The Mid-Sussex League has restarted, with a slightly adjusted format; matches are now over four boards. As is customary, teams from the same club in the same division must play each other first before playing other clubs. Horsham 1 and Horsham 2 therefore started their seasons with a head to head match at Horsham, with the 1st team being the nominal home side.
The match was a tight one, with the reduced team size making things less predictable. My game was the first to finish, as my opponent blundered in a good position, leading to us (the 1st team) being 1-0 up. There was a tense draw between Mark Broom and Dix Roberts, then Phil Stimpson managed to beat Gavin Lock in a game where apparently Gavin missed a win; this made the match 1.5-1.5, with one to play. Finally, Anthony Higgs managed to grind down Chris Heath, whose position fell apart as both players were running short of time towards the end of the session. This gave the 1st team a narrow win over the 2nd team by 2.5-1.5.
My game was against a familiar opponent in Ian Comley. The game went down a line I was not so familiar with; I made a slip that allowed my opponent to establish a clear advantage in pawn structure. Fortunately for me, a few moves later, he made an oversight that blundered a piece, and soon resigned.
I give the game below with notes.