On Tuesday 22nd Febuary, Bexhill 2 made the long journey to Horsham to play Horsham 3.

Steve Merchant on board 4 was first to finish, his opponent employed a seldom seen variation of the Alapin against the Sicilian and went on to play a very strong game and eventually was able to promote to a Queen and Steve resigned soon after.

I was next to finish. playing on board 3. I opened with the Italian, my opponent played a Kings Indian. The opening was close, but after 21 moves I managed to win a pawn, which left me with a passed supported b pawn which eventually proved decisive and my opponent resigned after 46 moves, by which time I had 2 passed pawns.

John on board 1 played in his customary attacking style and caused his opponent plenty of problems in the opening and John seemed to be in the driving seat. However, he sacrificed a piece in order to gain a very powerful looking position but his opponent found a reply that John had not seen and this loss of a piece was to prove to be the difference, John fought on well but with his opponent about to promote a pawn John had no option but to resign.

Finally on board 2 Derek had the better of his opponent for most of a tight game and entered the end game with a small advantage of four pawns and a rook to three pawns and a rook. However his opponent managed to find a couple of strong moves and was able to equalise at two pawns each, and, after three hours, a draw was agreed.

Final score Horsham 2.5  bexhill 1.5

We have now had three defeats and one draw but are hoping for our first win when we play Collyers 6th Form College on Thursday 3rd of march.

Bill

The Bexhill B team played Eastbourne B on Thursday 10th Febuary.

In board order our team was John, myself, Steve Merchant and Sharon.

Once again we played at Sharon’s studio, which continues to be very popular with all who play there. Eastbourne fielded a much stonger side than in their previous match, and we found ourselfs out graded on three of the four boards.

On board three, Steve played the Eastbourne captain. The game was a fairly short one as both plyers played solid Chess which resulted in a draw with the game completely level.

Sharon on board 4 faced a strong opponent rated well over 300 points higher than herself. Sharon played well but to no avail as her opponent was able to slowly build a winning position leading to a resignation from Sharon. 

My game was next to end. I was able to capitalise on an error after move 11 by my opponent and won a Bishop for the price of a pawn. The Eastbourne player fought well and found a number of resourceful moves, but he eventually ran out of time, with the position on the board looking rather bleak for him.

John on board one faced a very experienced player and a very competitive and long match ensued.

John went down by a pawn in the middle game and his opponent was very slowly able to capitilise on this and after a game lasting a little over three hours John was forced to resign.

The final score therefore was 2.5 to Eastbourne and 1.5 to Bexhill

On Tuesday 8th February, the Bexhill A team made the long journey to Horsham to play Collyers 6th form college.

The team was not at its strongest as both Andrew and Steve Blewitt were missing. However, we felt quite confident as we had been informed that Collyers were fairly inexperienced and relatively low graded.

The team in board order was Janis, Derek, myself and Steve Merchant.

My game was the first to finish, I started well, and my efficency rating was to be analysied by Stockfish as 100% for the first 10 moves. I then had a long think about 4 or 5 possible moves for my 11th move almost immediately rejected the first of these as it would cost me my Queen! Then, after several minutes, I proceeded to make the move, and lost my Queen and the game!

Steve was next to finish. He played a strong attacking game as black and proved too strong for his opponent who resigned when faced with imminent checkmate.

Janis had his opponent in trouble from very early on winning a piece after 6 moves. The Collyers player fought hard but Janis gradually wore him down and secured our second point.

Derek on board 2 was involved in the game of the evening. His opponent had the edge early on and achieved a dangerous passed pawn on the a file which looked to be well supported by a Bishop and the Queen. However Dereks superior experience and knowledge of the middle game gradually allowed him to gain control. Derek knew that a draw would win the match for Bexhill and sportingly offered his opponent a draw even though it looked as though Derek was now favourite for the win. His opponent gratefully accepted and therefore the match ended 2.5  to 1.5in favour of Bexhill A.

On Febuary 3rd, Bexhill B team travelled to East Grinstead for a Mid Sussex Division 2 match. We knew we were in for a tough match as East Grinstead were the champions of division three when the leagues were last played and have a squad of six strong players.
John Kimber played on board one  and opened with e4. His opponent replied by playing the Pirc. A tight game then followed and he and his opponent agreed a draw after 22 moves when neither were willing to change their plans. On board 2, Derek Cousens  perhaps played a bit too defensively and his opponent gradually established a strong position and gained the win. Third to finish was Steve Merchant playing black on board 4. Steve played a very high standard game with some excellent attacking play and achieved a fine victory when his opponent resigned when down by a huge margin. Last to finish was myself. I opened with e4 and my opponent went for the Sicilian. A close game followed with my opponent having a slight edge after the opening. I managed to then gain a slight advantage but was unable to convert it to a victory and after 58 moves we agreed a draw.
So the match score ended 2 – 2. Overall a good result for the B team. We have now played 2 matches with a loss and a draw so hopefully we can gain our first win on 10th Febuary when we play Eastbourne  2.

Our first match of the season took place on Thursday 20th January and it pitted our A team against our B team.
Sharon had very kindly offered to host the match at her studio in the town Centre. The venue was described by all as the perfect place for a chess match. The main room was comfortably large enough to stage the match, but it also had a very cozy feel, in no small part due to the excellent art work adorning the walls.
A change to the lineup was made a few days prior to the match when Andrew had to drop out due to a positive Covid test. (I spoke to him today and after feeling quite unwell for a couple of days he is now feeling much better.)
The A team in board order was Steve Blewitt, Jānis, John and Steve Merchant. The B team in board order was Derek, myself, David Nichols and Nick.
On board 4, Nick played very well using the Slav to counter Steve’s London system and eventually found a fork that won a rook and soon after Steve resigned.
John and David had a good tight game, but John was able, with material equal, to gain a superior position and force an error from David which was followed by David resigning.
Jānis and I had a long tough game with Jānis creating a lot of pressure from his tried and trusted English opening. The match remained tight and seemed to be heading for a draw, however Jānis found a very good square for his queen, and a few moves later, I failed to find the move that would have brought a draw. A couple of moves later I resigned.
Steve and Derek’s game was a complex one with no pieces off the board for the first 17 moves. Eventually Steve’s renowned middle game proved decisive and with very little time left on his clock, Derek resigned.
So 3 to 1 in favor of the A team.
To mark the beginning of the season and the first use of the new venue, some excellent cheese and wine was enjoyed for a couple of hours.
Sharon has very kindly offered the use of her studio for the rest of the season. Club members are welcome to attend to view a match.
Our next home match is on the 10th February when the B team host Eastbourne 2.

Bill Tracey (Team captain)