Southbourne E 1 vs 3 Poole D
With Southbourne on the bottom of the league, it was important for both Poole teams that we could get a win to keep our teams away from the threat of relegation, conversely, a win was needed for Southbourne to maintain hopes of staying in the division.
Dragi was ever reliable on board 1 against Ken Dixon. Dragi managed to get his a pawn all alone with no other pawn for miles around (or for squares around at least). He kept pushing the pawn and with a his pieces in support there wasn’t much that could stop it so converted it to a first win.
Tarik thought he was in a reasonable position with the black pieces, but the an excellent knight move tore that all apart. Tarik accepted the loss of a rook and went for some counter play, Paul Sandy played well and survived the attack and subsequent 2 past pawns by sacrificing a rook for a knight but was still a piece up and converted it safely.
1-1
Don was playing in board 3 against Martin Buse. It was a close game but Don gained a pawn advantage, and then another. In a solid end game Don forced Martin to sac a bishop for a pawn leaving Don with a won position.
2-1.
Final game to decide the fate of the game was young Ciaran, recalled to the team following his previous win.
It was materially equal game with Ciaran applying a lot of pressure.
It boiled down to gridlocked pawns on the Queen side, and a King, Pawn and minor piece on the otherside. It looked a drawn position but Ciaran was trying to force a win, causing heart troubles to Poole players looking at the score sheet.
With all the pushing and multiple combinations tried, his opponent managed to grab a pawn, only for his flag to then fall giving Ciaran another win and Poole A 3-1 victory.
That victory leaves Poole D mathematically safe and Poole C needing 2 points from their final 4 games.
It actually catapults Poole D up to 4th, and excellent position, let’s see if we can keep that position to the end of the year.
Well down to Poole and thank you to Southbourne.
Southbourne 1 – 3 Poole D
Tarik
March 5, 2017