Poole V Highcliffe A

Press / Admin Comment

So the eagerly awaited semi-final was finally upon , Sky TV had kindly agreed not to screen the match, as this would have affected the viewing figures for the Champions league, a golden sunset behind us the match began. The grades were very close on all boards so no handicap for either team. The games were all very close Adam on board 5 first to finish against Seth , 1-0 Highcliffe. Board 3 came next Rob edging out Dragi so 2-0. Board 6 Tom managed to win a tight match so 3-0. Adam for Poole saw the team score so had to push for a win, this allowed me to win what should have been a draw, 4-0. Christian ever reliable, ground down David so 5-0. This left board 1 Ollie making his debut had a hard battle against Mikefinishing with a knight and bishop v rook 3 pawns each last to finish with a draw. So on to the final, the score flattered us but we'll take it. Thank you Poole for being excellent hosts, good luck with the rest of your season

Richard Ursell

Match Report Addendum

Richard has pretty much summed up the proceedings of the night, but I will add a couple of observations of my own here. He commented that the score flattered Highcliffe somewhat, but I think that it represented a the smash and grab exercise very well executed and reflected the fact that all of the Highcliffe players were very good value for their respective gradings. (Christian is going 200+ this season! He would be my first pick in my Bournemouth and District Fantasy Chess Team... now THERE is an idea... I wonder if that will catch on) The handicap was flat, although I was worried, as suggested above. Boards 3-6 all progressed quickly showing significant pluses in favour of Highcliffe. Mike and Ollie were having a Benko-ish tactical battle on Board 1, which prompted a time scamble later on. On Board 2, Christian and I had a pretty even game following his Caro-Kann, but I felt obliged to press, perhaps more than adviseable, after seeing the positions on the lower boards (that's my excuse!). In time, the plusses were duly converted B3-6, Christian casually handled my attempts to complicate matters, and Mike/Ollie agreed to share the point. Congratulations Highcliffe. You will be tough to beat in the final. I hope readers will appreciate: a) This report in the face of a very poor result, and b) My success in not sinking to the depths of cheap football references... no Spanish Torture or Wing Gambit comments from me.

David M Fuller