On Thursday, October 5th, the Naomh Barróg A team traveled to Portmarnock for round 2 of the BEA Cup North. Unfortunately, the result was not what we hoped for and the match ended in defeat.
On board 1, Kilian’s opponent blundered a piece in the middlegame. After that, he had complete control and didn’t allow his opponent any counter-play or chance to recover.
On board 2, Robert played the Sicilian Dragon and took an early advantage due to weaknesses in his opponent’s pawn structure. After pushing the opposing pieces onto unfavourable squares, he used a skewer to win a Rook. A nice tactic with his Queen and Rook combo secured a checkmate shortly afterword.
On board 3, Des opened with a Queens pawn game. He played on the queenside initially won a pawn, but after this made little headway and traded Queens. His opponent fought back and Des was forced to sacrifice the queenside pawns to avoid a perpetual check. These pawns proved too strong and Des was forced to resign.
On board 4, Gary played the Mason Variant of the queen’s pawn game and the opening was even. Gary gained a pawn and built up a strong attack. He won another pawn and had a winning position, but moved a pawn which turned out to be a blunder. This allowed a check and brought his opponent’s Queen back into the game when it had previously been tied up. Gary fought on but lost in the end.
On board 5, Olivier made a blunder which cost him the game.
The next game is against Elm Mount B and takes place on October 12th.