Horsham 1’s latest Sussex League match, played a couple of Tuesdays ago, was away against Hastings 1. Unfortunately, Horsham went down to a 1.5-2.5 loss, with the scoreline being flattering as their only win was a swindle from a lost position.
I was on board three and had the White pieces against Henry Cove. The game soon developed into a Catalan Opening, which yielded a fine position for Black out of the opening. Initially, my disadvantage was manageable, but further mistakes left me in a lost position. Fortunately, my opponent had burned up a lot of time, which left him under pressure when the real complications began. I managed to generate some chances by sacrificing the exchange; my opponent then blundered in a tricky situation to give me a winning position. I handled this well up to a point, but failed to find the winning line at a crucial juncture; instead, I sacrificed my extra piece back for a position where I had an extra pawn but objectively it should be drawn. However, after play ended up in a bishop endgame, my opponent made a fatal mistake, which allowed me to convert my extra pawn, which I duly did.
I give the game below with some notes.