Poole A v Highcliffe A

Well done to Highcliffe, always a pleasure to see old friends

First of all thank you to Poole for the fantastic hospitality and the bar that must have helped our performance!

Poole outgraded Highcliffe in what was a reverse of the situation when Poole travelled to Highcliffe in the Dorset league where Poole got the win, so Highcliffe had the belief that surprise results are possible.
Rob Halse stood in to take his spot on Board 4 against Martin when it seemed Rob lost an exchange and Martin saw the win over the line, Richard and Chip had a brave battle which settled down to a rather peaceful draw.
This left Highcliffe 1.5-0.5 down with 2 boards to go. Bruce got the better of the opening but the position seemed to fade a little with white having a minor advantage but nothing critical, I was playing in a rather difficult position for quite some time having to play accurately to stay in the game.
Complications occurred in both games and I found myself giving away 2 pawns for an attack rather than sitting on a cramped position after a mistake put me in an awkward position.
John was down to increments so I started to attack and Johns time eventually led to a mistake allowing a very difficult position with what seemed like the only way out of mate was at a heavy price of material, but unfortunately Johns time ran out. 1.5-1.5.
This left Bruce and Martin M with a complicated rook and pawn ending which gave few chances either side when Martins flag fell. 2.5-1.5
Thanks again to Poole for a great evening of chess!