You are here: Home Archives Ulster Chronicles 2018-2019 season UCU Web 2018 Storm Gareth blows Ballynafeigh 1 off course as he leads Kelly's Heroes to victory

Storm Gareth blows Ballynafeigh 1 off course as he leads Kelly's Heroes to victory

(B&D League 2018/19 Week 16) In a week where the weather headlines were dominated by Storm Gareth, Kelly's Heroes had a Gareth of their own on board 1 as they dealt a hammer blow to Ballynafeigh 1's Silver King ambitions.

Division 1

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

It was an excellent week for league leaders Strand 1 as their rivals all lost ground. Firstly, Ballynafeigh 1 suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Kelly's Heroes. The home side were without their usual board 1, David Houston, but would still have expected to come away from this match with more than two draws. Gareth Annesley, David Ruben and John McKenna won for the visitors, while Sam Flanagan drew with Damien Lavery and John Bryars drew with Damien Cunningham. The league leaders received further good news as QUB 1 fell to defeat against bottom side Civil Service. Despite fielding only four players, the students went in as favourites, but Adrian Dornford-Smith (1206), on board 4 for the visitors, had other ideas as he beat the provisionally-1600-rated Mohamed Musa. This, together with draws for Danny Roberts against Sergio Esteve Sanchez and Mark Newman against Daniel Diaz-Roncero Gonzalez gave Civil Service a narrow victory. Last but not least, the Fruithill Hawks also only had four players for their visit to Strand 1, and while John Cairns beat the in-form Calum Leitch and Ryszard Kaczorowski and Gatis Barbals took a share of the points in their games, it wasn't enough to stop Strand 1 from increasing their lead to 16.5 points as Modestas Razbadauskas saw off Sean Linton.

Division 2

  • The B Team 3-2 Northern Lights
  • Strand 2 3.5-1.5 Bangor 1
  • Fruithill Falcons 0.5-4.5 QUB 2

With the John Strawbridge Cup already sewn up, Northern Lights fielded an under-strength side who were beaten by The B Team. Despite being a player short, Strand 2 produced an excellent performance to defeat Bangor 1; highlights being a draw for Jake Patterson (1261) against Martin Moorcroft (1609) and a win for Adam Rushe (1112) against Sam Moore (1445). QUB 2 convincingly beat the Fruithill Falcons, with only Ross Smith (1009) managing to avoid defeat for the home side with a draw against Vincent Crean (1259).

Division 3

  • Ballynafeigh 4 4-1 Ballynafeigh 3
  • Fruithill Ravens 1.5-3.5 Strand 4
  • Bangor 2 3.5-1.5 Strand 3

The Fruithill Ravens suffered a major setback as they were beaten by Strand 4 despite being nearly 300-point-per-board favourites. The Holywood Road side produced a fantastic team performance, including an upset of the season contender from Ken Haddock (702) as he beat Michael Toal (1180), while Aaron Wafflart (1034) beat Kevin Agnew (1274) and Stephen Cullen (1054) beat Pearse O'Brien (1418). Bangor 2 extended their lead with a win over Strand 3 while Ballynafeigh 4 came out on top in the Candahar Street derby against Ballynafeigh 3.

Standings

Division 1PlayedPointsDivision 2PlayedPointsDivision 3PlayedPoints
Strand 1 13 67 Northern Lights (Champions) 14 69 Bangor 2 14 73.5
QUB 1 13 50.5 QUB 2 14 55.5 Fruithill Ravens 13 60.5
Fruithill Hawks 12 48.5 The B Team 14 48 QUB 3 11 48.5
Ballynafeigh 1 12 47.5 Strand 2 13 46 Ballynafeigh 4 14 44
Kelly's Heroes 14 45 Bangor 1 13 39 Strand 3 12 36.5
Ballynafeigh 2 13 29.5 Fruithill Falcons 12 22.5 Strand 4 13 34
Civil Service 13 27 Ballynafeigh 3 13 18
Navigation
News
Ulster Fischer Championships took place on June 8th at Civil Service Pavilion One of the most exciting competitions of the year involves chess with a difference. The initial position of the main pie... Jun 29, 2025
Annual General Meeting 2024/2025 2024/2025 season is rapidly coming to a close and with this comes the announcement of the UCU’s Annual General Meeting... Jun 27, 2025
Washingbay FIDE Rapid This week's upcoming event's early entry list Jun 02, 2025
City of Belfast Winners Well done to Steve Scannell our champion, and David Jeffers on winning the Intermediate trophy! May 26, 2025
The Belfast Megafinals took place at Methodist College on Sat May 10th 2025 The last of this years monthly tournaments at Methodist College. Ended with the Delancey Chess Challenge Belfast Megafin... May 25, 2025
More news…
« June 2025 »
June
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930
Upcoming Events
The Summer Tournament (Now FIDE rated) Weds 2nd July at Civil Service Pavilion Weds 2nd July and the 9th Week. The aim is to start each round at 7.45 pm. Please arrive at least by 7:30pm and if arriv... Jul 02, 2025 07:30 PM - 10:30 PM — NICS,Maynard Sinclair Pavilion, Stormont, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast, BT4 3TA
City of Lisburn Championship Jul 26, 2025 - Jul 27, 2025 — Lisburn Chess Club, 60-62 Longstone Street
Ulster Championships 2025 The top Ulster competition returns to open the 2025-2026 season! Aug 23, 2025 - Aug 25, 2025 — Queens University, South Dinning Hall, Belfast
FIDE RATED County Tyrone Rapid Championship 2025 Wednesday 3 September 2025 Check-in at 7:45pm. The 5 rounds will be played back-to-back from 8pm to 10:30pm Washingbay... Sep 03, 2025 07:45 PM - 10:30 PM — Washingbay Centre, 92 Ballybeg Road, Aughamullan, Coalisland, County Tyrone, BT71 5DX
18th Sept. FIDE RATED City of Bangor Rapid Congress 2025 Rounds 1-5 10 rounds of FIDE Rapid play at City of Bangor Chess Club over 2 evenings. 5 Rounds on 18th Sept. 5 Rounds on 25th Sept. Sep 18, 2025 07:15 PM - 10:00 PM — City of Bangor Chess Club, Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street Groomsport
Upcoming events…