Horsham 2 just edged out by Crowborough 1

Horsham 2 were narrowly defeated by Crowborough 1 last night in a see-saw match that saw 5 decisive results.

Paul Taylor's first experience of being board 1 in division 1 went well initially, a Scotch leading to a fairly even position against Peter Kemp. Both players then overlooked a winning tactic for Paul before Peter spotted one of his own. On board 2 Peter Harbott was looking solid against Bob Elliston... before his phone beeped in his bag. Bob opted not to claim the game immediately and was rewarded with an eventual victory. On board 3 I launched the Manhattan Gambit at David Fryer and soon had a crushing position. I swapped down into a pawn-up endgame which turned out to be far harder to win than I thought, but sidestepping some clever defence by David I managed to bring home the point. On board 4 Ian faced one of Sussex's top juniors (also a Higgs, so he must be good...) - a French led to violent attacks for both players but Ian's sacrificial breakthrough eventually ran out of steam. On board 5 Mick's game seemed to be level for a long period before a tactic netted him a piece. He then weathered Black's next few moves to win.

Overall a 3-2 loss but very close and good to see 5 decisive games.

P. Kemp 1-0 P. Taylor
R. Elliston 1-0 P. Harbott
D. Fryer 0-1 A.R.J. Higgs
J. Higgs 1-0 I.S. Comley
J. Lawrence 0-1 M.C. Harris

(Horsham had white on odds)