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

Posted on October 18, 2017 by James Mansson

My game in last weekend’s county match vs. Surrey featured a bizarre episode that only came to light later when I was entering the game into my database! The game itself was an interesting encounting, quite apart from the bizarre episode (of which more later), although unfortunately in the end I lost in a blizzard of blunders. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2017-18: Warren – Mansson

Posted on October 16, 2017 by James Mansson

After starting with a draw, I was back to winning ways in the Horsham club championship last Tuesday, with a victory over Nick Warren. It was a hard fought encounter, where both sides made mistakes and had their chances. I finally won when my opponent was unable to find a good continuation and lashed out with 35 g4, which backfired badly. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2017-18: Mansson – Heath

Posted on October 11, 2017 by James Mansson

I started this year’s club championship with a draw against Chris Heath. Perhaps there was an element of good fortune in that he had the chance to gain a definite advantage, although given that neither player seemed to get much of a handle of what was going on in the position, perhaps a draw was a fair result! Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Knockout 2017-18: Mansson – Marshall

Posted on October 1, 2017 by James Mansson

Following on from the first rounds of the Quickplay Knockout played the previous week, last Tuesday’s club meeting saw the first round of the main Knockout. I was paired against John Marshall and was playing White. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Quickplay Knockout 2017-18: Mansson – Comley

Posted on September 24, 2017 by James Mansson

My second round match was played on the same night as the first. I was up against Ian Comly and it was a tougher, tenser affair than the first. I managed to win 1.5-0.5, but not without some difficult moments. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Quickplay Knockout 2017-18: Mansson – Helliwell

Posted on September 23, 2017 by James Mansson

As is customary, the third weekly meeting of the new season at Horsham Chess Club was taken up by the first couple of rounds of the Quickplay Knockout competition. My first match was against Peter Helliwell, and I managed to win both my games easily enough. In the first I was Black and my opponent soon went badly wrong; I was able to wrap things up in 22 moves. In the second I was White and we reached a well-known position via an unusual order of moves. My opponent went for a dubious sacrifice of a piece for a couple of pawns; this and some subsequent errors sealed his doom. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2016-17: Mansson – Higgs

Posted on June 17, 2017 by James Mansson

I played my final game in the club championship last Tuesday. I already knew that I had won the competition, as the only person who could have caught me, Anthony Higgs, had just agreed his adjourned game against Phil Stimpson drawn. The game was in fact against Anthony and finally ended as a draw, although I achieved a very strong position and probably should have won. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Quickplay Knockout 2016-17: Mansson – Higgs

Posted on June 6, 2017 by James Mansson

Last Tuesday I won the final of the Quickplay Knockout against Anthony Higgs. The first game was a draw after we reached an interesting but balanced rook and pawn endgame. The second was a win after another endgame, albeit one in which I was better. Continue reading →

Posted in Club Quickplay Knockout, Games, Opening Analysis, Reports, The London System, The Nimzowitsch Defence | 1 Comment

Horsham Club Championship 2016-17: Roberts – Mansson

Posted on June 5, 2017 by James Mansson

I played my penultimate game in this year’s club championship a couple of Tuesdays ago. I was up against Dix Roberts, always a tough opponent, although he has been having a bad year so far. The opening was a hybrid between the English and King’s Indian. I gained an early initiative, but my opponent fought back and eventually we ended up in a complex but balanced endgame. There I took a risky decision, which paid off, as my opponent’s rook was trapped; I was a little fortunate as I got away with an inaccurate move that my opponent failed to exploit. To be fair, both players were very short of time at the end, with couple of minutes on the clock plus ten second increments per move. It was difficult under such circumstances to work everything out. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Quickplay 2016-17: Blake – Mansson

Posted on May 25, 2017 by James Mansson

The club Quickplay is a loosely organised event intended to provide extra chess for members who have completed their games in other competitions, or cannot arrange other games for a club night. There is no requirement for players to play everyone else; competitors play up to two games (one Black and one White) against other members who are interested. The winner is the player with the most points, irrespective of the number of games played. Continue reading →

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