Submitted by James Mansson on 2 February, 2018 - 12:17
Horsham 1's hopes were hit by a disappointing draw away against Brighton 2.
Horsham 1 were a little under strength as both Forsters were unavailable, but still fielded a decent side that could have been the regular first team in past seasons. Brighton 2 had a good side out too, so the match was never going to be easy.
Submitted by Paul Richardson on 28 January, 2018 - 16:16
My own game on board 5 finished fairly quickly with an agreed draw, both our kings had little cover and unwilling to push too hard. Peters game on Board 1 looked equal for a long time with pieces slowly coming off but he managed to gain an advantage with aggressive knight manoeuvres to have a slightly stronger king/pawn end game which he expertly played out until the 42nd move where it was clear he’d queen and win. Soon after Alex had won his after facing a king side pawn storm his opponent ran out of support, pushed too hard and Alex calmly kept control.
Submitted by Tim Pavlovic on 28 January, 2018 - 12:41
Hastings 2 brought a very strong team to Horsham last Tuesday, as the winners of this match would more than likely win the Division 2 championship.
Gradings were very similar from Board 2 to Board 5 but on Board 1 Anthony was heavily out-graded playing a 210, so he did exceptionally well to secure a draw with the black pieces. In fact at adjudication Anthony was pawn up but the position was such that this was insufficient to get a win.
Submitted by James Mansson on 17 January, 2018 - 17:22
Horsham 1 scored a narrow win against Lewes 1 in the Mid-Sussex League last Tuesday.
Mike Forster was first to finish, with a draw against Martin Costley, who managed to equalise with solid play against Mike's English/Catalan hybrid.
James Mansson emerged clearly worse from a rather unorthodox opening, but was fortunate that his opponent eventually miscalculated, allowing him to win substantial amounts of material; his opponent very soon resigned.
Mark Broom and Gavin Lock ended up drawing after Mark was unable to make anything of his slight edge.
Submitted by Tim Pavlovic on 15 December, 2017 - 21:48
The 2nd team welcomed Division 2 league leaders, Crowborough 1, on Tuesday 5th December. Horsham lead 2½-1½ with one game being sent for adjudication, in which we are claiming a win and they are claiming a draw, so a 3-2 win is at least guaranteed, in what was a tight match.
Phil was the first to win on Board 4 – playing the Blumenfeld Attack in the Scotch Opening – a line he was very familiar with having won previously with the following sequence of moves!!
Submitted by Julie Denning on 6 December, 2017 - 19:00
Our MSL Knock-Out team played its first match of the season last night (5th December). Our opponents were Lewes 1 - they've entered 2 KO teams. Being their first team, it was anticipated that they might come in strength, although this is always a bit of guesswork until you see who turns up on the night. We therefore countered with a team based more on strength than possible handicap advantage. In the event, Lewes were missing some of their top players and were significantly the weaker side on paper.
Submitted by James Mansson on 23 November, 2017 - 13:42
Horsham 1 secured a narrow home win over Eastbourne 1 last Tuesday after some nervous moments.
For the first time this season (and the last, as Morgan Blake will be heading off), Horsham were able to field their strongest side, but several players misfired, leading to a tight contest.
Mike Forster ran into early trouble, giving up material but not gaining sufficient attacking chances. His opponent was able to consolidate and win.
It was not all bad news for the Forsters, however, as Matt secured a comprehensive win with a typically energetic performance.
