McArthur Cup 2013-14: Horsham – Woodpushers

Posted on January 18, 2014 by James Mansson

Unlike the last couple of years, Horsham was able to make some progress in the McArthur Cup on Tuesday night. They scored an easy win against Woodpushers in Hove. My game on board three against Julian Clark [not Clath as I originally wrote – see Anthony’s comment] was essentially decided early on, as my opponent dropped a couple of pawns and also allowed the exchange of queens.

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Posted in Games, McArthur Cup, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Albin Counter Gambit | 3 Comments

4NCL Division 3 2013-14: e2e4.org.uk 2 – Ashfield-Breadsall

Posted on January 16, 2014 by James Mansson

In contrast to round three, our round four match against Ashfield-Breadsall was a happier experience. The e2e4.org.uk second team notched up a 4-2 win, which put their campaign in the 4NCL third division back on track. My game ended up in a Modern Benoni by transposition, with me playing Black. My opponent got into difficulties out of the opening as he failed to find a coherent plan. I managed to gradually increase my advantage, until I was able to take the opportunity to play a combination to win material. Although I didn’t find the most devastating continuation, what I played proved sufficient to win in the end. Continue reading →

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4NCL Division 3 2013-14: e2e4.org.uk 2 – Fermented Sharks

Posted on January 15, 2014 by James Mansson

The second 4NCL weekend of the year saw the e2e4.org.uk second team paired against the Fermented Sharks. Unfortunately, we went down 4-2, with only Adam Taylor notching up a win. My game was a rather poor performance against Alan Agnew. I swapped queens early but followed up with a series of first innocuous then simply dubious moves. I tried to stir things up, but without success, and soon had to resign. Continue reading →

Posted in 4NCL, Games, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Modern Defence | Leave a comment

4NCL Division 1 2013-14: e2e4.org.uk 1 – Grantham Sharks 2

Posted on November 19, 2013 by James Mansson

In round two, I moved up to play for the first team. We managed to secure a narrow win against Grantham Sharks 2. Rasa and I drew our games fairly quickly. I obtained a marginally superior endgame, but soon committed and inaccuracy, and was forced to take a draw by repetition. Rasa was not happy with her position, and so was relieved to receive a draw offer from her opponent, which she accepted at once. The match then turned against us as Colin Crouch was defeated by a much lower rated opponent, but fortunately the rest of the team managed to turn things round, and we ran out 4.5-3.5 winners.

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4NCL Division 3 2013-14: e2e4.org.uk 2 – Celtic Tigers 2

Posted on November 18, 2013 by James Mansson

The e2e4.org.uk second team got off to a good start in this year’s 4NCL. Playing in Division 3, they scored a comfortable win against Celtic Tigers 2. Soon after the first time control they had achieved a 3-0 lead, and went on to win 4.5-1.5.

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County Match (Open) 2013-14: Sussex – Middlesex

Posted on November 10, 2013 by James Mansson

Last Saturday, I played for Sussex against Middlesex at Hassocks. In contrast to the first county match of the season, the result was better both for the team and for me personally. Sussex scored a fine 9.5-6.5, which could (as Dix Roberts observed) have been even better, as we missed some chances to score even more points. Continue reading →

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County Match (Open) 2013-14: Sussex – Surrey

Posted on October 19, 2013 by James Mansson

Today I played my first serious competitive game since May, in a county match for Sussex against Surrey. Unfortunately, I proved to be extremely rusty, and made a serious error on move 16, from which I was unable to recover. Continue reading →

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County Match (Open) 2012-13: Sussex – Bedfordshire

Posted on May 19, 2013 by James Mansson

Sussex managed to qualify for the Minor Counties this year, and were paired against Bedfordshire in the first round. The match was played at the Open University in Milton Keynes under what were very good conditions for a county match. Continue reading →

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4NCL Division 1 2012-13: e2e4.org.uk 1 – South Wales Dragons

Posted on May 17, 2013 by James Mansson

The last match of the season saw e2e4.org.uk 1 up against South Wales Dragons. We really needed to win the match to be confident of staying up. Our lower boards made the early running, with Mark Josse, Michael Barnes and Rasa Norinkeviciute all winning, although I went down to defeat against David James. When Alan Byron managed to win too, we were almost there at 4-1 ahead, but there was a nervous finish to the match as both Peter Sowray and Andrew Bird were defeated on boards 1 and 2. Fortunately, James Jackson managed to hold his opponent to a draw, so we prevailed by the narrowest margin (4.5-3.5). Continue reading →

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4NCL Division 1 2012-13: e2e4.org.uk 1 – Wood Green 2

Posted on May 12, 2013 by James Mansson

While e2e4.org.uk 1 had hoped – and managed – to beat Warwickshire Select 1 on Saturday, there was little expectation of a similar result against a strong Wood Green 2. In the end, they did lose, but only by the narrowest margin (3.5-4.5). The match was lost on the lower boards, where our opponents prevailed 3-1, which was not surprising given their grading advantage there. However, on the top boards we came out on top 2.5-1.5, thanks to a couple of good wins by Peter Sowray and Andrew Bird, and Alexei Slavin holding Jonathan Speelman to a draw on board one. Continue reading →

Posted in 4NCL, Games, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Sicilian Defence | Leave a comment