Horsham 1 record comfortable victory over Haywards Heath 1

Last Thursday, Horsham 1 were away against Haywards Heath 1; they managed to record a comfortable victory due to wins on the bottom two boards.

First to end was the top board game between Gavin Lock and Feliks Kwiatkowski. A complicated Rossolimo Sicilian end up as a draw, giving us a good result to build on.

Next was James McGrath's victory over Edward Upsdell on bottom board. James McGrath played the Sicilian against his opponent's 1 e4; his opponent played an unwise piece sacrifice that was easily refuted. The made the score 1.5-0.5 in our favour.

James Mansson was White against Viv Cole on board three. After 1 e4, his opponent's choice of the Alekhine's Defence was no surprise; White was well-prepared and obtained an advantage out of the open. Both sides subsequently made errors, but James proved stronger overall and secured the victory. This gave Horsham a winning margin of 2.5-0.5 with one to play.

Mark Broom was Black against Jeff Boardman on board two. The game was first in Mark's favour, but then things swung Jeff's way. Jeff appeared to have a winning rook endgame, but Mark held on grimly, and by then end of the playing session, the position looked like a draw; subsequent analysis proved this to be the case, so a draw was agreed the next day. This made the final score 3-1 to Horsham 1.