Muldoon and gloom for Ballynafeigh

Division 1

Fruithill 2.5-2.5 Belfast South 1

Fruithill held Belfast South 1 to a surprise draw on Monday night. Alan Delaney, returning to Fruithill after a season at Lindores, played a quick draw with Ray Devenney. The first of two upsets came when Frank Carrothers (1409) capitalised on a blunder by Bruce MacLean (1689), winning a piece and the game with it. Sam Flanagan then levelled the match with a win over Ciaran Marron. David Ruben (1519) then fell to Gerry Collins (1276), guaranteeing the home side at least a share of the bonus points. That would be all they got, though, as John Bryars defeated John Monaghan to save the visitors from an embarrassing defeat.

Muldoons 1 3.5-1.5 Ballynafeigh 2

Muldoons 1 took the outright lead in Division 1 with this win over Ballynafeigh 2. Thomas Donaldson (1621) showed again that he is probably the most under-rated player in Ulster chess with a fine win over Nicholas Pilkiewicz (1831) - other than that, it was comfortable for the home side with Gareth Annesley, Des Moreland and Danny Mallaghan picking up wins.

Bangor 0.5-4.5 Ballynafeigh 1

Bangor prop up the Division 1 table after a heavy defeat at the hands of Ballynafeigh 1. David Houston and Soren Jensen rattled off quick victories against Paul McGuigan and Paul McLoughlin respectively, and Robert Lavery sealed the bonus points with a win over Michael Sheeran when Sheeran missed a chance to draw the game after a blunder by Lavery. Damien Lavery then beat Walter Wilson to put the visitors 4-0 up. However, there would be no whitewash as the returning Mike McKimm (1363) was a piece up against Brendan Jamison (1724) and appeared to be heading for a memorable win until time pressure took its toll and McKimm had to concede a draw.

Standings

Fruithill's one-point penalty was rescinded.

Division 2

Ballynafeigh 3 2-3 Muldoons 2

For the second night in a row, a Muldoons team defeated a Ballynafeigh team. Stephen Downes and Paddy Maguire got the visitors off the mark with quick wins over Gerard Bannon and Norman Rainey respectively. Stephen Rush kept Ballynafeigh 3 in it with a dominant win over John Wood before Pat McKillen broke down the resistance of Tyrone Winter to secure the match. Finally, Eoin Carey triumphed over Bernard McCaughey in a sharp, tactical game.

Ballynafeigh 4 1-4 NI Civil Service

NICS bounced back from last week's defeat to Lindores 2 with this win over Ballynafeigh 4. David Jackson, Drew Ferguson and Adrian Dornford-Smith racked up quick wins to secure the bonus points for NICS, but Owen McEvoy (1066) put up stiff resistance against Mark Newman (1750), looking, at times, as if he had the advantage before eventually succumbing, while Charlie Logan produced a fine attacking performance to defeat Peter Storey.

Ballynafeigh 5 1-4 QUB

QUB recorded their first win since returning to the league - and did so in style, as the match was wrapped up in barely an hour. Only newcomer Suraj Tirupati (3/6 in the lower section at the Ulster Masters) prevented the students from recording a whitewash as he defeated fellow league debutant Ben Campbell.

Belfast South 2 2.5-2.5 Lindores 2

"Kelly's Heroes" were held to a draw on Wednesday night by Lindores 2. Jim McLean got his Lindores career off to a good start with a win over Bernard Jaffa, while Paul McNaughton drew with John McKenna. Wins for Neil Green and William Storey put the home side in front, before Ian Kilpatrick defeated Chris Armstrong to draw the match.

Standings