Good win for Horsham 2

With one result still to be agreed, Horsham 2 have already done enough (3-1) to ensure an encouraging win against Haywards Heath 1.

I saw very little of Paul's game which finished relatively early with decisive gain of material ensuring a good start to the evening for Horsham.

Peter for his part sacrificed a piece for a pawn whilst still in the opening which I understand was subsequently analysed to be unsound but which led to a lasting initiative in practical play and ultimately to an agreed draw after considerable adventures on both sides.

Meanwhile Alex's Kings Indian came under concerted attack in a sharp position but when his opponent sacrificed a minor piece to build upon this, a clever tactic involving temporary sacrifice of his own queen led to an exchange of the matriarchs with a relatively straightforward win thereafter.

I was not particularly happy with my position after the opening but was subsequently advised by my opponent that our game was an exact replica of four or five others he had played over recent times, at least up until around move 13! Anyway some subsequent inaccuracies by me led to a modest plus for black which I managed to neutralise and was happy to use his time pressure to agree a draw with considerable material on the board, particularly as it ensured the team win.

This just left Dix on board 1 and a tough rear-guard action against his highly graded opponent, defending a difficult position a pawn down in the late middle game. At conclusion after 60 moves his opponent had two passed pawns on the queenside (away from the regents) but with Dix's active queen and knight (against queen and bishop) there was evident scope for home analysis; at the time of submission of this article, it was still to be decided whether a result could be agreed or whether adjudication would ensue.

Update: Dix resigned his game, so the result is 3-2 win for Horsham.

Horsham 2 had White on odd-numbered boards.