Author Archives: James Mansson

Horsham Club Championship 2021-22: Mansson – Broom

Posted on October 20, 2021 by James Mansson

Yesterday, I played my first club championship game for over a year. I was up against Mark Broom with the White pieces. The game worked its way towards an apparently solid draw, as the players both ran short of time … Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Knockout 2021-22: Mansson – Taylor

Posted on September 30, 2021 by James Mansson

Last Tuesday, I was up against Alex Taylor in the first round of the knockout. I drew White, and so, unsurprisingly, the Dragon Variation appeared on the board. I improved on our previous game with the theoretically recommended 16 Qh4; … Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Quickplay Knockout 2021-22: Mansson – Trofin

Posted on September 22, 2021 by James Mansson

Finally, Horsham Chess Club has restarted and started playing its internal competitions! Last night I played my first round match in the quickplay knockout against Marian Trofin. I was repaired following my original opponent’s withdrawal, and ended up with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Club Quickplay Knockout, Games, Miscellaneous Queen's Pawn, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Ruy Lopez | Leave a comment

Book Review: Opening Repertoire: …c6

Posted on July 23, 2020 by James Mansson

One interesting piece of advice I have come across more than once, which relates to creating an opening repertoire, is to use a particular player as your model. The idea is that they player has already done the hard work … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Modern Vienna Game

Posted on July 17, 2020 by James Mansson

The first chess opening repertoire book I bought was An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player by Raymond Keene and David Levy. This presented a wild and woolly collection of systems for the “Attacking Player” for both White and Black. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Silman’s Complete Endgame Course

Posted on April 14, 2020 by James Mansson

It is a while ago now, but I think the first endgame textbook I bought was Practical Chess Endings by Paul Keres. I certainly went through the first chapter (“Elementary Endings”, which includes the less-than-elementary mate with Bishop and Knight), … Continue reading →

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Horsham Club Knockout 2019-20: Higgs – Mansson

Posted on March 18, 2020 by James Mansson

In my last club game before the coronavirus-enforced shutdown of club and league chess, I played out a rather dull draw with Anthony Higgs. Possibly he could have made more of his pressure, but the game soon resolved into equality, … Continue reading →

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Mid-Sussex League Division 1 2019-20: Horsham 1 – Worthing 1

Posted on March 15, 2020 by James Mansson

Horsham 1 scored an important win over Worthing 1 last Tuesday. I was able to make an important contribution by holding a draw in my game, with the score at 2.5-1.5 in our favour; this gave us a 3-2 win.

Posted in Games, Mid-Sussex League, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Sicilian Defence | Leave a comment

Horsham Club Championship 2019-20: Mansson – Broom

Posted on March 4, 2020 by James Mansson

Last night I played Mark Broom in the club championship. I gained a comfortable position out of the opening, but then my attempts to complicate didn’t bear fruit. A series of inaccuracies saw my position go downhill; eventually I ended … Continue reading →

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County Match (Open) 2019-20: Sussex – Kent

Posted on February 22, 2020 by James Mansson

Sussex were up against Kent last weekend in a County Match at Hassocks. In the end, Kent won by the narrowest margin (8.5-7.5), despite defaulting the bottom two boards. In my game I was up against Alan Hanreck. When the … Continue reading →

Posted in County Matches, Games, Opening Analysis, Reports, The Symmetrical English | Leave a comment