Horsham Chess Club

Horsham 2 rounded off a highly satisfactory season back in division 1 with a 3-2 win against Brighton 2, thereby finishing with 4.5 match points out of 10 and 23.5 game points, not far off 50% on both measures.

H2 currently stands 5th out of 11, above all other second teams and three first teams (Eastbourne, Lewes and Haywards Heath). All of those teams below us have one or two matches still to play and it remains mathematically possible for us to slip to 7th but the position will be a lot clearer after the current flurry of activity.

With the flurry of Horsham 2 results I thought people might be interested in the current state of the Division 1 table.

Modestly out graded, Horsham 2 secured a good fighting draw against Eastbourne 1 though not without a huge slice of luck in one of the games.

With my own issues (see later) I observed little of Phil’s game though was aware he faced the Sicilian with an inevitably sharp position arising. I understand he then initiated some exchanges in the wrong move order with a terminal result.

Next to finish was Peter’s which looked a fairly solid game with a nice tactic ensuring a draw by perpetual.

Whilst facing a considerably changed line-up, Horsham 2 beat Hastings 2 by 4-1 and hence gained an element of revenge for Horsham 1’s recent slip up against the same team.

Dix’s game was a dreary London system (his words, not mine!) defended with a king side fianchetto. Queens were soon exchanged on d2. White pressed but was rebuffed with aggressive tactics involving the misplaced bishop on f4 and skewers on the rook on d2. The position levelled out and rather than play a blitz finish both players opted for a draw.

Yes you heard that right...

Horsham Juniors have been in action in three successive weeks recently, here's how they got on...

Horsham 2 lost out last night to Worthing 1 whose top two players were both graded above 200. With one game still to be decided (at best a draw for us) the score stands at 1.5-2.5.

Anthony’s Philidor on board 1 was subjected to a fierce kingside assault which seemed to have been largely weathered. An excursion of his queen, however, seeking activity on the other side of the board (when, as he subsequently put it, she would have been far better off hanging around nearer the centre) proved his undoing which ultimately came through the queenside.

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.

Horsham 1 scored a big win away against Eastbourne 1 on Friday evening.

Anthony Higgs against Mike Reddie seemed to be moving along quietly, before Mike made a miscalculation and his position rapidly collapsed.

Both Gavin Lock and Mike Forster made use of the White pieces to score good wins against their opponents.

Matt Forster won what looked like a tough game against Paul Carpenter.

Despite a significant grading deficit, Horsham 2 only narrowly lost out to Brighton 1.

First to finish was Peter whose Petroff came under immediate pressure, initially on the kingside but subsequently on the other wing where the entanglement of his pieces led to the early demise of his queen.

Meanwhile Lucy’s Sicilian saw a promising queenside advance balanced by some weaknesses elsewhere. In late middle game, the latter proved more crucial with a series of combinations leading to loss of material and resignation.