14 Board Bonanza Part 3 – B&DCL Poole C vs Southbourne C

 

Part 3 of this night of chess where most of the time as a spectator was spent figuring out who was playing what board for what team for what club. We had a strong team of Andy, Tim and Simon, with Zander playing his first game in the heady heights of division 3.

I arrived before 8:30 and was aware of these facts:

I still don’t know what order these events occurred because they aren’t as listed.

Great start to the night. I’d like to see the game because it was over before could see it start. Well done Zander and a good start to what will no doubt be an excellent future in the higher divisions.

The win settled the nerves a little and although the other games were looking good, they weren’t looking decisive.

Tim had a strong position but his opponent was looking to trade down, unfortunately for Southbourne there was a fork hidden in the middle which won the queen. From there it was over and the team was 2-0 up, showing the rest of the room how to do it.

Simon saw the results, saw his position, and I think he was getting a bit bored, so ‘in the interest of the team’ took a draw to seal the match.

Andy had managed to also pinch his opponents queen, but it came at a cost. Soon he was queen for rook and bishop in a marginal game. Looking at the other results and the bar another draw was agreed upon.

The match was 3-1, I’m not sure what the drinks were.

Well played all, setting up an exciting final game where we need a point in the showdown against Highcliffe.

Personally I found it an excellent environment with a suitably tense match room (nice finish by Martin to seal the handicap – leaving two pawns unprotected against the king, one too long to reach, the other too far up the board, allowing Martin to chomp the doubled a pawns. Excellent swing from a rook down to a queen for a rook from Eric. Interesting position from Mike M with a rook that could only attack. Great attacking play on Joe’s match with both kings having their protection decimated – a draw that looked less like a truce and more like Hamlet), and a chatty bar just down the corridor. I look forward to many more full nights with many concurrent games – good for the entertainment, not for the nerves.

Thanks to Southbourne for coming along, finding the venue, providing some interesting games and testing out just how many matches we can comfortably play!

 

Tarik
April 29, 2022