Hard-fought battle from the City of London Chess Club Championship

We present today a hard-fought battle from the recent City of London Chess Club Championship. The winner of our featured contest, Mr. R.P. Michell, took second place in the final section of the tourney, finishing only one half-point behind new club Champion Edward Lasker. Today's game, played in the preliminary round, is the sole winning effort by Mr. Michell to have come to hand to date, and while it perhaps may not rank among that gentleman's most polished or artistic productions, it is nevertheless an excellent example of his inventive resourcefulness and fighting spirit. In it Mr. Michell on the Black side of a Queen's Gambit Declined errs at the 27th move and allows his opponent Mr. Davidson to obtain two connected passed pawns in the endgame. These pawns duly advance, enabling White to win a full exchange. But from that point forward Mr. Michell appears at his best, fighting with great tenacity, laying snares for his adversary (see, for example, the possible continuation had White chosen 44.Kh1), and ultimately even pressing for a win. This he achieves when Mr. Davidson goes astray at his 55th turn, after which Black with a finely calculated bit of endgame play scores the contest to his credit. All in all a notable specimen of winning tournament chess, and well worth the reader's attention.