Dorset League: Poole B 1 – 3 New Milton

With Poole A going for a non-playing captain set up, Poole B Dorset League tried the same tactic. Unfortunately we didn’t have the presence and motivation that David was obviously managing to exude to his players. Nevertheless we started our games.

Harry got started at Harry speed against a newcomer Ross. Harry managed to get his pieces in the center but a fianchettoed bishop and a reveal left an unprotected knight looking the wrong way before getting splatted. Ross may be new to league chess, but give him a piece advantage and it’s going to be hard work to come back from that. Harry had a good pawn storm but was unable to salvage the position.

Simon hasn’t had a game for a while but came in and got a slight advantage. His opponent made him work for it and Simon still had to be on his game to convert the win. 1-1

Tim once again had an entertaining endgame with a crowd around him and time against him. It looked to be a winning position and the spectators were keen to jump in with the correct moves once the game was over. Unfortunately that wasn’t the move that was chosen and a won endgame turned into a lost endgame. The difference of 1 pawn when there’s only a couple of pawns and a bishop each is huge.

With the match 1-2 down, Martin O knew what he had to do. Unfortunately the game was very even and balanced. With the necessity of the result, Martin pushed to try and force a win, unfortunately trying to get something that just wasn’t there and that throw of the dice finished the match 1-3. Not a huge difference to 1.5-2.5 so a worthwhile gamble and one that highlights the team aspect of the sport.

With all the other leagues getting to the permutations stage and all the speculation on who needs what, it’s very tempting to do that in the Dorset League, but everyone still has 3 out of the 4 teams left to play. A lot of points still up for grabs. This result leaves us 1 off the top and still in a strong position.

Well done New Milton on a good win, unlucky Poole, a good battle but wasn’t to be.

Tarik
April 4, 2023