County Match (Open) 2017-18: Sussex – Lancashire

Posted on June 12, 2018 by James Mansson

Last Saturday, Sussex were up against Lancashire in the semi-final of the County Championship. The match was played in Tyseley, to the south of Birmingham. Sussex put up a good fight, but Lancashire prevailed 9-7. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Knockout 2017-18: Forster – Mansson

Posted on June 7, 2018 by James Mansson

Last Tuesday, I played against Mike Forster in the final of the knockout. The game was a draw, so we will have to arrange a replay. I obtained as good position as Black and was able to build up some pressure; however, Mike was able to wriggle out, with some assistance for me, and towards the end had quite a good position. None the less, the game was agreed drawn after the players started to repeat the position. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2017-18: Mansson – Harbott

Posted on May 8, 2018 by James Mansson

Last Tuesday I won my club championship game against Peter Harbott. Look back over the game I was rather lucky. On move 20 I gambled with a risky move that offered a piece for apparently good compensation; fortunately, my opponent did not win it, as subsequent analysis showed he was doing very well. It should be noted that a couple of moves earlier I had missed a winning move myself. In any case, following my opponent’s weak 20th and 21st moves, I soon built up a winning position, which I was able to convert. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2017-18: Mansson – Stimpson

Posted on April 28, 2018 by James Mansson

My latest club championship game against Phil Stimpson was an unsatisfactory draw for both players. I was White and my opponent played an interesting gambit line against the Ruy Lopez. Neither player played entirely accurately on the way to a position where I had a Rook and Bishop against my opponent’s queen. A couple more inaccurate moves by me gave my opponent a very good position, but he then wrongly went for a repetition of the position. The game therefore ended as a draw. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2017-18: Horsham 1 – Brighton 1

Posted on April 25, 2018 by James Mansson

The final match of Horsham 1’s league season has ended in a draw! My game was against Joe Everett and despite obtaining a winning position, I allowed him to set up a fortress and had to concede a draw. This was frustrating, not least because a win in this game would have allowed us to win the match. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Quickplay Knockout 2017-18: Mansson – Higgs

Posted on April 11, 2018 by James Mansson

Last night I played Anthony Higgs in the final of the Quickplay Knockout. In order to finish the competition problem, Anthony and Brian Donnelly had arranged to play their Semi-Final, then for me to play the winner all on the same club evening. Anthony overcame Brian 2.5-1.5 in a tightly-contested match, before taking me on in the final. Continue reading →

Posted in Club Quickplay Knockout, Games, Opening Analysis, Philidor's Defence, Reports, The Semi-Slav Defence | 1 Comment

County Match (Open) 2017-18: Sussex – Middlesex

Posted on March 28, 2018 by James Mansson

Last Saturday, Sussex scored a big win over Middlesex by 10-5 with one game still disputed. I played my part with a 20 move win as White against Simon Spivack. After missing a chance to head for unclear complications, my opponent allowed me to prevent him from castling to safety and to build up a strong attack. Following a further error, I was able to crash through and force an early resignation. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2017-18: Horsham 1 – Worthing 2

Posted on March 27, 2018 by James Mansson

Last week, Horsham 1 managed a narrow 3-2 away win against Worthing 2. My contribution was what proved to be the decisive win over Grant Bucher. After some tricky complications – and mutual inaccuracies – we ended up in a rook and pawn endgame where I managed to get the better of my opponent. He adjourned the game but subsequently resigned, as the position is clearly lost. Continue reading →

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County Match (Open) 2017-18: Sussex – Kent

Posted on March 12, 2018 by James Mansson

The Sussex Open Team managed to secure a draw away againt Kent last Saturday, despite being comfortably outgraded. I played my part by winning against Ian Snape with Black, in a game where the advantage swung back and forth. Both players ran short of time. The decisive action took placed just before the time control; my opponent resigned a move after that was passed as his position was hopeless. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2017-18: Horsham 1 – Worthing 1

Posted on February 21, 2018 by James Mansson

I suffered a bad loss with White in last night’s league match against Worthing 1. We are currently 2-1 down in the match with two games unfinished. In a sharp line of the Dragon, I failed to paly the strongest continuation, then blundered a couple of moves later, leading to a swift defeat. Continue reading →

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