Highcliffe B v Poole B

The final showdown arrived at last. Highcliffe needed a win to win the league and Poole only needed a draw.
Board 4 was first to finish as Joshua won after pressing Stephen into capitulation under the pressure.
Board 1 ended next with a draw in its middle game but was not prematurely made by Mr.Fuller who's eyes were on my game.
Board 2 was a very open game that saw me pressing Tim for most of the match however after Tim successfully navigated through my uncoordinated attacks he was able to go a pawn up and force a decisive error which being the last game of the season I played out to a checkmate over the board. Well played Tim.
Board 3 was last to finish, Bryan had under 10 minutes on the clock and with a very locked down position he was offered a draw. Due to the circumstances of the match at hand he was inclined to force the issue. After attempting a daring bishop sacrifice to open up the position it the position did open up, however due to some strategic maneuvering on Dragi's part he was able to plug the gap and force the issue once more and alas it was not to be for Highcliffe.
Well played to all players as quality chess was to be found.
Regards Thomas

The season finale! A draw would be enough for Poole to win the league. On paper I fancied our chances with four good value players: Tim, Dragi Steve, and myself.

B4: Steve (b) vs Joshua Richards looked promising for Steve from the start with a good structure and an extra pawn. A long struggle looked probable, but, sadly for Steve, he left his queen en prise and had to resign immediately. Steve was not best pleased.

B1: David (w) vs Rob Halse saw a Scandinavian with White enjoying more space and active pieces: pawns on c4, d4, f4 and Ne5, followed by g5. But, to be honest, I was looking across at Tim and Dragi, who both looked much better.

B2: Tim (b) vs Thomas Trach saw Tim under early pressure in an Open Sicilian with White castling long. With just one tempo spare, Tim was able to play Bh6+ allowing 0-0 and a consolidated advantage.

B3: Dragi (w) vs Bryan Lose was a typical Dragi game (when aren't they?). A nice blocked up position, except in this case, open a and b files but with Dragi having an additional a-pawn. Very handy.

It was at this point that I looked up and saw that Tim had a tactic to win a rook and the game, and that Dragi 'couldn't lose'. 'Ah well', my internal dialogue went, 'I nice draw here and Dragi will simply need to bring the result home with an easy draw'. Bloody internal dialogues! What do they know anyway?

So I offered Rob a draw, which he quickly accepted. Tim then executed the simple tactic winning the rook with a mating attack, which Thomas graciously allowed to complete with a nice mate.

So just Dragi left needing that draw. Bryan knew what was required and sacced a piece to stir up trouble. I couldn't watch. Afterwards Dragi confirmed that he had everything under control, probably from the first move. You, dear reader, can draw your own conclusion as to that claim but I will believe Dragi this one time because he did play the Captain's role well to secure victory on his board and the match.

Highcliffe have had a poor season by their standards and perhaps deserved some success on this occasion, but Poole were just a little too strong during the last three matches. I am sure next season will see Highcliffe bounce back. This was discussed immediately, in some detail, along with global politics, at the Walkford. Dragi and RichardU both bought rounds. Result!

Match Score: Poole B 2.5 - 1.5 Highcliffe B

So DCL League 3 champions. Well done Dragi for excellent captaincy this season. Well played to all the other teams who made for a competitive season. See you all next year.

DF