You are here: Home Archives Ulster Chronicles 2018-2019 season UCU Web 2018 Civil Service stranded

Civil Service stranded

(B&D League 2018/19 Week 3) Strand 1 are the new league leaders after a 4-1 win over Civil Service, while Northern Lights and QUB 3 pull away in the lower divisions.

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

Division 1PlayedPointsDivision 2PlayedPointsDivision 3PlayedPoints
Strand 1 3 16 Northern Lights 3 17.5 QUB 3 2 13.5
QUB 1 2 11 QUB 2 3 13.5 Bangor 2 3 12.5
Fruithill Hawks 3 9 Bangor 1 3 10 Fruitihll Ravens 3 11
Ballynafeigh 1 2 8.5 The B Team 3 8.5 Strand 4 3 10
Civil Service 3 7.5 Strand 2 3 8.5 Ballynafeigh 3 3 7.5
Kelly's Heroes 3 6 Fruithill Falcons 3 5 Ballynafeigh 4 2 7
Ballynafeigh 2 2 5 Strand 3 2 1.5
Navigation
News
Exciting changes to the Sligo event in 2026. Now a multi-tournament chess festival. Save the dates in your calender Jan 30th to Feb 8th. The Sligo event is undergoing a major transformation in 2026 from a weekender to a multi-tournament festival. The Sligo ... Oct 16, 2025
The Monthly Childrens Chess Kicks off Oct 25th at Methodist College ** New date ** The LJCC Belfast Qualifier a one day 6 round tournament starts our annual series of monthly tournaments a... Oct 09, 2025
The 2025 Summer tournament ends with a fun tournament and award ceremony Weds 24th September 2025 saw 24 players gather to celebrate the end of the UCU Summer Tournament. Who won? we have the f... Sep 27, 2025
Belfast Qualifier for the British Open Blitz 2025/26 Belfast runs one of 16 tournaments that allow players to qualify for the British Open Blitz tournament. The top player a... Sep 27, 2025
The Annual UCU Summer School at Ormeau Park We had 18 young chess players for 3 days of brilliant chess activities over Weds/Thurs/Fri 6th, 7th, 8th August 2025. At... Sep 14, 2025
More news…
« October 2025 »
October
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031
Upcoming Events
FIDE RATED Bangor Chess Club 60th Anniversary Classic Round 2 Oct 23, 2025 07:30 PM - 10:30 PM — City of Bangor International Chess Club, Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street, Groomsport, County Down, Northern Ireland, BT19 6JR
LJCC - Belfast Qualifier 2025: 25th October - re-organised An opportunity for Primary Students to Qualify for the London Junior Chess Championships and for Secondary pupils to enj... Oct 25, 2025 09:30 AM - 05:00 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
FIDE RATED City of Bangor 10 Round Halloween Blitz at 3+2 Celebrate Halloween with 10 rounds of Chess Blitz at City of Bangor Chess Club. Thursday 30th October. Oct 30, 2025 07:15 PM - 10:00 PM — City of Bangor Chess Club, Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street Groomsport
November 1st Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00 The monthly schools chess tournaments continues at Methodist College. Nov 01, 2025 12:30 PM - 05:00 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
FIDE rated Ulster Masters 2025 Please note due to venue capacity, entries will be capped at 44. Nov 14, 2025 - Nov 16, 2025 — Lisburn Chess Club
Upcoming events…