Last night, Horsham were away against Haywards Heath in the quarter-finals of the Sussex League Handicap knockout. Because of the grading difference between the teams, Horsham needed to win by at least 3.5-0.5. Unfortunately, we were only able to win by a 3-1 margin, due to a loss on bottom board. We were therefore eliminated from the competition.
I was Black on board two against Edward Upsdell, whom I outgraded by over 400 points. We reached a typical Open Sicilian position via an unusual order of moves. My opponent when wrong almost immediately with an aggressive push of his a-pawn, which I refuted with an accurate series of moves. I emerged with an extra piece for a pawn, which I converted to a win easily enough.
I give the game below with some notes.