For many chess players, me included, watching top-level chess – kibitzing in the parlance – is just as enjoyable as playing.

So when the best players in the world gather in early December each year at the Kensington Olympia for the London Classic, I’m not the only Oxford resident who spends at least one day ‘in town’.

For the elite players there was a new format for this year’s Classic. The games were rapid-play and the 16 players were organised into four groups of four, with two qualifiers from each group contesting the later knockout stages.

Each year, Englishmen are given every opportunity to succeed and this time British talent accounted for seven of the 16 places.

Again though – with the honourable exception of Michael Adams who made the semi-finals – there was little in the way of home success for the crowd to cheer and it was the American genius, Hikaru Nakamura, who eventually topped the pile. Despite the poor form of the English contingent, the chess was generally sparkling and the new format a big hit with spectators. Elsewhere at the Classic, the longer form of the game was to the fore. The Fide open always attracts a super-strong entry and Europe’s jobbing professional grandmasters were present in force.

With a few exceptions there was again little home success – but one Englishman was definitely on form. Neil McDonald finished second to Norway’s Jon Judvig Hammer and it was pleasing to see Neil, who is one of my favourite chess authors, use one of his recent opening recommendations to win the following seventh-round game.

White: Neil McDonald

Black: Paul Roberts

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 Slightly offbeat — but a favourite of World Champion Magnus Carlsen and in fact Neil’s own recommendation in his excellent 2011 book: The Ruy Lopez Move by Move.

5...d6 6.c3 g6 This is the antidote to White’s setup.

7.0–0 Bg7 8.Re1 b5 A typical Ruy Lopez move – but it may well be a slight inaccuracy here because it allows White to break up Black’s queenside with the move a4 before Black is fully developed.

9.Bc2 0–0 10.a4 Bb7 11.Bg5 d5!? Perhaps Black is not fully ready for this central thrust – but it’s the move one has to play if it looks like it works.

12.Nbd2 The right move to expose Black’s advance was 12.d4! and if 12...dxe4 then 13.dxe5! would leave Black struggling.

12...h6 Badly timed, since before ...d5 this bishop would have not appreciated being driven back to g3. Now though, g3 is a decent square for the prelate.

13.Bh4 Re8 14.Qb1 g5 15.Bg3 dxe4 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.dxe4 Qe7 18.Nd2 Heading for a juicy outpost on either d5 or f5.

18...Qc5 19.Nf1 b4 20.Ne3!? bxc3 21.bxc3 Rab8 22.Bb3!? Daring Black to take the pawn on c3.

22...Na5 23.Ba2! Qxc3 Black can resist no longer. After 23...Bd5 24.Qd3 White has his eyes on the weak a6 pawn.

24.Rc1 Qd4 25.Bxf7+! Now Black gets blown away.

25...Kxf7 26.Rxc7+ Kf8 27.Qa2 Nb3 28.Qa3+! Kg8 29.Qxb3+ Kh8 30.Rd1 Qxe4 31.f3 Ba8 32.Qf7! 1–0