Ballynafeigh 1 crush Civil Service to leap into title contention

Division 1

• Ballynafeigh 2 2.5-2.5 Kelly's Heroes
• QUB 1 2-3 Strand 1
• Civil Service 0-5 Ballynafeigh 1

After beating QUB 1 3-2 and the Fruithill Hawks 3.5-1.5 in rescheduled matches, Ballynafeigh 1 put their rivals well and truly on notice with a 5-0 demolition of Civil Service. The Ormeau Road side, consisting of David Houston, Steve Scannell, Damien Lavery, Damien Cunningham and Ian Woodfield, were far too strong for the Stormont outfit. Strand 1 are still in the lead, but only just; their narrow win over QUB 1 keeps them half a point ahead of Ballynafeigh 1. Daniil Zelenchuk, Calum Leitch and Modestas Razbadauskas all won for the visitors, but Ross Harris (1698) and David Hill (1728) both fell victim to shock defeats at the hands of Cathan Gormley (1459) and Daniel Diaz-Roncero Gonzalez (1470) respectively. Last but not least, Ballynafeigh 2 drew with Kelly's Heroes; the home team's Chris Kelly beat John McKenna, the away team's Norman McFarland beat Vincent O'Brien, and the points were shared equally on the top three boards.

Division 2

• Fruithill Falcons 2-3 Northern Lights
• The B Team 3-2 Bangor 1
• Strand 2 3-2 QUB 2

Northern Lights are the new leaders of Division 2 despite being run unexpectedly close by the last-placed Fruithill Falcons. Nicholas Pilkiewicz and Stephen Wood did the job on the top two boards for the visitors, but Kevin Agnew and Paul Logan both achieved draws against significantly higher-rated opposition and Gerry McCartney saw off Pat McKillen. QUB 2 could only field a four-man team against Strand 2, and fell to their first defeat of the season. Strand 2's Stephen Cullen beat QUB 2's Eoin O'Neill in the battle of the newcomers, while Jake Patterson beat Peter McFarland. Clark Rodriguez and Jamie Corscadden won for the visitors, but with board 5 uncontested the bonus points went to the Holywood Road side. A fine performance from The B Team saw them beat Bangor 1. Stephen Critchlow (1336) secured the upset of the week by beating Alan McConnell (1632), while Chris Armstrong beat Sam Moore. Steven Eachus won for the visitors against Bobby Thompson, while the remaining two games were drawn.

Division 3

• Ballynafeigh 4 3.5-1.5 Strand 4
• QUB 3 4.5-0.5 Bangor 2
• Strand 3 5-0 Ballynafeigh 3

QUB 3 extended their lead in Division 3 with a fine win over a Bangor 2 side that out-rated them by over 100 points per board. Ben Campbell, Mohammed Muddassir, Mark Crawford and William Watson all won for the home side. Tony Redden was the sole point-scorer for the visitors, but despite being a nearly 400-point favourite over Rian Mellotte, he could only come away with a draw. Ballynafeigh 4 saw off Strand 4 thanks to wins from Derek Truesdale, Billy Jackson and Andy Boal, while Strand 3 whitewashed Ballynafeigh 3.

Standings