Adjournments

ONE of the quaint things about the London League is its time controls.
On odd-numbered boards the default is a quickplay finish on the night, while on even-numbered boards the default is slowplay with adjournments.
If both players on a board agree, they can use the non-default time control. Usually this happens with players on an even-numbered board agreeing to quickplay.
Last night, playing for Battersea 2 in the third division, I was on board four, and my opponent insisted on slowplay (this was the same opponent whom I beat when he lost on time, not knowing the time control, earlier this month in the Central London League).
On that occasion he was playing for Pimlico Knights - yesterday for Wimbledon 2.

Position after White played 52.Ne5-d3 in Spanton (167) - Yasser Tello (161)

Black sealed in this position, and we have tentatively agreed a resumption on November 6.
I do not intend giving my analysis here, for rather obvious reasons, but the win is more trivial (famous last words) than might be assumed.
Black's bishop is very bad, and the blockade he has tried to set up is a lot less solid than it might appear at first sight.