Malahide show no Mercy!

I just had to write about the 4 brave souls who travelled to Malahide to face their A team. This task was made much harder by Malahide’s decision to ensure the match was played on the day,in accordance with the strict letter of the rules, thus nullifying Mark’s request for his top boards to play the following week. This effectively gave Malahide a 2-0 lead, and meant that the team had to play higher up the board order. Teresa May had more chance of getting her Brexit plan through Parliament than Mark’s squad had of gaining anything……..Never let it be said that Malahide were afraid of dropping points or even losing. No way Jose! This is not politically correct, as neither team had a Jose in the squad.
Mark rallied his troops with the time honoured words of “we’re going to lose 6-0 so there is no pressure on us……it’s all on them”. Yeah……great speech, really motivational and off they started….but you know something….it worked a treat!!
First to finish was Matthew Tiernan, a mere 625 points out-rated by Cormac Roche. Cormac was in his usual time trouble as Matthew held his position as white. Cormac decided that he had suffered enough and was not going to break through, and offered his young opponent a fully deserved draw. Wow!!! Matthew has outplayed many of his opponents this year, and that includes the leader of the Individual points table, but what a great result. Next to finish was the Werewolf himself, Captain Mark, who was facing Brian Reid on board 1. Mark’s rating has fallen this year, so undaunted he faced Malahide’s Captain…a mere 550 points down. After 2 hours, not even a pawn had been exchanged and another 2 hours later, Brian extended his hand in an inferior but solid position……another draw. Wow!!! On board 2, Michael Diaconu was up against the talented Killian Burke, only 409 points higher rated. Sure enough, Killian is a sharp attacking player and was material up…….by quite a lot and the win was near. Michael defended stoutly, and then sacked about the only piece he had left to create a pawn rolling chain ……and just kept pushing. Killian had no choice but to return all of his material gains just to save the game and once more, he offered Michael a draw….Wow!!! That left Phyllis on board 4 facing the Malahide coach and strong player Tom O’Sullivan………not much points difference here………..500+, and considering the difference in experience, no-contest. No matter what Tom tried, Phyllis always held the upper hand and outplayed Tom from start to finish. He offered a draw in a just about even position which was accepted. Considering that this was Phyllis’s first ever result without losing, she merits a double WOW!! …but this may be interpreted as sexist by some, as Phyllis is a real Lady. So 2-2 on active board play, and it was fully deserved!! 2-4 overall was a fantastic result for our young team.
A HUGE WELL DONE TO THE TEAM, and we welcome the Sheriff and his Posse next time round, in what looks likely to be a relegation decider. One thing’s for sure, Naomh Barrog are gentlemen, and we will remember the late Tom Collins with deep affection. Chess is not really important after all.