1928
1927-1928 ULSTER TROPHY
On Thursday 5 April 1928 the Belfast Newsletter reported on the inter-club tournament as it was apparently coming to a imminent conclusion.
The following table shows the result of the matches [in the Ulster Trophy] to date. St. Paul's have still to play North Belfast a match, and CIYMS and Belfast have each an unfinished match with Strandtown. Strandtown should win against CIYMS and draw with Belfast.
1 2 3 4 5 Total 1. Belfast -- =1 =0 x1 11 5.0 2. CIYMS =0 -- 11 1x 11 5.5 3. St. Paul's =1 00 -- 11 =- 4.0 4. Strandtown x0 0x 00 -- 1= 1.5 5. North Belfast 00 00 =- 0= -- 1.0 x Unfinished matches
However, the chess column of the (Dublin) Evening Herald for 19 May 1928 reported that, with the club season finished, CIYMS remained on 5.5 points and Belfast 5.0, each club with one adjourned game which had been put off to the next season.
It is likely that the adjourned games that the two leading teams had with Strandtown produced the match results as predicted earlier in the BNL, leaving Belfast and CIYMS both on 5.5 points. In any event a play-off was required.
PLAY-OFF
Six months later, the deciding match for the Ulster Trophy was played but even it took some time to be completed, as appears from these three consecutive reports in the weekly Belfast News-Letter chess column, dated 22 November, 29 November and 6 December 1928.
Belfast v. CIYMS
This match was played on Monday evening last in the Shaftesbury. The visitors [CIYMS] had a full team, and the games were stubbornly contested, as the match is to count in the current [1928-1929] tournament as well as deciding the tie in last year's [1927-1928] tourney. Only four games were finished, Belfast scoring two wins to one with one game drawn.
The tie-match between Belfast and CIYMS for the possession of the Ulster Trophy has not yet been decided. Two of the unfinished games have been concluded in favour of CIYMS, making the score 3.5 all. The result therefore depends on the game between S.E. Manderson (Belfast) and A.L. Davies M.Sc.
The outstanding game in the tie match between Belfast and CIYMS clubs, for the Ulster Trophy, was won by A.L. Davies M.Sc., against S.E. Manderson. CIYMS therefore secure possession of the trophy for the second time. Details:
BELFAST 3.5-4.5 CIYMS
H. Thomas 0-1 W.J. Allen
W.H. Lloyd M.A. 1-0 F.H. Purdy
S.E. Manderson 0-1 A.L. Davies M.Sc.
F. Dickinson 0-1 H.C. Love MBE
"Alpha" 1-0 B. Allen M.A.
H. Gill 1-0 F.A. Sloss LL.B
J. McMeekin =-= "J.F"
H.V. Laurenson 0-1 W. Spence
WILLIAMSON SHIELD 1928
The tournament got underway in early April but no games seems to have been played in May and the halfway stage was only reached towards the end of June with the scores McMahon 3, Allen, 2, Watson 1 and Orr 0.
McMahon and Allen then met for the second time in a game likely to decide the ultimate destination of the Shield for 1928. On move 3 in a momentary aberration Allen played a different move than the one he had intended. Although the finger slip was not of any significance it seemed to unnerve him and McMahon scored a comfortable win.
McMahon now faced the tail-ender Orr only needing a half-point for the overall victory. The 26 July the Belfast News-Letter chess column had a reported on that game:
The possession of the Williamson Shield has been definitively settled for this year has been definitively settled for the year by P.J. McMahon defeating A. Orr in their second game. One game remains unplayed [by him], but it cannot affect the position. The champion's score of wins is the best he has yet made.
The likelihood is that McMahon did not play his sixth game and indeed that other unplayed games were also abandoned, leaving the final standings as given below.
RANK PLAYER PJM WJA JW AO TOTAL 1. P. J. McMAHON XX 11 1* 11 5.0 2. W. J. ALLEN 00 XX 1* 1* 2.0 3. J. WATSON 0* 0* XX 1* 1.0 4. A. ORR 00 0* 0* XX 0.0 * No record of game having been played
