Horsham 4 vs Horsham 3

Tuesday was the second of the three Horsham vs Horsham matches to start this season. Last match the 3s suffered playing up against the 2s and this time played down against the 4s. Although we outrated our opponents on every board, it's still never a guaranteed result.

First to finish was my own board 1, a repeat fixture from the previous week against John M but with colours reversed. We played a very quiet Spanish where suddenly it wasn't and black resigned under threat of mate.

Next to finish was Nick on board 3 against Richard M. I missed the early moves but by the time my game had finished, white was enjoying a lot of pressure in an opposite-side-castling position and handshakes followed shortly after when black couldn't defend mate without giving away a huge amount of material.

Paul was on board 4 against Pete, a dangerous Caro-Kann where black managed to win the queen for rook and knight. Although it seemed white was creating some dynamic counterplay, black was simply able to avoid all the tricks by giving back the queen and simplifying to a winning rook vs knight ending.

Last to finish was Ian E on board 2 against Jordy and his reliable London. Black won a pawn in the early middlegame but struggled to untangle due to his uncastled king. White was able to create an attack against the vulnerable king and eventually a drawn was agreed (gladly welcomed by both players who each thought they were losing).

A good 0.5-3.5 win for Horsham 3. Horsham 4 have another uphill fight this week against Horsham 2 while Horsham 3 are back in action next week away to Sussex Uni.