Horsham Club Championship 2015-16: Mansson – Higgs

Posted on March 23, 2016 by James Mansson

In my most recent Horsham Club Championship game, played a couple of Tuesdays ago against Anthony Higgs, both players managed to surprise each other in the opening. Anthony chose the Gruenfeld, an opening that I have played against him a number of times but never the other way round. In response, I deviated from the 3 f3 he was surely expecting, and played instead a less common line, introduced by Polugayevsky. However, Anthony responded strongly against this, gaining a good position; I am not sure how I could have played better. Then I slipped up further, giving him a good position, but he wrong seized the opportunity to exchange queens, when the endgame proved surprisingly good for me, despite my extended pawns. In this endgame, I seem to have missed some decent chances of my own; in the end, the game ended up as a draw. Continue reading →

Posted in Club Championship, Games, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Gruenfeld Defence | 2 Comments

Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2015-16: Horsham 1 – Brighton 2

Posted on March 6, 2016 by James Mansson

Horsham 1 had a disappointing draw against Brighton 2 last Tuesday. My game proved crucial, as it was the last to finish with the score at 2.5-1.5 in our favour. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2015-16: Mansson – Kington

Posted on February 11, 2016 by James Mansson

I was close to beating Paul Kington in our Horsham Club Championship game last Tuesday, but slipped up in a winning position, allowing him to escape with a draw. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2015-16: Horsham 1 – Worthing 1

Posted on February 4, 2016 by James Mansson

Worthing have proved difficult opposition for us in recent years, but in our latest match, we scored a crushing 4.5-0.5 win. After a couple of losses in the league, I was happy to notch my first win, especially as it was against Chris Jones, whom I have not managed to beat in our previous meetings. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2015-16: Eastbourne 1 – Horsham 1

Posted on January 16, 2016 by James Mansson

Last night I went down to Eastbourne to play for Horsham 1 against Eastbourne 1 in the Mid-Sussex League. I was pushed up to first board, as Gavin Lock was unable to play. I faced Rasa Norinkeviciute as White. The game started promisingly for me as I obtained what looked like (and still does) a good position for me out of the opening. However, although what I then chose looked at first good, Rasa defended solidly, and it was difficult to decide on what to play next. I played a rash pawn sacrifice which looks even less after analysing the position. Although I could have played better over the next few moves, my position was still tough to play. As it happens, I played poorly and Rasa well, so she ended up winning comfortably. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2015-16: Roberts – Mansson

Posted on December 20, 2015 by James Mansson

I was able to get in one more club championship game before Christmas, this time against Dix Roberts. Ultimately, the result of the game was disappointing for me, as I achieved a winning position but was unable to push my advantage home. Continue reading →

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County Match (Open) 2015-16: Sussex – Essex

Posted on November 22, 2015 by James Mansson

Last Saturday Sussex successfully overcame Essex at home, to get back on track following their disastrous loss in the first match of the season. My game was a draw in the end, although at several points I seemed to have chances of achieving more. None the less, it was an important result in securing the win. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2015-16: Horsham 1 – Horsham 2

Posted on November 11, 2015 by James Mansson

As both Horsham 1 and Horsham 2 are in division one, their first match of the season was against each other. The teams are closely matched, so I was up against a tough opponent in Paul Taylor. The game did not have a happy result for me. I went into an inferior endgame early on, and did not play it well. When I blundered a piece on move 23, my position was in any case lost. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2015-16: Mansson – Harbott

Posted on October 28, 2015 by James Mansson

I continued my good start to the Club Championship last night by winning in 21 moves against Peter Harbott. Right out of the opening, I achieved a promising position, and when my opponent slipped up to allow a combination opening the centre, he was in big trouble. A further oversight allowed me to force mate. Continue reading →

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County Match (Open) 2015-16: Sussex – Surrey

Posted on October 25, 2015 by James Mansson

Yesterday, I played my first game of the season for the Sussex Open team. We were playing Surrey away at Coulsdon. Unfortunately, Dix had great trouble getting players for the match; we ended up four players short, so started 0-4 down. We also had the problem that the players we lost were in the middle of the team, so a number of players were a few boards above where they usually would be. Not surprisingly, we lost heavily. However, on a personal note, I achieved a decent result: a draw against a strong player (current grade 199), against whom I had twice lost previously in county matches over the years.

Continue reading →

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