Phil on top boards had a great battle in a French Defence, Winawer Variation ( 1.e4, e6 2.d4, d5 3. Nc3, Bga4 4.e5, Bxf3 5.bxc3) which deprives Black of a bishop covering black squares on the K-side, but compensation with White’s weak Q-side. Phil said , after a ‘crushing’ advance on the K-side with pawns wedged in black squares at h6, f6, he said he ‘couldn’t find the winning move’. The Q-side weaknesses supervened.
Oliver battled really hard, as black after a N for B exchange on g6 which doubled K-side pawns ; they were on h5 ,g6, g7 – looking weak. But Oliver took the open f-file, and castled Q-side, and took advantage and pawns with his active pieces in the endgame. He was the last to finish after a full session and clinched the draw for the team. Well done, Oliver!
I had a tricky struggle on Board 3 – English Opening as White. Gained early space on the flanks. A breakout by Black in the centre had to be countered, which I managed by the ‘skin of my teeth’ and the game went into an endgame where I had N,N,B v R, B. I was able to co-ordinate the pieces against a rook invasion and blockade Black’s passed pawn on d4 ( which Black’s black-squared bishop was tied down to defending) . Eventually I cut down the rook’s scope, and advanced my King and picked up pawns to force promotion of a passer.
Michael had a solid opening – a Czech Pirc Defence. However White ( with a classic pawn centre e4,d4) put middle-game pressure on with bishops on b5, g5 and e5 and exploited an overload on Michael’s f6 N , which could not move without deserting its buddy N on d7.
This was the position, I think, in Bill Luxton’s game just before 40.Rg5?!. Bill had played a white-square blockade in a Pirc defence. against an Austrian Attack ( White pawns on d4,e4, f4 – a K-side pawn roller.) He had come under pressure from a heavy piece battery on a weak pawn on h7. Bill had made a sensible decision to liquidate the pawn by advancing it to h6, to make room for a counter battery on the ( now White!) h6 pawn with his own rooks on h7, h8. Bill’s bishop had squares it could cover on the K-side, whereas White’s ‘bad’ bishop was hemmed in. White offered the exchange on g5, to connect the passed pawns. 40.Rg5, Bxg5 41.fxg5, Qb6. Bill not only blocked the pawns but shortly gave a discovered check, with …f4. The King had to hide on h1 and the pawn structure had ( you will notice) created a back row mating net because the bishop could no longer save a mate threat with Bc1. Bill was able to exchange Qs and a pair of rooks, during which time the bishop had been deflected from c1 and Bill’s rook gave a back rank mate.
Bilk Tracey had a good game with Black against a London system opening, progressively winning more material.
Lawry lost after gaining ground in the centre but overlooking some resources his opponent had more carefully thought through.
Jo had a tough opponent who gave nothing away against Jo’s careful flank opening and I didn’t see how the game swung in Black’s favour.
This was always going to be a tough match, given the disparity in ratings. Andrew, with White on Board 2, played a cautious , solid variation of the Petroff 1.e4, e5 2.Nf3, Nf6 3.Nxe5, d6 4.Nf3, Nxe4 when, instead of claiming space the centre with d4, Andrew played for early Q exchanges after d3, and Qe2+ answered by Qe7. The resulting symmetrical structure saw both sides develop innocuously until, after the exchange of a pair of rooks on the only open (e)-file , the symmetry was broken. A black pawn had recaptured to e6 from f7, adding support to Black’s d5 pawn, which became the left flank of a q-side pawn roller. Black eventually created a passer on d3 with an active black squared bishop ready to support its advance. Andrew lost a pawn in forcing the exchange of this bishop for Andrew’s strong knight on d6. While Andrew was forced to take his King to deal with the Black passed pawn, Black’s K and R got into the 3 White K-side pawns and Andrew resigned.
James , on Board 3, played a Scandinavian opening, retreating the Q to d6 after the exchange of pawns on d5 and Nc3 . At a later point, White used the tempo to be gained at the Queen’s expense by playing Nb5 and c4, expanding on the Q side. White had the 2 Bishops v B and N.. In the later middlegame, White had sacrificed ( or lost?) 2 K-side pawns and both White rooks dominated the open files facing Blacks compact doubled-pawn formation of ..e6-f7-g7-g6. White’s Q-side pressure did not break through and White’s K was in a vulnerable position on d3, being harassed by James’ Queen. Being a pawn down , and no breakthrough plan appearing, White decided to repeat moves by pursuing James’ Queen on the g and h files alternately and thus a draw was agreed.
Michael, on Board 1, as Black, played a French Defence, Tarrasch variation .3…c5. This was a bold choice for active open play but which can often result in Black having an Isolated Queen’s Pawn on d5. However, Michael chose to recapture on d5 with the Q ( White having played the N to d2 not c3.).After Bc4, Michael retreated the q to d7 which looked awkward as it left his bishop hemmed in at c8. Michael unravelled this eventually, with.. Q c7 and looked as though he might be able to equalise against the pressure from White’s more active development and Q-side pawn majority. In the later endgame, White’s more active bishops and a R penetrating to the 7th was decisive as Michael’s R was overloaded defending both of his bishops. and one of them would fall.
Steve on Board 4, with White, played a cautious opening which evolved largely symmetrically to Black’s. Both sides manoevred for position on the K-side, with Black seeking first a break with ..h5 against Steve’s fianchettoed castled position. When Steve deterred progress, Black switched to the ..f5 break. Matters came to a head after pawn exchanges leaving both sides’ K-side pawns shattered but with a slim majority there for Black, while Steve had connected central pawns. Steve was able to turn the pressure in his favour by using the Black pawn on f4 as a shield for his King on f3 , while creating a double-rook battery along the h-file. As his central pawns pushed the centre, Steve was able to puck up the pawn with K x f4. The ensuing R and P endgame was complex – Steve threatening Black’s Q-side pawns with King, as Black’s Rook counterattacked the Q-side pawns from behind. Still a pawn ahead, with the odds in Steve’s favour, at the end of a long evening, as the outcome of the match would be unaffected by the result, Steve offered a draw which I heard the word “generous” mentioned by a spectator from the opposing side, which was immediately accepted. . I therefore think it justified in saying the final match result did not tell the full story.
This was an exciting match, with some twists and turns, where a great result was achieved in the face of the apparent rating odds.
Jo, on Board 2, playing his signature Nimzo-Larsen opening ( b3 with f4 ) had a struggle against a pawn wedged on d4, supporting a N on e3.. Jo’s King was vulnerable in the centre, his Q-side pieces were hemmed in and it seemed Black was close to a breakthrough. Exchanges on e3 left Black with a monster passed pawn and a R on the 7th keeping the White K on the back rank . Jo fought determinedly to stop the passer and counter-attack ( pushing a Q-side pawn majority). The initiative slipped away from Black and Jo forced a draw.
Oliver on Board 4, with White, had an open board for his bishops, but had a shattered pawn structure with doubled f-pawns and an isolated d-pawn. Eventually, Oliver’s K-side attack missed a tactical point when a recapture on h7, unexpectedly with the Black Q, left White a piece down. With multiple threats on Oliver’s King from the Black Q and Ns against the broken K-side, there was little Oliver could achieve in the long rearguard action which followed.
With the match in doubt, eyes turned to Bill’s game on Board 3, where he was facing a space disadvantage- pawns locked in the centre ( White pawns d4,c5 and Black pawns d5,c6). Exchanges ion the e-file resulted in an ending where there were R,N versus R,N. Although White’s N had looked dominant for most of the game, it was White’s pawns that were the more vulnerable. Bill picked up one of them and played accurately – his more efficient use of time throughout the game was telling as White struggled to prevent the pawn’s promotion. Bill forced the win in short order thereafter. It was an impressive win.
This evened the match score and attention transferred to Phil’s now crucial game on Board 1. With Black, Phil had faced pressure from the opening with a White Maroczy Bind formation ( e4,c4) versus Phil’s fianchetto – ‘Dragon’ structure ..g6,f7,e7,d6. When a piece exchange on e6 left doubled pawns on e6,e7, it looked as though Black’s structure would be vulnerable, and White had also wedged a Bishop on the black squares from b6. Phil defended patiently and actively, countering in the centre with ..e5. In the endgame which ensued White was the exchange ahead but Phil had connected passed pawns on the Q-side. As he steadily pushed them, and his King joined in actively on the K-side to pick up pawns, Phil gained a 3rd dangerous passer on the g-file. While the White King was tied down covering the q-side pawns it became a cat-and-mouse game as White tried to check the King and stop the g-pawn promoting. Phil worked out a plan to use the bishop to mask the checks with the Bishop, despite involving thge loss of one of the q-side pawns. Once the King could gain shelter it was ‘Game Over’. Well done, Phil, in this performance which clinched the match.
It was an enjoyable experience to follow all 8 games on this occasion. Our thanks also to Brighton for travel and competitive chess.
On Tuesday 13 Jan, we travelled to Lewes. We were outrated and outmatched, apart from Janis on top board who proved a King and Bishop’s pawn on the 7th rank can draw against a King and Queen by offering the pawn to gain stalemate in the corner. The rest of the team, out-rated, lost after full-distance struggles. Results ( from Sussex Chess) :
L-R: Andrew, Lawry, Michael Hayward, Rose, Bill T., Bill L., Steve
.( photo thanks to Nick Burgess)
Here is Chairman Bill Tracey’s report :
“The Weekend Congress was great fun with generally good performances by Bexhill members.
In the Open section Michael Hubbard was 1.5 from 5 one win one draw and Luke was 2 from 5 one win and two draws.
In the Major section Andrew performed very well to gain 3.5 points from 3 wins and 1 draw and finished joint 4th.
Rose had a fine performance starting as the 19th ranked player she came 7th with 3 points including 2 wins against much higher rated players.
In the Inter section Oliver, playing at Hastings for the first time had a fine tournament finishing joint 8th with 3 points from a possible 5.
I too was in this section which had 43 entrants and also came joint 8th with 3 points.
I, perhaps had the oddest day as in the 4th round I played possibly my worst ever game with the computer analysis showing that I played with only 61% accuracy! Then in the afternoon winning in round 5 with an accuracy of 96.2%!
During the whole 8 days of competition a total of 10 Bexhill members played in at least one of the Congress events.
This meant that we were second only to the Hastings club in terms of numbers.
Members are taking a break until the New Year. Here are a few snapshots from the year’s end, followed by our Chairman’s message.
Rose leading the juniors in the Christmas gameEzter goes for the prizes!Christmas cheers with Quiz winners at the Christmas Party at the Wheatsheaf
With thanks expressed by our Chairman Bill Tracey as he reflected on the year.
Tuesday 23rd December will be our last meeting of 2025.
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 6th January.
2025 has been a very busy, enjoyable and successful year for the club.
Much of what has been achieved is well documented, thanks to Lawry on our website.
I would just like to mention a few recent achievements .
Our 5 League teams continue to represent our club extremely well.
Particular mention goes to our 1st team who, after 4 matches are joint top of division 1with 3 wins from 4 matches.
Our 5th team are one of only 3 teams, there are 42, in the entire 4 divisions to still have a 100% record
Two of our outstanding juniors have had great recent success. Luke won the County u18 championship without losing a game, Rose came third and only lost one game and that was to Luke. Rose then went on to win the girls u18 County championship for the second year running. Rose won all 6 of her games.
Friday 19th December was a fitting final Friday meeting of the year.
The juniors had a wonderful Xmas party full of fun and games and laughter.
Very well done to all involved particularly well done to Karen, Lawry and Rose for their efforts.
Also on Friday the 1st team of Luke, Andy, Howard and Andrew had a fine win against a very strong East Grinstead 2nd team.
Also on Friday it was great to see a strong turnout of members, we had 15 in attendance.
Our Tuesday meetings have been really well attended throughout much of the year, we have often had between 14 and 18 in attendance.
The club has, in the last few months picked up 6 new members and, as a result, our adult membership now stands at 35.
Good luck to all our members playing at the famous Hastings Congress over the holiday period.
The Christmas theme seems to have been -Trapping Queens on open boards …
Bexhill I – 2.5 —–1.5 – East Grinstead II
Friday 19 December saw this First Division clash as we hosted East Grinstead II.
Andy on Board 2 had White against an opponent he outrated by 100 or so points. This was an amazing game! Sharp tactics were promised with an open Sicilian Accelerated Dragon variation. At Move 9, Andy went into deep thought after Black’s ..Qb6, appearing to eye the ‘poisoned pawn’ on b2, as well as threatening discovered attacks on d4, plus complex tactics based on the loose white bishop on e3 should the Nd4 move. Andy had used up over half his time and appeared to ignore the threats with a calm 0-0.
Here is the score as I watched the game ( apologies to the players if my memory is wrong)
The amazing continuation, as I remember it, went :
9. O-O Nxe4 10. Nd5 Qc5 11. Nxc6
Black had struck with ..Nxe4, a ‘desperado’ piece discovering the attack on d4 and hoping to wreck White’s centre after a recapture f3xe4. I was amazed at Andy’s rapid reply Nd5 -he’d had it all worked out! The Nd5 attacked the Q on b6 at the same time defending the B on e3. Back’s Q displaced to c5, still on the e3 bishop’s line, but attacking White’s B on c4. Andy played Nd4xc6. Now virtually all his minor pieces were hanging. Black could only take one at once!
Black captured the bishop, as recapturing the N with ..Qxc6 would have resulted in a fork from the remaining Nd5 x e7+. After Nc6 x e7+, Kh8, Andy still didn’t take the Black N hanging at e4, instead attacking the Q with b3, exposing his QR to the Dragon Bishop on g7. Escape for the Q on a seemingly open board was impossible without loss as a move to b5 or a6 would meet with a fork of Q and R by Nc7. At the end of this sequence, which I believe Andy had probably seen from the start, Andy was a vital piece up. He went on to harass the R on b8 and eventually win the exchange putting him a whole R ahead.
On Board 1, Luke, evenly matched on ratings , had Black against a Catalan set-up, in which White pressurised and eventually won Black’s Isolated Queen’s Pawn. White dominated the open c and d files. Luke placed his hopes of saving the endgame in the opposite coloured bishops but lost a second pawn and conceded the game. This levelled the match score.
On Board 3 Howard had a great game as Black . He out-rated his opponent significantly, but the match position put pressure on him to overcome a seemingly solid “Stonewall” set-up against Howard’s Dutch Defence. White had developed the dark-squared QB to g5 early and exchanged it for the N on f6, and then deployed all his pawns on the dark squares.
Out of the opening, White seemed to have some q- side pressure, against which Howard engineered the b5 pawn break after a ‘strategic withdrawal’ of his N to a7. It was at the cost of a pawn but, as Howard explained afterwards, it was opening lines to White’s King which had castled q-side. White seemed to waste tempi repeating moves by his remaining ( white-squared) B and manoevring his Q from b6 over to the K-side. I missed what happened to the White Bishop.
Howard opened the e-file with a middlegame exchange e5xd4 and when White challenged the opened file with Re1 Howard boldly exchanged his Q for 2 rooks.
With apologies to Howard for my poor memory, the game concluded with a position something like this where the Q was trapped on an open board!
On Board 4, Andrew was White against an opponent who outrated him by 86 points. Sensibly playing a positional Vienna/King’s Indian Attack vs an Italian set-up (!) ) : 1.e4, e5 2. Nc3, Nf6 3.g3, Bc5. Black tried to mix it with an early …h5, h4. but Andrew sidestepped with g4 and after that neither side seemed to make progress on the K-side. Both sides delayed castling .The middle-game focussed on the d-file which was half open after Black’s pawns were doubled on the c-fileafter Andrew played Na4x the B on c5 .
Again, with apologies to Andrew for my poor memory, but a position something like this occurred, with everything resting on a potential d4 pawn break, which must have occurred while I was out of the room. But it gives me a chance to practice transferring play from my Fritz program onto this website!!
When all the heavy pieces had been exchanged ,Andrew sensibly accepted the draw which clinched the match.
As I spoke to him briefly afterwards, each sides’ pawns being largely on the opposite coloured squares to their own bishops and on the same coloured squares to the opponent’s bishop – might have been vulnerable.
Thank you to East Grinstead for the positive spirit in the match and undertaking the travel.
Any correction of information in the commentary will be welcome, if you email the secretary at lawryrhodes@yahoo.co.uk
A general seasonal message will follow after our last club meeting of the year on Tuesday 23 December, along with an update on the Christmas party at the Wheatsheaf and the Juniors Christmas party which took place just before the above match.
On Friday 5 December, we hosted East Grinstead Bookshop for a 4th Division match. Overall the ratings were fairly even, apart from Board 4, where Lawry outrated his opponent by around 250 points and gained an early win after he was able to pick up 2 central pawns, one of which became decisive when it reached e7, forcing more material loss.
Bill Luxton, with White, was next to finish on Board 2 after winning multiple pieces. and looked in control throughou.
Michael Hayward on Board 1 was outrated by about 100 points, but maintained the balance as Black in the endgame to achieve a sound draw.
Oli, with Black on Board 3 , was evenly matched on rating points and looked to have good play into the middle-game. At the end of a long game, Oli fell foul of a pawn fork of 2 rooks, leaving him the exchange down , his King very exposed to White’s rooks and then was unable to save the position.
It was a good result and our thanks go to East Grinstead for visiting and playing good chess in a good spirit, on a stormy night.
