Wimborne D V Bournemouth D

Our penultimate match of the

Our penultimate match of the season, against Bournemouth D. Last time out, was a draw. Unfortunately John Bowley isn’t available for the rest of our games, which is a real shame as he was holding us together, with some great results. Luckily I managed to borrow Will from our E team to help us out. I was half watching board 2 which appeared to be even, I turned back to my game and then looked over again. In a very short space of time, Paul and Stuart had cleared off all pieces, bar a knight each and most of the pawns. Paul suggested a draw and Stuart took it. Board 4 started off as a lively affair but the position began to lock up. Paul offered a draw but Will decided to play on for a bit but play eventually ground to a halt. A second draw offer was accepted and all square. I was playing John on board 3, he opened with the English and I fell into the game he wanted to play. By the mid-game, John was in control of the game and I don’t believe I had anything going my way. In a strange twist of events, you get a chance and grab it, a repetition option came my way and we also agreed a draw. Final game was Graham and Ed, unusual to be able to watch someone else “stressing” for a change (seems to always be me at the end), as they played on beyond everyone else. Graham had a couple of pawns for a minor piece and managed to lock up the position, offering a draw. Ed declined and they carried on, I was expecting Ed to be able to break up the pawn structure but Graham kept the defence tight. A bit of manoeuvring by both and a fourth draw was agreed. So same result as last time, thanks to Bournemouth as always, for great games of chess and best of luck with your final game.

Simon Young