Poole V Southbourne

Poole vs Southbourne, the underdogs

A great match played in the best of spirits. Southbourne were very much the underdog team with an average rating 252 points below that of Poole but due to the handicap system needed only 1.5 points to win. Despite pre-match jokes of early draws, there were no quick finishes, and all games were hard fought. First to complete was one of the victorious juniors with Zander Booth scoring a win for Poole over Chris Lane. Finn Schell followed with a win over Martin O’Neill making it one point all but two wins to the juniors. Finn trapped his opponents queen, then gave up his own queen to deliver mate. Well played! Around the same time, David Fuller and John Harris agreed a draw, giving Southbourne the 1.5 points required and securing the win, followed by a draw on board 6 for Florence Spirling and Joe Wood. The juniors scored a total of 2.5 points out of a possible 3! Boards 1 and 2 played on for a long period of time, going down to 5 minutes or less each on the clock. Great battles across the board for these players. Many thanks to Poole for wholeheartedly welcoming Southbourne to their new spacious venue. Thanks for the hospitality – and, for some, adding the Manchester United vs Liverpool game in the other room!

Nikki Forster

Well done

Congratulations to Southbourne for making it to the final, and good luck!

Ciprian Stanciu