Yesterday saw my first appearance in a county match for Sussex since 2008. The match, for the Open Team (no grading restriction), was against Surrey, and I was on board 3, my highest ever position in the top team. We were not expecting to do well against Surrey, having lost to them 13-3 last year, but the Sussex team won decisively 10-6. Congratulations are due to everyone for this fine result.
My game was against Marcus Osborne. I first played Marcus in a junior event in 1990. Prior to our latest encounter, the score between us stood at 1 win to me and 3 wins to him, with one game drawn. Our game was the last to finish, with the match already decided in Sussex’s favour, and ended with both players only having a few minutes on the clock.
The first stage of the game, up to just before the time control, was played with reasonable accuracy by both players. Just before the time control, Marcus slipped up, giving me the chance to seize a clear advantage by grabbing a pawn, but I incorrectly rejected this chance. In the quickplay finish, however, there were a series of errors as the advantage swung back and forth. Finally, Marcus made an error that I was able to exploit, forcing his resignation.
I give the game below with some notes.
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