Division 2 – Poole B beat Bournemouth A to clinch the 2nd Division.

In a grandstand atmosphere of clicking pieces and deadly silence our B Team clinched the Division 2 title with a 2 1/5 to 1 1/5 victory.
I need to mention the build up which has been ongoing for some months when both Poole and Bournemouth managed to win home and away against all opposition to cancel out all other candidate teams. So it came down to Poole needing a draw and Bournemouth a win to take the title, this at the theatre of dreams for the home team. Poole had already won 2 trophies in the previous seven days and were going for the treble… could this really be possible?

It was clear Bournemouth would primarily want to win the top boards and close out draws further down the team.

So in order of matches completed Board 3 where Sandu (149) was playing Paul Jackson (138) and in this game which seemed quite closed both players agreed the draw fairly early on. Poole only then needed 1.5 from the 3 remaining games.
Meanwhile on Board 4 Dragi (151) playing Phil Sorenson ( 132) managed to get a pawn advantage, move it down the board with King and knight supporting and went on to force the win in quite comfortable fashion. So the score was 1 1.5/0.5 and requiring just half a point to secure the overall draw.
This continued and on board 2, Hiru (149) was playing Tim Lines (172) making a welcome return after some time had an even position and again after much analysis Tim reluctantly agreed a draw. This was effective victory for Poole having reached the target of 2 points and the title.
So you would have thought both players on the top board would have wanted a comfortable ending, not a bit. This game was about pride so Michael Duggan (180) gave everything he had against Chip ( 163) – the Petrosian of Poole chess club who defended with all he had. Michael threw hammer after hammer against his opponent but Chip stood strong despite being under huge pressure with the clock ticking down at a faster rate than normal for both players. There was an audience of about 15 players and you could have heard a pin drop with the will of both players evident. Eventually after Michael may have missed a win the fair hand of the players came out and a draw was agreed.

Match score 2.5/1.5. This was a superb match with all players giving all in good and lively atmosphere and the right spirit.

The Bournemouth team were very disappointed in losing but a great effort was made and credit must be given to them. I am sure they will be back.

For Poole – especially well done to Chip (captain fantastic) and Dragi (the executioner) A special mention should be made to Hiru and Sandu who started at the club three years ago and started in the C team and have both become a backbone of the B team, making their final appearance before returning home to complete their studies. Also, thanks to Toby and Sergiu who both contributed to the success of the team. It was also great to have the support of many club members who turned out on the evening, in this, a memorable night for the club.

So this completed the treble of trophies for the club which may be one of the best seasons recorded the future looks encouraging.

mainadmin
May 12, 2017