Celbridge were welcomed to the Vineyard and experienced enough to ensure an uncomfortable night, not least for our Captain on bd 4. Gavin was put in early bother by Adrian Mahon in a Torre opening, whilst Fergal Downes had a great deal of time to enjoy our new surroundings as Sean clocked up the first point in rapid time. James Doyle went down an early exchange and manned the barricades, but Robbie continued his good Gonzaga weekend by wrestling away the full point. Gavin fought back, creating some pressure on the kingside and made it three in a row against doughty Adrian Mahon, who was left rueing not taking a knight early on, which is perfectly feasible in that opening. Stefan was unable to trouble Noel Caffrey in any way, and a threatening Queen response in reply on move 27 convinced him to end proceedings. Credit to Noel for his fine play. Board 5 saw a wild and woolly game, where Liam Cadogan’s early pressure pinned Mark back on his heels for a while. but Mark has made the most of his chances playing up, and once a Bishop sacrifice was rebuffed along with the threatening Queen/Rook sortie, he steered the way home for another point.
A 4.5-0.5 win being a highly satisfactory result for us, and the message to the Overwhelming Title favourites Dublin University………is Crystal Clear…………………………
Catch us if you can!!
Leave a Reply