Book Review: Silman’s Complete Endgame Course

Posted on April 14, 2020 by James Mansson

It is a while ago now, but I think the first endgame textbook I bought was Practical Chess Endings by Paul Keres. I certainly went through the first chapter (“Elementary Endings”, which includes the less-than-elementary mate with Bishop and Knight), but I only had a fairly perfunctory look at the rest. The problem was that the author was attempting to be systematic and fairly comprehensive, but this didn’t reflect the strict relevance of the content. This difficulty was evident from the first chapter, where some genuinely essential material (mating with a Queen or Rook against a bare King, and key pawn endgames) was mixed with scenarios that rarely occur in practice (King and two minor pieces against a bare King). Other endgame textbooks I subsequently looked at suffered from the same issue.

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Horsham Club Knockout 2019-20: Higgs – Mansson

Posted on March 18, 2020 by James Mansson

In my last club game before the coronavirus-enforced shutdown of club and league chess, I played out a rather dull draw with Anthony Higgs. Possibly he could have made more of his pressure, but the game soon resolved into equality, and the players decided to split the point. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2019-20: Horsham 1 – Worthing 1

Posted on March 15, 2020 by James Mansson

Horsham 1 scored an important win over Worthing 1 last Tuesday. I was able to make an important contribution by holding a draw in my game, with the score at 2.5-1.5 in our favour; this gave us a 3-2 win. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2019-20: Mansson – Broom

Posted on March 4, 2020 by James Mansson

Last night I played Mark Broom in the club championship. I gained a comfortable position out of the opening, but then my attempts to complicate didn’t bear fruit. A series of inaccuracies saw my position go downhill; eventually I ended up in a double rook endgame which I was unable to hold. Continue reading →

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County Match (Open) 2019-20: Sussex – Kent

Posted on February 22, 2020 by James Mansson

Sussex were up against Kent last weekend in a County Match at Hassocks. In the end, Kent won by the narrowest margin (8.5-7.5), despite defaulting the bottom two boards. In my game I was up against Alan Hanreck. When the game emerged from the opening the position was roughly balanced. My opponent then made a serious mistake, which allowed me to gain a big, probably winning advantage. However, the position remained double-edged in that my opponent had some counterplay based on his passed a-pawn. I went wrong in the subsequent complications, and it was my opponent in the end that managed to win. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2019-20: Horsham 1 – Lewes 1

Posted on February 16, 2020 by James Mansson

Horsham 1 beat Lewes 1 at home recently, by a 3-2 scoreline. I managed to beat Barry Maufe with Black in a complicated game, where both sides made definite mistakes. Continue reading →

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McArthur Cup 2019-20: Horsham – Hastings

Posted on February 16, 2020 by James Mansson

Horsham defeated Hastings in the semi-final of the McArthur Cup. The score was tied at 3-3 but Horsham won on board count. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2019-20: Horsham 1 – Worthing 3

Posted on February 2, 2020 by James Mansson

Horsham 1 scored a decisive 4-1 victory against Worthing 3 last Monday. I managed to win my game after obtaining first the advantage of the bishop pair, then an extra pawn. My opponent was unable to create any counterplay, so I was able to build up steadily before breaking through. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2019-20: Horsham 1 – Hastings 2

Posted on January 18, 2020 by James Mansson

Horsham 1’s recent match against Hastings 2 was a frustrating draw. Both Mark Broom and I had chances to win our games, but failed to do so. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Knockout 2019-20: Heath – Mansson

Posted on January 9, 2020 by James Mansson

I scored a decent win with Black against Chris Heath in the club longplay knockout. The game started as a typical Closed Sicilian, where I was able to equalise with accurate play. Later on, my opponent went wrong as we both ran short of time, allowing me to wrap up the game quickly. Continue reading →

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