In all my years playing for Sussex against Essex, we have always struggled to achieve much against them, particularly when playing away at Wanstead. It was therefore an excellent result for the Sussex team last Saturday when we defeated Essex 9-7 at their customary Wanstead venue. It was especially good as we were 1-0 down at the start as we had to default a board, but after Brian Denman scored a good win on board one and there was a flurry of draws lower down, we then managed to win a number of games to secure the win with a match to spare.
Unfortunately for me, although it was nice to be on the winning side against Essex for once, I lost my individual game as Black against Kevin Bowmer. After an experimental move in the opening, I followed up with a couple of unwise moves, which opened up the centre. I had thought that my opponent was not well placed to attack my king there, while I would have good chances on the queenside, but this did not prove to be the case. My opponent responded accurately and soon my poisition was critical; although the fact that we both ended up in time trouble gave me some hope, he held firm to secure the win.
I give the game below with some notes.