Poole Knights 1 – 3 Bournemouth

The last game of the season has now come and gone, and a bow must be taken by all players across the two Bacchus teams. Poole Knights largely comprised of Lytchett Minster students, and the Poole Bishops team mainly comprised of Poole Grammar students.

Highcliffe were the stand out team with 6 wins and only the one loss – hats off to them for some excellent chess from some seasoned players. The two Poole teams and Bournemouth were all within a point of each other behind Highcliffe, each recording 3 wins.

I cannot put into words how proud I am of all the players across the two teams, they’ve all taken the step up to adult chess leagues incredibly well and put a lot of older players under severe pressure.

This week’s match was the final game for Poole Knights. Matthew, Zack and Harry all fought admirably, however positions were compromised leading to demise. Ben played a blinder by getting off on the offence and keeping pressure on his opponent and the centre until the position crumbled. There were pins and domination of positions and some excellent lessons to be learnt.

Harry and Ben have finished Year 13 and are off to university, so I wish them all the best and hope they can keep up their chess either at university or when they’re back in Poole. They’ve proven their ability to be welcome in any club around the world.

Zack managed 3 excellent wins throughout the season, including an 8 move shock against the eventual champions, Samuel showed excellent character, fighting back from near impossible positions to create fantastic opportunities, and Matthew has shown that never giving up can win a match for the team. Venna also made an appearance, helping win a vital match and is one of the few players in the league with a 100% record. Thanks also to Graham for filling in and leading the team when needed. Appearances from Chris, Shourya and Yash all contributed and were much appreciated.

Also, this would be a good opportunity to say well done to the other Poole team in the division – Poole Bishops. They’ve played an excellent season and it was great having two 6-board matches against them. I was impressed that the results were 4.5 – 1.5 both times but with each team being on the winning side! Their players have shown great maturity in taking on all comers with some excellent results.

So well done and hats off to all the new players who have joined this new division – it has proven itself to be a worthwhile addition. I’ve certainly enjoyed watching the players improve and play some great chess.

Tarik
May 19, 2019