Bexhill chess last call

Well it's never the last call actually but just a reminder about the five round tournament coming up this weekend.
Three sections U2200, U1900 and U120 ECF.
Juniors can play for £20 and there is £5 off for local club members.
Thirty entries so far so a decent attendance will ensure some worthwhile and fun chess.
Entries at
http://www.sussexweekendchess.blogspot.co.uk/p/latest-entries.html

Ne le manquez pas!
Jeremy Hudson

End of the junior tuition classes

Attendances at the junior tuition classes have dwindled since Christmas and for the last two sessions there were more organisers present than students. I have therefore decided reluctantly to end the classes about a month earlier than originally intended. I should like to thank Sue, Andrew and Robin for the help that they have given me.

NB Wednesdays are still available to adult members but there will no longer be a guaranteed presence for anyone just turning up. Still useful for arranging your tournament games though and still some league matches to be played.  Sue

Wednesday rooms

This Wednesday 18th there will be a meeting in the through room (not ours) and any tournament players should use the poker room. There aren't any team matches being played.

Next Wednesday 25th is the KO semi-final which will be held in the match room - i.e. the back room, now set up with our match tables - and any tournament games can be played at the front. The poker room will be being used by overflow bridge players.

In both cases the library can be used as the analysis/friendly room.

Ezra's coaching sessions

Ezra gave eight of us an enjoyable free analysis session on Wednesday. He plans to start a regular group session in about a month if there is enough interest. The cost per person will depend on the numbers interested but it will be drop-in each time - Wednesdays in March, reverting to Thursdays after Easter. He will also be available for individual coaching @ £20 an hour. If you are interested in either or both please email Ezra directly. (The group coaching is for club members only - join for £25 after Easter.)

1st team wins against Horsham 2

Yesterday we won our Mid-Sussex League fixture against Horsham 2 by the score of 3.5 to 1.5. 14 year old Callum Brewer made his debut for the first team and gained an impressive win. John and Paul also did well to win. I drew my game and Geoffrey lost. This means that we have now won four and drawn two of our six games. To stand a chance of retaining our league title we would probably have to win all three of our remaining matches and this involves playing against some very strong opposition.

Brighton reach the final of the McArthur Cup

Yesterday we travelled to Haywards Heath to play our game in the semi-final of the McArthur Cup. Last week we had drawn with our opponents in the Mid-Sussex League, but this time we recorded a 4-2 win in the six board competition. Wins were obtained by Simon, Geoffrey and Paul. John and I drew our games while Chris lost. We now play the winners of Horsham and Hastings in the final.

Tournaments

Hopefully members can arrange some tournament games over the next few weeks. It is best we do not leave too many to play at the last minute.
I would recommend members aim to have all games completed by the end of May. This prevents any last minute problems occurring near the deadline of 30th June..
This does not apply to the OT tournament which runs until the end of August.

Places to go in February

Two local tournaments coming up this month:

7th Portsmouth Congress  20th - 22nd February

Bexhill Weekend Chess Tournament  28th February - 1st March

and, for new members, you only need five results now to get an ECF grade in August - either of these would do.

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.

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!)

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.

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.

Change of result

I recently reported on Brighton 1's game against Hastings 2 and gave the result as 3-2 to the Brighton team. After the match it was discovered that Hastings had accidentally fielded an ineligible player in their team. As a result Brighton's win has now been changed to the score of 3.5 to 1.5.

Open on Saturday 20th but ....

We are closed all Christmas week
and open again the evening of New Year's Day.

Robin Jones Vs GM David Howell

Robin Jones against (GM) David Howell from the London Chess Classic 2014.

Click on this link to view the live game; (Time control = 3 mins each)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQH4SXxEMIk

Thanks

Michael

Narrow win for Brighton 1 against Hastings 2

Last Thursday our first team was involved in a close match against a resolute Hastings second team. Four of the games ended up as draws and it was left to Simon Wilks to gain the all important win against a very experienced opponent. Like our last match against Lewes we scraped a 3-2 win. This means that we have won our first three matches, but it would appear that we must generally play better than this, if we are to stand a chance of retaining our title.

Christmas

We are closed on Christmas Day and Saturday 27th. We are open on New Year's Day, although anyone at a loose end may well be at Hastings instead.

Technically brilliant!

As most of you will know by now Sina Krause won her title match in October to become the Women's National Chessboxing Champion. Known in the ring as Zena the Technician, Sina joined us in the summer for the chess practice. You can hear her talking about the other side of things on Saturday Live on 15th November - listen from 37 to 43 minutes to hear the chessboxing piece. We are enormously proud to have her as one of only three women we currently have in the club. For more see LONDON CHESSBOXING.