Southbourne Seagulls v Ringwood Waifs & Strays

This was another excellent match for the Bacchus League. I am sure players from Southbourne Seagulls and Poole Bishops share the Ringwood disappointment that the Bacchus season is almost over . Every match has been close - for example, in this one, all 4 games went the full distance and there was little between the teams. The Seagulls deserved at least a draw. Good individual Ringwood performances by Liam, who continues unbeaten and to both Alex and Julian who notched first Bacchus wins against promising opponents. Southbourne's Ben Sillence played an excellent game, staying calm and showing resilience to win after nearly 50 moves.
The Bacchus League is, of course, about the future. Interestingly, the scene was set on arrival at the Tuckton based club - it was packed full of excited junior players who has just finished their early session under the expert guidance of James and Nikki Forster. These weekly meetings are so well attended - apparently, often over 20 come along - a great credit to the Southbourne club.
The Ringwood players taking part in Bacchus have improved immeasurably as the season has progressed. In his LMS KO Cup report earlier in the week, Highcliffe's Ron Salinger noted that 4 of Ringwood's team that night were current Bacchus players and he rightly thought much more will be heard about them in the seasons ahead. I think Ron's generous comments are so appropriate and accurate - Bacchus is about the future and how these young players, from all three clubs, are embracing the challenge!

I totally echo Mike Jay's sentiments in that it was another excellent match in the Bacchus League and a great advert for the future of local chess. Thank you, Mike for your supportive and kind words.

Although the score line didn’t go our way, well done to everyone (win, lose or draw) as each game was hard fought and close.
Zhongyuan was unlucky and missed Julian's attack on his queen, thereafter it was difficult to get back into the game but he fought on, never giving up. Oliver played well and just lost out to a better move from his opponent, Alex, again both fighting hard all the way in a long game. Jason and Liam played a fantastic game with neither wanting to settle for the draw, although this was the eventual and inevitable result. Finally the match on Board 1 was an epic: Mike Jay kindly stepped in to play after one of the Ringwood players didn’t make it to the match. An extremely close contest, Ben stayed focused even when both players had under 20 seconds on their clock. Everyone watching was holding their breath, even more so when Ben forgot to press his clock. In the end, only the ticking down of the clock could separate them, with Ben winning on time.

An excellent evening of chess.