Horsham Club Knockout 2011-12: Mansson – Newman

Posted on September 27, 2011 by James Mansson

Tonight I managed to win my first round game in the longplay knockout in straightforward fashion against Dick Newman. Continue reading →

Posted in Club Knockout, Games, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Queen’s Gambit Accepted | Leave a comment

Horsham Club Quickplay Knockout 2011-12: Mansson – Britton

Posted on September 21, 2011 by James Mansson

As mentioned in my previous post, last night featured the first two rounds of the Quickplay Knockout. There I wrote about my first round match with Julie Denning. Here I turn my attention to round two, where my match was against David Britton. Again I won 2-0, although there was a moment in the second game where I blundered, allowing my opponent the chance to win. Fortunately, he missed it! Continue reading →

Posted in Club Quickplay Knockout, Games, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Sicilian Defence, The Symmetrical English | Leave a comment

Horsham Club Quickplay Knockout 2011-12: Mansson – Denning

Posted on September 21, 2011 by James Mansson

As part of the ongoing effort to get club competition games played promptly, last night was devoted to playing the first couple of rounds in the Quickplay Knockout and associated Plate competition. Continue reading →

Posted in Club Quickplay Knockout, Games, Opening Analysis, Reports, The King's Indian Defence, The Sicilian Defence | 1 Comment

Champion’s Simul Results

Posted on September 14, 2011 by James Mansson

Further to my previous post, here are Phil Stimpson’s full results of the Champion’s Simul:

  • 0-1 Julie Denning
  • 1/2-1/2 Ron Fletcher
  • 1/2-1/2 John Coules
  • 1/2-1/2 Roger Waddingham
  • 0-1 Mike Forster
  • 1-0 James West (J)
  • 1/2-1/2 Mark Baldock
  • 1-0 Joe Widdowson (J)
  • 1/2-1/2 Paul Taylor
  • 1-0 Richard Hewitt (J)
  • 1-0 Joe Wilby
  • 0-1 Peter Harbott
  • 1/2-1/2 Oliver Thorne (J)
  • 1-0 John Marshall
  • 1-0 Matthew Forster (J)
  • 1-0 Nick Warren
  • 1/2-1/2 Amy Hoare
  • 1/2-1/2 Tony Locke
  • 1-0 Dick Newman
  • 1/2-1/2 James Mansson
  • 1/2-1/2 Anthony Higgs

This gave him the overall score of 13-8 (8 wins, 10 draws, 3 losses).

Posted in Champion's Simul, Reports | Leave a comment

Go Slow at the Champion’s Simul

Posted on September 14, 2011 by James Mansson

We had a new person doing the honours at the “Champion’s Simul”, a recent addition to the Horsham Chess Club calendar. Held the week following the AGM, it sees the previous season’s club champion take on all comers from the club in a simultaneous exhibition. Having attempted the feat myself on more than one occasion, I can vouch that it is both physically and mentally demanding! Continue reading →

Posted in Champion's Simul, Games, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Sicilian Defence | 2 Comments

Blast from the Past: Portsmouth 1992

Posted on September 6, 2011 by James Mansson

One of my favourite events for many years was the tournament played at Portsmouth Grammar School every February. I first entered the event in 1992 in my last year at school, but I really made a habit of it from 2000 to 2006, when I played in it every year. Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Games, Miscellaneous Queen's Gambit, Opening Analysis, The French Defence, The Gruenfeld Defence, The King's Indian Defence, The Ruy Lopez, The Symmetrical English | Leave a comment

Blast from the Past: University Team Games

Posted on August 29, 2011 by James Mansson

When I started attending Durham University in 1992, I joined the Chess Club straight away, and played for the First Team for all of my three years there. The university entered a couple of teams in the local league, where the opposition I faced was of a much higher standard to that in school chess. Overall I played 39 games and scored +21=8-10 (64%). Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Games, Opening Analysis, The Gruenfeld Defence, The King's Indian Defence, The Queen's Indian Defence, The Sicilian Defence, The Torre Attack | Leave a comment

Blast from the Past: Islington Tournaments

Posted on August 22, 2011 by James Mansson

The first non-junior individual tournament I entered was the annual event at Islington in 1990. I returned there a couple more times, in 1992 and 1995. Playing in such adult events was an important part of my development as a chess player, as it was there that I first encountered consistently strong opposition. Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Games, Opening Analysis, The Gruenfeld Defence, The King's Indian Defence, The Pirc Defence, The Semi-Slav Defence, The Sicilian Defence | Leave a comment

Blast from the Past: Junior Tournaments

Posted on August 18, 2011 by James Mansson

As mentioned in my previous post (and the first in this series) most of the opponents I faced when playing for my school were weak players. As a result, I didn’t learn a great deal from these games, as not only did my opponents often gift me the win, but I was also able to get away with various mistakes, even some crude blunders. Where I really started to learn how to play chess properly was in Junior Tournaments, where the opposition was generally of a much higher standard. I have the master in charge of chess, Mr. Thorne, to thank for giving me and other pupils who attended the Royal Grammar School, Guildford the opportunity to play in proper events, since he not only encouraged us to enter, but also helped organise transport to and from them. In addition, he and others organised an annual junior tournament at the school, which was of equal strength to the Surrey Junior Championship, and equally prestigious. Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Games, Opening Analysis, The Blumenfeld Gambit, The Gruenfeld Defence, The Modern Defence, The Queen’s Gambit Declined, The Sicilian Defence | Leave a comment

Blast from the Past: School Team Games

Posted on August 16, 2011 by James Mansson

This post is the first in a series where I look back over some of the 1000+ games I have played in competitive tournaments and matches over the years. I am going to start with a look at some of the games I played for the school team during the period 1988-92, while I was at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford. Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Games, Opening Analysis, The King's Indian Defence, The Queen’s Gambit Declined | 2 Comments