On the 13th of April, Naomh Barróg B hosted Aer Lingus for their round 10 match of the BEA Cup North, although the board 1 and 5 games were delayed until the following week. It was a tough match against one of the strongest teams in the division.
On board 1, Harry felt comfortable in the opening until move 11 when he castled Queenside, which in hindsight was where it all went downhill.
On board 2, Martin faced a Caro-Kahn and a really complex position, with castling not occurring until move 29. His opponent eventually broke through, winning pieces and forcing his surrender.
On board 3, Robert played the Morphy Defence against the Ruy Lopez and had a tough game that was even for 30 moves. However, the game gradually slipped away from him, until he made what seemed like a great attacking move, that actually was a terrible blunder that cost him the game.
On board 4, Gary played the London and succeeded in pinning his opponents Knight on f6 to their Queen. Through his opponent’s blunder, he succeeded in advancing a pawn to e5, winning a piece. Through some forced trades, he went into an endgame with a Knight advantage. When he won an additional pawn, the writing was on the wall and his opponent resigned.
Board 5, John had a hard game in the bg5 London. He went down a pawn but managed to hold on for a draw.
The final result was 3.5 points to Aer Lingus and 1.5 points to Naomh Barróg B after difficult challenge from some of the highest rated players in the division. The B team will play Drumlish in the final game of the season.
On Thursday 20th of April, Balbriggan came to play Naomh Barróg A in round 10 of the BEA Cup North.
On board 1, Paddy had a good opening with a Knight against a Bishop, with pawns on the same coloured squares. However, he got complacent and felt his Kingside attack was strong, but then castled into a Queenside pawn storm and lost the game.
On board 2, Sean played the f4 Birds Opening and while developing his pieces, the opponent launched a furious attack on his Kingside. Sean managed to survive it and was two pawns up and entered a Queen and Bishop versus Queen and Knight endgame. He trapped the Knight and thought the game was won, but the opponent’s Queen was able to break free and give a series of checks, winning three pawns. It was a great game and they settled on a draw.
On board 3, Des opened with the London System and following an exchange of pieces, his opponent was left with an isolated pawn in the centre. When he advanced it, Des had a protected passed pawn in the centre. In the ensuing Bishop endgame, Des succeeded in advancing it to the Queening square and winning the game.
On board 4, Seamus played the Czech Defence and succeeded in trapping his opponents Knight on move 10. He won the game in 25 moves.
On board 5, Suzanne had a good start to her game, quickly gaining a strong position thanks to her centre pawns. Her opponent blundered a Knight on move 14, leading to a relatively straight forward win from then on.
The final result was 3.5 points to Naomh Barróg A and 1.5 points for Balbriggan. The A team will face Phibsboro B in the final round 11 match on May 7th.