On Friday the 19th January, our 1st team made the short journey to Eastbourne to take on their 1st team.
Our team was Mark, Janis, Leo and Steve Blewitt.
On board 1 Mark faced a strong player who played a very unorthodox opening as black. e4 a6, d4 b5 even with Mark’s vast experience he was now out of book!
A tight game followed and on move 26 with the game very close a draw was agreed.
On board 2 Janis played very well and pushed hard for the win but settled for a draw against an opponent who out rated him by 120 points.
On board 3 Leo, playing his first match of the season, really rose to the challenge and won against an opponent who out rated him by 130 points.
On board 4 Steve Blewitt stepped in at short notice when Andy who would have played on board 2 was forced to withdraw due to illness. This was always going to be tough for Steve as he had been working all day and unfortunately his opponent got the better of him.
Final score Eastbourne 2 Bexhill 2
This draw does give us a glimmer of hope in the battle to avoid relegation, particularly as we are still to play the two teams that are currently the bottom 2 teams in the league.