Strand 1 stretch lead after dominant performance

Division 1

• Ballynafeigh 2 1.5-3.5 Ballynafeigh 1
• Civil Service 0.5-4.5 Strand 1

Strand 1 extended their lead to nine points after an excellent performance against Civil Service. Daniil Zelenchuk, Calum Leitch, Brendan Jamison and Ross Harris all won for the Holywood Road side, although David Jackson (1399) avoided the whitewash for Civil Service as he held David Hill (1666) to a draw. Ballynafeigh 1 moved back into second place with a 3.5-1.5 win over Ballynafeigh 2. As expected, David Houston and Steve Scannell delivered two wins on boards 1 and 2, but it was a much tighter affair on the lower boards. Chris Kelly defeated Damien Cunningham, while Antonio Curado held WFM Karina Kruk to a draw. Ian Woodfield's win over Jim Kyle secured the bonus points for Ballynafeigh 1. The match between the Fruithill Hawks and Kelly's Heroes was postponed.

Division 2

• Fruithill Falcons 2.5-2.5 Northern Lights
• QUB 2 5-0 Strand 2
• Bangor 1 1.5-3.5 The B Team

Northern Lights were unexpectedly held to a draw by the Fruithill Falcons. Neil Fisher and Sean Linton both held players more than 200 points above them to draws, while Gerry McCartney beat Bernard McCaughey. The bottom side could even have won the match, but Frank Carrothers (1186) was held to a draw by Paddy Maguire (909), while Nicholas Pilkiewicz defeated Gatis Barbals. Second-placed QUB 2 took full advantage the following night as a team consisting of Cathan Gormley, Rian Mellotte, Liam Ferris, Vincent Crean, and Robert Clarke whitewashed Strand 2 to cut Northern Lights' lead to 4.5 points.The B Team turned in an excellent performance to beat Bangor 1 despite being rated over 100 points per board lower on average. Paul Hanna (1386) defeated James O'Fee (1638), while Norman McFarland and Paddy Magee also won for the visitors. Martin Moorcroft defeated Neil Green, while Steven Eachus drew with Bobby Thompson.

Division 3

• Ballynafeigh 3 1-4 Ballynafeigh 4
• Strand 3 0-5 Bangor 2
• Strand 4 1.5-3.5 Fruithill Ravens

Bangor 2 are the new leaders of Division 3 after their whitewash against Strand 4, in which Jonny Brown, Tony Redden, Gary Johnston, Nigel Telford, and Alwyn Pollock all secured wins. Ballynafeigh 4 beat Ballynafeigh 3 thanks to wins from David Seaby, Derek Truesdale, Mitch Kee and Andy Boal. Louie McConkey (867) pulled off the upset of the week against Ciaran Holmes (1329) of the Fruithill Ravens, but otherwise the visitors were far too strong as they claimed a 3.5-1.5 victory.

Standings