• Wessex – e2e4.org.uk 2
• North East England – AMCA Rhinos
• KJCA Kings – Cheddleton 2
• Hackney – Cambridge University 3

A win for us would make us champions; a draw would guarantee promotion; a loss would leave us depending on the results of the other matches.

While a draw between us and Wessex would have guaranteed both sides promotion, the match in fact turned out to be very hard fought. I managed to win relatively quickly, as my opponent overlooked that his knight on h5 was short of retreat squares, and so lost it following an unusual manoeuvre by light-squared bishop. The other games swung back and forth less predictably, however.

Richard Almond soon came under heavy pressure as Black against the dangerous Michael Yeo. Although for a long time it was not clear whether White could break through, in the end he did, which allowed Wessex to even the scores.

We were able to take the lead again, however, as Iliyan Mladenov built up steadily as White against Martin Simons, and was able to force victory. This left both sides looking anxiously at the remaining three games.

The game between Keith Gregory (Wessex) and David Coates (e2e4.org.uk 2) looked likely to end as a draw, because of the blocked nature of the position, and in the end it did. The other two games were rather more complex.

The game Gavin Lock (Wessex) and Alan Byron (e2e4.org.uk 2) featured a time scramble, as Gavin, as usual, was in heavy time trouble. He slipped up just before the time control, allowing Alan to win a pawn. The resulting rook endgame looked like it should be a win for us, but it was still tricky.

Meanwhile, the encounter between Mark Josse (e2e4.org.uk 2) and Bruce Jenks (Wessex) had been swinging back and forth. At first, Mark was ahead, having won the exchange for a pawn, but he gradually allowed his opponent back into the game, and by the first time control was actually in some trouble, due to his opponent’s advanced pawns. Fortunately for us, in the moves leading up to the second time control, his opponent missed a win, and the resulting position was dynamically balanced.

In the other game, Alan Byron seemed to miss a clear win, and although his opponent still had to defend carefully, his chance seemed to have gone, and in the end the two players agreed a draw.

Seeing this, Bruce Jenks decided on a suicidal winning attempt, but Mark found the correct response, and play simplified to a rook and pawn against bishop and pawn endgame. Although his opponent then offered a draw, which would have given us the title straight away, Mark decided to go for the win anyway, which he then secured with two and a half minutes left in the quickplay finish. The season therefore ended on a tense but exhilarating note.

Many thanks to Sean Hewitt for his efforts this year (and previous years) in organising the e2e4.org.uk teams (all six of them!). Also, many thanks to all the players who contributed to our efforts in securing not only promotion but the title.

Of course, as is customary, I now give my own game from the match. It wasn’t terribly exciting, although it did prove important.

The match was unbearably tense. David Coates, with White against Ron Plater, managed to press home his attack in a sharp line of the Grünfeld, although not without some adventures. Andy Talbot, with Black, soon obtained a very promising Sicilian endgame against Malola Prasath, but it took him a long time to secure the win.

North East England struck back in the games Claudio Mangione – Paul Dargan and David Walker – Alan Byron. Claudio obtained three pieces for his queen, but he found it difficult to co-ordinate them due to his lack of development. In the end he lost material, and was forced to concede defeat. Alan Byron ended up in a horribly passive position with a really bad bishop, and in the end could only wait as his opponent brought up his forces to deliver the final blow.

As Mark Josse’s game against Andrew Dunn was drawn, everything was down to my game as Black against Andrew Lawson. After 20 moves by White, the players had reached a typical Hedgehog position. I decided to break with 20…b5, which unbalanced the position by exchanging my a- and b-pawns for White’s c- and e-pawns. My opponent took plenty of time over his moves, and by move 25, he had no more than a minute a move to reach the time control.

He then decided on a rash plan of attacking on the kingside with 26 Rg4. However, I started to lose the thread of the game, and also ran short of time. After lashing out with …g5 and …f5, I then found myself under pressure, but fortunately made the time control in one piece. Also, I was lucky that White, in his time trouble, missed some promising possibilities.

After the time control, White soon played a move (43 b4) which both players during the game thought was a mistake; indeed, after my reply (43…Rc4), White thought for a long time and ended up in time trouble again. However, subsequent analysis suggests that the move is quite reasonably and that any mistake occurred later.

However, White was evidently shaken both by his conviction that 43 b4 had been a mistake, the fact that he was short of time, and the match position. He allowed Black to play 47…f3! with a strong attack, and failed to take his chances to bail out with a draw. Finally the Black pieces penetrated the White position and delivered mate.

The result of this game meant that e2e4.org.uk 2 had won the match 3.5-2.5 and were almost certain of promotion, although in the following round we still needed a draw to be absolutely sure.

I give the game below with some more detailed notes.

In round 9, we were paired against AMCA Rhinos. Although the average grading difference between the teams was not huge, the match turned out to be very one-sided, as we thrashed them 5-1, with victories for Mark Josse, Claudio Mangione, David Coates and me, and draw for Alan Byron and Andy Talbot.

My game saw me gradually building up pressure with White. Although my opponent defended well for a while, eventually he cracked in time pressure.

I give the game below with some notes.

The result of the game is a setback, but everyone has dropped a few points in the championship so far, so I am still in contention, with several other players.

I give the game below with some notes.

For the uninitiated, lightning chess involves a buzzer sounding every ten seconds, when the player to move must make a move. Players must not move except when the buzzer sounds. Failure to move loses. Making an illegal move loses.

I got off to a bad start in my pool, losing to Paul Taylor in my first game, and never quite recovered. Further draws against both Mike and Matt Forster, combined with a loss to John Cannon, saw me eliminated.

The two pools were won by Mike Forster and Amy Hoare, who both contested the final for the first time. Mike’s experience prevailed to give him his first Horsham Lightning title, but congratulations to both for their successful play overall. Also thanks to Ian Comley for his efforts in organising the event.

I’d also like to mention that John Marshall brought along a special birthday cake; it was his birthday but I won’t mention which! The famous position on the top was recognised by some as “Levitsky – Marshall”, just before the queen sacrifice that (according to legend) earned him a shower of gold coins from the spectators.

I faced Chris Jones on board three, one of several players on the Sussex Smart Survivors team I have encountered in Mid-Sussex League chess previously! After improving on our previous game, I managed to gain a slight advantage in the endgame, but was unable to press it home. However, a draw proved an acceptable result in the context of the match. I give the game below with some notes.

In the first match, played in round seven, the team was pitched against Cheddleton 2, one of the teams from the northern Divison 3, which at this point merged with the southern Division 3, to form a single competition. As we outgraded them comfortably, by almost 80 points a board, we were expected to win, and indeed did so by 4.5-1.5.

I was faced by Malcolm Armstrong on board five. I gained a space advantage out of the opening, and managed to increase the pressure on my opponent’s position, until he cracked, blundering in a difficult situation. I give the game below with some notes.

I give the games below with some notes.

I give my game below with some notes. It was a frustrating encounter, as I had plenty of pressure for my sacrificed pawn for a long time in the game, but gradually let things slip.

Below is last night’s game with some brief notes.