bexhillchessclub.co.uk

Blog

  • A fantastic end to the season for Bexhill 3!

    Match report from our captain, Bill Tracey:

    On Friday 31st March, Bexhill 3 entertained Crowborough 2 in Division 3 of the Mid Sussex league.

    The two clubs were joint top of the division, however we were actually in pole position due to a far superior
    game point difference and also having a match in hand. This meant that a draw would be enough for Bexhill to be crowned champions.

    Our team in board order was Bill, Steve M, myself and Derek.

    I was first to finish and unfortunately I lost my match. This clearly created a lot of pressure for the other 3 players to gain two points from the remaining three.

    Steve was next to finish and got us back into the match, by playing a wonderful attacking game. He was a piece down but such was the quality of his attack that this made no difference.

    He smashed open his opponents King side defence and, with checkmate one move away his opponent resigned.

    Bill and Derek were both involved in close evenly matched games.
    Bill applied huge pressure but his young opponent held on grimly for a draw.

    This meant that it was all down to Derek to get us the half point that we needed, and he didnt let us down! He and his opponent were well matched and after a three fold repetition a draw was the final result.

    Bexhill 3, 2 Crowborough 2, 2

    Well done to all members who have played for the third team.
    A full report on the season will be published when all the matches are completed.

  • Our new home

    On Saturday 1st April we met for the first time at our new home, St Marks in Little Common.

    The turnout was fantastic with a total of 27 people attending.
    This included four people making their first appearance at the club..

    What was also so good to see was that we had an age range from 10 to 81 and also a wide range of playing strengths from novice to National Master.

    The consensus of those present was that St. Marks provides a wonderful base for our club not just for the present but for the future as the club continues to grow.

    Positive comments were made about having a large car park, that the main playing area was very light and spacious, that the 2nd room was an ideal base for league and competition matches and that the accommodation was light, airy and warm.

    Our next meeting is on Tuesday 4th April at 1pm, and we look forward to having another well attended session.

  • Rose represents Sussex

    Congratulations to Bexhill Junior Rose Burgess who played for the Sussex girls team this weekend at the national finals in Oxford and helped them to achieve 3rd place!
    Well done girls!!

  • A visit from the bookshop.

    Match report from our captain Bill Tracey.

    On Friday 24th march Bexhill hosted East Grinstead Bookshop 1 in
    a Division 2 league match.
    This was a match that we needed to win to stay in the Division,
    it was also a match that on paper we were favourites to win.

    However the match did not go well for us.

    On board 1 Leo faced a player playing his first ever league match,
    who turned out to be a very strong player and produced a very fine performance to beat Leo in 25 moves! Had Leo faced any other player that had previously played
    for our visitors he would have been considered a firm favourite.

    On board 3 Steve Blewitt faced an opponent that it is probably fair to say that he would beat maybe 9 out of 10 times, but, unfortunately, Steve made a very uncharacteristic early error that cost a piece, and,
    despite battling hard, eventually he was forced to resign.

    On 4 Michael played very well and had established a very strong position and was also 2 pawns up,
    however he got a sequence wrong which cost him the game.

    John Kimber was playing on board 2 and was against a very useful young player. John played a fine game and eventually his opponent was forced to resign.

    So the final score was Bexhill 1 Bookshop 3.

    This means that we are now relying on other results to avoid relegation.

    Finally, after the match, which was our final League match of the season, John announced that he was retiring from playing League matches (unless we were ever to
    be a player short for a match with no one else to play).
    John played in our first ever League match in October of 2019, winning on board 2 against Uckfield so it was good to see him end his career with another win on board 2.

    John has been an invaluable member of our teams in so many ways. Win or lose his Chess is always great to watch as he plays in such a bold attacking manner. He has on a number of occasions taken
    on the role of Captain and travel organiser.
    His good humour and Chess knowledge will be sorely missed on the long journeys around the County.

    So on behalf of the Club I would like to thank John for all that he has done to support our League
    teams over the last four years.

  • We are moving!

    We are very pleased to announce that Bexhill chess club has a new home! Despite many wonderful years at Centenary house, our growing membership means we have found ourselves needing to seek a bigger space.
    We have found ourselves a new home at St Marks church community Centre. Our Tuesday and Saturday meetings will remain at the same times, but will be moving to St. Marks, starting on Saturday 1st April. Meetings will continue as normal at Centenary house until then. Look forward to seeing you all then.

  • Away to Worthing

    Match report from our captain Bill Tracey:

    On Monday 16th march our first team travelled to Worthing to take on their 1st team.

    This was always going to be a very tough challenge as Worthing have a large number of very strong players to choose from.

    Our team, in board order was Andrew, Janis, Steve B and Michael H.

    The scale of the challenge was clear when the relative ratings were compared and Worthing out ranked Bexhill by just over 1000 points.
    They even had a player on board 4 that has been Sussex champion 6 times!

    Michael played very well against his illustrious opponent but in the end had to concede defeat.

    Steve on 3 fought very well against a fast rising young player and earned an excellent draw.

    Janis on 2 facing an opponent out rating him by 370 points played an outstanding game and had his opponent in a great deal of trouble. Eventually a draw was agreed.

    Andrew on 1 lost a pawn early on but fought long and hard against an outstanding player, but eventually ran out of time.

    Final score Worthing 3 Bexhill 1.

    We now have one match left V Hastings 1. Depending on results we may need to win this match to remain in Division 1.

  • Away to Sussex university

    On Thursday 16th March Bexhill 2 travelled to Falmer to play Sussex University in league 2 of the Mid Sussex Chess leagues.

    Our team, in board order was Leo, John, Steve B and Michael.

    The University only run one team, and, therefore have many strong
    players to choose from, and for this match they chose a powerful team..

    Michael on 4 unfortunately faced an opening that he had not come across before and this led to him losing his game.

    Steve on 3 making a welcome return after a hip operation played very well to secure a draw.

    John on 2 lost a piece early on but had some compensation with his opponents king unable to castle and fought hard, but in the end he had to resign.

    Leo on 1 had a strong looking attack, but his opponent found the one move that saved him and went on to win.

    Final score: University 3.5 Bexhill 2 .5

  • Bexhill battle for Sussex

    Congratulations to our six (yes six!!) Bexhill players who made up a quarter of the Sussex under 11 team that competed in London this weekend at the EPSCA south zone event. Fantastic display of good chess and good sportsmanship. Sussex finished 5th and qualified for the finals in Nottingham next month!
    Well done everyone!

  • Rapid challengers winner!

    Congratulations to Bexhill Junior Samuel Merchant who was awarded his trophy at chess club this week by Joe Sharp for winning the challengers section of the in house club rapid competition. Well done Sam!

  • A victory in the battle against relegation

    Match report from our captain Bill Tracey:

    On Friday 10th March Bexhill 1 hosted Crowborough 1 in a match vital to our chances of remaining in Division 1.
    The team of Andrew, Janis , Andy and Michael Hayward responded superbly and emerged as winners by 2.5 to 1.5.

    Janis on board 2 was first to finish when he and his opponent agreed to a draw.

    Andy on 3, made a brilliant Bishop sacrifice to break open his opponents King side and although she battled on with great resolve, Andy pushed his advantage until
    he forced a resignation.

    Michael on 4 continued his fine form for the club and played a very solid game to achieve a draw.

    Andrew on 1 was involved in a 3 hour plus game and seemed to have a winning position but his opponent fought hard and found a perpetual check.

    This win means that Hastings 2 are relegated and the other relegation spot is now between ourselves and Horsham 2. We are 3 points ahead of Horsham with a vastly better
    game points difference but they do have a game in hand.
    They next play on Tuesday 21st March and if they lose, we will not be relegated.

    It is worth pointing out that although we are currently 9th of 11 teams in the league our game points difference is only minus 1 compared to the two teams below us on minus
    9 and minus 15. This shows how competitive the team has been over the course of the season.