Poole A v Ringwood A

Two quick games and two long games in an interesting match.

First to finish was Kevin vs Mike in a fianchetto Kings Indian. At the transition from the opening to the middlegame Mike found a way of harassing Kevin's queen to either give a repetition or leave Kevin's pieces awkwardly placed. Understandably, Kevin took the repetition.

Next was John vs Niall in a Sicilian, where Niall says he mixed up the move order very early on. He was quickly in trouble with problems on the kingside and the centre and soon had to resign.

Graham and Mike's game was a tough old scrap. Graham played his usual Blackmar Gambit, this time with an early g4-g5, and the position was soon a complete mess, at least to my eyes. Graham never quite got his own king to safety as intended on the queenside and gradually the weaknesses in his position told as Mike generated threats on both sides of the board.

Finally, Nick vs Peter was a Polish/Orangutan. Nick definitely had the initiative early in the game and some tenacious defensive moves were required. However, once the endgame was reached Nick had a couple of pawn weaknesses and 2Ns vs Peter's 2Bs and the position proved too difficult to hold.

Well played Poole!

This is a remarkably strong Poole side who look very likely to be fighting for the title at the end of the season!

Thanks for the report Peter, sounds like a tough scrap. D