The Longest Game (Steve Boniface Memorial - Day Three)

LOST this morning in 141 moves  - easily my longest ever game (at least where the scoresheet has been kept to the end) - against a 2100/196. And this afternoon I collapsed feebly against a 1979/172 in 28 moves. My final score of +2=0-3 meant I lost 0.4 Fide elo.

The Worst Move He's Ever Made

FACED an opponent with almost exactly the same rating as mine this afternoon in round three of the open section of the Steve Boniface Memorial at Bristol Grammar School.

I guarantee you will never guess how he blundered:

White to make his 40th move in John McGregor (1882/no ECF) - Spanton (1884/171)

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White played 40.Bg3 - so far, not so bad. Then he went to the loo. I played 40...Nc6, and JM returned just as his time ran out. Heading for the toilets was "the worst move he's ever made." Despite this being a round-three game, JM did not realise the time control was 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for all moves (no extra time at move 40).
I have now gained 11.4 Fide elo in the tournament.

King Safety

FACED a junior this morning in round two of the open section of the Steve Boniface Memorial in the Great Hall at Bristol Grammar School.

Black to make his 31st move in Lorenzo Fava (1603/142) - Spanton (1884/171)

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Grandmaster Nigel Davies teaches that the most important factor in chess is king safety.
In some ways that is stating the obvious, but I find it a useful piece of advice to keep in mind when assessing a position.
Here both kings are exposed, and the presence of queens and a pair of rooks means the kings are far from safe despite the general lack of material.
Bearing in mind the adage that it is normally a good idea to get queens off against juniors as that tends to defang their tactical skills, has Black got a good move here accomplishing this?
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Definitely not. Catastrophic would be 31...Qa2+? 32.Qxa2 Rxa2+ 33.Kd3 Rxd2+?? as the pawn-ending is a simple win for White. His b pawn would divert Black's king to the queenside, whereupon White would clean up on the kingside.
31...Kf7!?
My main analysis engines, Stockfish10 and Komodo9, suggest moves such as 31...h5, 31...h6 and 31...Kh8, rating the position as completely equal.
The idea of the text is to free Black's queen from defending the e pawn, while not fearing a check from White's rook.
32.f4?
This loses, or at least makes White's defence very difficult.
Although Black need not fear a rook check, 32.Rd7+ was one way to draw despite looking dangerous at first sight because it leaves White's king further exposed. The point is that after 32...Kf6 White has 33.c4! as 33...Qa2+ 34.Qxa2 Rxa2 35.Kb3 Rxg3 36.Rxh7 Rg3 37.Kb4 Rxf3 is dead-equal, according to the engines, despite Black being a pawn up.
Simple queen moves, such as 32.Qb2, are also good enough.
32...Ra7
Simple, but very hard to meet.
33.g3?
This loses immediately. The engines agree White's best try was 33.c4 Rb7 (33...Qa1 also looks strong) 34.Qc3 Qa4+ 35.Kc1, but then 35...h5, protecting the h pawn, prepares to finish things off. The engines give lots of lines involving multiple checks by Black, with Black ending up winning a pawn (and the game). In practice it would be incredibly hard for White along the way to avoid losing more than a pawn.
33...Rb7
Out of a clear-blue sky, as it were, White's queen is trapped.
34.Rd6 Qe2+ 0-1
I am now 1.4 elo up in the tournament.

Steve Boniface Memorial

AM playing in the Steve Boniface* Memorial at Bristol Grammar School - five rounds over three days with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment.
My hotel, the Ibis Bristol Centre, is less than a 15-minute walk from the venue, but getting there in that short space of time means passing some striking and opulent architecture.

Bristol University

Bristol Cathedral

Bristol's wealth was built on the profits of 18th-century commerce, and yet there are people who contend the slave trade was all bad.
My tournament certainly got off to a bad start this evening when I lost a rook-and-pawn ending to international master Chris Beaumont (2264/212), costing me 1.8 Fide elo.
*Steve Boniface was a prominent English arbiter. There is a tribute to him here: http://chessarbitersassociation.co.uk/html/boniface__steve.html