Strand 1 close the gap after big win

Division 1

• Muldoons 1 3-2 Strand 2
• Civil Service 2.5-2.5 Ballynafeigh 1
• Strand 1 4.5-0.5 Ballynafeigh 2

Muldoons 1 maintained their lead by beating Strand 2, but by a narrower margin than expected as Daniil Zelenchuk (1568) continued his fantastic form with a win over Gareth Annesley (1857). Stephen Wood and Danny Mallaghan won for the home side, while the top two boards were drawn. This allowed Strand 1 to make inroads on the Corporation Square outfit's lead as they easily saw off Ballynafeigh 2, with Nikhil Joshi, Calum Leitch and David Hill winning games, Mikhail Pavlov drawing with Robert Lavery and Modestas Razbadauskas benefiting from a no-show on board 5. Ballynafeigh 1 fell further back in the title chase as they too were only able to field four players and were consequently held to a draw by Civil Service.

Division 2

• Fruithill 2-3 Ballynafeigh 3
• Fruithill Ravens 0-5 Muldoons 2
• Ballynafeigh 4 0-5 Kelly's Heroes

Kelly's Heroes returned to winning ways with a whitewash of Ballynafeigh 4, even though Bernard Jaffa (1351) was on the receiving end of the upset of the week against Mitch Kee (772). A no-show for the home side on board 2 meant that boards 3 to 5 were awarded to the division leaders. There was more good news for the Malone Road side as nearest challengers Fruithill were beaten 3-2 by Ballynafeigh 3, including an excellent win for Tyrone Winter (1066) over Frank Carrothers (1330) and a draw for Vincent O'Brien (993) against Gerry Collins (1262), both with the black pieces. Last but not least, the Fruithill Ravens were whitewashed by Muldoons 2.