Highcliffe A v Southbourne A

On what turned out to be a very peaceful night of chess Martin and Jon both played the same very obscure line which in my case led to a very quick draw with both of us being unsure of the best way to play in some extremely imbalanced ending, but not before Bruce and Russell drew on board 2. This left the match as a 2 board match which went a long time without any other results until Jamie and Richard agreed a draw in an opposite coloured bishops ending which looked almost impossible for either side to win. Christian was a pawn up against Martin but there was definitely some counter play for that pawn and for that reason Christian accepted Martins offer and the match finished 2-2. Thanks to Southbourne for a great evening of chess even with the masks all went to plan with everyone hoping that chess will remain throughout the coming months.

First of all, the Southbourne A and D teams would like to thank the Highcliffe club for their kind and friendly hospitality.

As Adam says, we were all 'masked up' and possibly because it was the last match before Christmas and no-one wanted to lose, all games were generally very friendly without many fireworks.

Bruce offered a very early draw around move 11 or 12 on board 2 which was accepted by Russ. Southbourne showed some positive intent on boards 1 and 3 by potentially offering pawn sacrifices in the same obscure opening. In the Jon v Adam game I don't think it was accepted and this game came to a quick peaceful end. Agree with Adam it then became a 2 board match. On board 4, Jamie turned down Richard's draw offer but with opposite coloured bishops the draw always seemed inevitable. The board 1 game between myself and Christian was interesting as Christian bravely accepted the early pawn sacrifice on offer. It seemed to turn out well but there was always good compensation. Given the results on the other 3 boards both players then decided to share the point.

Well played both teams and we look forward to the return fixture.