Thursday, January 29, 2015

A draw for the first team against Haywards Heath 1

Just as in our match at Hastings last weekend we struggled to make an impression against Haywards Heath first team. Wins were obtained by John and Paul and losses by Simon and Geoffrey. My own game ended in a draw. This means that we have four points out of five in the league, but we need to improve rapidly to stand a chance of winning the competition. We do it all again against Haywards Heath in the McArthur Cup next week, when the match will be played over six boards.

Free Group Lesson with FM Ezra Kirk, 2330 elo

Ezra is going to hold a free group coaching session next Wednesday 4th February at 7:45 pm. The session will last about two hours and is open to members only. You may bring interesting games for analysis and Ezra will bring some of his. Content will depend on numbers attending but if you have any suggestions please email Ezra.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

January grades

New grades are out, see updated Members page of the club website.

Off the mark for 3rd team

Finally half a point scored for the third team last night vs Lewes 2, following four straight losses (the last three were close though at 2-3!)

Monday, January 26, 2015

A draw for first team against Hastings 1

Last Saturday we travelled down to Hastings for a Mid-Sussex League match against old rivals Hastings. Like last season the match ended in a draw. Hastings were without Bernard Cafferty who is ill. I myself played against Francis Rayner, a Welsh international, and declined an offer of a draw after about twenty moves, when I was pressing for an advantage. After the match I greatly regretted that I had not accepted the offer as a horrendous move of mine about ten moves later completely compromised my position after which my opponent won efficiently. Simon fell victim to the experienced Howard Tebbs, who played a fine game. Howard's London System has given him a lot of success against strong players in particular. On board three Geoffrey played what was probably his best game this season as he won against promising junior Ollie Willson after establishing a strong bind on the position from the opening. Paul came up against the experienced John Sugden and at the end of the game had a slightly worse position, though the blocked nature of the pieces resulted in a draw. John Henshaw won against Paul Kelly in a game in which one side of the board was completely blocked for a while. I was dreading that the other side of the board might also be blocked (!), but John did well to turn his extra space into a win. This means that we have so far recorded three wins and a draw in our four matches.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Winter Wednesdays

Just a reminder we are still open on Wednesdays from 7:00 pm until 25th March (in addition to Thursdays and Saturdays). Next Wednesday the second team are playing Lewes 2 and the fourth team are playing Woodpushers 2. All welcome.