Bournemouth V Southbourne

Well done Southbourne winning

Well done Southbourne winning a hard fault contest their junior players played particularly well ,showing how much improvement they have made this season good luck in next round of Knockout

Paul Errington

A rollercoaster match

A rollercoaster ride of a match which could have gone either way right up to the last minute. The first board to finish was a good win for Southbourne junior Finn Schell, followed by another great win for the other Southbourne junior Florence Spirling who, having swopped off most of the pieces, played an excellent and solid endgame to take the win. So, at 2-0, it was a great start for Southbourne but there were four games still to go. John Harris on Board 2 looked in a winning position for Southbourne to take them over the line but then blundered and succumbed to a checkmate, giving Bournemouth a chance and way back into the match. It was tight on the three remaining boards and now the result could still go either way. At the right time for Southbourne, Chris Lane had a good draw against Paul Jackson after a long battle both with his opponent and with the sun shining onto his face. Ken Dixon’s position had been difficult from the start, but he fought long and hard, finding a few traps along the way, but wasn’t able to match Adam Avci on the night. So, at 2.5 each, it was all down to the last game. With the handicap scoring, Southbourne needed a half point to win whilst Bournemouth needed the full point. And what a rollercoaster of a game this was with a win for either player possible or even a draw! As the game approached 3 hours, the tension mounted, with both players low on time, surviving on increments. In the end, Michael Litchfield got the upper hand and sneaked in a win. Well played everyone and many thanks to Bournemouth for their hospitality.

Nikki Forster