From Martin Fletcher – second team captain

The Hastings and St Leonards second team were playing at home in the penultimate match in the Mid Sussex Chess League. The match was a first division match against Lewes.

In recent matches the Hastings team has been substantially outgraded, and it was encouraging to face a team with almost identical grades – an average of 1736 for the visitors compared to Hastings’ 1759.

With such even pairings a draw was a distinct possibility, but team captain Martin Fletcher was hoping for better than that. Martin was playing on Board 4, facing Keith Osborne, the Lewes captain. Martin was white and facing a Sicilian defence. Martin played the unusual line Nc3 on move 2, and it was not long before he was in a dominating position. A Bishop on h6 prevented Keith from castling, and following a number of piece exchanges Martin was a bishop up. The game lasted less than an hour, and when Keith resigned on move 22 Hastings was not only one game up, but all three of the other boards were going well.

Next to finish was Paul Kelly against Jonathan Britnell, on Board 2. Paul won this game, giving Hastings a 2:0 lead. During the post game review both Paul and Jonathan said that throughout the game they each thought that their position was leading. However, it turned out that Paul was the one reading the board correctly. A key factor in the final result was time pressure. Paul was playing his usual rapid style, not least because he was well practiced in the line being developed. His clock showed over an hour remaining. However, Jonathan was being more reflective, and was down to under 5 mintues.

The third game to finish was Bernard Cafferty on Board 1, who was facing Richard Welford. This game was a draw, which meant that Hastings was going to win the match. Reviewing their game both Bernard and Richard spotted missed opportunities, and they agreed that a draw was a fair result.

The final match was Board 3. Adrian Cload had gained an early pawn advantage against Peter Weston, but Peter had been able to turn this around. However, Adrian’s superior play was too strong for Peter and this game ended with another win for Hastings.

With a final score of 3 ½: ½ Hastings produced a very decisive win, and have moved up the league table. They are now hoping to repeat this performance in the final match of the season – a home match against Horsham 2nd team on 28th April.

Division 1 Tue 8th Mar 2022

17 February 2022

After their recent 4:0 defeat against Brighton and Hove, the Hastings and St Leonards 2nd team was keen to improve their performance in their home match against Eastbourne 1. However, when they saw their opponents they realised that his was going to be a tough ask, with higher graded opponents on every board. On board 4 Alex Lebedev was making his first appearance this season, and he was facing Colin Clark, who was 500 grading points above him. Alex was the first to finish and Eastbourne were 1:0 ahead.

Next to finish was Adrian Cload, who was facing Laurence Butt. Like Alex, Adrian was facing a higher graded player, but this did not daunt him. Indeed, while a later analysis of the game on his computer showed that Adrian made plenty of errors, it also showed that he had a winning position for most of the game. On the day, Adrian was not able to capitalise on his advantage and in the end a draw was agreed.

The third game to finish was Board 1, where Paul Kelly was also facing a strong opponent – Oliver Froom. Paul played an excellent game, giving Hastings a win and levelling the match, with one board left to finish.

The final game was Board 3, where Martin Fletcher played a long game against Matthew Pannett. The game was even throughout the opening and middle game, and they entered the endgame with Martin just 1 pawn down, but with a passed pawn and a bishop against a knight. However, Matthews greater experience proved too much and Eastbourne were able to gain the victory, 2½ points to 1½. This was a close result and the team now move on to their next match with renewed confidence.

Contact – Martin Fletcher – fletcherinsussex@btinternet.com

Postal Address: Hastings and St Leonards Chess Club, Pelton House, 2 Cornwallis Terrace, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1EB, United Kingdom.

Email: HastingsChessClub@outlook.com

The Hastings and St Leonards second team had a road trip this week, with a visit to Horsham to face Horsham Chess Club’s first team. Horsham is a strong club and this was always going to be a difficult match. The previous week they had been paired against the Hastings first team, who beat them 3:1. We therefore expected them to field a strong team in reply to ensure that they did not lose again. However, we did not realise just how strong it was going to be. The Hastings team had four players with EFC grades ranging from 1974 on board 1, to 1410 on board 4. Their opponents on the night ranged from 2189 on board 1 to 2111 on board 4.

This difference in rankings showed most prominently on board 4 where team captain Martin Fletcher lasted just 18 moves against Mike Forster. Martin faced the Evans Gambit, an opening which he was not familiar with, and he never recovered from an early mistake. In the post match analysis on the long drive home, Paul Kelly pointed out that one of the club’s members – former president Bernard Cafferty – had written one of the leading books on this opening, Play The Evans Gambit. Martin made a mental note to make use of this book as part of his studies.

Boards 1 and 3 were not nearly so swift, and both Adrian Cload (on board 3) and Paul Kelly (on board 1) played well, with games that could have gone either way. However, in each case their solid resistance did not prevail and Hastings now had three losses.

This left Ian Calvert fighting against Mark Broom, in a game that lasted nearly three hours. Ian was determined to ensure that Hastings did not face a four nil defeat, and in the endgame he found himself with a rook and a knight against a rook and five pawns. It did seem that the five pawns would prove too strong but Ian played with precision and Mark was hampered by time pressures. The pair agreed on a draw and the Hastings team were very satisfied with this. On paper a 4:0 defeat would have been expected, and one draw was so much better than that.

The team now have a few weeks to regroup before their next match; home against Lewes on 7 April.

Contact – Martin Fletcher – fletcherinsussex@btinternet.com

Postal Address: Hastings and St Leonards Chess Club, Pelton House, 2 Cornwallis Terrace, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1EB, United Kingdom.

Email: HastingsChessClub@outlook.com

After their recent success against Worthing the Hastings and St Leonards second team travelled to Hove full of excitement. They were fielding a fairly strong team with Henry Cove on first board; Paul Kelly on second board; Ian Calvert on third board; and Martin Fletcher (captain) on fourth board. This team had an average grade of 1835 and many years of experience at competitive chess between them.

However, the games did not go as they hoped. The first game to finish was Ian’s, and he was defeated by Brighton and Hove player, Geoffrey James.

The second game to finish was between the two team captains, with Martin against Paul Batchelor. As in the well-known television series Martin found himself facing the Queen’s Gambit opening, and he responded with a Semi-Slave defence. However Martin found that he was not able to channel Beth Harmon’s brilliance and after 35 moves he accepted the inevitable and resigned.

It was not long before Paul Kelly suffered the same fate against Calum Salmons.

On Board 1 Henry was facing Luke Rutherford, and as Luke is graded 200 points higher than Henry this was never going to be an easy match. But recognising that he had a strong position, and also not wanting his team to leave with no points, he offered Luke a draw. However, Luke declined the offer and the match continued. Indeed, it continued for another hour. But in the end Henry was unable to maintain his edge, and the Hastings team had a fourth loss for the evening.

It was a more subdued journey home, but the team are upbeat again as the contemplate their next match – at home against Horsham 1, on Tuesday 15 February. This looks like it will be another tough challenge, as Horsham are currently unbeaten in the League.

Contact – Martin Fletcher – fletcherinsussex@btinternet.com

From Martin Fletcher – second team captain; Hastings & St Leonards Chess Club

Mid-Sussex League chess match Hastings second team against Worthing

27 January 2022

Hastings 2^nd team were at home against Worthing in the second match of the season. The visiting team had a slight advantage, with an average score of 1930 per player, as compared to 1852 for Hastings.  These averages reflected a wide range of abilities, with the highest grading player being Russell Granat from Worthing (2262) and lowest being the home team captain, Martin Fletcher (1408).

Martin’s game was the first to finish, but at 63 moves it was by no means a short game.  Martin was facing Tim Hedger, one of the two Hedger brothers from Worthing.  Martin was white, and his standard opening of e4 was met by the unexpected d5 – the Centre Counter (Scandinavian) Defence.  This meant that Martin was in unfamiliar territory right from the second move against a player who was clearly in his comfort zone.  The game was finely balanced throughout the middle game, and with a passed pawn Martin entered the endgame in a strong position.  Tim played a solid defence and was able to exchange the passed pawn for two of his own, and with precise end game play the best Martin could deliver was a draw.

The next game to end was Henry Cove against the elder Hedger brother, Alec.  Henry was able to play reliably and delivered a win for Hastings.  Paul Kelly was facing the Worthing team captain, Peter Larwood.  Paul played his moves quickly, but found that he could not beat the more reflective Paul, and the game ended in a draw.

On Board 1 Bernard Cafferty was facing Russell Granat, and a win by Russell would tie the match.  The game was not without incident as Bernard noticed after playing for 20 minutes that the Hastings team had three players with white pieces, rather than two with black and two with white, as required by the rules.  It was established that the problem was on Bernard and Russell’s board and their game had to restart, with Bernard now having the black pieces.  Despite this initial confusion, Bernard was able to deliver his usual confident standard and gave the team a second game win.  With two wins and two draws, Hastings won the match 3 points to 1.  This was the team’s first win of the season, and put them at the top of the league table.

Hastings 2^nd team have their first away match on 3 February against Brighton & Hove.

Contact – Martin Fletcher – fletcherinsussex@btinternet.com

Postal Address:
Hastings and St Leonards Chess Club,
Pelton House,
2 Cornwallis Terrace,
Hastings,
East Sussex,
TN34 1EB, United Kingdom.

Email: HastingsChessClub@outlook.com

From Martin Fletcher – second team captain; Hastings & St Leonards Chess Club
Mid-Sussex League chess match Hastings first team against Hastings second team
18 January 2022

After a long period of suspension, over the board chess returned to Sussex on 18 January with the first game in the Mid-Sussex Chess League. Hastings & St Leonards Chess club had entered two teams and they were faced against each other in the first match of the season.
With teams of four players the fourth board for each team was played by the team captain. Jim Wheeler (first team captain) was facing Martin Fletcher (second team captain). The game lasted just 30 moves and was the first to finish, with Jim gaining one point for a win.
After the game Jim said that before lockdown his favourite opening was the Richter Veresov. During lockdown he revisited his openings and had been playing on line with many new variations. However, for this match he returned to his tried and trusted favourite, and his expertise in the Richter Veresov paid off.
The next two games to finish were Francis Rayner against Bernard Cafferty and Andrew McGettigan against Paul Kelly, and these both ended in a draw.
This put the pressure on John Sugden who was playing for the first team against Henry Cove. He needed a draw or better to secure the match. Although the games were limited to 65 minutes for each player there was an additional 30 seconds allowed after each move. Theoretically the game could go on all night. However, in this league there is a further time limit and all games must stop after 3 hours 10 minutes. As that deadline drew nearer the players were locked in a rook and knight endgame with John having a small pawn advantage. With less than five minutes to go John forced a rook exchange making his pawn advantage more important; but against Henry’s faultless defence he was unable to press his advantage. When the time limit fell the team members analysed the position to see if there was a clear winner. However, following much discussion it was agreed that the game was drawn.
Winning this game, the first team achieved 2 ½ points and a position at the top of the league table. The second team were happy to gain 1 ½ points against their strong opponents and went home with their heads held high.
Hastings second team are at home to Worthing on 27 January; and the first team play away against Eastbourne 1 on 4 February.

Contact – Martin Fletcher – fletcherinsussex@btinternet.com
Postal Address:
Hastings and St Leonards Chess Club,
Pelton House,
2 Cornwallis Terrace,
Hastings,
East Sussex,
TN34 1EB, United Kingdom.

Email: HastingsChessClub@outlook.com

Division 2

Woodpushers v Hastings & St.Leonards 3

Fabulous result last night as Hastings 3, pre-season favourites for relegation, defied the odds to overturn a stronger Woodpushers side 3-2 and go top of the table after 2 matches.

Henry Cove on board 1 navigated a very tricky Benko Gambit by his opponent who eventually relinquished the threats and offered a draw before entering the end game which Henry coolly took time to evaluate the match standings then accepted.

Practice in skittles chess paid off for Jim on board 2 who had a lot of practice facing Larsens opening/the little Orangutan when presented to him. It’s very easy to come unstuck in the unusual tactics this rarely seen opening but Jim was unfazed, kept his nerve and brought home the win.

Trying to work out what opening Marc played on board 3 was like sifting through an Eton Mess for little bits of fruit. Was that a strawberry or a little bit of raspberry? A Grob or the bishops game? Who knows it’s all covered in meringue & cream and we can’t make head nor tail out of this. Suffice it to say his opponent, ate it all up leaving little but crumbs after move 10 for Marc.

Board 4 saw the power of the position over material when Mason led for all the game by either two or one points physically but the computer showed his opponent +2 up due to the superior position and more active pieces. This even went up as high a +60 (stockfish) at one point but a missed move gave Mason the opportunity to force a draw after hearing the result from board 5 which secured the match.

Board 5 Omer Namouk played a great game and could have surprised his opponent with a aptly named Halloween Gambit in a four knights defence but opted for a respectable Ruy Lopez set up instead. Some good play by both players but eventually the game reduced to a minor piece + a few pawns each ending which Omer’s nicely positioned pawns were always going to win the day.

An all round great performance by all, which will take off so much pressure from the team for the rest of the season.