Horsham 1

Last Tuesday saw the start of season 3 of the 4NCL online league (time control 45 minutes plus 15 seconds increments) with all three Horsham teams involved.

Horsham 3 (division 7) were heavily out graded by Dundee C (c270 points per board) and duly lost 3.5-0.5 but not before a well fought draw by Alex Thorndyke on board 1. Harry and Simon each lost out to opening preparations and Andrew missed a tactic when reasonably placed.

I thought it was time to replace the suspension news with a more jolly post - so here you go Horsham 1 dominating a very strong Division 1!

In the meantime we are looking into how best to promote chess in the new strange times - we are hoping to arrange some online tournaments so watch this space.

Last Tuesday, Horsham 1 scored a crucial win over Worthing 1 in Mid-Sussex League Division 1.

Mike Forster was unable to make headway against Mike Nicholas's customary Alekhine, and so the game ended in a draw.

(Horsham 0.5 - Worthing 0.5)

Anthony Higgs's favourite Philidor proved an effective weapon against Cassie Graham, allowing him to pick up the first win of the match.

(Horsham 1.5 - Worthing 0.5)

However, Worthing struck back as Matthew Payne defeated Mark Broom in a wild game.

(Horsham 1.5 - Worthing 1.5)

Horsham 1 beat a spirited Lewes 1 side in a match in early February.

Despite their position at the bottom of Division 1, Lewes 1 proved tricky opponents for Horsham 1.

They secured draws on the bottom two boards (Higgs -M.Britnell and Badham - Roberts), before Horsham managed to win on boards one (J.Britnell - Lock) and three (Maufe - Mansson). Although they had already lost the match 3-1, they were finally able to pick up a consolation win in the last game to finish (Broom - Welford).

Horsham 1 made its second trip down to Worthing this season, this time to play Worthing 3.

As expected,Horsham 1 won comfortably in the end. Mike Forster and Gavin Lock found themselves in tricky positions, but fortunately their opponents were in a peaceable mood. Dix Roberts won quickly on bottom board. James Mansson won the bishop pair then a pawn, and proceeded safely to convert his advantages to a win. Mark Broom had a longer, tougher game, in which he finally prevailed, to secure Horsham a 4-1 victory.

Horsham 1 were held at home in mid-January by Hastings 2, in a match that unusually ended in five draws. Horsham's best chances of a win fell to Mark Broom and James Mansson on boards two and three respectively, but unfortunately they were unable to make best use of their chances. The match therefore ended in a 2.5-2.5 draw.

You can see the full match scorecard here.

Horsham 1 finished 2019 with a narrow win vs Worthing 2, which left them comfortably on top of the MSL Division 1 table.

Although the winning score was 3-2, Horsham's only loss occurred when they had already secured the match with a 3-1 scoreline.

Horsham's wins were secured by Gavin Lock and Anthony Higgs, against Joe Everett and George Neale.

Mark Broom and Mike Forster drew with Mike Nicholas and Peter Larwood.

Horsham 1 scored an excellent win over Brighton 1 last night.

Horsham 1 did not suffer any nasty Halloween surprises in their Thursday night match, and scored a comfortable win against a largely familiar opposition line up.

Gavin Lock's game as White on board 1 against Feliks Kwiatkowski was a quiet draw, as Feliks employed a clever move order to guide play into the solid double Fianchetto system. Gavin was unable to find anything much, so a draw was agreed.

Mike Forster picked up our first win as Black on board 4 against Graham Ewens. He won a pawn in the middlegame, simplified to an endgame, and converted his advantage condifently.

Horsham 1 overcame Horsham 2 in a tightly-contested match on Tuesday 15th October.

The first team were missing only Gavin Lock on board 1, and the second team were also able to put out a good line up.

As technically the away team, Horsham 1 were White on the odd boards.