Wimborne A v Poole B 2-2

Wimborne A v Poole B 2-2

Alan Pleasants v Chip Stanciu 0.5-0.5

Eddie Barker v Sergiu Calauz 0.5-0.5

Bill Adaway v Martin O’Neil 0-1

Graham Hillman v Dragi Popovic 1-0

On a very cold evening in Wimborne, we played our first away game of the season. First to finish was Dragi as he uncharacteristically miscalculated a tactical exchange. His 100% winning streak in our division came to an end. The next board to finish was board 3, where Martin played very well in the end game and levelled the score at 1-1. I finished next, asking for a draw despite being in a slightly better position. Knowing Alan’s strength, and my habit of messing things up at the last minute, I decided to pass all the pressure to Sergiu on board 2! Talking about Sergiu…after not the strongest opening, he gave Eddie the chance for a king-side attack. Luckily, he managed to defend and, after 2 hours of play, he had the upper hand and the game had turned around. The end was very exciting, with Sergiu having a Bishop and two Pawns against a Bishop. Unfortunately for us, Eddie defended well and despite Sergiu’s best efforts he couldn’t take advantage of being 2 Pawns up. It ended as a draw which meant that the match also ended level, 2-2.

No bar at the Merley Community Centre so an earlier night than usual for the team!  It’s always a pleasure to play against Wimborne and we look forward to hosting them in Poole in 2023.  Thanks to the Poole B Team for an encouraging result.

Chip

Ciprian Stanciu
December 8, 2022