Horsham 2 squeeze another victory

Horsham 2 achieved a pleasing 3-2 victory against Haywards Heath 1 last Tuesday. This promised to be a very tight match with both teams having the same average grade of 173 – they were stronger (on paper) on Boards 1 & 2 and we out-gunned them on 4 & 5 (with our strength in depth!).

Anthony, playing his last game for us before becoming “nominated” for the 1st team, faced Feliks with the black pieces and played his Philidor astutely; he was unlucky not to gain an advantage from a complex tactic that Feliks may have overlooked and at the close a draw was agreed in a level end game.
On Board 2 Phil shed four pawns in pursuit of an attack against the black king (that had been castled on the queen’s side in a Sicilian) but he could not create a breakthrough and his own king came under fatal attack. Peter went a pawn up in his game but made an error that resulted in him having to defend a tricky 2 Rooks & 5 Pawns v. Queen & 6 Pawns position, which he did well and achieved a forced perpetual check with his rooks!

Paul seemed to win comfortably, winning a piece for 2 pawns in the middlegame. Roy faced White’s 1.b3 and he took the initiative and won the exchange before entering a winning rook and pawn ending.
The team is now standing in a creditable 5th position in Division 1.

Anthony Higgs (183) ½-½ Feliks Kwiatkowski (198)
Phil Stimpson (170) 0-1 Jeffrey Boardman (189)
Peter Harbott (171) ½-½ Robert Fitzgerald (174)
Paul Taylor (172) 1-0 Martin Faulkner (156)
Roy Page (171) 1-0 Graham Ewens (148)