Ballynafeigh 1 pull clear after QUB slip up

Division 1

• QUB 1 2-3 Ballynafeigh 2
• The A Team 1-4 Ballynafeigh 1

QUB 1's Silver King aspirations took a blow as they were beaten narrowly by Ballynafeigh 2. The night got off to a good start for the university side as Callum Ormerod weathered an attack from Robert Lavery, emerging with a won endgame. After Mikhail Pavlov beat John Masterson in a back-and-forth game, the Ulster Champion Stephen Rush restored the home side's lead at the expense of John O'Doherty. The situation looked good for QUB 1 in the two remaining games, with Ian Woodfield having a material advantage and the attack against Eoin Carey and Fawaz Alkhateeb having a seemingly nailed-on draw against Chris Kelly. This didn't last, though, as Carey fought his way back into the game and capitalised on an endgame blunder to take the win, before another mistake from Alkhateeb allowed Kelly to secure the bonus points for the visitors. The next night at the Bankers' Club, Ballynafeigh 1 took full advantage as they comfortably beat The A Team 4-1 to go 7.5 points clear, with David Houston, Steve Scannell and Calum Leitch securing wins and Iza Bujak (1200) achieving a good draw against Bruce Maclean (1630).

Division 2

• Fruithill 4-1 Kelly's Heroes
• QUB 2 2.5-2.5 Muldoons 2
• Bangor Webbs 2.5-2.5 Ballynafeigh 3
• Civil Service 2-3 Ballynafeigh 4

Ballynafeigh 3 remain 4.5 points ahead after the top two teams both drew with their respective opponents. The leaders drew with the Bangor Webbs, who fielded their strongest line-up of the season so far, while QUB 2 drew against a Muldoons 2 side which contained the stronger players but was also a player short. Meanwhile, Martin Kelly is on loan at Ballynafeigh 4 and was their stand-out performer as they beat Civil Service 3-2, drawing with the 1664-rated Paul McGuigan. This result, incidentally, keeps the Stormont side in seventh place, half a point behind Kelly's Heroes who were defeated 4-1 at Fruithill, where, in the upset of the week, John Monaghan (1139) downed Chris Armstrong (1453).

Division 3

• Ballynafeigh 7 1-4 Ballynafeigh 5
• Ballynafeigh 6 2-3 QUB 3

Leaders QUB 3 were run close by Ballynafeigh 6 - this was the first time this season the university side failed to win by at least 4-1 - allowing Ballynafeigh 5 to take a nibble at their massive lead by beating Ballynafeigh 7 4-1.