Horsham 1 stumble to loss against Eastbourne 1

Horsham 1's progress in Sussex League Division 1 was halted by Eastbourne 1, as they crashed to a narrow away defeat.

The match looked to be going well for Horsham 1 as Gavin Lock secured a good win against the dangerous Maks Rozman on top board. However, progress was not so serene on the other boards.

Anthony Higgs ran into difficulties against Laurence Butt on board 4. He came under pressure from his opponent's Stonewall Attack and blundered, resulting in a loss.

James Mansson seemed to have a favourable position against Adrian Pickersgill on board 3, but did not make the most of his chances and the game petered out into a draw.

Last to finish was Mark Broom against Oliver Froom. He seemed to be getting the better of it, but then appeared to over-press and ended up in severe difficulties. By the time the players had reached adjournment, the game had ended up in a tricky rook and pawn endgame, where Oliver was two pawns up, but his king was very passively placed. Mark was initially bullish as to his chances, but following some detailed home analysis in conjunction with team captain James Mansson, it was determined that the postion was lost for Black, and so he resigned the game.

The final result of the match was therefore a 1.5-0.5 loss for Horsham 1.