There was a clash of titans in the Naomh Barróg clubhouse on Tuesday the 27th of February as 1st and 2nd placed teams in the BEA Cup North faced off. In the end, DCU proved an unstoppable force that continued its unbeaten streak and extended their lead at the top of the table.
On board 1, Eric faced the Vienna opening. He tried to get some activity and space on the queenside but in doing that, his opponent rolled out a very precise attack on the other side of the board, that saw Eric lose a rook eventually. The opponent shut down well any counter-play Eric had and finally he no choice but to resign.
On board 2, Paddy lost his game.
On board 3, Robert played the Slav Defence against his opponent’s Catalan. After a serious of trades and tactics, they entered a Queen and Rook endgame where Robert was down a pawn. The only way to stop the pawn from being pushed to promotion was to sacrifice another pawn in order to force a repetition. The game was long with both players running low on time, but a draw was eventually secured.
On board 4, Oliver was better but blundered a piece. He tried to win on time but that plan didn’t work and he lost.
On board 5, Des’s game started with d4 and it transposed into a Caro-Kann. His opponent got an attack going in the centre and Des made a few defensive errors. It was very close until Des blundered a Rook and his opponent broke through in the centre.
The B team lost their game against Phibsboro.
