Yeovil V Weymouth

Press / Admin Comment

Yeovil needed to win 3 1/2 - 2 1/2, despite being outgraded on 4 out of 6 boards! Things started badly when Darren found the worst move on the board early on to lose at least a piece; he resigned as soon as Frank replied. Weymouth's boards 5 and 6 certainly looked like they were playing well above their grades, and the quick wins we were banking on didn't materialise; 5 was the next to finish in a draw. Allan and I were locked in a complicated positional struggle, with nothing leaving the board until 9:20pm! I thought we were losing elsewhere so I sacked an exchange to try to force a win, and probably would have lost if Allan hadn't accidentally picked up the wrong piece near the end, leading to a tense draw. By then Binoy had somehow won on 4, leaving us needing 1 1/2 from the remaining 2 games. Mark had gone a piece down whilst trying to force a quick win and was struggling to hold for a draw, but somehow cleared all of his opponent's pawns to render his extra knight useless. This left Tom to try to force a win with just queens and pawns, with a passer on the 7th rank. Somehow he escaped the endless checks to convert; bad luck Arthur. Another exciting match, yet again decided by the narrowest of margins; it feels like we burgled that somewhat! Hard luck Weymouth - see you next season. Adam.

Adam Batson