BASINGSTOKE Chess Club lost their final Border League Division Two match 3½-1½ to Guildford C.
The losers' points were secured by Ivan Stipcevic, Tim Chapman and Barry Kocan, who all drew their games.
Basingstoke look doomed to be relegation from Berkshire League Division One after a 4 ½-1 ½ defeat by Camberley B.
Both clubs are anchored at the bottom of the league and the fixture was a ‘must win’ for both teams.
Basingstoke got off to a good start with a quick victory from Roy Ashmore, but the Surrey side hit back with four successive wins to ensure overall victory and while Bernard Cooke chalked up a late draw, it was all in vain.
The previous week in the same competition, Basingstoke beat Crowthorne C 4-2, with the highlight being a good win on top board by Paul Hackman against a highly-graded opponent.
No fewer than four Basingstoke Chess Club players, Ewart Smith, Tim Chapman, Ashmore and Kocan, represented Hampshire against Oxfordshire at Basingstoke in the Chiltern County League.
However, Oxfordshire won the match 11-5 to claim the Chiltern League title.
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