May
19
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play and win Can you find the best defence for Black and White’s winning line? Solution
May
16
Fantastic turnout at enjoyable Dorset Junior Chess Festival
On one of the sunniest days of the year so far, nearly 60 keen young junior chess players made their way to Merley Community Centre, Wimborne for the inaugural Dorset Junior Chess Festival. In the week or two before, the number of juniors registered had been steadily climbing and it was beginning to look like [...]
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May
16
Monday puzzle / game
White to play and mate in 2 To my eyes this is a lot easier than last Monday’s mate in 2. Solution
May
14
Weekly Results Summary and Season Round Up
Whilst there are 2 Dorset League and 2 B&DCL matches still to be played in the 2021/22 season, all the division winners are now decided. So in addition to the weekly results we are covering a summary of the season's winners. Weekly Results Please click on the match scores to see the detailed match reports [...]
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May
13
Southbourne Seagulls win Bacchus League
The idea of the Bacchus League is to offer graded league condition matches for players who do not normally get the opportunity to play in league matches, or are new to more competitive chess. The spirit is to try and organise teams of about equal strength, so in the Bacchus League it really is a [...]
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May
13
Bournemouth C are B&DCL Div 4 Winners
The final fixture of Division 4 of the B&DCL was played on Wednesday between Poole D and Bournemouth C. Before the match Bournemouth C were a match point behind Wimborne D and Highcliffe C but with a superior game points difference. Therefore they "only" needed to draw the match to win the division. They managed [...]
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May
13
Highcliffe B are B&DCL Div 3 Winners
In a critical week in Division 3 of the B&DCL, Highcliffe B beat Wimborne C 3-1 on Monday whilst Poole C lost 1-3 to Bournemouth B on Wednesday. This left Highcliffe B and Poole C tied on 16 match points but with Highcliffe B having the better game points difference. Congratulations to Highcliffe B and [...]
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May
12
Weymouth are Dorset League Division 1 Champions
Congratulations to Weymouth A who have secured top spot in Division 1 of the Dorset League. By beating Highcliffe last night they put themselves 4 points clear of their nearest rivals, Wimborne A and Poole A, each of whom have only one match remaining. The whole Weymouth team has performed well but especially Allan Pleasants [...]
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May
12
Thursday puzzle / game
Black to play and draw Given the position of the two kings, a7 followed by a check is a serious threat. Black has to play very precisely to hold the draw. Solution
May
11
Allan Pleasants wins the 26th Dorset Rapidplay in ‘pleasant’ surroundings!
31 adults took part in the 26th Dorset Rapidplay Championship which was run alongside the Dorset Junior Chess Festival at the Merley Community Centre on Sunday 8th May 2022. Playing in the pleasant carpeted bar area away from the noisier main hall where the juniors were playing, and with all windows and doors open on [...]
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May
09
46th Guernsey Chess Festival – 16 – 22 October 2022
Jon Hill, President of the Guernsey Chess Federation, has notified us that the Guernsey Chess Festival is taking place from 16th to 22nd October. You can see the full details and enter on the festival website. This well run event has proven popular with Dorset players in previous years. It was last held in 2019 [...]
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May
09
Dorset One Day Closed Congress 2022 – Sunday 19th June – Entries Open
After a two year break caused by COVID, Ian Clark is pleased to announce that... The 3rd Dorset One Day ‘Closed’ Chess Congress, incorporating the Dorset Championship, will be held on Sunday 19th June from 9:15am to 6:45pm. The key details are: Venue: The Elstead Hotel 4 Sections: Championship, Major (Under 1900), Intermediate (Under 1700), [...]
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May
09
Monday puzzle / game
White to play and mate in 2 There are quite a few options to consider here which is what makes the problem tricky. Solution
May
07
26th Dorset Rapidplay Championship – Sunday 8th May – Entries Closed with 32 Players
Entry to this event is now closed. The good level of entries has allowed for the prize fund to be increased. There will now be six £20 rating prizes. First prize been increased to £60 and second prize has been increased to £40 The 26th Dorset Rapidplay Chess Championship will be held on Sunday 8th [...]
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May
06
Poole B are DCL Div 3 Winners
Poole B completed their Dorset League Division 3 campaign in early April. Last night they won the division when Dorchester C, the old remaining team that could catch them, lost to Wimborne C. It was a tight Division with Poole B scoring 8 match points and Wimborne C and Dorchester C scoring 7 match points [...]
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May
06
Poole B are B&DCL Div 2 winners
With a match to spare Poole B have sealed the B&DCL Division 2 title with a 3-1 win over Southbourne B. They remain undefeated with 5 match wins and 3 draws and will doubtless try to finish the season in style when they play Southbourne B again in two weeks time.
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May
06
Weekly Results Summary – w/e Fri 6th May
These results will be refreshed once a week on a Friday or Saturday (plus updates for late results). Please click on the match scores to see the detailed match reports in LMS. DateLeagueHome TeamResultAway Team Tues 3rd MayB&DCL Div 4Bournemouth C2 - 2Southbourne D Weds 4th MayB&DCL Div 4Wimborne D3 - 1Poole D Weds 4th [...]
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May
05
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play After a series of mate in X problems we are back to the real world. This position is from Miles-Gligoric. How did Miles force the win of material? Solution
May
01
Apr
29
David Fuller Annotates
David Fuller has kindly sent us the following game from the recent Poole vs Dorchester in the KO Handicap Cup. It is annotated in his usual entertaining style with plenty of self-flagellation in this case! You can view the game below or in full width on the Poole Chess Club website.
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Apr
28
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play and mate in 4 The board is round the normal way, i.e. the white king is on a1 and the black king is on g1. Solution
Apr
25
Apr
23
Highcliffe are B&DCL Champions
Congratulations to Highcliffe who, by drawing their match last night against Southbourne, have secured the B&DCL Division 1 championship with a match to spare. This will be doubly sweet for Highcliffe as it is their first time winning the title. With a record of 6 wins, 2 draws and just one loss they are four [...]
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Apr
22
B&DCL AGM – Tuesday 21st June
The B&DCL AGM is to be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 21st June 2022 at Tuckton Social Club, 222 Tuckton Road, Southbourne, BH6 3AA (the home venue of Southbourne Chess Club). Rule change proposals are to be submitted from clubs by 7th May 2022, if possible, so these can be discussed at the next B&DCL [...]
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Apr
22
4NCL Online Season 5 – Round 7 of 7 – Wessex Results, Tables and Game
Keith Gregory sends his final report for the Wessex Some Stars teams in 4NCL Online Season 5. Many thanks from all the players for Keith's hard work throughout the season and indeed Martin Simons and Allan Pleasants for standing in for him in round 6. Results At the start of the round 7 evening things [...]
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Apr
21
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play and mate in 5 Still eminently doable but personally I found this quite a bit harder than Monday’s mate in 5. Solution
Apr
18
Monday puzzle / game
White to play and mate in 5 Not too hard as the main lines are forcing. Solution
Apr
14
Thursday puzzle / game
Black to play Black has sacced an exchange and a pawn to reach this position where his pieces are perfectly placed for an attack. Can you finish White off with a quick mate? Solution
Apr
11
Monday Puzzle / Game
White to play This position is from Tiviakov vs Arbakov, 1989. White has a few good options but can you see a forced mate in 5? Solution
Apr
08
Dorchester B win Dorset League Div 2
The first title of the season has been decided. Dorchester B have won the 2nd Division of the Dorset League. They drew their final match against Bournemouth A and maintained their 3 point lead over them. Purbeck and Ringwood also cannot catch them. These two teams will play their last match against each other on [...]
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Apr
08
Allan Pleasants Annotates
Allan Pleasants has kindly sent in one of his games from a recent Dorset League match. It features Allan's annotations which, as usual, reveal his thought processes during the game and are a pleasure to read through. You can play through the game below or, if you prefer the full screen board, it is also [...]
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Apr
07
4NCL Online Season 5 – Round 6 of 7 – Wessex Results, Tables and Game
Keith Gregory was away on holiday for Round 6 so the match captaincy was managed jointly on Tuesday evening by his deputies, Allan Pleasants and Martin Simons. This arrangement seemed to work well as they had to deal with a few late substitutions, an opposing team default, an opposing individual default, one very late arrival [...]
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Apr
07
Poole CC has a new venue
Please note that Poole Chess Club is now located at Poole Centenary Hall & Club, 22 Wimborne Road, Poole BH15 2BU. They continue to meet on Thursdays but will switch to Mondays from 29th May. Further details are on the Poole website.
Apr
07
Thursday puzzle / game
Black to play Black might appear to be under considerable pressure with both his queen and bishop attacked, potential mating threats on g7/h7 and possibly a dangerous white passed pawn. In fact, Black is winning! Can you see how? Solution
Apr
05
Great Results For Dorset Juniors in the Hampshire Open Junior Blitz
Several Dorset junior chess players were in action this weekend at the Hampshire Open Junior Blitz. Dorset Juniors taking part included Jamie Doyle, Finn Schell, Zander Booth, Florence Spirling, Leo Camopy, Harry Mercer, Matthew Butcher and, new to OTB tournaments, Smyan Sripirasanna. From a field of 40 youngsters, at least 8 were from Dorset which [...]
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Apr
04
Monday puzzle / game
White to play This position is from a Wessex Some Stars game in the 4NCL online where Richard Allis was playing White. Can you see how Richard won material? Solution
Apr
01
Mihail Nutu, R.I.P.
We are sorry to announce the death of Mihail Puiu Nutu of New Milton Chess Club at the age of 56 in very unfortunate circumstances. Mihail went to his homeland of Rumania at the beginning of the year for a few weeks holiday. Whilst there he required dental treatment, but contracted an infection and could [...]
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Mar
31
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play This position is taken from a recent GM tournament. The rook on c2 is attacked and Rxh2+ is also threatened. How did White save the game? Solution
Mar
30
4NCL OTB Weekend 3 – Poole and Wessex Results
The third weekend of the 2021/2022 OTB season took place on 26th and 27th March, with Wessex A, Wessex B and Poole taking part in Division 3 South. There was no Wessex C team this weekend. Overall the results were pretty good: Poole won one match and drew one Wessex A won both its matches [...]
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Mar
28
Monday puzzle / game
Black to play It may seem like White has Black’s pawns under control. Can you see a winning idea for Black? Solution
