On Saturday the 24th of May, Naomh Barróg A played a crucial match against Drogheda on the banks of the Boyne, to decide the winner of the BEA Cup North. This was because Drogheda benefited from 3 walkovers in their game against DCU, which proved vital in finishing 0.5 points ahead of Naomh Barróg in the final standings. Under the rules, the A team could call for a decider to be played between both teams to decide the final result. The A team would play 3 games as White and 2 games as Black, but if the final score was tied, Drogheda would win.
On board 1, Eric got the opportunity for a re-match against Drogheda’s first board player. During their previous game, both played a closed opening which led to a draw. This game was very similar, with the difference that Eric got a better early control of the board centre, slowing down the development of black pieces. Eric then had the time to build an attack against Black’s Rook, bringing in his pieces, then the h and g pawns, and eventually the Rooks. In the end, his opponent’s pieces did not have enough space to defend the Rook and after the first exchanges the King was left exposed, leading to a quick victory for White.
On board 2, Robert played a standard Italian game but blundered in the opening, losing his Knight for two pawns. However, his opponent got over-ambitious and played a tactic that seemed to win a pawn, but allowed Robert to tear open a huge hole in his King’s defences. His opponent tried to escape by castling, but didn’t have any pawns to help defend, meaning he had to sacrifice a piece to avoid mate. This only delayed the attack which eventually won another piece and forced a Queen trade and the opponent’s resignation.
On board 3, Ola played white in the modern defense. A premature e5 pawn push was greatly inaccurate and resulted in a positionally lost game for white, forcing him to resign.
On board 4, Paddy opened with a closed Sicilian, where both sides fianchettoed kingside, but delayed castling. The game was even for 15 moves, until he launched a disastrous Queen adventure on the queenside, which gave his opponent a target and a large gain of space. Paddy failed to react in the centre and lost two pawns due to Queenside pressure, which he could not stop, losing material in the effort and resignation.
On board 5, Oliver played a standard Queen’s Gambit game, where his opponent defended really well and Oliver couldn’t find a winning plan. In the end, his opponent cornered Oliver’s King and forced a repetition.
The final result was a draw with both sides scoring 2.5 points, meaning Drogheda finish in 1st place. Naomh Barróg A will now play Bray/Greystones in a playoff for the final promotion spot to the O’Hanlon Cup.