Horsham Chess Club
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Congratulations to all the Horsham players who took part at the annual Hastings tournament over the new year period.
In the Masters, Gavin Lock turned a disappointing first half into a storming comeback as he finished with 5.5/9 including victories over IM Jack Rudd and FM Laurence Webb. Amy Hoare played far above her grading scoring 6 draws from 8 games against tough opposition, and Chris Heath scored an unbeaten 4/5 in the Weekend Major.
Hopefully I'll put somes games from Hastings up on the homepage in the next update.
Anthony Higgs
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Local Heroes...
Here are several games and positions from recent competitions in which Horsham players have been successful. First off, a game from the Mid-Sussex League, with some notes by the winner (PT) and some by me (AH): P. Taylor (171) – WFM R. Norinceviciute (180) MSL Div 1 - Horsham 2 vs Hastings 2 (Board 1) 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7 5.Nf3 Bc6 [The solid Fort Knox Variation, which has undergone a recent surge in popularity - AH] 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.0–0 Ngf6 8.Re1 Bxe4 9.Bxe4 Nxe4 10.Rxe4 Nf6 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Bxf6 gxf6 [The only benefit that Black gets from the pawn capture is the open g-file. This is useless though because I can always play g3 - PT. Fritz doesn't like the exchange on f6 but I would agree with Paul, as advancing both the black f and h pawns is time-consuming and not really structurally justifiable - AH] 13.Qd3 Qd7 14.Rae1 0–0–0 15.Rg4!? [The start of an interesting positional idea. With one pair of rooks exchanged the g-file becomes less valuable and White will have time to bring up the queenside pawns - AH] Position after 15.Rg4!? 15...h6 16.Rg7 Qe8 17.Rh7 c6 18.Rxh8 Qxh8 19.Qd2 Qg7 20.Qa5 Kb8 21.c4 Rg8 22.g3 Qg4 23.Kg2 Rd8 24.h3 [Played to stop an exchange on d4. I felt that I had the advantage but could only retain it by keeping pieces on and not exchanging any - PT] 24...Qg6 25.b4? [25.Re3 keeps things even - AH] 25...Qc2! 26.Qh5 Bxb4 [I missed this as well as the Queen move to c2. However I am now targeting f7 and h6 with f6 and e6 to follow - PT] 27.Re3 Qh7 28.Rb3 Bd6 29.Qa5 Rd7 30.c5 Bc7? [Maybe e7 could be considered, the bishop gets in the way here. Later on Black will find it hard to untangle along the b-file as both the King and Bishop need to cross c7 - PT] 31.Qa6 b6 [Not 31...Bd8 32.Qxc6 - AH] 32.cxb6 Bxb6 33.Nd2?! [33.Rxb6+ leads to a better position for Black of the type that would probably be awarded on adjudication. However the move played should also have given Black the advantage - AH] 33...Qc2 34.Nc4 Qe4+ 35.Kh2 Qxd4 36.Rb2 Qc5?! [Black drifts at the critical juncture - AH] 37.a4! Qd4? [Only 37...Rd1 keeps Black in the game - AH] 38.a5 Rb7 39.axb6 axb6 40.Rd2 Qc5 41.Nd6 Rc7 42.Ra2 Re7 43.Qc8# A nice final position with all the White pieces contributing to the mate.
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New players
If you are a budding chess player, don't be shy - come and join us! More details are available on the Club History and Venue pages, and you can contact the webmaster through the Contact Us page.
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Here's Ian Comley celebrating the club's 130th birthday in style as he exploits a nasty opening trap:
D. Langridge - I.S. Comley Horsham CC 130th Anniversary Match
1.e4 e6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.f3? Nxe4! 7.Nxc6 Qh4+ 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Rg1 Ne4+ 10.Ke2 Qf2+ 11.Kd3 Nc5+ 12.Kc3 bxc6 13.Rg2 Na4+ 14.Qxa4 Qxf1 15.Qc2 Qxf3+ 16.Kd4 c5+ 17.Ke5 d6#
Another nice final position!
Finally a game from the club's newest competition, the Knight Cup (notes by Anthony Higgs):
A. Burling – R. H. Newman Knight Cup 2009-10
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 a6 5.Bxc6+ bxc6 6.e5 c5 7.dxc5! [One of those occasions where it is best to take the pawn on c5 in the French] 7...Bxc5 8.Nf3 [The immediate 8.Qg4 was also possible but the move played can't be wrong] 8...Bb7 9.Nd4 Ne7 10.Bg5 0–0 11.Na4 [Technically this is unnecessary but it sets up a fiendish trap...] 11...Ba7 12.Qg4 c5? [...which Black falls for!] 13.Bf6 Qa5+ [Probably expecting 14.Nc3 Ng6 when White will lose either the bishop or the d4 knight, but there is a sting in the tail...] 14.b4!!
Position after 14.b4!!
[Now instead of White losing the bishop or the knight, Black must choose between losing his queen or his king!] 14...Qxb4+ 15.c3 Qxa4 16.Qxg7# |
