Horsham 2 draw with Lewes 1

In an evening of fluctuating fortunes Horsham 2 came close to a win but in the event had to settle for a sharing of the spoils with Lewes 1.

On board 1, Anthony stood modestly worse after a miscalculation in the opening which his opponent steadily exploited without ever allowing any counter play, ultimately leading to material loss.

Meanwhile Dix won an early pawn which he returned for piece activity but never quite enough for anything other than a shared point.

Lucy emerged from the opening with a one pawn deficit and with an inferior position. Undeterred, she then proceeded to introduce complications sufficient to effect a turnaround and to win a queen and pawn ending. This left the match deadlocked with two games still under way, each at a critical stage.

Having grabbed a pawn in the opening, Peter was under pressure for most of the game but just when he appeared to have weathered the storm with the opportunity for liquidation and a probable win in a rook and pawn ending, unfortunately he chose the wrong 'swap off' sequence and was mated.

In a sharp line of the Scotch, Phil developed a tremendous attack which he accurately pursued through to checkmate in an exciting game, thereby ensuring honours even between the two teams.

Horsham 2 had White on even-numbered boards.