DCL1: PooleA v YeovilA
Well the A-Teams seem to be doing very well in both DCL and BDCL top divisions this year. I suppose it must be the excellent captaincy but I can’t quite remember who the captain is just now.
But the next stop on the DCL1 merry-go-round for Poole is: Dorchester, playing Yeovil, who were away, with Poole at home, at Dorchester. Yeovil were White on odd boards, as they were at the Away team. Got it? Good. I am glad that we got that straight.
It was my first time meeting the Yeovil team, and what a nice bunch they seemed. I did spot a pint of cider being accompanied to Board 2 early on, so the signs were good.
PooleA: Nick, John, Chip, Dave. All four-letters words, which, oddly, is something that has occasionally been said about us. We don’t care. Like Millwall FC.
B4: I was playing the White pieces v Nigel Mills. Google tells me that 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6, as played, is the Pirc Ufimtsev-Pytel variation. Please claim your fiver in writing if you knew that! Anyway, on we went peacefully both castling Kingside, black playing e5 and b5, until d5 undermined the c6/b5 pawns and b5 dropped. With time (on my side) running low, the Kingside was opened and it got a bit complex. There were many good moves for White, but many pitfalls as well. Thankfully for me, a combination appeared to win a piece and the result was sealed. Bad luck Nigel. Good game.
B3: Mark Baker v Chip. To be honest, I am getting a bit bored with making fun of Chip and his penchant for ultra-hedgehog set-ups. Seriously. I am. Well, perhaps not completely bored, but just finding it difficult to find different language every report. Chip always gets the last laugh though when he chalks up that blooming point! This game as a game in point. Mark had good development and space; opposite side castling (White KS, Black QS); but Chip was attacking the centre with a raking black-squared bishop and rooks in true hypermodern style. Chipzowitsch! Mark played well but his king safety was an issue and his time ran out in a complex position. Chip congratulated Mark and then threw me that look.
B2: John v Darren Freeman. Of course, by move 3 John was down to increment only. Perhaps it was move 4. The game quickly moved into a queenless middle game with White having the bishop pair, doubled isolated f-pawns, but good play and control. More pieces came off until John had R+B vs R+N. Darren looked better long term with an extra kingside pawn against those doubled isolated pawns, but John had a strong Bishop on d6 supported by a c5 pawn, and an active King. Still running on less than 60 seconds, John managed to exchange some QS pawns leaving a route for the King to b6, attacked the Black b7 pawn. The pressure told in the end with the White Rook also coming to a8 forcing all the pieces of the board with a trivial Kxb7 and queen the c pawn sequence to come. An excellent game by both sides.
B1: Adam Batson v Nick. ‘A game of three halves’ was the quote from Adam that I picked up after the game. Even if Adam didn’t say that, its a good line anyway. (1) An excellent position for White from the opening with Black looking very passive, (2) Good resistance from Black to equalise, (3) A possibly drawn R+5p vs R+5p ending. A draw offer had been made by Adam when the match result was in the balance and so could not be accepted. Nick was pushing for the win, but a missed subtle defensive resource then allowed Adam to push for the full point. This see-saw game finally ended with Adam taking the point amongst much rattling of chess pieces being put away by the residents (subtle nudge!). Well played both.
Result: Poole A 3 – 1 Yeovil
We were able to validate that the Yeovil lot are a good bunch in the bar afterwards. It was a pleasure meeting you all for the first time. We also had to wait for the fog to lift a bit, which didn’t work at all.
DF
David Fuller
December 2, 2022