4NCL 2021 Season. Round 2

Round Two of Horsham s 4NCL online season continued on the 9th february.

After a tough struggle, Horsham 1 came out on the wrong side of a 1.5-2.5 scoreline. Mark's Slav defence came under early pressure and in a complex position he missed a nasty tactic which led to his undoing. Similarly, Dix in an unbalanced position (exchange up but 2 pawns down) missed a pin on his knight which ultimately proved terminal. On board 3, Alex's Sicilian again seemed under pressure but he succeeded in reaching an end game with bishop against knight. Subsequent computer analysis showed this to be exactly equal but one slip by his opponent, as so often in end games, allowed him to bring home the full point. Meanwhile Chris made little headway against the Winawer and truce was agreed with just R, N and 3 similarly structured pawns remaining for each side.

A first match win for Horsham 2. Our first finisher came with a back rank mate by Marian who was three pawns ahead. Next to finish was a fine endgame with an extra knight that forced checkmate by Chris. His opponent looked quite lost after the centre was closed. A missed win for John in the final stages, after an interesting King's Gambit, lead to an unfortunate loss. Finally, after a long wait for a player to arrive, a forced draw for Richard who had two advanced pawns. They had to make a substitution against Richard, so we earned a half point which clinched us the match early on. At the critical moment in finding a opponent my internet stopped which didn't help matters !

Horsham 3 drew 2-2 against a much stronger Harborough Cuatro 2 side. Andrew lost a knight early on, fought back to equality, only for his strong opponent to find a way to a win. Harry lost a pawn and after regaining it back managed to catch his opponent in a mating net. Charlie played well and managed to win an exchange and then simplify into a winning endgame. Simon played bravely but in the end was outclassed by a much stronger opponent.