Illustration by Frits Ahlefeldt under licence CC-BY 2.0
Southbourne Chess Club held its 5 round Christmas time handicap tournament, open to all local players, on Friday 23rd December at Tuckton Social Club. Such was its popularity, that, for the first time in recent times, it reached maximum capacity of 40 players.
It was pleasing to see that 7 local clubs were represented and half the players were from other clubs.
All the top places were filled by non-Southbourne players. Everyone won a prize in the form of a wrapped up present and it was a pleasing to see quite a few juniors playing.
Raimund Klein (Yeovil) came 1st with 5 points.
Bruce Jenks (Highcliffe) came 2nd with 4½ points.
Adam Ursell (Highcliffe), Richard Ursell (Highcliffe), Mike Duggan (Poole), Zander Booth (Poole), and John Weatherlake (Poole) came equal 3rd with 4 points.
Light refreshments were available throughout the evening in the form of Bucks fizz, tea, coffee, mince pies, biscuits and chocolates and there was Christmas music whilst the chess was being played to add to the festive atmosphere which made it an enjoyable evening.
| Pos | Name | Rating | Club | Pts |
| 1st | R Klein | 1980 | Yeovil | 5 |
| 2nd | B Jenks | 2090 | Highcliffe | 4½ |
| 3rd | Z Booth | 1777 | Poole | 4 |
| R Ursell | 1875 | Highcliffe | ||
| A Ursell | 1920 | Highcliffe | ||
| M Duggan | 2006 | Poole | ||
| J Weatherlake | 2036 | Poole | ||
| 8th | R Pegg | 1960 | Southbourne | 3½ |
| 9th | O Bradbury | 1000 | Southbourne | 3 |
| Steffi | 1050 | Yeovil | ||
| D Ursell | 1130 | Highcliffe | ||
| J Richards | 1200 | Highcliffe | ||
| A Vann | 1528 | Southbourne | ||
| P Austin | 1638 | Southbourne | ||
| D Balfour | 1750 | Unattached | ||
| S Pollyn | 1766 | Wimborne | ||
| L Laker | 1950 | Southbourne | ||
| J Forster | 2000 | Southbourne | ||
| 19th | A Cuthbert | 900 | Southbourne | 2½ |
| F Spirling | 1450 | Southbourne | ||
| P Jackson | 1696 | Bournemouth | ||
| 22nd | J Vann | 1000 | Southbourne | 2 |
| J Uphill | 1000 | Southbourne Juniors | ||
| M Teverson | 1100 | Southbourne Juniors | ||
| J Wang | 1300 | Southbourne | ||
| R Richardson | 1337 | New Milton | ||
| C Best | 1450 | Unattached | ||
| M Squires | 1456 | Poole | ||
| L Cuthbert | 1500 | Southbourne | ||
| C Lane | 1535 | Southbourne | ||
| J Harris | 1590 | Southbourne | ||
| B Curran | 1760 | Southbourne | ||
| I Clark | 2020 | Wimborne | ||
| 34th | W Cuthbert | 800 | Southbourne | 1½ |
| 35th | E Edwards | 700 | Southbourne Juniors | 1 |
| W Edwards | 800 | Southbourne Juniors | ||
| S Forster | 1000 | Southbourne | ||
| I Willis | 1653 | Unattached | ||
| 39th | S Uphill | 800 | Southbourne Juniors | 0 |
| G Ramsay | 1350 | Unknown |
Martin Simons
