Wimborne E V Bournemouth F

Bermuda shorts?!

After warning Azhar to advise his Bournemouth team to wear warm clothing for the match at Merley because the heating would not be working, it turns out that it was working after-all, and it was so hot that Bermuda shorts would have been more appropriate! But to the match itself. Andre on top board appeared to be struggling against Manuela for most of the game, and when she eventually invaded Andre's back two ranks with queen and rook it was all over. On board 4, Andy White v Peter appeared to be heading for a draw the last time I looked, but surprisingly Andy W in the meantime had found a very nice knight and rook mate. Krystian and Greta was a strange game. In the endgame both had two rooks and a handful of pawns each. Greta had lined up her two rooks on the open h-file against Krystian's castled king protected only by pawns on h7, g6 and f7 and could have cause all sorts of threats by taking the h7 pawn with check. But because Krystian had moved one rook to white's 2nd rank where Greta's king was ,but in no immediate threat, she put off taking the h-pawn with check and even delayed until black had doubled his rooks on the second rank with clear threats now. Well, Krystian proceeded to win three pawns giving him a 6-3 majority with 3 of the pawns passed on the queen side. I believe Greta finally took the h-pawn with check, and around here Krystian seemed to lose his way. All he had to do was to exchange the rooks, which white gave black ample opportunities for, and then queen the passed pawns. In the event, Greta blundered and touched the wrong rook. Of course, she had to move the rook she touched, and she lost the other rook as a result. Game over. Finally, Andy Hewitt v Azhar. Because of an oversight by Andy H in a pawn endgame, which would have seen him win comfortably had he not, Azhar queened a pawn first, which would certainly have been enough for a draw, maybe even a win. Andy H queened his pawn a move later, and after a short while, the queens came off leaving black with a passed pawn with his king in front of it. This, Azar should have converted to a queen easily if he was better versed in king and pawn v king endings. But it wasn't to be, and by a miracle, Andy H drew the game. Thanks to Bournemouth F for a friendly and enjoyable evening.

Gregory C Webb