Tough Chess Battle at Carnival
Carnival arrived in Lloret de Mar last weekend, which forced us to move to the Rieral Civic Center this Sunday, as our usual playing venue, El Puntet, was unavailable. However, we felt right at home there and prepared for an intense chess battle that turned out to be very tough.
Lloret's first team hosted Gerunda C. After an initial draw between Manel Castellanos and Quim Mundet, the match turned in favor of the Girona side, who gained an advantage in several games. As the morning progressed, and after long struggles, the situation reversed, and the match became more favorable for us, although the score remained 0.5-0.5. As the games concluded, the result remained very close, with several favorable positions that ultimately ended in draws. Toni David and Sergii Shchurenko each achieved victories, bringing the score to 5-4 and leaving the final decision in the hands of Alexander Kripakov. He played a masterful game, a king and knight versus king and bishop, with a pawn down, achieving a very difficult draw that gave us a narrow victory.
With this fantastic result, Lloret A moves into second place with 4 points out of a possible 5, and although it's not mathematically certain, their survival in the league is practically guaranteed. The team will now try to improve on their best-ever finish (6th) in the Preferente division.
Meanwhile, Team B faced the formidable La Verneda Malgrat A in the decisive match of the Southern Group of the Third Provincial Division. It's worth noting that reaching this final matchday with a chance of promotion was already an incredible achievement, considering that 17 of the 20 matches in the championship have been played by our youth academy players.
The match ended 1-3, and Lev and Bastian secured a crucial draw that allowed the reserve team to finish second in their group. This unexpected success greatly highlights the potential of our young players. Next Sunday, the first team will travel to Blanes to play in the Preferente derby of the Selva Marítima league, while the reserve team will have a bye for the next two rounds while awaiting their playoff opponent.