Naomh Barróg score crucial win over Elm Mount

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Naomh Barróg won what could be the most important match of the season, by beating Elm Mount A in round 8 of the BEA Cup North on Monday the 4th of March. This win puts the A team back into 2nd place.

On board 1, Eric faced the King’s Indian Defence, and the opening was very similar to the game he played against Chess Kings. At one point there was an opening in his opponent’s defence, which allowed Eric to sacrifice a Bishop for four pawns. However, while he was trying to find a way to continue his attack on the King, he gave back a Rook. The endgame would have been losing, except his opponent did not manage to stop the three passed pawns despite the rook advantage, and the game ended in a draw.

On board 2, Paddy won his game.

On board 3, Robert opened with the Ponziani but his opponent counter-attacked and had him tied up with threats in every direction. The middlegame was a grueling and complex battle with the potential for many tactics and hidden attacks, but after several trades, the game entered an even endgame. Both players played for a win and a pawn race lead to both sides Queening a pawn. The position was even, but Robert had only a minute on the clock and due to tiredness after 3.5 hours of intense play, made a careless blunder and lost the game.

On board 4, Oliver sacrificed a pawn for counterplay and then his opponent blundered a piece, losing the game.

On board 5, Gary had a very tight and tense game. He went with the London opening and his opponent responded with the early c5/Queen b6 but Gary got his Knight to b3 blocking the attack on b2. They traded pieces in the middlegame leading to a Knight-Rook v Bishop-Rook endgame with 5 pawns each. Gary was able to advance his b-pawn and this lead to a draw by repetition.