Blast from the Past: Musgrave – Mansson, BPCF Open Championship Semi-Final Round

Posted on May 18, 2017 by James Mansson

There is a small mystery regarding my win against R.Musgrave. The game ends after my opponent’s 19th move. The position is roughly level, so it is unlikely that White resigned because of the position on the board, especially as there is no reason he might have done so by mistake (e.g. there is a threat that he thought was decisive but was not). It is possible that my opponent withdrew, as several others have done over the years, but as the game ended after my opponent’s move, this seems unlikely, as a player who withdraws tends to do so without first playing a move. I do have a vague recollection that my opponent overstepped the time limit (yes, there is one in correspondence chess!), so I think this is the most likely explanation. However, it is over two decades since the game was played, and I don’t have the original cards to hand, so I can’t be entirely sure. Continue reading →

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Blast from the Past: Kennerley – Mansson, BPCF Open Championship Semi-Final Round

Posted on May 17, 2017 by James Mansson

My game as Black against R.Kennerley was a short draw. My opponent allowed the Marshall Attack, but chose an innocuous line and agreed a draw while we were still in book. Continue reading →

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Blast from the Past: Mansson – Cross, BPCF Open Championship Semi-Final Round

Posted on May 16, 2017 by James Mansson

I remember being very disppointed with the outcome of my game against G.Cross, and looking back at it now, I think this feeling was justified. Up to my 40th move I had played well in slowly building up my kingside attack. However, I then went wrong and the position was soon turned on its head; it was only a few moves later that I felt compelled to resign. A stronger choice on move 40 would have left my opponent in some trouble. Continue reading →

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Blast from the Past: Mansson – Butterworth, BPCF Open Championship Semi-Final Round

Posted on May 11, 2017 by James Mansson

My game against A.Butterworth was another disappointing loss. While my memory of the game was negative, having looked back at it, things are not quite so clear cut. While my choice of system against the Modern Benoni was far from the most critical or fashionable, even back in 1990, my opponent’s response to it was perhaps not the best. I was most likely better going into the middlegame, and only later mistakes there and especially in the endgame led me into danger. There is something of a mystery surrounding the final position where I resigned. While I can see how Black would have won should he had played 39…Be4!, it is not so clear to me that Black is winning after the actual game continuation. Certainly, I should have played on in the final position. Continue reading →

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Blast from the Past: Mansson – Green, BPCF Open Championship Semi-Final Round

Posted on May 9, 2017 by James Mansson

The next game I am going to look at is my other King’s Indian from the section, played against G.Green. I was White again and the game followed the same line as my game against M.Ali up to Black’s 12th move. While my 13th move in the other game was innocuous, my 13th move in this game was decidedly dubious. Soon afterwards, I made a definite mistake, which allowed my opponent to play a very strong sacrifice. Admittedly, he did not find the strongest continuation at one point, which would have led to a forced win. However, he maintained a clear advantage and I was unable to defend. Continue reading →

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Blast from the Past: Mansson – Ali, BPCF Open Championship Semi-Final Round

Posted on May 8, 2017 by James Mansson

It was interesting to go back and have a serious look at my game against M.Ali from my first BPCF Open Semi-Final. My memory of it was rather negative, but actually looking at it again, things do not seem quite so clear-cut until late on. Having said that, I did make some questionable decisions at several points. Continue reading →

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Blast from the Past: First BPCF Open Semi-Final Round Section

Posted on May 8, 2017 by James Mansson

As a result of my success in my first Preliminary Round section in the BPCF Open, I qualified for a Semi-Final section, which eventually started in the following year. Here I faced much tougher opposition and my result indicated that I had to improve considerably to be able to progress further in the competition. Continue reading →

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Blast from the Past: Scruton – Mansson, BPCF Open Championship Preliminary Round

Posted on May 6, 2017 by James Mansson

The last game from my first BPFC Open Preliminary Round section that I’d like to look at is my Black win against R.Scruton. This was a rather gritty struggle in which neither side’s play was especially distinguished; I eventually prevailed in the endgame. Continue reading →

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Blast from the Past: Lucas – Mansson, BPCF Open Championship Preliminary Round

Posted on May 4, 2017 by James Mansson

My Black game against K.Lucas was marred by my opponents blunder of a piece on move 15, after which the result was never in doubt. At the point he blundered, Black was attempting to build an attack on the kingside, but it was not clear that he would make further progress. Continue reading →

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Blast from the Past: Mansson – Fletcher, BPCF Open Championship Preliminary Round

Posted on May 3, 2017 by James Mansson

My other White game in the section was against Fletcher. The was a more successful effort than my game against N.Fallowfield. My opponent followed a line where Petrosian had achieved a quick draw against Szabo as Black, but in fact the position was better for White; Szabo had most likely agreed to the draw because he was playing Petrosian. Black’s position was rather passive; I was able to gradually build up pressure before breaking through. Continue reading →

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