Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2016-17: Horsham 1 – Crowborough 1

Posted on January 29, 2017 by James Mansson

Horsham 1 scored a 3.5-1.5 win against Crowborough 1 in the Mid-Sussex League before Christmas. The match was decided by Phil Stimpson and Peter Harbott winning on the bottom two boards; the other three games were drawn. My game against David Fryer was a complex encounter, in which I was close to winning until I slipped up just before the time control. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2016-17: Mansson – Heath

Posted on January 1, 2017 by James Mansson

My club championship game against Chris Heath was an eventful encounter. I made a mistake in the opening, which fortunatelty my opponent didn’t exploit fully. The game then headed into complications, where neither side played entirely accurately, before my opponent committed a serious error, which I was able to exploit. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2016-17: Horsham 1 – Eastbourne 1

Posted on December 28, 2016 by James Mansson

Horsham 1 scored a decisive win 4.5-0.5 over Eastbourne 1 towards the end of November. I was Black against Adrian Pickersgill. Although I was in trouble out of the opening after a poor 15th move, my opponent soon allowed play to transfer into a strange ending, where his two (!) protected passed pawns were surprisingly ineffective. Towards the time control I was able to force a decisive breakthrough. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Knockout 2016-17: Mansson – Roberts

Posted on December 11, 2016 by James Mansson

While my win in the first round of the knockout was a fairly straightforward encounter, my second round match was a far tougher affair. I was White against Dix Roberts, with whom I have played many club games over the years. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2016-17: Horsham 1 – Horsham 2

Posted on December 4, 2016 by James Mansson

As both the Horsham first and second teams are in the same division of the Mid-Sussex League, their first league fixture of the season is against each other. In previous years, there have been some close encounters, but this year the first team won comfortably. Continue reading →

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County Match (Open) 2016-17: Sussex – Surrey

Posted on November 26, 2016 by James Mansson

Sussex ended up scoring a comfortable win against Surrey in their most recent match. My contribution was an easy draw as Black against a strong opponent. He played the double-edged Goering Gambit as White, but was unable to show anything against the classic equalising line I employed. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Championship 2016-17: Mansson – Marshall

Posted on November 26, 2016 by James Mansson

I won my second game in the Rook against John Marshall at the start of October. I managed to secure an edge out of the opening, and gradually build up my position. In a difficult position, my opponent cracked and I was able to win with some precise moves. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Knockout 2016-17: Mansson – Rustom

Posted on November 20, 2016 by James Mansson

My game in the first round of the club knockout was a fairly straightforward win. I emerged from the opening with an edge, although it seems that Black missed a chance to equalise. I then adopted an aggressive approach to which my opponent failed to find the best response; instead, he lost a piece to a neat tactic and was then unable to put up much resistance. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Quickplay Knockout 2016-17: Mansson – Taylor

Posted on November 5, 2016 by James Mansson

The second round of the quickplay saw me up against Paul Taylor. Paul is a tricky but erratic player, and while I have generally done well against him, I have suffered a few defeats too.

In the first game, Paul played an unusual line that he had used to defeat me in last year’s Horsham 1 vs Horsham 2 match. However, I was prepared for it and he made a serious mistake on move 9, allowing me to win the exchange and a pawn. Although I didn’t play as well as I might in what followed, I was still able to win in the end.

In the second game, I was able to establish a slight advantage out of the opening. An aggressive, double-edged thrust (15 g4!?) did not immediately yield dividends, but fortunately for me, my opponent tried an exchange sacrifice that was simply unsound. With some calm play, I was able to consolidate and win. Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Quickplay Knockout 2016-17: Mansson – Waddingham

Posted on November 5, 2016 by James Mansson

The first couple of rounds of the Horsham Chess Club Quickplay Knockout were played on the 20th September. It has become customary to play the first two rounds like this en masses to ensure that the competition gets moving.

I was paired against Roger Waddingham in Round One. As usual, he played his “King’s Fianchetto Against Anything With Both Colours” system. In both games – you play each other once with Black and White – I managed to build up an advantage quickly, and was able to win without any great difficultly, apart, of course, from the pressure of the clock.

Continue reading →

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