New Milton A vs Poole B 1.5 – 2.5

R Du Toit (172) v C Stanciu (163) 0.5 – 0.5
P Manning (144) v T Miller (153) 0 – 1
M Honey (137) v Hiru M (158) 0 – 1
S Disney (123) v Sandu M (149) 1 – 0

First to finish was Hiru who was 2 pawns up after 20 minutes which put him in a strong position for the remainder of the game.

Ciprian drew with Mr Du Toit – the end part of the game was a hard fought battle involving the queen and bishops on both sides! Ciprian was happy with the draw as he knew the team were 1 point up and Toby was in a strong position, 2 pawns up.

On board 4, Sandu sacrificed a bishop in return for 2 pawns and an attack on the king side – unfortunately, his opponent defended well and Sandu was unable to recover. At that time, the score was level (1.5 – 1.5).

Toby was still 2 pawns up but was getting short on time. In a very tense finale (so tense in fact that Ciprian couldn’t’ bare to watch and left the room!), Toby managed to convert a pawn and return his queen to the board. With only 2 seconds left on his clock, he check mated his opponent to give the points to Poole.

Great relief all round and we are now ready for the decisive game against Bournemouth, on 11th May, that will determine the winner of the division.
Thanks to everyone involved.