Another month of mixed results but overall we have reason to be happy.
In Division 1 of the B&DCL we had two matches. The first was against bottom placed Highcliffe A (last year’s champions!) which we lost in unfortunate circumstances, having agreed a draw in a probably winning position when one of the opposition nearly fainted and collapsed (some things are more important than even chess). This left us needing a draw against the mighty Poole A to avoid relegation. Fortunately Poole A only needed a draw to clinch the title and gradually offered draws on all 4 boards which we very sensibly snaffled. So we survived the strongest Division 1 in the B&DCL League for many a year (ever?), having beaten some good teams along the way.
In Division 3 of the B&DCL our B Team lost to Bournemouth C. We are guaranteed to finish in the top half of the table. We are also still in with a theortical chance of topping the Division but will need to win our last match against Poole C handsomely and for Bournemouth B to draw or lose their last match.
Our Dorset League (Division 2) team drew against Purbeck. We have two more matches to play but cannot come either top or bottom of the Division, so are now playing for fun and honour.
The Division 1 of the Southampton League came to a rather unsatisfactory end with Salisbury forfeiting both its last two matches, against us and against Southampton. We finished the season with 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses, level on match points with Southampton but frustratingly half a game point behind them in 3rd place.
Our Bacchus League campaign ended on a high with a victory vs Poole Bishops. As is the intention in this league, the teams have been pretty evenly matched, and we ended up with 3 matches wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, with 14.5 game points for and 12.5 game points against – just about perfect.
Finally, we didn’t have a match in April in the KO Handicap Cup but we did get some good news! We have been given a bye in round 2 and go straight through to the semi-finals.
You can see the detailed results and league tables by following the links on the Fixtures and Results page.