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The setter could have asked for the remaining letters in the thematic area to be entered using different colours. I shall do that anyway. It seems the obvious thing to do.

Could someone help me out with 32ac?

Thanks

28ac and 30 ac have me stuck! Anyone help please?

In 28 the river is the PO and the snake APS. In 30 the eyeball is ORB.

Sorry ASP!

Demeter, 32ac is TENPIN. Ten(t) + most of pin(t). The fourth letter is a clash.
mt49er, 28ac is POPS. Po (river) + (A)sp backwards. The first letter is a clash. 30ac is OBA. O(r)b + A. The first letter is a clash

Thank you!

It was an excellent puzzle on engaging theme, but it has to be said that the grid construction was not exactly friendly to solvers. A three-letter answer with one letter unchecked and the other two both clashes is poor in my opinion, and three four-letter words with two clashes each is not much better. Since no bars were involved I cannot see why the setter didn't opt for an asymmetric grid, which would have made it far easier to avoid that close concentration of consecutive clashes in the centre and to achieve a higher average word length, which is below the recommended minimum in spite of four twelve-letter answers.

I assume the board is supposed to represent the end game ? If so, my internet research of the same shows the victor's king should not be in 36A but in 39A. Have I missed something ?

Son1ofrover1, you are presumably referring to the position illustrated on Wikipedia, but the list of moves in the accompanying text show that there are four more moves following the illustration, ending with the layout of the crossword and resignation.

I found several sites confirming the puzzle's solution.