Checkmate with honours
8 year old Kyle McKimm from Millisle was the first to delve the decisive blow with a beautiful combination of queen and rook, scooping the gold medal and a big round of applause. One move later, Gary Johnston from Newtownards took the silver after sacrificing his rook in a tactical trap. This was followed by Richard McClean who won bronze with a clever knight and queen mate.
One by one, other impressive checkmates were delivered by Walter Wilson, Ben Toogood, Ken Browne, Mike McKimm, Samuel Todd and Sam Bowman. The final win was sealed by newcomer Rory McQuillan, delivering several beautiful forks to win material and chase Brendan’s king into the centre of the board until it ran out of squares.
In another surprise twist at the end of the night, the club secretary Mark Seidman presented two honorary memberships to Michael Sheerin, the Child Protection Officer, and Brendan Jamison, UCU Tournament Director, for helping the club to thrive over the past season with new activities to keep all the members engaged.
Next Thursday (11 April) the Groomsport Parish Halls will host a special ‘Doubles Rapid Chess’ tournament where higher rated players will be teamed up with a partner of junior level. It promises to be another fun night!
Photo caption: Michael Sheerin (left) and Brendan Jamison (right) with their certificates of honorary membership of Bangor Chess Club
