Mid-Sussex League Knockout 2010-11: Horsham 1 – St Francis & Haywards Heath

Posted on May 18, 2011 by James Mansson

Horsham have won the Mid-Sussex League Knockout once again! The two teams turned out to be pretty evenly matched on grading, so 3.5 was the winning margin for both sides. After Horsham went 2-0 up, the match always looked to be going their way, and so it proved. There was a little bit of controversy in Anthony’s game, as there was a dispute as to whether he had lost on time just before reaching the time control. This was finally resolved by the two players agreeing a draw. The final score was 4.5-1.5 in Horsham’s favour, so fortunately this dispute didn’t have an impact on the overall result. Continue reading →

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Update – Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2010-11: Horsham 1 – Brighton 2

Posted on May 12, 2011 by James Mansson

Brighton 2 resigned on board 3, while board 4 was agreed draw. Horsham 1 therefore won the match 3.5-1.5.

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Horsham Club Championship 2010-11: Kington – Mansson

Posted on May 11, 2011 by James Mansson

I’m gradually playing off my outstanding games in the Horsham Club Championship, and last night I played another, against Paul Kington. He chose the unambitious Exchange Variation against my Slav Defence, and, reacting passively to my “Russian Counterattack”, ended up with a (to my mind) slight inferior position out of the opening. However, I was unable to do anything with my position, although I gave it a good go, and the game eventually ended in a draw. Continue reading →

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4NCL Division 3 2010-11: e2e4.org.uk 2 – Spirit of Atticus

Posted on May 4, 2011 by James Mansson

Round 11 saw the e2e4.org.uk second team fell agonisingly short of promotion, as we were only able to draw with Spirit of Atticus. There were only two decisive games in the match; James Jackson won for e2e4.org.uk, but I lost as Black on board two against Sheila Jackson. Although we outgraded Atticus on the bottom four boards, the actual strength of these players is much higher. This is shown by the fact that Atticus finished second on tiebreak in the Third Division, and had gained promotion with a round to spare. Continue reading →

Posted in 4NCL, Games, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Sicilian Defence | 1 Comment

4NCL Division 3 2010-11: e2e4.org.uk 2 – Oxford 2

Posted on May 4, 2011 by James Mansson

Round 10 saw e2e4.org.uk 2 stay in the hunt for promotion with a comfortable win over Oxford 2. Alan Byron, Andy Talbot and I all scored wins, while the rest of the team drew. Continue reading →

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1 Nf3 repertoire: The Symmetrical English Overview

Posted on May 3, 2011 by James Mansson

For the purposes of our repertoire, the Symmetrical English encompasses those lines where Black plays …c5 before White has played d4, allowing him to answer that move with …cxd4. White will generally have played c4 already, or will play it immediately in response to the move. Continue reading →

Visit the Bibliography for recommended reading relating to the 1 Nf3 Repertoire.
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4NCL Division 1 2010-11: e2e4.org.uk 1 – Cheddleton 1

Posted on May 2, 2011 by James Mansson

I was promoted to the first team just for round 9, as part of Sean’s policy of playing all 2100+ players in the squad in the top division at least once during the season. The team was soundly beaten 6-2 by a strong Cheddleton 1 team. However, four of the team did achieve draws: Alexei Slavin against Danny Gormally, Ameet Ghasi against Elisabeth Paehtz, Alan Byron against Robert Bellin, and I against Paul Wallace. The match was most memorable for a member of the opposition, Jonathan Hawkins, who achieved a GM Norm by crushing Andy Talbot. Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2010-11: Horsham 1 – Brighton 2

Posted on April 29, 2011 by James Mansson

Horsham 1 played its last match in the Mid-Sussex League of the season yesterday, against Brighton 2 away. There were still a couple of games to resolve, but in the games that have finished, Gavin Lock drew with Nadya Somova, Anthony Higgs drew with Arthur der Silver, and I scored a win against Dona Strauss. Gavin was better for much of the game, but his advantage slipped away in the quickplay finish. In contrast, Anthony allowed his kingside to be smashed quite unnecessarily, and was happy to get a draw. Phil Stimpson’s position against Chris Lowe is completely winning, as far as we all can see, while although Dix Roberts is clearly better against Duncan Badham, the position may not be clear enough to win on adjudication. Continue reading →

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1 Nf3 repertoire: The Black Knights’ Tango

Posted on April 27, 2011 by James Mansson

While 2…g6, 2…d6, 2…e6 and 2…b6 are all quite orthodox choices for Black after 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 c4, there are of course other possibilities. I shall be looking at the positions after 2…c5 in my series of posts on the Symmetrical English. The only other variation I think worthy of looking at in depth is 2…Nc6. Continue reading →

Visit the Bibliography for recommended reading relating to the 1 Nf3 Repertoire.
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Mid-Sussex League Knockout 2010-11: Horsham 1 – Lewes

Posted on April 27, 2011 by James Mansson

Horsham 1 scored a narrow victory over Lewes in the semi-final of the Mid-Sussex League Knockout competition. Under the handicapping system, Horsham’s 138 point grading advantage meant that they had to win 4.5 – 1.5 to progress. Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Mid-Sussex League, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Sicilian Defence | 1 Comment