Our three teams have been performing magnificently in the Leinster Chess Leagues. We have won 18 of our 22 matches to date—a return of nearly 82% which is simply fantastic. We have put far behind us the misery of last season when each of our teams was relegated. As we near the crunch final stages of this season, we have a real chance of promotion for each team.
Our Heidenfeld team now seems almost assured of promotion, although there will be no let up in effort until that goal is achieved. We now have 47.5 points from nine matches with two remaining to play. While all of our nearest challengers have a match in hand, the gap between us and them is widening. Bray/Greystones A, our nearest challengers, are 11.5 points behind us, while the next nearest teams—Elm Mount and Dublin—are a further 3.5 points back. Although we won’t take anything for granted, it will be very hard to bridge that gap with so few matches remaining.
There have been a few standout performances in the Heidenfeld team. Kirill takes pride of place with 8.5 points from nine games and has already secured a board prize. John has been terrific on board one with 7.5 points, and Sergey has achieved the same score. Elias has a 100% return from his four games. Kirill, John, and Sergey now occupy the top three places in the points score of the 174 players in the Heidenfeld tournament—a magnificent achievement that makes us very proud.
Our Ennis team has come right into the hunt for promotion with two great wins in their last two matches, scoring 9.5 points from 12 games. The promotion situation in Ennis is very tight and exciting. The Masters Chess Club is almost assured of promotion, and after that, there are six teams in contention for the second promotion spot. Drumlish has 32 points from nine matches with Dundalk on 29.5 from the same number of matches. Following them are four teams, each with a match in hand: we have 27.5 points, UCD 27 points, with Lucan and St. Benildus A on 26.5 and 26 points respectively. Any one of these six teams could secure the coveted second promotion spot, and with some yet to play each other, the final three rounds promise to be very tight and nerve-racking.
There have also been some excellent individual performances on our Ennis team. Ciaran leads the way with five points from his six games. Zaanaa has four points from five games, while Liam has notched up three points from four. Mention must also be made of Alberto, who has 3.5 points from five games on the top boards and enjoyed a great win as Black on Board 1 in our last match.
Our Bodley team has also been performing magnificently, having won all of their matches. They currently sit in second place, 4.5 points behind Gorey with a match in hand—a gap that would have been much closer except for an unfortunate five-point walkover awarded to Gorey in their fourth-round match. This event completely changed the dynamics of the competition and certainly did not help our team. Nevertheless, the Bodley team has fought back and put themselves in with a real chance of promotion. A big win in their match in hand against Churchtown will put them very close to or even ahead of Gorey’s current points total. We will then travel to Gorey for our final match in what should be a real nail-biter for both sides. Standout performances in the Bodley team include Oisin and Brian, who have full points from their four games; Chris, with four points from five games; and Joe, who has scored 3.5 points from his four games on Board 1. David, a late addition to the team, has been a real find with a 100% return from his two games to date. We are very proud that Oisin, Brian, and Chris now occupy the top places in the points score of the 86 Bodley players.
We wish all of our teams the very best of luck over the next crucial few weeks, and we hope to be celebrating some great achievements at the end of April.
Club Championship
The club championship attracted a good entry and was a well-contested six-round affair played over three nights. The new format, which allowed each player 30 minutes plus a 15-second per move increment, worked very well and produced some exciting and interesting chess. The destiny of the trophy remained in the balance right to the end. After four rounds, Zaanaa emerged as the somewhat surprising leader with a great win over the current champion, John Joyce. However, he lost to Rustem in the fifth round in a very well-played game. John showed great composure after his fourth-round loss by winning his next two rounds against tough opponents. In the final result, John and Rustem tied with five points from six games. John won the Sergeant Carroll trophy and became club champion for the second consecutive year—a great achievement against very strong opposition. Rustem finished second for the second year in a row, playing excellent chess throughout, and his turn will surely come. The tournament was, as usual, very well controlled by Tony.
New Members
We are delighted that so many new members have joined the club this year. They have made a great contribution not only to our teams but to the club in general. There is now a wonderful atmosphere on Wednesday nights, which is a joy to see. We are particularly happy that a number of potential lady members have recently joined, a development that could mark the start of a significant influx of lady members—one of the club’s key objectives this year. New members are always welcome and will receive a very warm reception along with the opportunity to play chess in a friendly and relaxing atmosphere. We meet every Wednesday night from 7.30 pm in the Eblana Club, Eblana Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, located at the top of Marine Road just behind St. Michael’s Catholic Church.
Tom O’Gorman
Tom O’Gorman is set to play in the 143rd varsity match for Oxford against Cambridge next Saturday. This storied series, inaugurated in 1873, finds Oxford currently one match behind Cambridge in overall wins—a pretty amazing statistic over such a long period. If Tom wins his game, he will have won all five of his games on Board 1 for Oxford and will achieve the record percentage score over the most games in these matches. In other words, he will become the most successful player ever in the history of the Oxford-Cambridge chess matches. This would be a magnificent achievement, and we wish him the very best.
