'Paignton' Underway

THE 69th annual Devon congress began this afternoon at Torquay's Livermead House Hotel with the first round of the new nine-round premier.

Black to make his 26th move in Mike Waddington (FM2023/188) - Spanton (1881/168)

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26...Ne4?!
Better was 26...Qf7. After 27.Qe2 (27.Qxf7+ Kxf7 is equal), Black has time to cover d5 with, for example, 27...Rd8.
27.c4 dxc4
Forced, but now Black's queenside is weak.
28.bxc4 g6?!
Weakening the long dark diagonal. My main analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 prefer 28...b6 or 28...Ree8!?, in each case with a slight edge for White.
29.Qh6 Rf8
Also problematic is 29...Rae8 30.Rd8, eg 30...b6 31.Bb2.
30.Bb2
Now the bishop also has the a3-f8 diagonal to work on.
30...Qf5?!
Stockfish10 gives 30...Rfe8, when 31.Rd8 transposes to the note to Black's 29th move, but also good is 31.Qf4.
Komodo10 gives 30...Qf7 31.Qf4 Nc5 31.Rd6, with a large advantage for White.
31.f3 Nc5 32.e4 Qg5
Keeping queens on is even worse, eg 32...Qe6 33.Ba3 b6 34.Rd6 Qxc4 35.Rxf6!
33.Qxg5 fxg5 34.Ba3 Re5 35.Rb1 Rf7?
I have played some doubtful moves since the diagram position, but this is an out-and-out mistake. Better was the passive 35...Rb8, when White can choose between several pleasant lines including 36.Kf2 b6 37.Kg3 Kf7 38.Rd6 (Stockfish10) and 36.Rd6 Nxa4 37.Rd7 Nc5 38.Rc7 (Komodo10).
36.Rd8+ Rf8 37.Rxf8+ Kxf8 38.Rxb7 (1-0, 47 moves)