Eastbourne 4 off to a winning start

Eastbourne 4 began the new Sussex Chess League season with a win, travelling to Worthing on Monday 12 October for the opening match of the campaign. They came away 3–1 victors over Worthing 4, winning on boards 1 and 4 and drawing on boards 2 and 3. Ian Goodyer led the team on board 1, followed by Colin Clark on board 2, Peter Holdstock on board 3> and Peter Finch on board 4.

On board 1 Ian Goodyer had the white pieces, and the game hinged on Black’s third move. Facing the Italian, Black answered 3.Bc4 with 3…f6 — a serious weakening that leaves the kingside short of defenders and takes f6 away from the knight. White took the centre with d4 and d5, later expanding with c4, and although Black defended resourcefully enough to have clawed most of the advantage back by move ten, his king was eventually driven up the board and out into the open.

The finish was elegant. Ian played 31.Ne6+, stepping the knight off d4 to uncover the bishop on c3 — a discovered check. With the knights on c6 and e6 taking away e7 and g7, Black had exactly one legal move left, and he resigned rather than face the mate.

Black resigned after 31.Ne6+ rather than play the only legal move left to him, 31…Kf7. From there Ian had spotted the forced finish 32.Qh5+ Rg6 33.fxg6+ Kg8 34.Qxh7# — but a mate in two was available. Can you find it?

On board 2, Colin Clark played black and agreed a draw after a solid opening from both players. White held a positional advantage after 12 moves, but Clark had some threats of his own around move 20 and the game levelled out from there. His strong defensive play towards the end brought the position down to a queen, a rook and five pawns each — enough for both players to settle on the draw.

On board 3, Peter Holdstock had the white pieces and opened with the Queen’s Gambit, pressuring his opponent in the middle game to build a two-pawn advantage. Once the major pieces had been exchanged, however, the position reduced to opposite-coloured bishops, and converting it proved awkward — the extra pawns could not be turned into a win, and the game was drawn.

On board 4, Peter Finch had the black pieces and found himself on the back foot early after a knight blunder, but he dug in and battled his way back into the game. Turning up the pressure, he forced a decisive error from his opponent and sealed the win.

A win away from home is the ideal way to start a season, and with two boards won and two drawn this one was never entirely comfortable — a fair reflection of how close the match was. Eastbourne 4’s next fixture is against Haywards Heath 3 on Friday 6 November. Our thanks to Worthing for their hospitality, and congratulations to Peter Finch for grinding out the win on board 4.

Answer: 32.Qxh7+! Whichever piece Black blocks with on g7 — bishop or rook results in an immediate mate. If 32…Bg7 33.Qh5# and after 32….Rg7 33.Nxg5#