Horsham 1

Horsham 1 are poised to defeat Hastings 1 following a successful performance last Tuesday. The score was 2-1 on the night, with a result not agreed in the games Mansson - Howell and Almond - Higgs. In both cases Horsham has at least a draw. Subsequent examination of the final position in Mansson - Howell indicated that it was a book draw, but we still await a final verdict on Almond - Higgs.

The top board encounter Sugden - Lock saw Black adopt the Stonewall against White's passive line with e3, and he seemed to hold the draw easily enough.

Gavin Lock scored a neat win against Alan Barton, in the recent Horsham 1 match against Hastings 2. The game is given below, with some detailed notes by Gavin.

Horsham 1 travelled down to Hastings last night to take on their second team. James Mansson won quickly on board 2 against an unsettled Alfredo Luaces, then Phil Stimpson and Bernard Cafferty bailed out with a draw. Hastings 2 came back into it as Paul Taylor made an oversight that lost a piece against James Wheeler. However, Gavin Lock was always on top against Alan Barton, and it was no surprise when he broke through on the kingside to force mate. It was therefore all down to the last game between Mel Young and Dix Roberts.

Horsham 1 suffered a decisive defeat against Brighton 1 at home on Tuesday night. The tone for the match was set by Phil Stimpson's disastrous early loss against Brian Denman. Dix Roberts sacrificed several pawns, but was unable to demonstrate sufficient compensation. James Mansson played a promising piece for two pawns sacrifice, but was unable to keep up the pressure, and lost on time just before the time control. Only Paul Taylor managed to win, beating John Henshaw on bottom board. Gavin Lock drew after a massive time scramble against Luke Rutherford.

A weakened Horsham 1 (Phil Stimpson and Dix Roberts were absent) just managed to beat Brighton 2 3-2. Paul Taylor suffered an early disaster against Jason Kirk, and then Ian Comley drew a complex struggle against "County Luminary" Paul Selby. I was able to score a convincing victory with Black in only 30 moves against Mustapha Othman, which left things down to the last couple of games. Gavin Lock looked to have the better of it against Chris Lowe, while Peter Harbott was in big trouble against Martin Roe.

Horsham 1 suffered a defeat away to Lewes 1 last night. There was an early draw between Dix Roberts and Martin Costley, as the former was unable to dent the latter's solid Double Fianchetto formation. This was followed by defeats for Phil Stimpson and James Mansson, leaving Horsham 2.5-0.5 down with two to play. Unfortunately, no miracle occurred this time, as Dominic Lawson got the better of Paul Taylor. Anthony Higgs' win again Barry Maufe merely served to make the score respectable.

The results of the individual games are given in the table below:

Horsham 1 just managed to scrape a draw against St Francis and Haywards Heath 1 after the three unfinished games from the match were agreed to be one win for Horsham and two draws. The match, played on the Tuesday of last week (30th October), saw the first team confronted by a strengthened Haywards Heath outfit, who have acquired the services of former Crawley stalwarts Chris Baker and Robert Noyce.

The Mid-Sussex League season started for Horsham 1 and Horsham 2 last night with a closely-contested match between the two sides. Horsham 2 managed to cause an upset by holding Horsham 1 to a draw.