Strong start for Naomh Barróg A in the BEA first round

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On board 1, Gary opened with the London system and both dark square bishops were quickly exchanged. Eric took control of middle of the board and Gary felt he had to sacrifice a bishop for two pawns to break his pawn structure. However, this allowed a tactic which cost him a piece and Eric won the game.

On board 2, Paddy played the Jobava London and quickly launched a pawn storm on the Kingside against Tom. Paddy won a piece in a tactic, but the real danger came when Tom castled Kingside, right into the line of fire. With his Rooks and Queen, Paddy launched a Kingside assault that couldn’t be stopped.

On board 3, Harry played the English against Robert and the position initially was closed. Robert pushed his f-pawn to open the position and Harry responded by also pushing his f-pawn, leading to a dynamic position. Robert was able to seize control of the centre with his pawns and limit Harry’s pace to maneuver. Robert cracked opened the defences around Harry’s King and facing either the loss of his Queen or checkmate, Harry resigned.

On board 4, Ola played the Old Indian Defense against Seamus. Ola won the two central pawns early on and Seamus later gave up the exchange to relieve some pressure. But Ola continued to pressure his position and eventually Seamus resigned when in a lost endgame.

On board 5, Ger played the Exchange French against Suzanne. It was a tight match and despite being up an exchange, Ger found it difficult to convert due to the defence Suzanne put up. Eventually he was able to trade off the major pieces and force the Queens off the board with a skewer which led to his win in the end.