I played Brian Donnelly in the third round of the Quickplay Knockout last Tuesday. A few years ago, when he was more active, I used to play Brian much more often, but these were the first games I had played against him for a while. Continue reading
The two unfinished games from this match were agreed drawn, so the final score was a 2.5-2.5 draw. This leaves Horsham 1 with only an outside shot at the title this year.
A tight match between Horsham 1 and Knoll Knights last Tuesday still hangs in the balance, with the score at 2-2 and Dix Robert’s game against Mike Nicholas unfinished. Continue reading
Horsham 1 was away at Eastbourne 1 in the Mid-Sussex League last Friday. The match is still in the balance, with two games requiring adjudication unless a result can be agreed. In the completed games the score is 1.5-1.5. The unfinished games both seem to me to most likely be draws, which means that the match would be drawn. Continue reading
Last Tuesday saw Horsham’s first match in the McArthur Cup for many years. We had something of a (re-)baptism of fire, being paired against Brighton, one of the strongest sides in Sussex. Unlike the Mid-Sussex League matches, there is a compulsory quick-play finish in all games, with each player having 75 minutes to play 35 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the remaining moves. Continue reading
There was a better result for the e2e4.org.uk second team in round 4, where they narrowly defeated Anglian Avengers 2. Again there was only one decisive result, with Richard Almond winning against Ivan Myall. My game against Timothy Lunn was a rather dull draw. Continue reading
The e2e4.org.uk second team stumbled to a loss in round 3 of the 4NCL against Cambridge University 3. Although the margin of defeat was the narrowest possible (2.5 – 3.5), something seemed to go wrong in most of our games, and perhaps we were lucky not to suffer a heavier loss. Continue reading
Horsham 1 came crashing to earth, as Worthing 1 inflicted their first defeat of the season last night. Continue reading
Gavin Lock’s game against Andrew Briggs was agreed a win for Gavin, so Horsham win the match 3.5-1.5. This gives them the lead in division 1, as the only team with four match wins out of four. However, the wins have been against what appear to be the weakest teams, based on all their results so far. The match at home against Worthing 1 will be their first test this season against one of the “big boys”.
Last night saw my final competitive game of 2011, as I took on Dix Roberts in the Rook. The game featured the main line of the Hedgehog System. Play followed the usual pattern, with White looking to expand and squeeze Black, and Black looking for opportunities to counter-attack. Following my aggressive move 20 f5!? Black responded badly and I soon had a chance to establish a big advantage. However, I failed to press it home, and what advantage I did have soon slipped away. I subsequently decided to sacrifice a pawn, and seemed to have some compensation, but with both players in time trouble, I over-pressed and my position went rapidly downhill. Unable to find a satisfactory move, I lost on time before making my 41st move. Continue reading
Lars Schandorff Grandmaster Repertoire 7: The Caro-Kann
Alexander Delchev, Evgenij Agrest Safest Grunfeld
Lubomir Ftacnik Grandmaster Repertoire: Sicilian Defence
Jacob Aagaard, Grandmaster John Shaw Experts on the Anti-Sicilian
Jonathan Hilton, Dean Ippolito Wojo's Weapons, Volume 2: Winning with White
Boris Avrukh Grunfeld Defence: v. 1 (Grandmaster Repertoire)
Boris Avrukh Grunfeld Defence: v. 2 (Grandmaster Repertoire Grandmaster Repertoire)