawn (0-1, 48 moves)

Missed Opportunity

FLUFFED a golden chance to claim a notable scalp in round four of the Highlands Open in Trebic, Czech Republic.
I had black against International Master Josef Pribyl, after whom the Pribyl Pirc (1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6!?) is named.
I sacrificed the exchange to gain light-square control and attacking chances, reaching the following position after JP had played 29.Ra1-e1:

Black to play and win

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I played 29...Nxb3?, which felt wrong, but I became materialistic and anyway could find nothing better.
After 30.Nxe4 fxe4? (30...Rxe4 is better, but I had missed White's next as it had been impossible for so long because my bishop covered the key square) 31.Qxg2 c6 32.Rxe4 Rxe4 33.Qxe4 Nxd2 34.Qxd3, the position is roughly equal.
Or at least it would have been if I had played 34...Qxf4.
Instead, I played 34...Qxd3?, and was ground down in a long ending after 35.Rad3 Nxc4 36.Rd7+
Going through the game later with Ian Heppell, the latter found 29...Nf3+!
I had rejected it because it seemingly lost two pieces for a rook, but in fact the move wins instantly, eg 30.Rxf3 Bxf3 31.Rxe8 Qxf4+ 32.Kg1 Qg3+, and mate next move.

A Tale Of Three Draw Offers

THERE were three draw offers in my round-three game today from the Highlands Open in Trebic, Czech Rep.

Black has just played 21...Bc8-e6, pressed his clock and offered a draw in Spanton (1923) - Lubos Svizensky (1937)

Black had been under the cosh for much of the game, and his king still looks a little unsafe, but the draw offer surprised me as Black's pawn-structure is clearly better.
I really should have accepted the draw, but after a long think I played …
22.Qc3?!
… and the game continued ...
22...Rd8
We both thought White had been threatening to win with 23.d5, but even a purely defensive move such as 22...b6 was fine as 23.d5? loses a pawn to 23...Rd8, the point being that the d pawn is pinned because of Black's back-rank mating threat.
23.Ra5??
White is just about holding on after 23.Bc2, as 23...Bxa2?? loses to 24.Qa3+
23...Rxd4??
Black wins after 23...g6 as White's bishop is trapped.
24.Qxd4
Also drawing is 24.Ra8+ Rd8 25.Qb4+ Ke8 (but not 25...Qe7?? 26.Rxd8#) 26.Rxd8+ Qd8 27.Bc2
24...Qxa5 25.b4 Qc7 26.Bb1 Qd7

Black has just played 26...Qc7-d7, pressed his clock and offered a draw

I decided to play on, hoping to somehow generate an edge thanks to the possibility of creating an outside passed pawn.
27.Qxd7 Bxd7 28.f4 Ke7 29.Kf2 Kd6 30.Ke3 c5 31.a3
Fearing that Black, not White, was starting to stand better, I offered (correctly) a draw, and was relieved when LS accepted almost immediately.
In fact the position does seem to be dead-equal, as Black's king has no way of penetrating White's queenside.

Decent Draw

DREW against a Chinese junior in round two of the Highlands Open in Trebic, Czech Rep.
It was a good result, but arguably was at least partly due to my good luck from yesterday's game carrying over to today.

Position after 26...Ne2-c3 in Ruotong Chu (2199) - Spanton (1923)

White's extra pawn and the bishop-pair give her a comfortable advantage even though White's pieces are not well-coordinated.
27.a3?
Chu had won the congress's speed-chess tournament (10mins + 5secs a move) earlier in the day, but here she misses a tactical shot based on the restricted number of squares available to White's king.
27...Bxa3
White is still better, according to Stockfish9 and Komodo9, but Black's drawing chances have hugely increased.
28.Bb6 Re2 29.e6!? fxe6 30.Bh3
This takes away Black's mating threat, so now the a3 bishop is really hanging.
30...Rd1+ 31.Rxd1 Nxd1 32.Bxe6+ Kf8 33.Bd4 Bb2 34.Bc5+ Ke8 35.Bf5 h6 36.Bc3 Nd3 37.Bd4 Kf7 38.Bxb5 Nxb5 39.Bxb2

Black to play and save the game

The engines reckon White has the upper hand, ie plus-over-minus. But in reality this ending should be drawn with reasonable care by Black.
39...h5
Gaining space, but more importantly starting to get Black's pawns off the same-coloured squares as the White bishop.
40.Ke2 g6 41.Ke3 Ke6 42.Kf4 Nd6 43.Kg5 Kg7
The Black king will defend the pawns while the knight harasses White's king and pawns.
44.f4 Ne4+ 45.Kh6 Nd6 46.Kg5 Ne4+ 47.Kh6 Nd6 48.Be5 Nf5+ 49.Kg5 Ne3 50.h3 Nf5 51.h4 hxg4 52.hxg4 Ng3
And now the knight waits to sac itself as soon as the f pawn advances.
White can lose a tempo with her bishop, but even if the knight cannot cover f5, White will have no winning chances once a pair of pawns is exchanged.
RC played on for another 34 moves, but eventually conceded the half-point.

Blunder? The Engines Disagee

PLAYING in the Highlands Open in the southern Czech town of Trebic.
I had a lucky win in round one today against a much lower-rated opponent.

Position after Black exchanged queens on f2 in Spanton (1927) - Jan Divis (1526)

I do not know what was going through JD's mind here, but I guess it was an example of relaxing when the danger seems over, as the game saw:
33...Kf6??
Strangely, the analysis engines Komodo9 and Stockfish9 flash yellow, but not red, when this move is played. Black had to play 33...b6, or 33...Bf6 (threatening b2).
34.Bxb7 Ke5
The engines give 34...Bc1 with a big, but not winning, advantage for White after 35.b3 or 35.Be4 (threatening h7).
35.Be4 h6 36.a4
This is why I am positive the position is winning for White. By creating a passed pawn on the queenside, and having the threat of a passed pawn on the kingside, White makes it impossible for Black to defend on both sides of the board.
36...bxa3 37.bxa3 Kd4 38.a4 Bd8 39.Kf3 Ke5 40.Kg4 Kf6 41.h4 Ba5 42.Kf3 Be1 43.h5 Kg5 44.g4 Bc3
During the game I was worried Black could prevent my king penetrating to the queenside by playing 44...Kf6 45.Bf5 Ke5. But, as Ian Heppell pointed out, White wins easily by creating a second passed pawn with g5. In fact, White can play 46.g5! immediately as the bishop is immune, ie 46...Kxf5 loses to 47.gxh6.
45.Bf5 Kf6 46.Ke4 Ke7
The game finished:
47.Kd5 Be5 48.Kc6 Kd8 49.a5 Bc3 50.a6 d5 51.a7 1-0
That was pretty easy. So why don't the engines rate Black's 33rd move a blunder? Could it be the horizon effect of the winning process being long drawn-out, even though a human can quickly assess the position as (almost) certainly winning?

New-Season Update

I SHOULD have mentioned that yesterday's match finished in a 2.5-2.5 tie - quite a result for Battersea2.
My draw means my unbeaten streak for Battersea has reached nine games (I finished season 2017-18 with a tally for Battersea of +10=8=9 for a grading performance of 175).

Battersea 2018-19
Event...Colour...Grade...Opponent's Grade...Result
CLL.........B.........167................196..................D

New Season Underway

MODERN chess is a year-round activity, but league chess generally keeps to a traditional autumn-winter-spring timetable.
So it was that my second season for Battersea began today - yesterday, technically, as it has gone midnight as I type this - when I turned out for Battersea2 in division one of the Central London League against … Battersea1.
Aldo Camilleri (196) - Spanton (167)
Göring Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3 d5
The most popular move in ChessBase's 2018 Mega database is accepting the gambit by 4...dxc3, but the various ways of declining - chiefly 4...d5, 4...d3, 4...Nf6 and 4...d6 - combine to outnumber the one method of acceptance.
5.exd5 Qxd5 6.cxd4 Bg4 7.Be2 Bb4+ 8.Nc3 Bxf3
I had previously preferred 8...Nf6, but singularly without success.
9.Bxf3 Qc4
Capablanca's patent, first played against Marshall at Lake Hopatcong (New Jersey) 1926.
10.Bxc6
This quickly became the main line, but Marshall chose 10.Be3. That game continued 10...Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Qxc3+ 12.Kf1 Qc4+ 13.Kg1 Nge7 14.Rc1 Qxa2 15.Ra1 Qc4 16.Rc1 Draw agreed.
10... bxc6
Counter-intuitive, at least to me, but the 'natural' 10...Qxc6 leaves White with something of an initiative after 11.0-0. However, Stockfish9 reckons the position is dead equal, and 10...Qxc6 has been played by some strong players, including Svidler.
11.Qe2
Getting the queens off is not forced, but it seems sensible since Black is preventing White from quickly castling, and Black has more pawn weaknesses, which could prove an endgame headache.
11...Qxe2+ 12.Kxe2 0-0-0 13.Be3 Ne7

Black's position looks iffy, but is it really?

George Botterill in Open Gambits (Batsford, 1986) wrote: "There is no reason to think that Black stands worse. His doubled c pawns are quite useful, giving a firm grip on important squares."
14.Rhd1 Rhe8 15.a3 Ba5 16.Rac1?!
My main analysis engines, Stockfish9 and Komodo9, prefer 16.Rd3 and 16.Kd3.
16...Nf5
Exposing the d pawn as the weakest pawn on the board.
17.Na4

Can you find a good move for Black here?

17...Nxd4+
Winning a pawn, but Black's extra pawn is doubled and isolated, which is why the engines think the position is equal. They give 17...Bb6!, when White has the unpleasant choice of losing the d pawn in less favourable circumstances, or unisolating Black's queenside pawns by playing Nxb6.
18.Kb1 Nb3 19.Rxd8+ Rxd8 20.Rc2
I expected 20.Rxc6, which I intended meeting with 20...Kb7, when White has at best a very minimal edge thanks to his better pawn-structure.
20...Kb7 21.Ke2 Bb6
Better than the obvious 21...Nd4+, which runs into 22.Bxd4 Rxd4 23.Nc5+, eg 23...Kc8 (not 23...Kb6?? 24.b4) 24.Nb3 Rd5 25.Nxa5 Rxa5 26.Rxc6 with a drawn rook-and-pawn ending.
22.Nc5+ Nxc5 23.Bxc5 Rd5 24.Be3 Re5 25.Rc4 Bxe3 26.fxe3

Black to play and win?

So we have a rook-and-pawn ending which must be better for Black, but it is hard not to think that White has very good drawing chances.
26...Rh5 27.h3 Rb5 28.Rc2 Kb6 29.g4 h5 30.Kf3 hxg4+ 31.hxg4 Rb3 32.g5 c5 33.Kf4 c4 34.e4 Kc5 35.g6 f6
Maybe 35...fxg6 was better. It was certainly the less-likely-to-lose option.
36.Rd2 Rd3 37.Re2 Kd4 38.Kf5 Rg3 39.Rd2+ Ke3 40.Rc2 Rg5+ 41.Ke6 Rxg6 42.Rxc4 Rg2?
Better was 42...Rg4, when 43.Rxc7 Rxe4+ is very promising for Black as the f pawn is quick. Stockfish9 gives 43.Rc3+! Kxe4 44.Rc4+ Kf3 45.Rc3+ Kf2, and now 46.Rxc7, but rates Black as winning (Komodo9 reckons Black is 'merely' much better).
43.b4 Ra2 44.Rxc7 Rxa3 45.Rxg7 Kxe4 46.Kxf6 Kd5 47.Rc7 a6 48.Rc8
White offered a draw.
48...Ra4 49.Rc5+ Kd6 50.Ra5 ½-½
Black can win White's final pawn, but cannot prevent the White king from reaching a1.

Mating!

IT was my turn to deliver mate in this afternoon's round-five game from the Bradford U171.
Siefaldin Holi (151) - Spanton (167)
French Advance
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Bd7
Not as popular as 4...Nc6 or 4...Qb6, but with an interesting idea.
5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Be2 Bb5
The point of Black's play is to ease the cramp in his position by exchanging his bad bishop for White's good one. It was a favourite system of Bob Wade in the 1950s.
7.0-0 cxd4
The immediate 7...Bxe2 is seen much more frequently.
8.Bxb5!?
This seems rather cooperative, but it was played by Jovanka Houska in a win at the 1998 girls' world championship.
8...Qxb5 9.cxd4
JH preferred 9.Nxd4!?
9...Ne7
Played partly so my queen can drop back to d7 after White's next move.
10.Nc3 Qd7 11.Bf4 Nbc6 12.a4?!
Leaving a hole at b4 does not feel right.
12...Ng6 13.Bg3 Bb4 14.Ng5 Qe7 15.Rc1??
Judging by his body language, SH saw this dropped a piece as soon as he picked up the rook.
No game was ever won by resigning, but eventually we reached the following position:

White has just played the forced 61.Kh6-h7, and I replied 61...Rh5#

Mated!

MANAGED to get mated in under 20 moves as White against a lower-graded player this morning in round four of the Bradford U171.
Spanton (167) - Charles Proctor (154)
Modern Defence
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 a6 5.a4 c5?
Not in ChessBase's 2018 Mega database.
6.d5?
I rejected 6.dxc5 because of 6...Qa5, but White is much better after both 7.cxd6 and 7.Bd2.
6...Bg4 7.a5 Nd7 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Ne5 10.Qg3 Nf6 11.Be2 0-0 12.Be3

Despite missing the best continuation at move six, White is much better

12...b5!?
Whatever the soundness of this move, it does have the practical advantage of distracting White from his kingside build-up.
13.axb6 Qxb6 14.Ra2?
White is pleasantly better after the calm retreat 14.Bc1, which ends Black's queenside counterplay.
14...Qb4 15.f4??
Catastrophic. I somehow missed that my c3 knight is not protecting e4.
15...Nxe4 16.Qh2 Nxc3 17.Bd2 Nc4 18.Bxc4 Qxc4 19.Ra3?
I have given this a question mark, but it is arguably the best move in the position as it allows my opponent to immediately put me out of my agony.
19...Qe2#

T Total Tim?

ROUNDS two and three at Bradford U171 saw me beat a 151 in 98 moves in a game I should have won much quicker but was lucky to recover after blundering my queen, and then I lost to a 159 after turning down a draw at a time when my opponent had the superior position but I had the greater arrogance.
I have drowned my sorrows this evening, but it is clear future success will need a sustained period of alcoholic abstinence.

Embarrassing Ending

BACK at Bradford for a three-day, five-round U171 tournament, which I won in 2016 and did horribly in last year.
My round-one game this evening was reasonably played on both sides ... until we reached a king-and-pawn-ending.
Richard Desmedt (144) - Spanton (167)
Stonewall Attack
1. d4 d5 2. e3 Nc6 3. f4 Bf5
Chigorin played 3... Nh6 at London 1899, drawing with Showalter and losing to Tinsley.
4. c3 f6!?
Hoping to smash White's central wall with a quick ...e5, but ...e5 does not
come until move 19.
5. Nf3 Qd6 6. Bb5
This may be a new move. 6. b3 was played in a Swedish game by a 1959.
6... a6 7. Qa4 Rb8 8. Bxc6+ Qxc6 9. Qxc6+ bxc6

The queens have come off early

White has stopped a quick ...e5 and has broken up Black's queenside pawns, but at the cost of giving up his good bishop.
10. b3
An exchange of dark-square bishops must help White.
10... Nh6
Nevertheless it might have been better for me to play 10... e6 11. Ba3 Bd6, so that 12. Bxd6 cxd6 would reinforce Black's centre.
11. Ba3 a5
Hoping to prove a weakness at b3, but I had not seen far enough ahead.
12. Nbd2 a4 13. Ke2 Kd7
13... axb3 14. axb3 Bc2 is no threat as I cannot capture on b3 with my bishop because of a subsequent pin along the b file.
14. h3 e6 15. Bc5!?
My main analysis engines Stockfish9 and Komodo9 slightly prefer 15. Bxf8, but they do not hate the text.
15... Bxc5 16. dxc5 Rb5 17. b4 Re8 18. Nd4 Rbb8 19. N2f3
The engines give 19. g4 Bg6 20. N4f3!? with what they reckon is a roughly equal position.
19... e5 20. fxe5 fxe5 21. Nxf5 Nxf5 22. Kf2 e4 23. Nd4?!
Although the engines reckon White can get away with this, I thought it was rather risky.
23... Nxd4 24. exd4 Rf8+ 25. Ke2 Rf6 26. Rhf1 Rbf8 27. Rxf6 Rxf6

A difficult position for White, whatever he plays

28. Rf1?
The king-and-pawn ending should be lost for White with correct play. But even if White keeps a pair of rooks on, Black can carry on probing.
28... Rxf1 29. Kxf1 Ke6
My original idea was 29... Kc8 30. Ke2 Kb7 31. Ke3 Ka6, which does indeed
seem to win, but the text is fine too, although it requires more-precise play.
30. Ke2 Kf5 31. Ke3 h5 32. g3 h4?
White is in big trouble after 32... a3, eg 33. h4 g6 (but not 33... Kg4? 34. c4! Kf5 35. cxd5 cxd5 36. b5 with a draw) 34. Kf2 Kg4
33. g4+ Ke6 34. Kf4?
34. a3 seems to draw as neither side can make progress.
34... Kd7?
Again 34... a3, and if 35. Ke3 the engines give 35... g6, eg 36. Kf4 g5+ 37.
Ke3 Kd7 with lines similar to my original idea of 29...Kc8
35. c4?
35. a3= K9/S9.
35... dxc4 36. Kxe4 Ke6?
36... a3 is still key, eg 37. Ke3 Ke6 38. Ke4 g5 39. Kf3 Kd5 40. Ke3 c3 41. Kd3 c2 42. Kxc2 Kc4! and Black wins (K9/S9).
37. a3! g5 38. d5+??
38. Kf3 holds, ie 38... Kd5 39. Ke3 c3 40. Kd3 c2 41. Kxc2 Kc4 (or 41... Kxd4 42. Kd2) 42. Kc1! Kxd4 43. Kd2 and White draws thanks to having the opposition (K9/S9).
The game finished:
38... cxd5+ 39. Kd4 c6 40. Kc3 Ke5 41. Kd2 Kd4 42. Kc1 c3 43. Kc2 Kc4 44. Kc1 d4 45. Kc2 d3+ 46. Kd1 Kb3 47. b5 Kb2 48. bxc6 c2+ 49. Kd2 c1=Q+ 0-1

Poor Start ... Poor Finish

LOST to a 158, after rejecting a draw offer, and drew with a 145 in the last two rounds of the 'Paignton' seven-round U180.
That brings to an end one of my worst-ever tournaments, having scored +0=3-3 (and a one-point bye) for a grading performance of 129.
It could have been worse:

Position after 51...Kg8-f8 in the round-seven game Martin Page (145) - Spanton (167)

White wins trivially after 52.d7.
Instead MP played 52.Re2?? after which 52...Ke8 assured the draw. A lucky escape.

Comically Bad

I WAS given a compulsory bye in round four, which may have been just as well considering how badly I messed up a simple finish today.
I won a pawn early on and exchanged off into a clearly won ending - indeed, for much of the time analysis engines reckon I am more than +50.

Position after 58.Qb5-b2 in John Nyman (146) - Spanton (167)

Somehow the obvious plan of putting my queen behind the a pawn never occurred to me. I have no idea why.
Instead I flaffed about aimlessly, blundered the a pawn for no compensation and reached the following position:

White has just played 72.Qb8-f8

For several horrible moments I thought I was getting mated.
Fortunately I collected myself enough to find a draw with 72...Qd5 (72...e2 also saves the half-point) 73.f6 Qh1+ 74.Kg5 Qd5+ 75.Kh4 Qh1+

Seedy Goings-On

IT is not often the top seed plays on bottom board, but that is what happened in round three of the afternoon U180 at 'Paignton'.

Position after 44.Qg2-h3 in Spanton (167) - Kevin Simpson (176)

Here KS broke up my attack by sacrificing the exchange: 44...Rxf5!?
The game continued 45.gxf5 Nh4 46.Qf1 Qe7
I was attracted to 47.Qg1 f6 48.R5xh4 gxh4, which Stockfish9 and Komodo9 reckon is good for White after 49.Rg2 (and after the more prosaic 49.Rxh4), although the locked pawn-structure and opposite-coloured bishops would seem to give Black some drawing chances.
Instead I played a real lemon: 47.Qe1?
There came 47...Nxf5 48.Rg2 Ng3+ 49.Rxg3 fxg3 50.Qxg3, and a draw was soon agreed.

Bugbears Again

LOST feebly to a 148 today in the 'Paignton' afternoon U180 after turning down a draw offer in a marginally inferior rook-and-pawn ending.

Maroczy Crush

PLAYING in the U180 afternoon tournament at the annual 'Paignton' congress, nowadays held at the Livermead House hotel on the outskirts of Torquay.
I was horribly crushed in round one by a lower-graded opponent when I became too passive in a Maroczy Bind.

White has just played 16.Be3-b6 in Megan O'Brien (153) - Spanton (167)

I played 16...Rd7, when the forcing sequence 17.e5 Ne8 18.Bc5 Qd8 19.Na4 would have left me in all sorts of trouble.
Instead the game saw 17.f5 dxe4 18.fxe6 fxe6? (18...Qxe6 was better) 19.Bc5 Qd8 20.Nxe4 Nxe4 21.Rxe4 with a large advantage for White 1-0 (29 moves)
Going back to the diagram position, it seems I should have sacrificed the exchange with 16...dxe4! eg 17.Bxd8 Rxd8 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Rxe4 c5 and Black is at least equal thanks to the threat of ...Bd4.
Indeed my main analysis engines, Stockfish9 and Komodo9, reckon White should decline the exchange, certainly at first, and instead play 17.Bxe4! Nxe4 18.Nxe4 c5. They give White a slight edge after 19.Kh1, 19.Bxc5 or belatedly grabbing the exchange with 19.Bxd8.