The format of the event was

• Provide a review of the previous session so that some continuity could be developed along a single theme for the duration of the series
• Provide a Question & Answer session to relax the presenters
• The formal presentation on a topic chosen by the Master
• Break for lunch
• The afternoon session an informal time to include workshops to elaborate on the morning's subject and possibly a mini-tournament to give players an opportunity to put theory into practice.

The venue in Holwood was secured and a variety of equipment offered to leaders including a computer with projector to illustrate games and a regular static board.

Due to time contraints, only three sessions were held :

• Arlo White: Middle-game, opposite coloured Bishops
• Steve Scannell: Opening Pawn structures; positional theory
• Eddie Whiteside;  (details lost)

The quality of presentations was very good, the presenters enjoyed the event and the content was very well received. In general the sessions were well supported considering the limited promotion of the event. The majority of attendees were Bangor members.

It was expected that with better preparation, more students would attend so a series was planned for 2005

Bangor Chess Congress is traditionally the opening tournament for the new season in Ulster Chess. This year the competition will be held on Saturday 25th September in Groomsport Parish Halls from 9:15 until about 6. Through the day, six 30-minute Rapidplay matches are played using the Swiss system to determine opponents. A substantial prize-fund, well over £200, will be distributed along with trophies to winners in several sections. Visit the clubs web-site www.bangochessclub.org.uk from more information.

The tournament is open to everyone so come along and play.

James O'Fee brought along an interesting collection of books donated to the club by Derek Webb. The books formed his father's, Eddie Webb, chess library; Eddie was a founder member of the club and lent his name to the trophy played for at the Congress. The club intends using these books to launch the Eddie Webb Fund. Thanks Derek.

The club bids adieu to Richard Morrow, Winston team captain, who leaves for Bangor, Wales this weekend to begin his University studies. He has been honing his chess skills at the Civil Service tournament through the summer, ready to test the mettle of the Welsh. We will find out how well he does when he returns during the Christmas vacation. Good luck Richard!

Club nights will continue now every Thursday evening from 7:30 in Groomsport Parish Halls. Although the chess is seldom light-hearted, the club welcomes players of all ability into a congenial and friendly atmosphere.

Final standings and other details of the competition are in the results section.

1. Winner: Michael Waters
2. Runner-up: Alan Burns

You can view the photo gallery

Youngster Philip Todd stepped up to open on board 1 for Bangor. The Barracudas had lost two board 1 players; Evan Bell to a year-off and Martin Moorcroft enticed away to add some youth to an ailing team of veterans. David Grzymek moved up to senior competition after a spectacular season culminating in winning the Irish Junior title. Undaunted, Philip accepted the responsibility of top board with relish.

On arrival in Randalstown, the Barracudas were stunned to see the Derry-men led by a fresh import from Holland, S. van Kersten rated at almost 1900. Philip was seriously out-gunned conceding over 300 points but characteristically, he rose to the occasion and opened with sound play refusing to give ground. Gradually Philip gained the initiative claiming a couple of pawns here and there until the end-game approached with van Kersten under time pressure. In a spectacular display of accurate play, Philip coolly despatched his opponent to claim an excellent win.

With their new board 1, Randalstown regular players moved down the boards and Martin Rogers faced Richard Gould on board 2. Claiming lack of match practice, Martin declined the gift of a Knight allowing Richard to gain the initiative. In his usual resolute style, Martin persisted doggedly to defend his position but Richard eventually prevailed to claim the win.

Ken Browne opened for Bangor on board 3 against Joe Rogers. Both players were well matched in style and temperament and a tense positional battle ensued. Throughout the game it was difficult to tell who had the initiative with extremely careful manoeuvring from both players. But it was Ken who made the break through, distracting a Black Knight into an impossible position. With a piece-up and his opponent's position in disarray, Ken hammered home his advantage to claim a second win for Bangor.

Bangor's board 4, Kevin Agnew has been busy through the summer perfecting his Black defence and he eagerly took on Steve Eachus expecting his efforts to be well rewarded. Steve, of course, had other ideas and opened with an unusual Queen's fianchetto totally throwing Kevin. But Kevin rallied well reaching the middle-game in good shape. The balance of the game moved between both players with exchanges giving each temporary advantages. A pawn end-game resulted with Kevin promoting his Queen first. A lapse in concentration after nearly 3 hours and Kevin got caught in a check with his Queen in-line; forcing his resignation.

Gary Johnson and John Lines also had a topsy-turvy game on board 5. Gary established an early pawn lead and consolidated with an additional Knight capture. But his position was fragile and John gradually clawed his way back to lead a Bishop end-game. Gary still had chances with strong promotional opportunities with a pair of pawns and their King reaching the corner. John promoted first, however, and with a clever tempo move forced Gary to move his position vulnerable now to an inevitable mate.

A supporting board 6 between Bangor's Drew Ferguson and Ian Campbell saw a risky Budepest response to Ian's Queen's Gambit. Drew's plan worked though, and Ian rapidly lost control of the centre and to a large extent the game. But Ian maintained a dangerous threat down the long diagonal with Bishop and Queen. Drew forced an exchange to nullify the threat and launched an unexpected attack first picking off pawns and forcing Ian to retreat under check. Drew gained unassailable material advantage and the game was almost over till Ian committed his Queen in a last ditch mate attempt. The mate threat was empty but Drew overlooked the potential for a perpetual check and failed to defend against it conceding a draw.

Perhaps not the best result Bangor would have wished for but good play from everyone and some brilliance from Philip, plus Ken's resounding win can only give the team confidence. Fortunately excellent hosts, Randalstown, tempered the teams disappointment.

After last year's poor showing, Bangor Groomsport were relegated into Division 2 for this season. Club Night on 18th November saw the first junior division derby match between Barracudas and Groomsport.

With a total of 3 new recruits to bolster his ailing veteran squad Groomsport captain Richard Proctor stepped down to field his strongest team against the upstart Barracudas. Seeing Richard dropping himself for fear of weakening his own team, Barracudas captain Drew Ferguson also stepped down to give younger players the opportunity to gain experience. On paper, Drew reckoned the odds were stacked against the Barracudas and cautioned his players to go for draws and maybe steal a few points.

First up on Board 1 James O'Fee led the Barracudas against Martin Moorcroft who opened with his famous, if stodgy, English. James was up for it, and maintained balance through careful manoeuvring. The end game arrived with Martin under time-pressure, material down and James pressing for promotion. It looked like James had secured a good win till he was surprised by forceful play from Martin threatening to trade and win a Rook advantage. Fortunately James woke up just in time and recovered to seal the win.

Martin Rogers opened on board 2 for the Barracudas against late arrival Paul McLoughlin. Perhaps pressed by his 15 minutes disadvantage, Paul went on the offensive with aggressive play quickly exchanging Queens. The game settled down though to a solid positional game. In the minor-piece end-game, Martin was pushing for promotion but he needed to be careful. Martin's end-game expertise told and Paul was unable to retrieve his position as he did last week.

Barracudas boasted their brace of wins but Richard Proctor was unmoved, confident in the strength of his bottom boards.

On bottom board 5 Ken Browne was a late draft for the Barracudas when top youngster Philip Todd had to cry off. Facing William McGratten, still a bit tentative on his return to competition play, Ken defended ably and was in line for at least forcing a draw when a miscalculation cost him a Knight. William needed no more encouragement and cleanly wound up the game to give Groomsport their first win.

Barracudas' middle-board 3, young David Symmington defended against the experience of Ron Henderson. David survived the opening well and had established a good defensive structure against Ron's careful development. The Queen's side had a couple of open files which both players prepared to exploit with minor and major pieces. Ron had a pair of isolated pawns and this gave David a target to aim for immediately forcing Ron onto the defensive. Focusing all his pieces on Ron's weak pawns it looked certain David would gain substantial material but somehow he let his advantage slip away - indeed almost losing an exchange in the process. Ron recovered well and gradually fought back to balance the game, eventually deadlocked in a pawn end-game to agree a draw.

With David's draw, the Barracudas were now certain of at least sharing points for the match. The final game would decide and by now the Groomsport captain was justifiably concerned.

Youngster Richard Montgomery opened for the Barracudas against Albert McCarter on board 4. Richard was very much the under-dog having only played a couple of League matches last year, and Albert an unforgiving opponent exploiting every weakness. Still Richard played solidly keeping control of the game and not letting Albert gain an advantage. Claiming lack of match practice(??), Albert blundered away a Knight but the game was by no means lost - with only a couple of pawns missing all four Bishops had very little room to manoeuvre. A position reminiscent of Richard's match lost to Aurelio Javier in the KO Plate, but Richard had clearly benefited from this experience and demolished Albert in a fine display of accurate play to claim an excellent win.

Barracudas captain Drew Ferguson enjoyed his team's 3.5 - 1.5 victory describing it as an "Outstanding Performance" especially from the young players. Hopefully the stunned Groomsport team will be able to recover after a rest next week, and give a better account of themselves as Bangor's 3rd Team when they visit Hillsborough.

With a late assembly of players, Barracudas captain Drew Ferguson approached the Portadown match with uncertainty. Fielding mostly ungraded players, and their sole rated member featuring on board 4 or 3, Portadown were expected to be no push-over and might well conceal unexpected strengths on top boards. A heavy loss against Bombardier suggested they may not be quite match-fit. The Barracudas were not going to underestimate their opponents and sat down ready for the best Portadown could offer.

Philip Todd returned to top board for the Barracudas against John Canning. Despite his youth, Philip remembered having a hard-time against John in an Open Tournament a while back and expected the worst. And the worst wasn't long in coming. John defended strongly, aggressively pushing his Queen uncontested to the third rank, right into the face of Philip's King. But Philip responded calmly repelling John's attack although losing a pawn in the process. Both sets of forces retreated to start again, a deal more quietly. John maintained his pawn advantage but Philip refused to give ground and as John came under time pressure, a result looked unlikely and Philip gladly accepted the draw.

Martin Rogers on board 2 seems inspired at the moment and even claims to be revisiting his old chess manuals "to combat these young up-starts who know too much theory" he says. Although Portadown's Nigel Telford may not be a "young upstart" he certainly suffered under Martin's onslaught tonight meeting a rather inglorious end which Martin insisted on replaying for the company; admittedly an elegant combination dispatching the White King unceremoniously.

Ken Browne faced Portadown's Colin Fenton on board 3; both tenacious players. Ken immediately felt the pressure which Colin was able to sustain throughout the game. Ken was forced to defend robustly and just about managed to maintain parity. Time pressure was again the telling factor and Ken gratefully accepted Colin's offer of a draw.

The Barracudas travelling "Black Man", Kevin Agnew took board 4 against John Lambe. For once, everything went Kevin's way with John leading into Kevin's prepared lines. The critical moment came with Kevin's Queen harassing John's Queen-side, a couple of minor pieces in support and John's central pawns looking vulnerable. The situation looked very dangerous for White but Kevin hesitated .. and hesitated some more .. before committing the fateful move. Kevin's Queen captured a lone central pawn simultaneously securing the centre for Black and launching a full, frontal attack on White's King. John capitulated soon after.

Bottom board, Barracudas captain, Drew Ferguson opened against Paul Moorehead with an awkward Queen's fianchetto. Although Paul established a strong, well supported central unit some uncertainty allowed Drew to secure an advanced outpost with sustained diagonal threats from both Bishops. Drew's extra mobility allowed him to pose several mating threats while Paul was cramped behind his wall of pawns. Eventually Drew broke through forcing exchanges to promote a c-pawn. With only a Knight and a few pawns left, Paul's position looked hopeless till Drew walked disastrously into a Knight fork, losing his Queen and almost all superiority. Fortunately for Drew, Paul's flag had fallen and he avoided another dreadful result.

The final result of a 4-1 win for the Barracudas lightened their journey home; more relief at narrow escapes than a convincing win. Except for Kevin, of course, who notched up his first full victory since returning to the game after a 12-year lay-off. There will be no stopping him now.

Board 1, James O'Fee defended against Paul McNaughton. James established a strong position but Paul fought back to regain balance. A tough battle ensued with both players threatening to claim the initiative; nip and tuck all the way until the end-game promised a stale position. Exhausted, both players grateful agreed a draw.

Philip Todd was on sparkling form against Calum Leitch on board 2. Philip took the game to Calum who had to keep his wits about not to lose initiative. As the end-game approached, Calum relaxed and Philip pounced to add a Knight capture to his pawn advantage; the game looked won. But Calum came back fighting and with a series of checks drained away Philips time until the pressure caught Philip in an ugly pawn fork costing him his Queen; Calum stealing the game at the last moment.

Martin Rogers was in great form too, defending against Stewart McConaghy on board 3. Stewart came under immediate pressure as Martin marshaled his forces to exert control. When it came, the end was swift, Martin claiming a strong win.

Board 4, David Symmington faced the indomitable Bill McKitterick, not best known for giving youngsters their head. David tried all the tricks he could to gain advantage but Bill negated all threats. Eventually both agreed at draw.

Final board featured last minute replacements Ken Browne defending against Bombardier's Ken Haddock. Ken Browne built up his defences calmly almost waiting for the dreadful moment when Ken Haddock gave up a piece. The material disadvantage was too great and Ken Browne exploited Ken Haddock's weak position leaving his ears singing.

Overall a 3-2 win for the Barracudas; a great result for the Bangor team even better considering the performance on top boards that nearly demolished the Bombardier team. The Barracudas recent performances, both home and away, suggest they may have underestimated their potential; next week against RVH Hawks will be a telling test of their real strength.

Although RVH Hawks came down from Division 1 last year, their line-up is exceptionally strong - on paper. While claiming to have spread their talent to their colleagues, RVH Eagles, recent results indicate they do play up to their promise. Bangor Barracudas expected a drubbing though they did their best to field a strong away team.

James O'Fee opened on board 1 for Bangor and straight-away established a strong position against Gareth Annesley. James felt confident and as pieces were exchanged was able to maintain a slight edge - a draw looked certain, and maybe steal a win. Till an incautious move cost James a pawn; but with better position the game was recoverable. As the clock would down, Gareth's end-game expertise under time pressure began to tell and just as James looked like gaining promotion first, fine manoeuvring from Gareth's Rook dealt a fatal blow to claim the win.

Philip Todd on board 2 fared little better against Ciaran Marron. For a time holding the initiative, Philip's defences maintained the balance. After the temporary loss of a pawn both players agreed a draw when it was clear neither could make head-way.

On board 4, Kevin Agnew rubbed his hands in glee as Sean Linton led into Kevin's prepared lines. Kevin wasn't able to dominate though as he had in the past as Sean responded strongly. With an open a-file attracting all the action both players minor-pieces queued up to intimidate their opponent but there was nothing but empty threats; Kevin and Sean agreed a draw. Subsequent analysis suggested a possible edge to Kevin but by no means certain and the prospect of an awkward pawn end-game. Good call Kevin.

Bottom board Ken Browne opened against Paul Logan. Ken's careful play paid off with a two pawn advantage but Paul refused to give ground. Till the end-game arrived with only opposite coloured Bishops and Ken's material advantage; Paul surveyed a doomed position and resigned reckoning Ken would gain easy promotion. Later review demonstrated the difficulty of a win; a draw the more likely outcome. A bit of a steal for Ken but then Paul has been known to claim the odd steal himself.

Ken's steal looked like it saved some honour for the Bangor team. After Drew Ferguson agreed a friendly draw with Philip Morrison on board six, the team relaxed to watch the final game on board 3 between Bangor's Martin Rogers and the Hawk's Neil Fisher.

Martin had established a robust position securing mobility for himself with Neil uncomfortably bottled-up in a corner. Despite Martin's best efforts, Neil successfully wormed his way out of many a dilemma, "always finding the best move" as Martin described it. The finale should have come when Martin lined his three power pieces on the f-file ready to trap Neil's Black King in a smothered mate. With Neil's persistence through the game and time-pressure telling, Martin made a bizarre minor-piece play not only letting Neil escape but revealing a single-move mate on Martin's vulnerable King. Fortunately Martin recovered with a series of checks mopping up Neil's minor-pieces and finally an X-ray exchange of Queens when Neil finally conceded defeat.

A hard-won, draining battle for Martin and a fraught experience for the spectators who saw the possibility of game and match win bizarrely squandered almost to a loss. With Martin's eventual win, Bangor Barracudas enjoyed a 3-2 victory and with bonus points jump well clear at the top of the League. If the team can secure a win next week, they can relax for the Christmas break leading Division 2 against very tough opposition.

Place Name                   Rtg  Club          Score

  1   STEPHEN P. SCANNELL    2169 BANGOR        5    
  2   JOHN MASTERSON         1781 R.V.H.        4    
  3   DANNY MALLAGHAN        1808 CLIFTON HOUSE 3.5  
 4-7  MICHAEL WATERS         2017 FISHERWICK    3    
      DAMIEN LAVERY          1702 BANGOR        3    
      GARETH ANNESLEY        1935 R.V.H.        3    
      DAVID GRZYMEK          1772 BANGOR        3    
  8   NICHOLAS J. PILKIEWICZ 1831 -Co. DONEGAL- 2.5  
  9   IAN WOODFIELD          1695 FISHERWICK    2    
 10   JOHN J. LYNCH          1503 CITY OF DERRY 1    

In the Challengers section, for players rated under 1600 there was a tie for first place between Ciaran Marron and Dublin visitor John Kelly, both of them remaining unbeaten. The Grading Prize went to Methodist College schoolboy, Frank Wu, who was competing in his first UCU event.

Place Name                   Rtg  Club              Score

 1-2  JOHN C. KELLY          1598 PHIBSBORO         5    
      CIARAN MARRON          1595 R.V.H.            5    
 3-5  CHRIS MILLAR           1498 FISHERWICK        4    
      LEON HULLEMAN          1494 CITY OF DERRY     4    
      FRANK WU               894  Methodist College 4    
6-10  ANANDAGOPAL SRINIVASAN 1389 FISHERWICK        3.5  
      RICHARD PROCTOR        1554 BANGOR            3.5  
      TONY BECKETT           1551 BANGOR            3.5  
      SHANE KEERS            1566 Sullivan Upper    3.5  
      STEWART Mc CONAGHY     1555 SHORTS            3.5  
11-13 RICHARD MORROW         1469 BANGOR            3    
      STEPHEN W. ROE         1565 LUCAN             3    
      OWEN WILSON            1052 BANGOR            3    
14-16 PATRICK Mc KILLEN      1295 FISHERWICK        2.5  
      ALEXANDER BECKETT      1359 FISHERWICK        2.5  
      JOHN MONAGHAN          1002 R.V.H.            2.5  
17-18 GEOFF HINDLEY          1102 CIVIL SERVICE     1.5  
      WILLIAM STOREY         1280 UNATTACHED        1.5  
19-20 PETE STOREY            724  FISHERWICK        1    
      PEARSE O'BRIEN         1066 R.V.H.            1

Final Standings:

Prizes:

Joint Winners: Simon Wright & Luke McMullan

Grading Prize: Robert McDonald

Form One Winner: Davey Frey