Tough Loss for Eastbourne 5 vs Hastings 3

Our 5th team played at home against a strong Hastings 3rd team on Friday 10th
November 2023, when, despite valiant efforts by all, the team lost 0.5 – 3.5.

On board 1, John Wright played black against Marc Bryant and had a similar performance to the match against Haywards Heath 3 the week before. After a level opening tussle in the Giuoco Piano, Giuoco Pianissimo Variation, John managed to gain a small advantage in the middle game, only to lose out in the endgame. Mike Elgin and Robert Smart lost similarly on boards 2 and 4 respectively.

The one positive from the match was a fine draw on board 3 by Zeb Taylor against a former Hastings club
champion. This was an exceptional result from junior Zeb, as until recently his opponent had been rated just under 2000!

Zeb played the black pieces against Chris Hann, who opted for a reverse Kings Indian. The game quickly
opened up and featured opposite-side castles. Eventually, queens were exchanged and Zeb won two pawns, but then lost his knight to a pin. His opponent then blundered a third pawn. It came down to three pawns versus a bishop and a rook, for each side, but Zeb then lost two of his pawns before the match time ran out and the game was adjourned. The next day it was reviewed and considered a draw.