Civil Service stranded

Division 1

• Ballynafeigh 1 2.5-2.5 Ballynafeigh 2
• Civil Service 1-4 Strand 1
• Kelly's Heroes 2-3 Fruithill Hawks

With QUB 1 not in action this week, Strand 1 are the new leaders after a dominant performance against Civil Service. Calum Leitch, Ross Harris and John Bradley all won to secure the bonus points for the visitors, with Danny Roberts drawing against Daniil Zelenchuk and Adrian Dornford-Smith drawing against Colin Burcombe. Ballynafeigh 1 were unexpectedly held to a draw against Ballynafeigh 2. Chris Kelly beat Joe Connolly on board 5 and boards 3 and 4 both resulted in draws, but Ballynafeigh 1's big guns, David Houston and Steve Scannell, were expected to hit the target and deliver the bonus points. Scannell saw off the challenge of Robert Lavery on board 2, but on board 1 Eoin Carey (1685) was giving three-time Ulster Champion David Houston (2142) some serious questions to answer. As the time scramble approached, it seemed as if Houston had successfully navigated the complications, but an uncharacteristic slip allowed Carey to nick a half-point by perpetual check. After a poor start to the season, the Fruithill Hawks claimed their first win of the season against Kelly's Heroes. John Monaghan (1084) achieved an unexpected draw for the visitors against Bobby Thompson (1474), only for Neil Green (1418) to do the same against Stephen McCann (1748) on board 4. John Bryars beat Ciaran Marron, but John Cairns and John Masterson secured the win for the Hawks.

Division 2

• Northern Lights 4.5-0.5 Strand 2
• Fruithill Falcons 2-3 The B Team
• Bangor 1 2.5-2.5 QUB 2

Northern Lights extended their lead by thrashing Strand 2. Nicholas Pilkiewicz, Stephen Wood, Martin Donaghy and Bernard McCaughey all won, with only Pat McKillen's drew with James Wong spoiling the whitewash. The B Team narrowly beat the Fruithill Falcons thanks to wins by Bernard Jaffa, Paul Hanna and Abraham Lorber, and Bangor 1 and QUB 2 shared the points after Steven Eachus beat Clark Rodriguez, Cathan Gormley beat Mike McKimm and the trhree remaining games were drawn.

Division 3

• Ballynafeigh 3 2-3 Strand 4
• QUB 3 4.5-0.5 Strand 3
• Bangor 2 1-4 Fruithill Ravens

QUB 3 lead the division after a thumping win over Strand 3. Unrated players Peter McFarland, Conal Boyle and Andrew Sammon all performed well, Robert Clarke beat Ciaran Rowan and Rian Mellotte drew with Ranjit Singh. Ballynafeigh 3 had a no-show on board 5 and lost 3-2 to Strand 4 as Garhy Aboelsoud, making his debut for the Holywood Road side, beat James Barbour on board 1 and Aaron Wafflart beat Paul Anderson. Vincent O'Brien and Pawel Otocki won for the home side. The Fruithill Ravens easily beat Bangor 2 despite being out-rated by nearly 150 points per board. The match was exmplified by the board 3 encounter between Evan Elwood (995) and Gary Johnston (1218); in the upset of the week, Elwood defeated his Bangor counterpart.

Standings