City of Belfast Championships

Numbers competing were up on last year, with a sizeable contingent of young players, which augurs well for the future. Competition was particularly close in both sections.

In Round 2 of the Nemtzov Cup defending champion Tom Clarke (Clifton House) was beaten by Sam Moore (Civil Service), but he recovered to win all his other games to finish a half -point ahead of Gareth Annesley (RVH), who after a slow start, finished with three straight wins. Top seed Stephen Scannell (Bangor) was handicapped by work commitments over the weekend. For the second tournament in a row, Eamonn Walls (Fortwilliam) took the Grading Prize.

Nemtzov Cup Final Standings

Place Name                Rtg  Club          Score Prize

  1   TOM CLARKE          2178 CLIFTON HOUSE 5     Winner
  2   GARETH ANNESLEY     1911 R.V.H.        4.5   Second
 3-4  JOHN CAIRNS         1915 FISHERWICK    4    
      DANNY MALLAGHAN     1747 CLIFTON HOUSE 4    
 5-7  STEPHEN P. SCANNELL 2198 BANGOR        3.5  
      EAMONN WALLS        1677 NORTH BELFAST 3.5   Grading
      DAVID GRZYMEK       1503 BANGOR        3.5  
8-10  MICHAEL WATERS      2090 FISHERWICK    3    
      FRED Mac DONALD     1812 NORTH BELFAST 3    
      IAN DAVIS           1798 FISHERWICK    3    
11-14 SAMUEL MOORE        1725 CIVIL SERVICE 2.5  
      CHRISTOPHER KELLY   1598 CIVIL SERVICE 2.5  
      JOHN LYNCH          1548 CITY OF DERRY 2.5  
      RON HENDERSON       1591 BANGOR        2.5  
15-16 PHILIP TODD         1473 BANGOR        2    
      DAVID O' DONNELL    1697 Q.U.B.        2    
 17   DAMIEN LAVERY       1630 BANGOR        1.5  

[Click here to play through a selection of games from the Nemtzov Cup]

In the Henderson Cup John Orchin (Hillsborough) finished on 5 points out of 6, with Alex Beckett (Fisherwick) and Tom O'Sullivan (Malahide) second equal on 4.5. Perhaps the crucial moment in this section was the Round 3 encounter between Beckett and Orchin. With both players very short of time Orchin offered Beckett a draw, which the Fisherwick player declined only to lose on time with his opponent having precisely one second left on the clock. The Grading Prize went to Paul Russell (Armagh). An indication of how well Paul played can be gauged by the fact that his expected score based on the rating of his opponents was 0.84, while he actually scored 3.5.

Henderson Cup Final Standings

Place Name                   Rtg  Club                 Score Prize

  1   JOHN C. ORCHIN         1366 HILLSBOROUGH         5     Winner
 2-3  TOM O' SULLIVAN        1517 MALAHIDE             4.5   Second Equal
      ALEXANDER BECKETT      1382 FISHERWICK           4.5   Second Equal
 4-5  JACK Mc CANN           1533 -Co. DUBLIN-         4    
      RICHARD PROCTOR        1567 BANGOR               4    
6-11  PAUL RUSSELL           1130 ARMAGH               3.5   Grading
      MOHAMMAD OMAR               Q.U.B.               3.5  
      MARTIN KELLY           1457 MALONE               3.5  
      MICHAEL KANE           1433 R.V.H.               3.5  
      RICHARD MONTGOMERY          BANGOR               3.5  
      MOHAMED SAAD           1514 Q.U.B.               3.5  
12-14 GARETH MURPHY          1020 St. BENILDUS/DUNDRUM 3    
      SHANE KEERS            1359 Sullivan Upper       3    
      CONOR Mc EWAN          980  NORTH BELFAST        3    
15-19 ALAN BURNS             1397 C.I.Y.M.S.           2.5  
      ANANDAGOPAL SRINIVASAN 1157 FISHERWICK           2.5  
      STEWART Mc CONAGHY     1528 SHORTS               2.5  
      CHRIS MILLAR                FISHERWICK           2.5  
      DAVID CORRIE                C.I.Y.M.S.           2.5  
20-21 LEON HULLEMAN               CITY OF DERRY        1    
      CONCHOBHAR KERR             CITY OF DERRY        1    
  22  EIMEAR KERR                 CITY OF DERRY        0