DCL1: Poole A vs Dorchester A

There is a bit of a fixture crunch occuring in DCL1 which means three matches in eight days for Poole A, this being the second. It is also very tight at the top of the table with no team seeming to want to break free from the pack.

So to Dorchester on a wet and windy night (they all seem to be like that in Dorchester).

B1: Nick Lee (w) vs Andrew Footner looked a tough tussle in a Catalan with Andrew looking to keep hold of his extra c-pawn on c4. Some maneuvering led to a slight plus for Black and some complexity at which point Andrew offered a draw which was accepted.

B2: Mike Duggan (b) vs David Hardie was very interesting game. A sort of Morra Gambit position lead to symmetrical position but with Black having an extra d-pawn. White seemed to have just enough tempi to cause issues, although David was low on time. Looking across the other boards, Mike felt a draw was good for the team.

B3: John Weatherlake (w) vs Geoff Searing saw an odd-looking French Winawer. I didnt like the look of Geoff’s position with a Knight on g6 vunerable to h4-h5 only halted by Black h5 leaving a hole on g5. Too much White activity and pressure meant the game was only going one way and Geoff had to concede the point.

B4: David Fuller (b) vs John Harbour was the last to finish following an unusual opening resulting in a sort of reversed Vienna. A lovely tactic on my part was on but oddly I played Ndb4 rather than Ncb4 (wrong knight!). Nevertheless, the White position remained very fragile. Down to my last four minutes I offered a sporting draw, to secure the match, which John accepted.

• Result: Poole A 2.5 – 1.5 Dorchester A

An interesting match for which the result was probably fair.

D

David Fuller
March 24, 2023