On Friday 10th June a friendly match took place between Eastbourne and Bexhill Chess clubs.
The match was 17 a side, and it was great to see 34 people ranging in age from 9 to 86 playing chess.
The results were as follows
Board 1 Andrew played very solidly and drew against an opponent currently rated 90 points higher than himself.
Board 2 Steve Blewitt had a chance to win, but, very unusually failed to capitalise and eventually lost his game.
Board 3 Janis tried out a new opening, but it did not go his way and he lost for the first time as a Bexhill player.
Board 4 John played against a very experience opponent who out rated him by 70 points.. John was in some trouble early on, but played the middle and end very well and got a draw.
Board 5 saw Derek playing an opponent who out rated him by 125 points and played a strong game to get a draw.
Board 6 Steve Merchant played very well, in fact analysis showed him playing at 97% and fully deserved a draw against an opponent also playing very well.
Board 7 I was playing against an opponent rated 40 points higher, fortunately for me he made a couple of errors and I was able to win a quick game.
Board 8 Leo played the vast majority of the game to a very high standard, but, just as he was on the verge of winning, he made an error, lost a rook, and soon after the game.
Board 9 Phil was playing his first game for the club and played to a very high standard. He eventually gained a winning position against a very resourceful opponent, at which point, as it was the last game being played and the match result was already decided, he sportingly offered his opponent a draw, which he gladly accepted.
Board 10 Alan played an opponent that he had first played over 65 years ago! They played an enjoyable game and settled on an honourable draw.
Board 11 David Slidel, battled long and hard but was eventually checkmated.
Board 12 Seb unfortunately made some errors in the opening and resigned the game.
Board 13 Sam played a very experienced opponent and seemed to be doing well, but eventually had to resign.
Board 14 Tony was faced by a strong up and coming junior who managed to get the better of Tony.
Board 15 Sharon also played a good junior player. Sharon played very nicely and her opponent was left with no choice but to resign.
Board 16 Mike Lambert played a long match against a very resilient opponent. Mike eventually managed to go ahead by a piece and was able to to push his advantage and gain a win.
Board 17 Alfie made his debut for the club. He played very well and really out played his opponent to record a fine win.
The final result was 10 to 7 in favour of Eastbourne.
My thanks to all who took part and helped make it a very enjoyable evening of Chess.
This is the last match for the season. There will be a couple of friendly matches in September
and League matches will resume in October.
Bill Tracey
