Fundamentals (part 46)

Dominic Klingher (2116) - Spanton (1927)
Jersey 2017

Black has just captured on g7 - who stands better?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
White is winning because the passed g pawn can be used to distract the black king from the queenside. Meanwhile it will not be easy for Black to create a passer.
40.Kf2 Kf6 41.Ke3 Ke5
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
42.g4?
Premature. White should improve his position on the queenside before pushing the g pawn. The analysis engines Komodo11.01 and Stockfish11 give 42.a4 as best, eg 42...a6 and only now 43.g4 when 43...a5 (43...b5 44.a5 is no improvement) 44.Kd3 leaves Black in zugzwang.
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
42...b5!
The only drawing move.
43.g5
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
43...Kf5?
Black again had to find an only move, viz 43...a6, eg 44.g6 Kf6 45.Kd4 Kxg6 46.Kxd5 Kf5 47.Kc5 Ke4 48.Kb6 Kd5! 49.Kxa6 Kc5 50.a3 Kc6! 51.Ka5 Kc4 when White cannot make progress.
44.Kd4 Kxg5 45.Kxd5 Kf4 46.Kc5 a6 47.Kb6 Ke4 48.Kxa6 Kd3 49.Kxb5 Kxc3 50.a4 1-0

Painful

MY opponent in the last round at Jersey failed to show, so I finished the tournament on +0=2-5 for a Fide rating loss of 30.8 elo.

A Tale Of Two Islands

Spanton (1914) - Ian Heppell (2001)
Jersey Round 8
Botvinnik English
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 f5
Black is playing the Grand Prix Attack with colours reversed and a tempo less.
4.Bg2 Nf6 5.a3!?
This move goes all the way back to a game of Bird's in 1889 (he lost) and has been played in more modern times by Nakamura, Naiditsch and other strong players. The idea - at least, my idea in playing it - is to stop Black playing ...Bb4 (Bb5 being a popular move for White in the Grand Prix Attack proper).
The most popular line in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database runs 5.d3 Bb4 6.Bd2 0-0 7.a3 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 d6 9.Nf3 Qe8, reaching a position from which Black scores a stupendous 63%, but which my main analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo9 regard as quite a bit better for White.
The last time I had White against IH, also in the Channel Islands, the game continued 5.e3!? (Tony Kosten warns in The Dynamic English against playing this) d5!? 6.Nxd5 Nxd5 7.cxd5 Nb4 8.d3 Nxd5, when, according to Kosten, "Black has a reasonable Sicilian structure." Spanton (2030) - Heppell (2106), Guernsey 2013 (½–½, 17 moves).
5...d6
Most popular is 5...a5, but it is by no means clear that Black has to stop White playing b4.
6.d3 g6!?
Now Black is playing a Closed Sicilian with colours reversed and a tempo down.
7.e4
Arguably more consistent was 7.b4 but the text, which establishes a Botvinnik formation, has been the choice of  at least two 2500+ players.
7...Bg7 8.Nge2 0-0 9.0-0 Ne7
This may be a novelty. Most popular is 9...Be6.
10.b4 c6 11.Bb2 Be6 12.Rc1
Preparation for the c file being opened after a later ...d5.
12...Qd7 13.a4?!
Black's next move shows White's queenside play is too slow.

Can you find Black's thematic move in this type of position?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
13...f4! 14.gxf4 Nh5 15.fxe5
The engines agree this is White's best try.
15...dxe5!?
I thought 15...Bxe5 was more dangerous, but the engines prefer the text. The position is certainly unclear, eg after 15...Bxe5, Komodo9 likes 16.f3, which it reckons is slightly better for White, but Stockfish10 reckons 16.f3 is slightly better for Black.
16.Rc2
Again the position is unclear. Komodo9 suggests 16.b5 with equal chances, but Stockfish10 reckons Black is close to winning after meeting 16.b5 with 16...g5 or 16...Rf7.
16...Bh3
The engines prefer a slow build-up with 16...g5 or 16...Rad8.
16...Bh6 looked strong in the postmortem, but as with many moves around here the best continuation is far from clear.
17.f3 Rad8 18.Bc1 Bxg2
The engines want to prepare ...g5 with 18...h6 or 18...Bf6.
19.Kxg2 Nf4+?!
This seems to dissipate what remains of Black's advantage. Again ...h6 and ...Bf6 are liked by the engines.
20.Nxf4?!
The engines agree White is quite a bit better after 20.Bxf4 exf4 21.d4.
20...exf4 21.Ne2 g5 22.d4 Ng6 23.Kh1 Nh4?!
The engines give 23...g4 24.d5 cxd5 25.Qxd5+ Qf7 26.Qxf7+ Rxf7 27.fxg4 Re8, when Black is temporarily two pawns down, but is about to get one back and apparently has almost full compensation for the other one.
24.Qe1?
Better was 24.d5 as the text allows Black a neat combination.

Black to make his 24th move

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
24...Qh3
This is fine if followed up correctly, but even stronger seems to be 24...Bxd4! We both thought it failed to 25.Rd2, but then comes 25...Qh3 26.Nxd4 Rxd4 27.Rdf2 (27.Rxd4?? Qg2#) Rd3 28.Qe2 Rfd8 with what the engines reckon is a winning attack.
25.Ng1 Qd7
Better is 25...Qc8! with 26...Bxd4 to follow, when Black has restored material equality and still has an attack, although the engines disagree just how much better this is for Black.
26.Ne2
As IH pointed out in the postmortem, White has an edge after 26.Bb2.
The game finished:
26...Qh3 27.Ng1 Qd7 ½–½

A Touch Of The Tartakowers

GRANDMASTER Savielly Tartakower is credited with giving a lecture tour in which he talked about the numerous tournaments he won, the great players he met and the interesting opening ideas he came up with.
But he used to admit to audiences, and I am paraphrasing, he had one big regret in chess: "I have never managed to beat a fully healthy opponent."
Tartakower's confession reminds me I have been on two sets of painkillers since my visit to A&E last week. One of the painkillers, Co-codamol, "may make you sleepy."
On the other hand I have not felt particularly tired during my games in the Jersey Open, although I have been yawning profusely immediately after them.
Today I have been given a compulsory bye, and I hope to get through the day without taking any painkillers, and to do the same tomorrow in preparation for round eight.
Of course I could stay off painkillers till the cows come home and perhaps not improve my chess.

Jersey cows in St Helier - the island's answer to Milton Keynes?

Hallucination

MY miserable Jersey tournament continued today when I lost in 32 moves as White against a local junior.

White to make his 29th move in Spanton (1914) - Jem Gurner (1751)

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
29.Bd2?
I had sacrificed a pawn in the opening for a long-lasting initiative. My original intent here was to threaten to double on the seventh after 29.Rh7 with what is an unclear position, although Stockfish10 and Komodo9 slightly prefer Black.
Instead I suffered a hallucination that I compounded after …
29...Rd8
… by playing …
30.Bxa5??
There followed:
30...Rxa5 31.Rb8+ Kd7 32.R1b7+ Ke8 0-1

Play The Board, Not The Man

TURNING down a draw offer when your position is slightly inferior can sometimes be justified.
But playing on when you think you are much worse requires exceptional optimism or massive arrogance, or an unhealthy combination of both.
But then I have always been a glass-half-empty person when it comes to draws, regarding them as closer to losses than to wins.
This is true in most football leagues and a few chess tournaments, where it is 3pts for a win and 1pt for a draw, but it is certainly not the case at the Jersey Open.

White has just played 16.Qc2-b3 and offered a draw in Victor Rumsey (1858) - Spanton (1914), round five

The game continued:
16...g5?
I am pretty sure it was Bronstein who said that to lose one's objectivity at the board was to almost invariably lose the game.
17.Bb1 g4 18.Ne5 Qd6 19.Nd3 Qd7 20.Ne2 a5?
If I had seriously asked myself, 'Whose king is in greater danger?', I would have surely played 20...Qd5, which would have forced queens off thanks to Black's threats along the long light-square diagonal.
21.Ne5 Qd6 22.bxa5 Nax5 23.Qxb5 Ba6?
Again it was better to get queens off, even though a pawn down.
24.Qxa5 Bxe2 25.Rd2 Ba6??
A blunder in an already-lost position.
26.Rc6 (1-0, 42 moves)

Missed Opportunities

TODAY was the double-round day at Jersey - necessary to fit nine rounds into a Saturday-to-Saturday schedule - and it turned out for me to be a day of missed opportunities.
First up this morning in round three I had Black.

Black to make his 31st move in Alek Safarian (2005) - Spanton (1914)

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
31...Rh2??
A ridiculous move that removes any danger from White's king while exposing Black's weak kingside pawns.
I wanted to play 31...g5 but rejected it because of 32.Ne4. What I missed, but Stockfish10 and Komodo9 see instantly, is that Black has 32...Nxe3! as the obvious 33.Bxe3 runs into 33...gxf4. Black is then temporarily down a bishop for two pawns, but threatens to win the e3 bishop or fork White's king and g2 rook, in either case giving Black a winning advantage.
After the text, the game continued ...
32.Rxh2 Nxh2 33.Ne4
… when White's bishop-pair, combined with Black's weak pawns and uncoordinated pieces, gave White a winning advantage (1-0, 53 moves)
***********************************
MY reward for being the only player in the Open on nul points was to be upfloated against the 12th seed in round four.
Spanton (1914) - Paul Curtis (2186)
French Rubinstein (Fort Knox Variation)
1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7!?
The Fort Knox has a super-solid reputation but seems a strange choice against someone rated 272 elo lower. Stockfish10 at first rates Black's fourth move as giving White a winning position, but soon calms down.
5.Nf3 Bc6 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.0-0 Ngf6 8.Qe2
It is more popular to avoid exchanges with 8.Ng3.
8...Be7 9.Re1 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Bxe4 11.Qxe4 c6 12.Ne5!?
The engines do not like this, preferring 12.Bf4.
12...Nf6 13.Qf3!?

Position after 13.Qf3!?

This seems to be a novelty. The idea is to meet 13...Qxd4 with 14.Nxc6, when the engines agree with what I thought was the main line, namely 14...Qd5 (14...bxc6?? loses the a8 rook after 15.Qxc6+) 15.Qxd5 Nxd5 16.Nxe7 Kxe7, when White has bishop-v-knight and a queenside pawn-majority, but Black has no weaknesses.
13...Qd5 14.c3
The engines reckon 14.Qxd5 cxd5 is fine for White, but I suspect PC would have fancied his chances of turning a minority attack into a full point.
14...Qxf3 15.Nxf3 0-0 16.Bf4 Rac8 17.Rad1 Rfd8 18.h3 Nd5 19.Be5 Bf6 20.Bxf6 Nxf6 21.Ne5 Rd6 22.Nc4 Rd5 23.a4 Rcd8 24.b4 b6?!
This may look aggressive because of the line-up of Black's rooks on the d file, but in reality it is weakening.
25.Ne5
Even stronger is 25.a5, which I looked at but was not sure about after 25...c5? 26.axb6, although with the help of the engines it is fairly easy to see that Black is in big trouble, eg 26...cxd4? 27.bxa7 wins for White, not least thanks to the threat of Nb6. The engines reckon Black's best after 25.a5 is the horrible 25...b5, when White is clearly better after 26.Ne5.
Maybe if I had not had such a disappointing start to the tournament, or had been playing someone nearer my rating, I would have looked harder at these lines instead of concentrating on avoiding defeat.
25...R5d6 26.Nc4 Rd5 27.Ne5 R5d6
While I was thinking about my next move, which would almost certainly have been 28.Nc4, PC offered a draw, which I accepted.

Missed Draw?

MY analysis engines disagree, but I seem to have missed a draw in round two of the Jersey Open today.

Black to make his 43rd move in Brendan-Budok Durand-Le Ludec (2168) - Spanton (1914)

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
43...d5?
This made it easy.
Critical was 43...Kd7, which Stockfish10 and Komdo9 reckon also loses after 44.Kf4 Kc6 45.Ke4 b5! 46.Kd4 (the immediate 46.cxb5+ transposes) Kb6 47.cxb5 Kxb5 48.Kd5 Kxb4 49.Ke6! (49.Kxd6 Kc4 is a relatively simple draw) d5 50.Kf7 (50.Kxd5 Kc3 is another simple draw) d4 51.Kxg7. Both engines have had White as winning all the way through this sequence, but the Nalimov six-piece endgame tablebase now shows the position is drawn after any Black move except 51...Ka3 or 51...Kc5.
After the move actually played, 43...d5?, the game continued:
44.cxd5 Kd6 45.f6 gxf6 46.Kf5 Kxd5 47.Kxf6 b5 48.Kg6 Kc4 49.Kxh6 Kxb4 50.Kg5 Ka3 51.h6 b4 52.h7 b3 53.h8=Q 
White wins this ending by the standard technique of checking Black's king until the king is forced to block its own pawn, at which point White's king edges closer, and so on (1-0, 58 moves)

Opening Trap

THE annual Jersey congress in the Channel Islands began today, with me seeded 19th out of 24 entrants in the Open.
Spanton (1914) - Jack Rudd (IM2253)
Botvinnik English
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 0-0 6.e4 Nc6 7.Nge2 d6 8.0-0 Rb8 9.h3
Preparing Be3.
9...a6 10.Be3
More popular are 10.a4 and 10.f4, but the text has a respectable history.
10...b5

How should White proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
11.Qd2?
This natural-looking move is White's commonest choice in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database, but it loses a pawn by force.
11...bxc4
Many players, including one rated 2505, have seemingly missed the strength of this.
12.dxc4 Ne5 13.b3 Bxh3!
Despite having lost a pawn, I manged to make a game of it, but lost in 49 moves.
Going back to the diagram, the analysis engine Stockfish10 reckons 11.f4 is equal, while Komodo9 has Black slightly better after 11.f4 or 11.b3.

Symmetrical Chess

THIS near-symmetrical position arose after 11 moves of my last-round game at Jersey.


Position after 11...Bc5! in Spanton (1851) - Krzyzstov Belzo (2103), Jersey round nine

Here are the moves that got us there:
1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3
Easily the most popular move in ChessBase's 2018 Mega database. But also represented by examples in their thousands are 3.g3 and 3.d4.
3...d5 4.d4 
Hugely more popular is 4.cxd5, when the main line involves Black setting up a Maroczy Bind by 4...Nxd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nc7 7.0-0 e5, with a position that has featured Karpov, Kramnik, Smyslov and Topalov as White, while Black's resources have been championed by Botvinnik, Fine, Reshevsky and Kasparov.
4...cxd4 5.Nxd4?!
This is disliked by my analysis engines, and scores very poorly in Mega18. Usual is 5.Nxd5.
5...Nc6?! 
Stockfish9 reckons Black is almost winning after the aggressive 5...e5.
6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e4 
8.Bd2 is the main move.
8...Nxc3 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8 10.bxc3 e5 11.Bc4 Bc5!
Reaching the diagram. Seven games arrived at this position in Mega18, and each was drawn.
My game continued:
12.0-0?!
This is probably too conservative. The king should not be in danger if it took up the more centralised e2 square.
12...Ke7 13.Rb1 Bd7 14.Bd2 Rab8 15.Rb3 Be6 16.Bxe6 Kxe6 17.Rfb1 Rxb3 18.axb3 Rd8 19.Be1
Black's pieces are more active than White's, but he has more pawn islands (1/2-1/2, 49 moves).

Albin Antics

Glyn Pugh (1847) - Spanton (1851), Jersey round eight
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.g3 Nge7
Russian GM Alexander Morozevich is credited with making this move popular, his idea being to round up the e5 pawn, but it was played as long ago as 1905 by Austria's Carl Schlecter.
6.Bg2 Ng6 7.0-0 Bf5?
Overwhelmingly most popular is 7...Ngxe5, but the text has been the choice of at least one 2300+ player.
8.e3
Nevertheless, 7...Bf5? is definitely a mistake, as is shown by the reply in my game, and by 8.Qb3, one point being that 8...Qd7 fails to 9.Qxb7 Rb8 10.Nxd4!
8...d3 9.Nc3
9.Qb3 was still strong, but the text is natural and is not bad.
9...Qd7

Position after 9...Qd7

10.e4?I'd planned to meet 10.Nd4 with 10...Nxd4 11.exd4 Qxd4, but White has several good continuations, including the obvious 12.Bxb7.
10...Bg4 11.Qe1?The position has suddenly become tricky for White. Maybe he should have got on with development by playing 11.Be3, but Black has promising compensation after 11...h5, a kingside attack being one of the main ideas of a quick ...Bf5 and ...Qd7.11...Ngxe5Stockfish9 much prefers 11...Bxf3 12.Bxf3 Ncxe5.12.Nd2??12.Nxe5 is unclear, but after the text, Black is winning.12...Nd4 13.f3 Bc5 14.Kh1 Nc2 15.Qd1 Ne3 0-1 (25 moves).

Pretty - But Flawed - Finish

MY round seven game at Jersey had a pretty-looking conclusion.

Black has just played 26...Qb4xb2 in Spanton (1851) - Nigel Livesey (1753)

The game finished 27.Rh5 Kg7 28.Rxh6 Kxh6 29.Qh3+ Kg5 30.Nxh7#.
In fact, my 27th was a mistake - I should have preferred 27.Re2, and if, say, 27...Qb4, then 28.Qh3 wins.
So, the question is, how could Black have saved himself after the move in the game, 27.Rh5?
Analysis engines have no trouble finding 27...Rd6! The point is that 28.Rxh6 is met by 28...Rxf6, when 29.Rxf6 runs into 29...Qc1+, picking up the rook on h6.

Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory

IF one lazy move cost me the game in Jersey round five, it was a series of endgame mistakes that turned a win into a loss in round six.

We reached this ending after just 22 moves in Alek Safarian (2020) - Spanton (1851)

Black is a pawn up and has a 3-1 farside majority.
But after 23.Rd7 it is clear White has the more active rook and king. Even so, Black should win with careful play.
However, AS soon felt justified in offering a draw.

White offered a draw after playing 32.Ke1-f1

Black is still better, but not by as much as I felt in the game. Indeed, I now think the position is almost certainly drawn.
I could find no way to get my king safely over to help promote my a pawn, so I eventually gave up the pawn to win White's h pawn, thinking my passed h pawn would give me an edge.
But soon the position was dead drawn - except that it was easier for White to find good moves.

Black has just played 41...Rb3-b6

The game finished:
42.f5 gxf5+
This is OK, but an even simpler draw is to be had by 42...h5+ 43.Kg5 gxf5.
43.Kxf5 h5 44.Kg5 Rh6? 
The simplest way to draw is 44...h4! 45.Kxh4 Kg6 eg 46.Kg4 f6 47.f4 fxe5 48.fxe5 Rb4+ 49.Kf3 Kf5.
45.f4 h4??
Black seems to be still drawing after 45...Rg6+ 46.Kxh5 Rg1 eg 47.f5 Rh1+ 48.Kg5 Rg1+ 49.Kf4 Rf1+ 50.Ke4 Re1+ 51.Kd5 Rf1 52.f6+ Kg6, as there seems to be no way White can make progress, eg 53.Ra3 Rb1 54.Rg3+ Kf5 (analysis with Komodo9 and Stockfish9).
46.f5
Black is completely busted.
The remaining moves were:
46...h3 47.f6+ Kh7 48.Rxf7+ Kg8 49.Rg7+ Kf8 50.e6 h2 18mins less 51.e7+ Ke8 52.Rg8+ Kd7 53.e8Q+ Kd6 54.Qe7+ Kc6 55.Rc8+ 1-0

Natural, or Lazy?

MY round five game at Jersey was heading for a draw until I played a "natural" move in the following position. Can you work out what it was, and why it lost material?

Black has just played 31...Ba6-c8 in Spanton (1851) - Richard Bryant (1932)

I lazily played 32.Ke2? (32.Kd3? is just as bad), losing a pawn, and eventually the game, after 32...Bf4.
Correct was 32.g3, after which neither player can realistically make progress.

Win, Lose or Draw?

IT is Black to move in this position from round four at Jersey. With best play, should Black win, lose or draw?

White has just played 43.Nh5-g7+ in Spanton (1851) - Sheila Jackson (2108)

The game saw:
43...Kg6 44.Ne6
Forced.
44...Kxf7
Forced.
45.Nxg5+
Forced.
45...Kg6
45...Kf6 46.Ne4+ Ke6 47.Nxd6 Kxd6 48.Ke3 is a drawn pawn ending.
46.Ne4 Bf8 47.a4 bxa4 48.Nd2
... and the game was drawn.

 43...Kf6?? loses trivially to 44.Ne8+.

43...Ke4?? also loses to 44.Ne8, eg 44...Be7 45.Nf6+ Kf5 46.Nd7 etc.
But 44.Ne6? seems to only draw after 44...g4 eg 45.f8Q Bxf8 46.Nxf8 g3 47.Ne6 g2 48.Ng5+ Kf4 49.Nf3 Ke4 50.Nd2+ Kf4 51.Kf2 a4 52.Kxg2 Ke3 53.Nf1+ (other moves lose) Kd3 54.Kf2 Kc2 55.Ke2 Kxb2 56.Kd2 Kxa3 57.Kc2 b4 58.Nd2 Ka2 (if 58...b3+ then 59.Kb1 b2 60.Nxc4+ Kb3 61.Nxb2 a3 62.Nd1 a2+ 63.Ka1=) 59.Nxc4 b3+ 60.Kc1 a3 61.Nd2 b2+ 62.Kc2 Ka1 63.Nb3+ Ka2 64.Nd2 c4 65.Nb1 Ka1 66.Nxa3 Ka2 67.Nb1 Ka1.

Black seems to be winning after my analysis engines' suggestion of 43...Ke5!
The main line runs 44.Kf3 Bf8 45.Nh5 Be7 46.Kg4 Ke6 47.Ng3 Kxf7.
Or 44.Ne8 Be7 45.Kf3 b4 46.Kg4 Ke6 47.Nc7+ Kxf7 48.Nd5 bxc3 49.bxc3 Bd8 50.Kf5 Kg7 51.Ne3 Kh6 52.Nxc4 Kh5 53.Ne5 Bc7 54.Nd7 c4 55.a4 Kh4 56.Nf6 Bd6 57.Ng4 Bf4 58.Nf6 Bc1 59.Ng4 Bf4 60.Nf6 Bd2 61.Ne4 Bc1 62.Nf2 Bb2.

So the answer to the question seems to be: Black should win (with the caveat that one of the winning lines is rather long, so there may be mistakes in analysis).

Oppo Bishops In The Middlegame

IN round three at Jersey, I again had opposite-coloured bishops, but this time in a late middlegame.

White offered a draw after giving check in Aditya Verma (2002) - Spanton (1851)

27...Kh8 28.Bb3 Bxb4?
Clearly better is 28...Nxb4, even though, after 29.Bxf7, White gets an outpost for the bishop at e6, eg 29...Bc5 30.Be6 Rd1+ 31.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 32.Kh2 Rd8. Black has a dangerous passed pawn, and a target at f2, but thanks to a pair of rooks having come off, Black's king is not in serious danger. 29.Ra6 Nd4 30.Nxd4 exd4 3mins more 31.Rxf6 Bc3 32.Rh6 
Probably best.
The trouble with 32.Rxf7 is that after 32...Rxf7 33.Bxf7 d3, White is a pawn up but Black's passers are quicker. eg 34.Bb3 d2 35.Bd1 Re8 36.Kh2 b4 with the better chances.
32...d3??  3.f6
White threatens to mate, and Black can only avoid it by swopping off into a probably-lost ending.
33...Bxf6 34.Rxf6 d2 35.Kh2 d1Q 36.Bxd1 Rxd1 37.Rxf7 (1-0, 44moves).

Oppo Bishops Case Study

OPPOSITE-coloured bishops are notoriously drawish in endings (but not in middlegames).
Sometimes it is possible to hold such an endgame when two pawns down.
At other times, however, even equal pawns do not guarantee a draw.
Often the best way to win such an endgame is to create a passed pawn on each wing, even if that allows the opponent a passer, or passers, elsewhere.

Position after 36 moves in Spanton (1851) - Glenn House (2188), Jersey round two

Material is equal - in numbers, that is, not in quality.
Black's bishop is much more active than White's, and his king is more central. My b2 pawn is en prise and my g5 pawn is vulnerable to ...Bf4, when Black would be simultaneously protecting his e3 passer and tying my rook down.
The only way to free the rook would be to play h2-h4, but then the h pawn would be a new weakness.
I decided my best chance was to activate my rook on the open file, and so played ...
37.Be2 Rd8!?
My analysis engines slightly prefer 37...h4, but the text is their second choice.
38.Rd1 Rxd1+!? 39.Bxd1 Bxb2
Black has won a pawn and left me with two isolated queenside pawns, but I felt I had some reasonable drawing chances.
40.f4 
Activating the king with 40.Kg2 is met by 40...Be5, when ...Bf4 will force White to give up the g5 pawn or play h4, when the king would be tied to the kingside.
40...e2! 41.Bxe2 Bc1 42.f5 Bxg5 43.fxg6 fxg6
Black is 'only' one pawn up, but he has chances to create a passer on both flanks, and White has four isolanis. The game continued ...
44.Kg2 Kf6 45.Kf3 Ke5 46.Bd3 Bc1 47.h3 g5 48.a4 Ba3 49.Ke3 Bc5+ 50.Kd2 Kf4 11mins less 51.Be2 g4 52.hxg4 hxg4
One passer created.
53.Ke1 g3 54.Kf1 Kxe4 55.Kg2 Bd6 56.Bf1 Ke3 57.Kh3 Kd2 58.c5 Bc7 59.Kg2 Kc3 60.Be2 Kb4
I finally resigned.
Doubtless neither of us played perfectly, but I suspect this was an opposite-coloured bishop ending that could not be held.

Lucky Escape

IN round one of this year's Jersey Open, I was under the cosh for most of the game.

Position after 34...Kh8-h7 in Kim Le Quang (FM2267) - Spanton (1851)

Black's pawn weaknesses (e5, b6) mean White is more-or-less positionally winning after the precautionary 35.Be2 or, even better according to analysis engines, 35.Nf2.
Instead, KLQ jumped in with 35.Nf6+? After 35...Bxf6 36.Bxf6 Qxd3, he had no choice but to accept the perpetual that comes with 37.Qf8 Qxe3+ 38.Kg2 Qd2+ etc.