Lockdown Chess

THERE are few, if any, signs of a return of over-the-board chess in Britain.
Perhaps hopes will rise if the government switches from two-metre social-distancing to the World Health Organisation-recommended one-metre.
Meanwhile many players are making do with playing over the internet, often at fast time limits although there have been some attempts at more-normal time controls.
The former does not interest me as, apart from the fact I have BT disconnection-prone home broadband, I play over-the-board chess too quickly and fear playing at even faster time limits would encourage me to play even faster OTB.
And more-normal time limits online are, as many people expected, plagued by cheating and suspicions of cheating.
However I was fortunate to be invited to play in the 6th British Webserver Championship, which is being run by the Fide-approved International Correspondence Chess Federation.
ICCF chess is virtually immune from cheating, for the simple reason that engines are allowed.
People who do not play correspondence chess often ask: what's the point if engines are involved?
Well the point is that human+engine is stronger than engine alone, or at least should be, which is why every game of correspondence chess does not end in a draw.
I am playing on board thee for Lean Thinkers in division two, which consists of seven teams, and is run as a single round-robin, ie you play each opponent once rather than once with white and once with black.
My first two games to finish were draws. Here is the third one.
Mel Suffield (2060) - Spanton (2256)
Maróczy Bind
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6
Engines are notoriously weak at playing openings. They are so weak that I believe I am right in saying there has never been a match between a top computer and a strong player in which the engine was allowed to pick its own moves from the start. Instead an engine is supplied with an opening book, usually compiled by a grandmaster in collaboration with computer programmers, that it is forced to follow until it is trusted to 'think' for itself.
At correspondence chess, however, players will usually pick their own opening moves while consulting books and databases. One problem with this approach is that the game may quickly reach a position an engine is not comfortable with.
3.c4 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4
We have reached the basic starting position of the Maróczy Bind. Black's decision to allow the bind used to be regarded as dubious strategy, or as downright bad. For instance Reuben Fine in The Ideas Behind The Chess Openings (Bell 1948) wrote of the Sicilian Defence: "Black must never allow White to play P-QB4 in the opening because he then has no counterplay on the QB file and is thereby doomed to passivity." Current thinking is that the Maróczy Bind does indeed give White an edge, but that the edge is within the drawing margin, so allowing c4 is viable. Engines do not like it for Black, however, so this arguably is a case of where human+engine is weaker than engine alone.
5...Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 d6
More popular in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database are 7...0-0 and 7...Ng4!?
8.Be2 0-0 9.0-0 Bd7
This move appears more than 10,000 times in Mega20, but a major alternative is 9...Nxd4, transposing into a line of the Gurgenidze System, although in that system Black usually captures on d4 at an earlier point.
10.Qd2
Easily White's most-popular continuation, but avoiding an exchange of knights with Nc2 has been recommended in repertoire books, although normally Nc2 is recommended earlier in the move-order to avoid ...Nxd4.
10...Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Bc6
We are quite some way into the game, but this position has been reached almost 3,500 times in Mega20 - opening 'knowledge' tends to last longer in correspondence chess!
12.f3 Nd7!?
This is the start of a common manoeuvre in the Maróczy Bind, but the move may surprise players unfamiliar with this opening system as Black is 'risking' having his fianchettoed bishop exchanged.
13.Be3!?
This is White's normal reply. 13.Bxg7 is certainly playable but is unpopular for two reasons: a) exchanges normally favour Black in the Maróczy as Black has less space, b) exchanging dark-square bishops leaves White weak on the dark squares, and flies in the face of the rule-of-thumb that when you have a bad bishop (White's light-square bishop here) you should avoid swopping off your good one.
13...a5 14.b3 Nc5 15.Rab1 Qb6!?
Another strange-looking move, but Andrew Greet in Staring Out: The Accelerated Dragon (Everyman 2008) explains: "Station(ing) the queen opposite an enemy bishop ... is only temporary. Black is planning ...Rfc8, after which the queen will drop back to d8. Then the black rooks will be ready to anticipate any opening of the queenside (typically involving a3 and b4), while the queen may find a useful role on the kingside."
16.Rfc1 Rfc8 17.Rc2
Greet gives this an exclamation mark, pointing out that 17.a3 runs into 17...Nxb3! 18.Bxb6 Nxd2 19.Rb2 Nxc4 20.Bxc4 Bd7.
17...Qb4
Greet recommends this "useful refinement," which threatens 18...a4, over the much more popular 17...Qd8. The idea is that after the "more or less forced" ...
18.Qc1 Qb6
... the white queen is misplaced. However he does not say what to do if White replies ...
19.Qd2!?
... which could be a tacit draw offer. Engines prefer White, so I guess objectively Black should play 19...Qb4, but I let the game carry on with ...
19...Qd8!?
So the game has transposed to a mainline position of the Maróczy that occurs 435 times in Mega20.
20.Bf1 b6!?
Greet gives a game in which he played ...Be5 but says he would, if having the position again, "probably prefer" ...h5, which is the most-popular choice in Mega20. The idea is to follow up with ...Kh7 and ...Qh8!? The text is a useful solidifying move that basically waits to see what White does next.
21.Rd1 Rab8!?
The game Emir Dizdarević (2520) - Duško Prelević (2328), Bosnia & Herzegovina Team Championship 2004, saw ...Qd7, Bd4!? Bxd4, Qxd4 when, despite my comments at move 13, White is better, according to Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01.
In 2017 the game Jinshi Bai (2556) - Di Li (2485), Chinese Rapid Championship, was drawn after ...Be5, Bg5 Ne6, Be3 Nc5, Bg5 Ne6 etc.
The idea of the text, which may be a novelty, is to protect b6 so the black queen can move without fear of the b6 pawn becoming en prise.
22.g3 Qf8 23.Bh3 Rd8 24.Bh3 Re8 25.Bf4 Rb7
The engines prefer 25...h6 or 25...Kh8. The text gets the queen's rook off the same diagonal as White's dark-square bishop. Generally speaking in the Maróczy, Black has to bide his time, hoping to get in the pawn-break ...b5 or ...d5 or ...f5. Meanwhile, engines like White's space advantage.
26.Bg5
White too generally manoeuvres, probing for weaknesses.  Stockfish11 suggests 26.Bg2, while Komodo11.01 likes 26.Qf2 and 26.Nc3.
26...h6 27.Bf4 Kh7
White's 26.Bg5 followed by 27.Bf4 gave Black two tempi to play 26...h6 and 27...Kh7. The question is, who has this helped? I cannot give a definitive answer, but the engines are starting to diverge - Stockfish11 reckons White now has the upper hand, ie about three-quarters of a pawn, while Komodo11.01 reckons White's edge is more like a quarter of a pawn. Over the board I doubt if either advantage is all that significant at club level, but it can be a different matter in correspondence chess.
28.Rcc1 Qh8
This is sometimes known as a Réti queen in honour of Richard Réti, who popularised the idea of manoeuvring a queen to a corner square. In this position there is no doubt Black controls the long dark diagonal, but it is less clear whether this gives any special benefit. However it is not as if the queen had much scope on f8.
29.Be3 e6!?
Forcing the knight from d5 must help Black's cause ... provided the black position can stand the weakening of d6.
30.Nc3 Rd7 31.Ne2 Rdd8 32.Qc2?!
The engines suggest 32.Nf4 or 32.Nc3. The problem with the text is it allows Black to get in one of the three desirable pawn-breaks.
32...d5! 33.Bxc5 bxc5 34.cxd5 exd5 35.Qxc5 Ba8 36.Qa7
This is the engines' choice. Clearly White cannot capture on d5 because the e2 knight will hang, and if 36.Qxa5?! then 36...dxe4 when the white king starts to look vulnerable, eg 37.Rxd8 Rxd8 38.f4 Bd4+ 39.Kh1 Bb2 40.Re1 Rd3 with lots of pressure for a pawn, or 37.f4 Rd3, again with plenty of compensation, while 37.fxe4?! Bxe4 seems even worse - the black bishops are very powerful on an open board.
36...Qf8 37.e5
Returning the pawn like this is how the engines want to play it.
37...Bxe5 38.Nd4
Black's passed pawn must be blockaded, according to the engines, eg 38.Qxa5?! d4 39.Rd3 Qe7 is virtually winning for Black, they reckon.
38...Qe7 39.Qxe7 Rxe7 40.f4
Also very playable, and certain to get rid of the bishop-pair, is 40.Nc6 Bxc6 41.Rxc6.
40...Bxd4+!?
Giving up the bishop-pair and leaving White with the better remaining bishop, but Black gets a rook to the seventh.
41.Rxd4 Re2 42.Ra4
42.a4 lets White maintain a blockader on d4, but the position is equal in either case, according to the engines.
42...d4

White only has one good move

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43.Bf1?!
Worse is 43.Rxa5? d3, eg 44.Rd1 Bf3 45.Bf1 Rxh2! 46.Rxd3 Rh1+ 47.Kf2 Rxf1+ etc, or 44.Bf1 d2 45.Rd1 Bf3 etc. But White seems fine after 43.Rd1, eg 43...d3 44.Bf1 Re3 45.Rd2 (or 45.Kf2). MS said after the game he got his moves "in the wrong order."
43...Rd2!
This prevents a blockade. True, after ...
44.Rxa5
... White has a pair of connected queenside passed pawns, but the black passer is far enough advanced to beat them.
44...d3 45.Ra7
Komodo11.01 reckons White can draw with 45.Ra4 but eventually comes to agree with Stockfish11 that Black is much better after 45...Bf3 47.Rc7 Kg8 48.Raa7 Re8 49.Re7 (not 49.Rxf7+ Re1) Rxe7 50.Rxe7 Rd1, which virtually transposes to a position - winning for Black - reached in the game.
45...Bd5 46.Re1?!
White almost certainly puts up better resistance with 46.Rac7, eg 46...Kg7 47.R7c3 Be4 48.a4 Rb2 49.Rd1 d2 50.Kf2 Bc2 51.Rxc2 Rxc2 when White has a pawn for the exchange. The engines agree Black is much better, but there is a lot of play left.
46...Kg8 47.h3 h5 48.Ra5 Bf3 49.Rae5 Rd1 50.Re8+ Rxe8 51.Rxe8+ Kg7 52.Kf2 Rxf1+ 53.Kxf1 d2 54.Rd8 d1=Q+ 55.Rxd1 Bxd1
White has two pawns for a bishop but his position is hopeless.
The game finished:
56.Kf2 Kf6 57.Ke3 Kf5 58.b4 Ba4 59.Kf3 Bc6+ 60.Ke3 Bg2 61.g4+ hxg4 0-1

Fundamentals (part 35)

Spanton (169) - Jim Howson (174)
Southern Counties Chess Union 2007

White has just captured on d1 - who stands better?

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Black is slightly better, according to the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
25...h4
This isolates the g5 pawn, but it is far from clear Black will be able to win it. The engines suggest a move such as 25...a5, 25...Ke5, 25...c5, 25...b6, etc..
26.Ke2 c5 27.Kd3 b5 28.a3
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28...f5?!
This position is trickier than it may seem. My notes show Junior 10.1 gave 28...a5? but that loses to 29.a4! bxa4 (if 29...b4 then 30.Kc4 Kd6 31.Kb5 etc, and if 29...c4+ then simply 30.Kd4) 30.Kc4 Kd6 31.Kb5. However the natural 28...Ke5 is among those moves that hold the balance.
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29.gxf6
The engines' 29.b3! puts great pressure on Black's position, eg 29...g6 30.b4 (30.exf5+ and probably 30.c3 also win) cxb4 31.axb4 Ke5 32.exf5 Kxf5 33.Kd4 Kxg5 34.Kf5 Kh6 35.Kxf4 Kh5 36.Ke5 Kg5 37.f4+ Kh6 38.Kf6 Kh5 39.Ke6 g5 40.Kf5 gxf4 41.Kxf4 followed by Kg4 and Kxh4 - a long line but a fairly forcing one. If 29...Ke5 then 30.exf5 Kxf5 31.c4 etc, and if 29...a5 then 30.a4.
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29...Kxf6?
Black draws with 29...gxf6, eg 30.c4 Kd6 31.cxb5 axb5 32.b3 Kc6 33.a4 c4+ (or 33...Kb6 but not 33...bxa4??) and now White has to find the only drawing move, but it is the obvious 34.Kc3.
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30.b4! cxb4
Or 30...c4+ 31.Kd4 Ke6 32.e5 (but losing is 32.Kc5? Ke5 33.Kb6 g5 34.Kxa6 g4 etc) g6 33.Ke4 g5 34.c3.
31.axb4 Ke5 32.Kc3 1-0
Black lost on time. The main line continues 32...g6 33.Kd3 g5 34.Ke2 (only drawing is 34.c3? Ke6 35.Kd4 Kd6 36.e5+ Ke7 [or 36...Kd7 but not 36...Ke6? 37.Ke4 etc] 37.Ke4 [not 37.Kd5? g4!] Ke6) Kd4 35.Kf2 Ke5 (not 35...Kc3 36.e5) 36.Ke1 Kd4 37.Ke2 Ke5 38.Kd3, which reaches the same position as after 33...g5 but with Black to move, which puts Black in zugzwang. There are alternatives along the way but the engines show White is winning.

New Engines

NEW free versions of the analysis engines Stockfish and Komodo have been released.

I do not know how long these versions have been available, but for those interested Stockfish11 is at https://stockfishchess.org/download/ while Komodo11.01 is at https://komodochess.com/

Fundamentals (part 34)

David Barron (1966) - Spanton (2051)
Hastings 2006-07

Black has just captured on g6 - who stands better?

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No one, at least according to Stockfish10 and Komodo10. They reckon the position is dead-equal, but clearly one slip could radically change the assessment.
44.Ke5 Kf7
My original notes show Fritz9 and Junior10 wanted Black to play 44...Kh5. There seems nothing wrong with their suggestion, but Stockfish10 and Komodo10 both give the text.
45.b4 Ke7 46.Kf5 Kd6
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47.Kg6?
It seems 47.a3, 47.Ke4 and 47.Kf4 hold the balance.
47...Ke5
White is lost.
48.Kxg7 Kd4 49.c5 Kc4 50.a3
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50...a6
But White wins after 50...Kb3?? 51.b5.
51.Kf6 Kb3 52.Ke6 Kxa3 53.Kd6 Kxb4 54.c6 bxc6 55.Kxc6 a5 0-1

Fundamentals (part 33)

Spanton (2032) - Adam Ashton (2294)
Isle Of Man 2005

White to play and draw

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53.Ka2!
White loses after 53.axb6 Kxb6, eg 54.Kc2 Ka5 55.Kc3 a6 (this reserve tempo is crucial) 56.b4+! (the best shot as 56.Kc2 loses to 56...Kb4 57.Kb2 a5 58.Kc2 a4 59.bxa4 Kxa4 60.Kc3 Ka3 etc) Kb6! (not 56...cxb4+ 57.Kb3 Kb6 58.Kxb4 when Black needs to find 58...Kb7! to draw) 57.Kb3 Kc6! 58.Kc3 cxb4+ 59.Kxb4 Kb6 etc.
Also losing is 53.Ka3 although not because of Stockfish10 and Komodo10's top choice 53...b5, which only draws, eg 54.Kb2 b4 55.Ka2 Kb7 56.Kb2 Ka6 57.Ka2 Kxa5 when the engines somehow reckon Black is winning even though Black cannot make progress. However Black can play 53...Kb7!, which wins because White will eventually be forced to capture on b6, losing as in the first line of this note.
53...bxa5
If 53...Kb7 then 54.Ka3 when 54...Ka6 can be met by 55.Ka4.
If 53...b5 then 54.Ka3 when 54...b4+ (54...bxc4 55.bxc4 Kb7 56.Kb3) 55.Ka4 a6 is stalemate.
54.Ka3 Kb6
If 54...a4 then 55.bxa4 draws but 55.Kxa4? loses to 55...Kb6 etc.
55.Ka4 Ka6 56.Ka3 Kb6 56.Ka4 Ka6 ½–½

Fundamentals (part 32)

Spanton (2032) - Foppe-Jan Montsma (1956)
Amsterdam B 2005

Black has just captured on d5 - who stands better?

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26.Ke2
White has a large advantage, although the text is the only way to preserve it, according to the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
26...h5 27.Kd3 h4 28.g3 h3 29.f4 a6 30.a3 a5 31.a4 c5 32.g4
White's threat to create a passer on the kingside will, if all else fails, force Black to abandon the queenside.
32...c6 33.g5 Kd6
Or 33...Ke6 34.Ke4 etc.
34.Kc4
Black is in zugzwang.
34...Ke6 35.Kxc5 Kf5 36.b4 1-0

Fundamentals (part 31)

Spanton (2014) - A Seidl (1588)
Liechtenstein 2003

White has just captured on d3 - how would you assess the position?

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Black is slightly better.
Don't believe it? Neither do I, but that is the initial verdict of the analysis engine Stockfish10. It quickly changes to equal, and eventually settles on plus-over-minus, ie White has the upper hand. Komodo10 starts off rating the position as equal but comes to slightly prefer White.
Most human players of club standard and above would, I suspect, A) guess the ending is likely to have arisen from the Exchange Variation of the Spanish (it did), B) assess the position as much better, probably winning, for White.
27...Ke5
This is the engines' choice.
28.Ke3 c6
The engines suggest 28...Kd6 but that does not seem to be an improvement.
29.f4+ Ke6 30.g4 g6 31.a4 b5 32.b3 f5?!
I believe Black is lost anyway but this makes it too easy for White. The engines suggest 32...Kf7, eg 33.h4 Ke6 34.f5+ gxf5 35.exf5+ Ke5 36.Kf3 h6 37.a5 b4 38.Ke3 Kd6 39.Kf4 etc.
The game finished:
33.exf5+ gxf5 34.gxf5+ Kxf5 35.Kf3 h6 36.h3 h5 37.Ke3 Kf6 38.Ke4 Ke6 39.f5+ Kf7 40.h4 bxa4 41.bxa4 a5 42.Ke5 Ke7 43.f6+ Kf8 44.Kf5 Kf7 45.Kg5 Kf8 46.Kxh5 1-0

Fundamentals (part 30)

J Coleman (2052) - Spanton (2005)
Hastings Challengers 2002-03

White has just captured on d4  - what should the result be?

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White is winning easily, according to the analysis engines Komodo10 and Stockfish10, but why is this? I am not sure, but I guess the main reason is White's central space advantage.
39...b5
The seems to be Black's best try, but White's advantage is large: approximately +10 according to Komodo10, almost +24 according to Stockfish10.
40.f5 a5
Hoping to create a queenside passed pawn.
41.Ke4 Kd7 42.d5 c5
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43.d6?
White keeps a winning advantage with a move such as 43.f6 or 43.e6+.
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43...a4?
The general rule that it is best to first advance the unopposed pawn of a majority is correct here (but note that White's 43.d6? incorrectly conformed to that rule). After 43...c4 our postmortem analysis went 44.Kd4 Kc6 45.g6 hxg6 46.e6 Kxd6 47.exf7 Kxf7 48.fxg6, which is drawn after 48...a4. However the engines show White wins with the intricate line 45.a4!, eg 45...b4 46.Kxc4 Kd7 47.Kd4 Kc6 48.e6 Kxd6 49.exf7 Ke7 50.g6 hxg6 51.fxg6 Kf8 52.Ke5 Ke7 53.Ke4 Kf8 54.Kf5 Ke7 55.Kg5 b3 56.Kh6 b2 57.Kg7 b1=Q 58.f8=Q+ etc.
But this is academic as, going back to the position after 44.Kd4, the engines find 44...a4, which seems to draw, eg 45.e6+ Kxd6 46.exf7 Ke7 47.g6 hxg6 48.fxg6 Kf8 49.Ke5 Ke7 50.Ke4 and now, rather than 50...Kf8?, which loses in a similar way to the previous line thanks to 51.Kf5 etc, Black draws with 50...c3 or 50...b4.
The game finished:
44.Kd5 b4 45.e6+ fxe6 46.fxe6+ Kd8 47.Kc6 b3 48.e7+ Ke8 49.d7+ Kxe7 50.Kc7 b2 51.d8=Q+ Kf7 52.Qf6+ 1-0

Fundamentals (part 29)

Mark Lyell (2218) - Spanton (2039)
Hastings Challengers 2001-02

White to play and win

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51.h4!
The only winning move, eg 51.h3 can be met by 51...Kg6 (51...Ke6 also draws) 52.h4 Kf6, reaching the same position as after 51.h4! but with White instead of Black to move, which makes all the difference.
51...Ke6 52.Ke4 Kf6 53.Kd5 Ke7
Taking the opposition with 53...Kf7 actually loses quicker, according to the Nalimov endgame tablebase, eg 54.Ke5 Ke7 55.Kf5 Kf7 56.h5 Kg7 57.Ke6 etc.
54.Ke5 Kf7 55.Kf5 Kg7 56.Ke6 Kg6 57.Ke7 Kg7 58.h5 1-0

Fundamentals (part 28)

Leo Keely (174) - Spanton (173)
Hastings Challengers 1998-99

White to make his 33rd move

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33.a3?
This loses, as does 33.g3?, but White has two ways to make a draw: 33.c4+ and 33.a4! The latter is better because it sets a trap.
After 33.c4+ bxc4 34.Ke3 c5 (if 34 ...a4 then 35.a3) 35.dxc5 Kxc5 36.c3 Black cannot make progress, eg 36...Kb5 37.Kd2 Ka4 38.Kc2 Ka3 39.Kb1 etc.
After 33.a4! the impulsive 33.bxa4? loses to 34.c4+ Kd6 35.c5+! Kd7 36.Kc3 Kc8 37.Kb2 Kb7 38.Ka3 Ka7 39.Kxa4 Ka6 40.c3 Kb7 41.Kxa5 Ka7 42.c4 Kb7 43.d5 etc, eg 43...Kc8 44.d6 Kd7 45.dxc7 Kxc7 46.Ka6 and Black will lose the c6 pawn.
However after 33.a4! the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 show Black draws with 33...Kd6 and the transpositional 33...h6, eg 33...Kd6 34.c4 (but 34.g3? loses to 34...bxa4, eg 35.c4 a3 36.c5+ Kd7 37.Kc3 a4 when White is in zugzwang) b4 when neither side can make progress.
After the text it is Black to play and win.
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33...a4?
33...c5 wins easily, eg 34.dxc5 Kxc5 35.Ke3 Kc4 36.Kd2 a4 etc.
After the text it is White to play and draw.
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34.g3
The engines show 34.c4+! draws after 34...bxc4+ 35.Ke3! c5 36.dxc5 Kxc5 37.c3.
34...c5 35.dxc5 c6?
Over-finessing - 35...Kxc5 wins.
After the text it is again White to play and draw.
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36.Ke3?
Drawing is 36.c4+ bxc4+ 37.Ke3.
The game finished:
36...Kc4 37.Kd2 h6 38.Kd1 Kxc3 39.Kc1 Kc4 40.Kb2 Kd4 41.Kc1 Kxc5 42.c3 Kc4 0-1

Fundamentals (part 27)

Spanton (173) - Michael FG Duggan (165)
Kensington (London) U175 1998

Black has just captured on g8 - what should the result be?

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48.Kxc6??
White mates easily after 48.Ke6 or 48.Ke7.
48...a4 49.bxa4 bxa4 0-1

Fundamentals (part 26)

Spanton (163) - Jovanka Houska (173)
Barking (London) 1995

Black has just captured on f6 - who stands better?

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The position is dead-equal, according to Stockfish10 and Komodo10, but that does not mean everything is simple.
30.f4
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30...h5?
This loses, but can you see why?
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31.h3?
Winning is 31.f5+, eg 31...gxf5 32.gxh5 when White's outside passed pawns make for an easy full point. Similarly 31...Kf7 32.fxg6+ Kxg6 33.gxh5+ Kxh5 34.Kf4 is a simple win.
The game finished uneventfully:
31...hxg4 32.hxg4 b6 33.b4 Kd6 34.Kd3 c5 35.dxc5+ bxc5 36.a4 g5 37.fxg5 fxg5 38.Kd2 Kc6 39.Kd3 Kb6 40.Ke3 d4+ 41.Kd3 dxc3 42.Kxc3 cxb4+ 43.Kxb4 a5+ 44.Kc4 Kc6 45.Kd4 Kd6 46.Ke4 Ke6 46.Kd4 ½–½

Fundamentals (part 25)

Spanton (161) - Kenneth Norman (191)
Guernsey 1993

White to play and win

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36.g4?
It seems two moves win.
A) 36.e5, eg 36...c4 (if 36...Kd5 then 37.h5! followed by Kf5) 37.Ke4 c5 38.Kf4 h5 (38...Ke7 39.h5!) 39.Kg5 Kxe5 40.Kxg6 etc.
B) 36.c4!?, eg 35...bxc4 37.e5 Kf7 (37...Kd5 38.h5!) 38.Ke4 Ke6 39.h5! etc.
The game finished:
36...Kf6 37.h5 g5+ 38.Ke3 ½–½

Fundamentals (part 24)

Spanton (164) - R Lane (153)
Southern Counties Chess Union U175 1993

White to play and win

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29.c3!
29.dxe5!? is also promising, but the text caused immediate resignation. The point is White will get two passed pawns far enough apart to make it impossible for the black king to cope with both of them, eg 29...Ke6 30.h5, or 29...f4+ 30.Ke2 exd4 31.cxd4 when 31...Kxd4 loses to 32.h5, or 29...fxg4 30.fxg4 e4 31.h5, or 29...b5 30.gxf5 gxf5 31.h5.

Fundamentals (part 23)

Spanton (156) - Russell Goodfellow (155)
Kings Head (London) U160 1991

White to play and win

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46.fxe5+??
This turns a win into a loss. Correct is 46.Kc4 or 46.a4 or 46.Kc5 etc. I guess that instead of calculating I must have been too afraid of the general concept of allowing a protected passed pawn.
The game finished:
46...Kxe5 47.c4 f4 48.c5 f3 49.c6 f2 50.c7 f1=Q+ 51.Kb6 Qb1+ 52.Kc6 Qc2+ 53.Kb7 Qb3+ 54.Ka8 (or 54.Kc8 Kd6, eg 55.Kd8 Qg8#) Qxa3+ 55.Kb7 Qb4+ 56.Ka8 Qc5 57.Kb7 Qb5+ 58.Ka8 Qc6+ 59.Kb8 Qb6+ 0-1

Fundamentals (part 22)

Spanton (156) - L Kuiken (152)
Hastings 3rd Week 1992

Black has just captured on a5 - what should the result be?

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31.a4! 1-0
The point is 31.a4 effectively gives the c pawn the power of being a protected passer, which means the white king is free to pick up the black pawns and then return to the queenside. However, there are pitfalls along the way, eg here is the ending played out against Stockfish10: 31...f5 32.Kd2 Ka6 33.Ke3 Kb7 34.Kd4 (not 34.Kf4? d4) Kc6 35.a5 g5 (35...Kb4 36.Kxd5 Kxa5 37.c6 etc) 36.a6 g4 37.hxg4 fxg4 38.a7 (but 38.g3? h5 is a draw) Kb7 39.Kxd5 Kxa7 40.Kd6 etc.

Fundamentals (part 21)

A Chowdhury (?) - Spanton (156)
Lloyds Bank (London) 1991

White has just captured on e4

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76...Kg4 77.f5 Kg5
77...d3 78.Kxd3 (forced) Kxf5 also wins.
78.Ke5 Kh6??
I have no idea what was going through my mind, but I guess my turning a win into a loss had something to do with having been a pawn up for a large part of the game - either I relaxed or I became frustrated and impatient at play dragging on.
Winning is ...d3 although it is not so clear as a move earlier, ie 78...d3 79.f6 d2 80.f7 d1=Q 81.f8=Q Qd4+ 82.Ke6 Qxc4+ when Black still has chances to go wrong.
79.f6 Kh7
It is too late for ...d3, eg 80.Ke6 (but not 80.f7?? Kg7 and ...Kf8) d2 81.f7 d1=Q 82.f8=Q+ Kh7 (other king moves fare no better) 83.Qf5+ transposes to the game..
80.Ke6 d3 81.f7 d2 82.f8=Q d1=Q 83.Qf5+ Kh6 84.Kf7 Qh5+ 85.Kf6 a4 86.Qf4+ Kh7 87.Qc7+ 1-0

Fundamentals (part 20)

DT Lee (137) - Spanton (147)
Barbican (London) Rapidplay 1991

White to make his 47th move - what should the result be?

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47.Kc5?
Both 47.Ke4 and 47.g3 draw, eg 47.Ke4 h4 (not 47...g4? 48.g3 Ke7 49.Kf5 Kf7 50.Kg5 etc) 48.Kd4 g4 49.Ke4 h3 50.gxh3 gxh3 51.Kf3 Kxe5 52.Kg3 Kd5 53.Kxh3 Kc5 54.Kg3 Kb5 55.Kf3 Kxa5. You may recall from my post The Power Of Two Squares (https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-power-of-two-squares.html) that this is only a win if the Black king can reach b2 or b1. A quick calculation shows that here Black is one tempo short, so the position is drawn.
The game finished:
47...Kxe5 48.Kb6 Kd6 49.Ka6 Kc6 (the white king cannot reach b7 or b8, so White cannot force the a pawn through to queen) 50.Ka7 Kc7 51.a6 h4 52.Ka8 g4 53.g3 Kc8 (not 53...hxg3? 54.a7) 54.Ka7 h3 55.Ka8 h2 0-1

Fundamentals (part 19)

William J Jenkins (?) - Spanton (147)
Middlesex League Division 1 1991

Black to play and win

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45...b4??
Winning is 45...Kxc5 (and 45...Kc6 for that matter), but the text loses. I guess I must somehow have decided the white king was 'forced' to go to g5.
46.cxb4 Kc6 47.Ke3 Kd5 48.Kd2 Ke5 49.Kc3 Kd5 ½–½
Of course White is winning, eg 50.c6 Kxc6 51.Kxc4 Kd6 52.b5 etc.

Fundamentals (part 18)

Spanton (147) - Arthur F Reed (100)
Barbican (London) Rapidplay 1991

White has just captured on c4 - who stands better, and by how much?

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White has the more-centralised king and the better pawn-majority, so has an advantage. The opening, as you may well have guessed, was a Spanish Exchange, and a position like the one in the diagram is supposed to be White's dream ending. The supposition is probably correct, but Komodo10 reckons White has only a slight edge, while Stockfish10 is not that much more bullish about White's chances.
23...b6
The engines reckon Black should play 23...a5, although 24.f4, as in the game, and 24.b4, to get rid of White's doubled pawn (24...a4? is met by 25.b5), appear good answers.
24.f4 Kf7 25.e5!?
The engines strongly dislike this move, but it may be OK. They want White to gain queenside space with 35.b4.
25...fxe5
The engines switch their preferences between the text, 25...f5 and 25...Ke6, but it is not clear that any move solves Black's problems.
26.fxe5 Ke6 27.Kd4 c5+ 28.Ke4 b5
The engines prefer 28...g6, which covers the White king's entry square at f5, but they reckon White is much better.
29.c4 g5
Again the engines prefer ....g6, but with a large advantage for White.
30.g3 c6

White to play and win

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31.h4?
The only winning move is 31.h3, when Black will end up in zugzwang, eg if, as in the game, 31...h6 then 32.h4 gxh4 (32...b4 33.h5 a5 34.g4 etc, or 33...g4 34.Kf4 a5 35.Ke4 etc) 33.gxh4 and, once Black runs out of pawn moves, his king will have to retreat.
31...h6 32.h5 a5 33.cxb5?
This loses. White's easiest route to a draw is 33.g4 b4 34.Kf3 (or 34.Kd3) Kxe5 35.Ke3.
33...cxb5 34.g4 b4 35.Kd3 Kxe5 36.Ke3 Kd5 37.Kd3 a4?
This allows a draw. Black's most-direct win is 37...Ke5 38.Ke3 c4! 39.bxc4 a4 40.Kd3 a3 41.bxa3 bxa3 42.Kc3 a2 43.Kb2 Kd4 44.Kxa2 Kxc4 when Black wins both White's remaining pawns.
38.bxa4 c4+ 39.Kc2 Kc5

White to play and draw

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40.Kd2?
The drawing line is 40.b3 c3 (not 40...cxb3+? 41.Kxb3 and 42.Kxb4) when the mutual protected passed pawns mean neither side can make progress.
40...Kb6 41.Ke3
Black offered a draw.
41...Ka5 42.Kd4
I should have taken the draw as now it is Black to play and win.
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42....Kxa4?
This turns a win into a loss. Correct is 42...c3! 43.bxc3 b3 44.Kd3 Kxa4 etc.
43.Kxc4 b3
If 43...Ka5 then 44.b3.
44.Kc3
The game finished:
44...Kb5 45.Kxb3 Kc6 46.Kc4 Kb6 47.b4 Kc6 48.b5+ Kb6 49.Kb4 Kb7 50.Kc5 Kc7 51.b6+ Kb7 52.Kb5 Kb8 53.Kc6 Kc8 54.Kd6 Kb7 55.Ke6 Kxb6 56.Kf6 Kc5 57.Kg6 Kd5 58.Kxh6 1-0

Fundamentals (part 17)

Spanton (147) - J Marley (153)
Sutton (London) Premier 1991

Black has just captured on d5 - who stands better?

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The position is dead-equal, according to the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
41.Kc3 Kc5 42.g4 g5?
42.f5 holds. The problem with the text is the white king will get access to the e4 square.
43.f5
This is probably good enough, but even stronger is 43.fxg5 fxg5 44.b4+! axb4+ 45.Kd3 Kd5 46.b3 h6 47.h3 when Black is in zugzwang. Note that if 42...f5 had been played, this idea does not work, eg 43.g5 Kd5 44.b4 axb4+ 45.Kd3 Kc5 - White's king cannot advance because the e4 square is covered. If in this line White plays 45.Kxb4 then 45...Ke4 leads to an equal queen-and-pawn ending.
43...Kb5  44.b4?
Winning seems to be 44.Kd4 Kb4 45.Kd5 Kxb3 46.Ke6 Kxb2 47.Kxf6 a4 48.Kxg5 - both players will queen but White will be a pawn up with what looks like sufficient shelter for his king as well as threats against Black's remaining pawn.
44...a4 45.Kd2 Kb4 46.h4!? h6
46...gxh4 also seems to draw.
47.hxg5 hxg5 48.Kc2
I offered  a draw.
48...Kc4

White to play and draw

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49.Kd2?
White holds with 49.Kb1 as 49...Kd4 50.Ka2 Ke3 51.Ka3 Kf3 52.Kxa4 Kxg4 is a draw, according to the Nalimov endgame tablebase.
The game finished:
49...Kd4 50.Kc2 Ke4 51.Kc3 Kf4 52.Kb4 Kxg4 53.Kxa4 Kxf5 54.b4 g4 55.b5 g3 56.b6 g2 57.b7 g1=R 0-1

Fundamentals (part 16)

J Clifford (108) - Spanton (147)
Barbican (London) rapidplay 1991

White has just captured on c5 - who stands better?

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Black, thanks to having the more-centralised king and the better pawn-structure, is winning, according to Stockfish10, or at least has the upper hand (Komodo10).
30...Ke5
But it seems that necessary to prove Black's advantage is 30...d4! The point is that after 31.cxd4 Ke6 32.Ke3 Kd5 Black has more reserve tempi with his pawns and so d4 will eventually fall, which means c5 will also fall. So the engines suggest 31.c4!? when they much prefer Black but never manage to make progress, at least in the lines I looked at with them.
31.Ke3
Better is 31.Kf3! but can you see why?
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31...g6
Winning is 31...d4+ 32.cxd4+ (if 32.Kd2 then 32...Kd5!) Kd5 and again Black's extra reserve-tempi mean the d4 and c5 pawns will eventually fall. Note that after 31.Kf3! White can meet 31...d4 with the drawing 32.c4.
After I played the text White offered a draw for the third time in the game.
32.g3?
Drawing is 32.Kf3! and, probably, 32.d4+ and 32.Kf2!?
32...g5
32...d4+! wins.
33.h3?
The engines reckon 33.Kf3! and 33.d4+ draw.
33...h5
Once again ...d4+! wins.
34.d4+
The engines slightly prefer 34.Kf3! but it seems the text also draws.
34...Kf5
The engines reckon Black's best shot is 34...Ke6!? Their main line runs 35.Kd3 Kd7!? 36.h4! (an only-move, apparently, eg 36.Ke3 runs into 36...Kc6, and if 37.Kd3 then 37...Kb5 seems to win, one variation running 38.h4 gxh4 39.gxh4 a5 40.Kc2 Kc4 41.Kd2 b5 42.cxb6 cxb6 43.Kc2 b5 44.Kd2 b4 45.cxb4 axb4 46.Ke3 Kc3 etc) gxh4 37.gxh4 Ke6 38.c4 a6!? 39.cxd5+ Kxd5 40.a3 a5 41.a4 c6 42.Kc3 Ke4 43.Kc4 and White holds, but there are plenty of alternatives along the way.
35.Kf3?!
It may be White had to play 35.Kd3.
35...a5
The engines give 35...Ke6!, which reaches the same position as in the previous note but with the white king one further square away from the queenside. Their main line continues 36.Ke3 Kd7 and now 37.h4 does not work as after 37...gxh4 38.gxh4 Black has 38...Ke6!, eg 39.Kf4 Kf6 40.a3 a6 41.a4 a5 42.Ke3 Kf5 43.Kf3 c6 and the white king has to give way.
36.g4+ hxg4+ 37.hxg4+ Ke6 38.Ke3 Kd7 39.Kd3 Kc6 40.a4 b5 41.cxb6 cxb6??
41...Kxb6 draws easily, eg 42.c4 c6 but presumably I was still trying for a win.
42.c4 Kd6
White offered a draw.
43.Kc3 dxc4??
Other moves also lose, eg 43...Kc6 44.cxd5+ Kxd5 45.Kd3 etc, but the double question-mark is for not taking the draw.
44.Kxc4 Kc6 45.d5+ Kd6 46.Kb5 Kxd5 47.Kxb6 Kc4 48.Kxa5 Kc5 ½–½
My notes do not show, but I think that after I played 48...Kc5 White made his fifth draw-offer of the game, and even I by now could see I had to accept.

Fundamentals (part 15)

D Scott (166) - Spanton (147)
Hastings Main A 1990

Several candidate moves come to mind, including ...c5, ...b5, ...a6 and ...Ke7, but can you tell which one of them loses?

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32...c5?
This loses, as will be seen. The other three moves draw, but it is easier to understand why by first seeing how the text loses.
33.c3 c4
White offered a draw.
34.a4 ½–½
White should not have offered a draw. After 34...a5 (34...a6 is met in the same way), White has 35.g5 fxg5+ 36.Kxg5 and Black will lose the d5 pawn, eg 36...Ke7 37.Kf5 Kd6 38.Kf6 Kd7 39.Ke5 Kc6 40.Ke6 etc.
So the reason 32...c5? loses is that it unprotects the d5 pawn, after which the black king is shouldered out of the way by the white king The same is not true after the other three suggested moves, although Black has to beware zugzwang, eg:
A) 32...b5 33.b4 Ke7! (an only-move, as will be shown later) 34.g5 fxg5+ 35.Kxg5 Ke6 (another only-move, but this time easier to find) 36.Kg6 Ke7 (only-move) 37.Kf5 Kf7 (only-move) 38.Ke5 Ke7 (only-move) 39.c3 Kd7 (39...a6 also draws) 40.Kf6 Kd6 (another only-move, but now it can be seen White cannot make further progress as the d5 pawn is defended and he cannot get at the c6 pawn).
Going back to the position after 33.b4, the plausible 33...a6 loses to 34.g5 fxg5+ 35.Kxg5 because White has two reserve tempi, eg 35...Ke7 36.Kf5 Kf7 37.Ke5 Ke7 38.c3 (the first reserve tempo) Kd7 39.Kf6 Kd6 40.a3 (the second reserve tempo) Kd7 41.Kf7 Kd6 42.Ke8 Kc7 (or 42...Ke6 43.Kd8 Kd6 44.Kc8 etc) 43.Ke7 Kc8 44.Kd6 Kb7 45.Kd7 Kb6 46.Kc8 Ka7 47.Kc7 and the c6 pawn falls.
B) 32...a6 33.g5 fxg5+ 34.Kxg5 a5 35.a4 Ke7 (an only-move as Black needs to keep the d5 pawn protected from c6) 36.Kf5 Kf7 37.Ke5 Ke7 38.c3 (White uses a reserve tempo so he can shoulder the black king out of position, but here it is not enough to win, although Black has to continue to find only-moves) Kd7 39.Kf6 Kd6 40.b3 (not 40.b4? as 40...b5! wins since Black will get an unstoppable passer) Kd7!? (alos drawing is 40...b5 and, now that b3 has been played, even 40...c5, but the text sets a trap) 41.Kf7 Kd6 and White has to accept a draw as the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 show 42.Ke8? loses to 42...c5!, eg 43.Kd8 c4 44.bxc4 dxc4 45.Kc8 Kc6 with ...b5 to come.
C) 32...Ke7 (perhaps surprisingly, at least at first glance, the engines reckon this retreat also draws) 33.Kf5 Kf7 34.a3 a6 35.c3 b5 36.b4 (Black has been run out of pawn moves and has to move his king, but White has no reserve tempi and so cannot win) Ke7 37.g5 fxg5 38.Kxg5 Kf7 (38...Kd7 also draws, but losing is 38...Ke6? 39.Kg6 Ke7 40.Kg7! Ke6 41.Kf8 as the c6 pawn eventually falls) 39.Kf5 Ke7 40.Ke5 Kd7 41.Kf6 Kd6 - Black draws as his king cannot be shouldered out of the way by the white king.

Fundamentals (part 14)

Spanton (147) - D Ewart (148)
Highbury (London) Rapidplay 1990

White has just captured on c4 - who stands better?

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No prizes for guessing this ending arose from the Exchange Variation of the Spanish.
The analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 are not particularly impressed by the white position, but eventually agree White is slightly better. I suspect most humans would put White's advantage as higher than that - certainly White is the only player who can realistically hope for a win.
26...g5!?
Stockfish10 marginally prefers 26...a5. Komodo10 at one point sticks with 26...f5 for quite some time, but then switches to the text.
27.fxg5!?
The engines much prefer 27.g3, continuing 27...a5 28.b4 axb4 29.h4!? gxh4 30.gxh4 f5!? 31.e5 Kf7 32.Kxb4 with what they reckon is a large advantage for White, one line running 32...Ke6 33.Kc4 Ke7 34.Kc5 Ke6 when they continue to much prefer White, but do not come up with a continuation that makes progress.
27...fxg5 28.Kd4 c5+! 29.Ke3
The white king has to fall back as 29.Kxc5? is met by 29...Ke5 when White is close to being lost (the engines reckon Black is winning, but best play seems to lead to a queen-and-pawn ending in which Black is a pawn up, and is winning according to the engines, but the Nalimov endgame tablebase shows the position to be drawn).
29...h5!?
This seems to be OK, although at first the engines do not like it, but more natural is 29...Ke5.
30.g3
A better try seems to be the engines' 30.h4!?, eg 30...gxh4 31.Kf4 Kf6 32.e5+ Kg6 33.e6 Kf6 34.e7 Kxe7 35.Kg5 h3! 36.gxh3 Ke6 37.Kxh5, but 37...Kf5 looks to hold the draw.
30...c6?
Black seems to have a simple draw after 30...Ke5, and if, as in the game, 31.h4 then 31...g4 as Black has more reserve tempi and so can stop the white king penetrating.
31.h4 gxh4
Now 31...g4 is hopeless, but the text is no improvement.
32.gxh4 Ke5
At last, but too late - Black's reserve tempi will not save him as the white king can oscillate between f3 and e3 until the black king is forced to withdraw.
33.c3 b5 34.Kf3 b4 35.c4 a5 36.Ke3
The game finished:
36...Ke6 37.Kf4 Kf6 38.e5+ Ke6 39.Ke4 Ke7 40.Kf5 Kf7 41.e6+ Ke7 42.Ke5 Ke8 43.Kd6 Kd8 44.e7+ Ke8 45.Ke6 a4 46.bxa4 b3 47.Kd6 Kf7 48.Kd7 1-0

Fundamentals (part 13)

Spanton (147) - Peter L Szabo (141)
Barbican (London) rapidplay 1990

White has just captured on f3 - who stands better?

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Black is a pawn up, has a 2-1 farside majority and has a protected passed pawn ... but the position is dead-equal. The reason it is equal is there is no way for Black to penetrate with his king against correct play.
38...a4!?
The best try. If 38...Ke8, White can completely lock the queenside with 39.a4.
39.Ke3
Other moves also draw, including 39.a3.
39...Ke8 40.Kd2 Kd7 41.Kc3 Kc6 42.Kb4 a3!?
Again, pushing this pawn is Black's best try.
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43.Kxa3??
43.Ka4 draws, as does any move with the f pawn, but the text loses.
43...Kb5 44.Kb2 Ka5
Black is still winning after this, but at some point he needs to play ...Kb4 or ...Ka4.
45.Ka3 Kb5 46.Kb2 Kb4 47.a3+ Ka5
This spoils nothing, but 47...Ka4 is more natural.
48.Kc3 Kb5 49.Kc2 Ka4 50.Kb2 Kb5 ½–½
Black is still winning, eg 51.Kc2 Ka4 52.Kb2 c3+! 53.Kxc3 Kxa3 54.f3 Ka4 55.Kc2 Kb4 56.Kd3 Kb3 57.f4 Kb4 58.Kd2 Kc4 59.Ke3 Kc3 etc.

Fundamentals (part 12)

Spanton (147) - K Evangelous (145)
Middlesex League Division 1 1990

Black has just played 38...Kd7-c8 and offered his third draw of the game - should White accept?

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No - the pawn ending is won for White.
39.Qe8+ Kb7 40.Qxa8+ Kxa8 41.exf5!?
Black has prospects of creating a protected passed pawn after this. But even if he does, it will not do him any good as White will be able to create a passed kingside pawn to go with his passed queenside pawn, and the black king will not be able to stop both.
41...gxf5 42.Ke3 h5
If 42...d5 then 43.f4. And if 42...Ka7 43.f3 Ka6 then 44.g4 fxg4 45.fxg4 Kxa5 46.g5 Kb5 47.h4 Kc6 48.h5 Kd7 49.g6 hxg6 50.h6 (but not 50.hxg6?? Ke6).
43.f3 Ka7
If 43...d5 then 44.g4.
44.g4 fxg4 45.fxg4 hxg4 46.hxg4 Ka6 47.g5 Kxa5 48.g6 d5 49.g7 d4+ 50.Ke4 1-0

Fundamentals (part 11)

Keith Jones (143) - Spanton (147)
London League Division 5 1990

White has just captured on f2 and offered a draw - should Black accept?

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The position is dead-equal, according to the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10, so accepting a draw or playing on is largely a matter of taste.
35...h4 36.Kf3 b5 37.e4 bxc4 38.bxc4 fxe4+ 39.Kxe4

Black to play and draw

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39...a6?
Three moves draw, but this is not one of them.
A 39...a5 40.a4 c5 (40...Kf6 also draws) 41.dxc5 (simpler than 41.d5+ Kf6 42.d6 cxd6 43.Kd5 Ke7 44.Kc6 Ke6 45.Kb5 Ke5 46.Kxa5 d5 47.cxd5 Kxd5 48.Kb5, when both players queen and the game is drawn)) c6.
B 39...c5 40.dxc5 (40.d5+ Kf6 41.a4 a5 transposes to 41.d5+ in line A) c6.
C 39...Kf6 40.c5 (40.a4 a5 transposes to previous lines) Ke6 41.a4 a5 42.Ke3 Kf5 (but not 42...Kd5? 43.Kd3 Ke6 44.Ke4 Kf6 45.d5 etc) 43.Kf3 Kf6 44.Ke4 Ke6.
40.a4 a5 ½–½
Both 41.c5 and 41.d5+ win for White.

Fundamentals (part 10)

Spanton (151) - J Simons (130)
Kings Head (London) Major 1990

Black has just captured on e5 - how should White proceed?

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It might be thought Black is obviously better. After all, he has more space in the centre and he has an undamaged pawn majority. But Komodo10 reckons Black has just a slight edge, while Stockfish10 rates the position as level. However, the engines agree White's next move is critical.
27.b4?
The engines give 27.Kc4. But as soon as the move is played on the board, Stockfish10's assessment switches from dead-equal to Black being the equivalent of almost a pawn ahead. However, given enough time, Stockfish10's assessment changes to about a half-pawn advantage for Black, and eventually to equality. Komodo10 goes through a similar process.
Best play after 27.Kc4, the engines agree, is 27...Ke4 28.g4 c6 29.Kc5 d3 30.cxd3+ Kxd3 31.a4 Kc2 32.b4 Kb3 33.a5 Kb2 34.f3 Kb3 35.f4 Kb2 36.g3 Kb3 37.f5 Kc3 38.Kd6 Kxb4 39.Ke6 c5 40.Kf7 c4 40.Kxg7 c3 41.f6 c2 42.f7 c1=Q 43.f8=Q+ - a long line that is largely forced and seems to lead to equality.
27...c6?
The engines reckon Black should play 27...b5 or 27...Kd5, in both cases preventing 28.Kc4.
28.a4? Kd5
Black seems to be winning in all lines.
The game finished:
29.g4 b6 30.f3 c5 31.b5 c4+ 32.Kd2 Kc5 33.c3 Kd5 34.g3 dxc3+ 35.Kxc3 Kc5 36.f4 Kd5 37.g5 hxg5 38.fxg5 Kc5 39.g6 Kd5 40.Kc2 Kd4 41.Kd2 c3+ 42.Kc2 Kc4 43.Kc1 Kb3 0-1

Fundamentals (part nine)

Spanton (151) - Martin Cutmore (152)
Barbican (London) Rapidplay 1989

Black has just captured on e6

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Black's king is more centralised, and White has a backward e pawn, but neither factor seems very important - the position is dead-equal, according to analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
26.Kf3 h5
Komodo10 reckons 26...f5 27.Kf4 Kf6 is a tiny bit better for Black, which is why the engine preferred 26.g4. Stockfish10 rates the position after 27...Kf6 as still dead-equal.
27.e4 dxe4+ 28.Kxe4
We now have rival pawn majorities, which makes it much easier to go wrong, as Black does immediately.
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28...f5+?
A useful general rule-of-thumb is that you should first advance the unopposed pawn of a pawn majority. But here that rule-of-thumb is wrong as, after the text, White's h pawn is holding up two black pawns. And since the white g pawn is holding up the f pawn, Black's pawn majority can no longer make a passed pawn with normal play.
Indeed, after ...
29.Kf4
... Black is obliged to reply ...
29...Kf6
(29...g6 30.Kf5 Kf7 is no improvement) ... and White is free to create a winning passer on the queenside.
30.c4 g6 31.d5 cxd5 32.cxd5 a5 33.b3 b5 34.a4 b4 35.g3
Having this reserve tempo is nice, but it is not necessary as 35.d6 also wins.
35...Ke7 36.Ke5 1-0

Fundamentals (part eight)

Spanton (151) - Hass Ha'eri-Zadeh (?)
Middlesex League Division 1 1989

Black has just captured on g7 and offered a draw

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The opening of the game, as I am sure many people will have guessed, was the Exchange Variation of the Spanish. It is often said the pawn ending in the Spanish Exchange is won for White (assuming the basic structure has stayed the same). However, I remember IM Andrew Whiteley telling me the situation is not as simple as that, which certainly proved to be the case here. For what it is worth, Stockfish10 reckons White has the upper hand, while Komodo10 reckons White has only a slight edge.
23.Ke2 Kf6 24.Ke3 c5 25.f4 Ke6 26.g4 h6 27.h4
The engines give 27.e5!? as very strong, and if 27...Kd5 then 28.c4+ Ke6 29.Ke4, eg 29...c6 30.f5+ Ke7 31.g5! hxg5 32.fxg6 fxg6 33.Kf3 Ke6 34.Kg4 Kf7 35.Kxg5 Kg7 36.e6 etc.
27...f6
Stockfish10 wants Black to play 27...h5? But when it is shown 28.f5+ (Komodo10 finds this quickly), it realises Black is lost, eg 28...gxf5 29.gxh5 or 28...Ke5 29.fxg6 fxg6 30.gxh5 gxh5 - in each case White's passed pawn makes the win relatively trivial. And if 28...Kf6 then simply 29.gxh5 gxh5 30.Kf4 etc.
28.Kd3
The engines reckon that strongest is 28.f5+!? gxf5 29.exf5+, eg 29...Ke5 30.c3 b6 31.c4 b5 32.Kf3 bxc4 33.bxc4 a5 34.b3 c6 35.Ke3 Kd6 36.Kf4 Ke7 37,g5 etc.
28...b5
The engines want Black to move his king, for example to d6, so the pawn-thrust f5 does not come with check and can therefore be met by ...g5.
29.Ke3
f5+!? is again winning, according to the engines.
29...Kd6 30.Kf3 Ke6
This is not liked by the engines because it again allows f5+.
31.g5 hxg5 32.hxg5 fxg5 33.fxg5 Ke5 34.Ke3 a5 35.Kf3?
35.c3 is equal, according to the engines.
35...c4?
The engines' 35...b4 wins, eg 36.Ke3 c4! 37.bxc4 a5 etc or 37.Kf3 c5 38.Ke3 cxb3 39.cxb3 c4 etc.
36.bxc4 bxc4 37.Ke3 a4 38.c3 

Guess what happened next

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Neither player can make progress after 38...c5 or 38...c6. Instead Black resigned.

Fundamentals (part seven)

Spanton (151) - P Barnett (133)
Highbury (London) rapidplay 1989

White to play and draw

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48.Kd1??
48.Ke3 draws.
48...e3 0-1