Ringwood V Weymouth A

Close match

There was an early draw on board 1 after Allan made a slight opening inaccuracy in an otherwise even position. This was followed by a much longer and quite open game on board 4, between Martin Clancy and Steve Blake which was also drawn. Both players had chances. So 1-1. In an extremely complex game on board 3, James Forster won the exchange, but Weymouth's Chris Leeson had chances himself, especially as black's king was more vulnerable on an open "a" file. But James forced the win. 2-1 Ringwood. Last to finish was Bruce Jenks beating Frank Pittman in a well contested game. Frank had played well, although Bruce had more control over the centre; a draw looked the most likely outcome, but Bruce gained control of the c file with his rooks and this proved conclusive, late in the evening. Well done to both teams on an exciting match, played in a good spirit and, for a long while during the evening, a draw in the match had looked likely. Ringwood are the early leaders in County League 1, but the league table looks unusual mainly due to postponements and re-arranged matches, so a long way to go and all teams in with a chance. Oddly, Ringwood have featured in each on the 3 matches played; other teams have only played once, and Wimborne have yet to play.

Mike Jay

Result confirmed

Result confirmed

Mike Jay