This match was a fine effort by our third team against the 2nd team of one of the leading clubs in the County.
On board 1 Steve Merchant came very close to winning his game against an opponent rated 160 points higher, but eventually he was forced to resign.
On board 2 I played an opponent out rating me by 220 points. Our game was a long tight game and eventually a draw was agreed.
On board 3 Lawry giving away 180 points competed well but the game got away from him and he eventually resigned.
On board 4 our very promising junior Luke played a fine game and looked to have an edge but his opponent managed to engineer a 3 fold repetition for a draw.
On Tuesday 31st October we made the long journey to Horsham to take on Collyers 6th Form College.
Janis on board 1 played a fine game against a higher rated opponent to win his game.
On board 2 Bill fought hard and gained a good draw against a promising young player.
On board 3 Michael Hayward did his part with a solid draw.
Unfortunately on board 4 I played one of my worst ever openings and was down a Bishop after 7 moves! My young opponent went on to play very well and eventually I had to resign.
Our team in board order was Mark, Anh, Michael and Lawry.
The evening produced 4 really long and hard fought games On board 4 Lawry fought really well after a challenging opening which left him a pawn down. He managed to win an exchange but his opponent had a very strong central pawn mass which eventually proved decisive.
On board 3 Michael and his opponent both were under immense time control with his opponent at one time down to a mere 2 seconds! However Michael was also playing on his increment and eventually his time ran out. This was still a very fine effort from Michael as he was giving away 280 points to his opponent.
Mark on board 1 was playing his first league match of the season and it also was a long and well contested game. Mark eventually wore down his opponent and thus gained our first point of the night.
Anh on board 2 was matched against another very strong junior some 5 years his senior. Anh fought hard and despite looking as though the end game looked to favour his opponent, Anh stayed cool and calm and secured a well earned draw.
The 1st home match of the season for our 1st team saw Bexhill take on Brighton.
Our team, in board order was Anh, Andrew, Bill Luxton and Michael Hayward.
As is often the case we were heavily out rated for this match against last years Division 1 champions. This time by over 950 points! Michael and Bill put up stout resistance but eventually both had to concede defeat.
Andrew on board 2 played a fine game and was never in trouble against an opponent rated 200 points higher. In the end a draw was agreed.
Anh on 1 was once again pitched against an opponent of the highest standard rated at 2244. A game of almost three hours and of very high quality ensued. With the maximum playing time of 3 hours and 10 minutes nearly up the two players agreed a draw. So once again a great effort by Anh who continues to display match skills way beyond his years.
Our first home fixture of the season saw our 2nd team take on our 3rd team in Division 2.
Our 2nd team , in board order, was Janis, Lawrie, Bill Luxton and Steve Merchant.
Our 3rd team, in board order, was Bill Tracey, Lawrie, Luke and Michael Hayward.
Janis and I were first to finish. Janis got on top after 10 moves and kept the pressure on until , with checkmate imminent, I resigned.
Michael and Steve played a very impressive short game on board 4, with both players achieving a computer rating of 98% before agreeing a draw.
On board 2 Steve managed to go ahead by a knight to 2 pawns and this proved vital. Lawrie battled hard but eventually had to resign.
On board 3 Luke and Bill had a fine game. Luke was able to gain an edge in a rooks and pawns endgame and, with two strong passed pawns looking unstoppable, Bill resigned.
This was always destined to be a daunting task for us as Haywards Heath have a strong team lead by a player who has been Sussex champion on more than one occasion.
Our team, in board order, was Anh Nguyen, Andrew Fleming, Steve Merchant and Bill Tracey. Steve was first to finish, he won a piece in the middle game and then played very solidly until his opponent had no choice other than to resign. A fine win against an opponent rated 153 points higher.
I was next to finish. My opponent and I both played a solid, if not spectacular game, and agreed a draw in what was a very closed position.I was quite pleased as he out rated me by 165 points.
Andrew was next to finish. He seemed to have the game well under control , a passed pawn up and with the bishop pair, but his opponent found a trick and was going to win material, leaving Andrew with little choice other than to resign.
This left 12 year old Anh on board one, giving away 338 rating points, to try to get the result for Bexhill. This he quite magnificently did by going into the end game with a small advantage and then proceeding to out play his illustrious opponent until he was 4 pawns to 1 ahead with both players having a rook and and a knight each. There was no way to stop one of Anh’s passed pawns and so his opponent resigned.
The first league match of the 2023/4 season for Bexhill was an away fixture on Monday 9th October to play Worthing 2.
Our team, in board order was Michael Hayward, Lawrence Rhodes, Alan Ticehurst and Jo Carthew.
The match turned out to be close and well fought. Many congratulations to Jo, playing his first league game for the club who achieved a fine win. Lawrie, also playing his first match for the club, and Alan unfortunately both lost their games. Michael on board one played extremely well to gain a draw against a player ranked over one hundred points higher.
Here is the report from our captain Bill Tracey on the League season 2022 to 2023.
For the 1st time, Bexhill entered 3 teams into the Mid Sussex Chess Leagues. Only 2 other clubs entered more than us with several entering only 1. This, I believe, is another powerful indication of how much stronger the club is becoming both in terms of member numbers and in playing strength.
A total of 17 members played for the club this season, including 8 new members.
I would like to thank all these members for making my job as team captain so easy.
Across the 3 divisions we played 27 matches which equates to 108 games, and, for each of these we had not a single drop out from any member who had committed to play.
From those 108 games 43 were wins 35 were draws and 30 were losses.
Our 1st team had the daunting prospect of playing in Division 1. This was always going to be a huge challenge and this was clearly shown when we were out rated in our first match against Brighton by1380 rating points! Despite this those who played for the 1st team did a fantastic job of keeping us in the top league. Although we finished in 7th place from 9 we only had a game point difference of only minus 6, this contrasts with the two teams below us with minus 16 and minus 13.
The two standout players were Andrew Fleming and Janis Petersons. They played all 9 matches, all bar one on boards 1 and 2 against the best players in the league and only lost 4 games from 18.. Janis scored 5 points and Andrew 4.5.
Our 2nd team played in Division 2 and despite the best efforts of the 10 members who played during the course of the season we finished 8th and hence are relegated. The story of the season was of several close matches that we lost by a point. Our game points difference was minus eight, meaning on average we lost by just under a point per match, so we were competitive in many of the matches but just came up short too often.
Our 3rd team in Division 3 had a fantastic season being unbeaten all season winning 8 matches and drawing one and thus winning the Division crown. Our game point difference was 28 to 8 with only 5 games resulting in a loss.
9 members played throughout the season including 5 new members.
Several players deserve a special mention, Alan Ticehurst with 4.5 from 5 points, Steve Merchant 5 from 7 Bill Tracey 5 from 7, Luke Chapman making his debut at the age of 12 and winning his first match for the club, but especially Bill Luxton who, in his first season for the club won 6 drew 2 and lost just one while playing 7 times on board one.
Next season, with the amount of members that have expressed an interest in playing, we are hoping to enter 4 teams. Please let me know if you wish to play next season.
The 17 members who played this season are Andrew Fleming, Janis Petersons, Steve Blewitt, John Kimber Leo Woning, Bill Luxton, Bill Tracey, Steve Merchant, Phil Swain, Alan Ticehurst, Alfie Reed, Luke Chapman, Michael Hayward, Sam Merchant, Mark Rich, Derek Cosens and Andy Nguyen.
The next season will start in October.
Bill Tracey
N.B. Bexhill chess club would like to express their gratitude to Bill Tracey for another season of excellent captaincy. Many thanks Bill. Your dedication and hard work is very much appreciated.
Thursday 20th April saw our 3rd team play their final team match of the season.
We travelled to Haywards Heath to take on their 2nd team. Our team, in board order was Bill L, Bill T, Alan and Derek.
Alan and I finished at almost the same moment.
My opponent played a dubious opening and I was able to establish a good position. This advantage was then greatly increased when he blundered his Queen! He played on for a few more moves but then resigned.
Alan had a very similar game as he too built a strong position, when his opponent blundered his Queen and a few moves later he resigned.
Bill on 1 was next to finish. Bill had a shocking journey to the venue, the Police had closed a road which meant his journey taking almost two hours, which caused him to arrive slightly late. I think that this clearly affected his opening, but he fought well in a difficult position and eventually accepted his opponents offer of a draw.
Derek was last to finish. He played very well against a determined opponent and eventually won by checkmate.
Final score Haywards Heath .5 Bexhill 3.5
This means that we have finished the league unbeaten with 8 wins and a draw.
Well done to all who played for the 3rd team this season.
A full report on all 3 league teams will be published shortly.
