Armstrong Update

The Armstrong is coming to an exciting finish. The A team, who lead the league, managed a 6.5-1.5 win over Celbridge (5 wins, 3 draws, no loss). This result helps the B team directly too, so was quite important. Celbridge had to play a weakened team, especially on the lower boards. But that’s a brilliant result nevertheless, we were delighted with the overall result. The latest table shows how close things are for top spot. Gonzaga still have a game in hand, so could rise to within 3 points. Phibsboro travel to Kilkenny on Saturday for an important, but tricky, trip. They’d have to score highly to stay in the reckoning. But even a 4-4 result for them means they retain chances, particularly since they host the A team next.

Looking at the B team’s recent run of form is interesting. They’ve managed 3 match wins from their last 4 and have 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 narrow loss from their last 6 matches. Of course, they must play Kilkenny and then Phibsboro in their last two matches. But I cannot help thinking that they are better than a bottom-two placing.

On a more individual note, the league website (which, by the way, is a masterpiece of concise and well-placed information!) shows player scores. Rathmines A have several players near the top, with Darren and Killian hunting for board prizes, while Leon needs to win his remaining two games to claim a prize too. Sam and Mel are both on 6 (Mel is 6/9, Sam 6/8).
For the B team, David’s 5 wins in a row have propelled him up the table, with Tony Bermingham not far behind.

Armstrong round 9 underway

I wouldn’t be so pessimistic about the B team’s chances of surviving, after some results from round 9. They managed to win 4.5-3.5 against Elm Mount A, while Elm Mount B lost by 7.5-0.5 to St. Benildus, a potentially very damaging result. The A team play Celbridge on Thursday, where a good result will help the B team’s chances too.

Bray/Greystones only managed a 4-4 draw against Dublin University, which dampens their potential title hopes. Anyone know how Gonzaga fared on Saturday?

 

Armstrong finish

The Armstrong is looking poised for an exciting finish.

The A team are on top, as they have been for several weeks now, but only by 1.5 points over Phibsboro and Gonzaga. Phibsboro have been steadily creeping up the table and are now making it a three-horse race (even a four-horse race, if Bray/Greystones can get a couple of big results!). It is looking like the A team’s match versus Phibsboro (on 5th March) could have a huge bearing on who wins the title this year. Before that, we have Celbridge to play and we can take nothing for granted. We finish against St. Benildus.

We suffered our first (close) loss on Saturday, to a top-heavy Kilkenny team. Kilkenny were missing several strong players, but welcomed back GM Baburin on board 1. In the end, we lost 4.5 to 3.5, but it could have been a lot better, with Mel fighting all the way in a rook and pawn endgame (albeit that Baburin always had the advantage), Killian losing unexpectedly, and Paul looking OK until time trouble hit.

The B team are in a heck of a fight at the bottom of the table, with probably 6 teams not safe at this time. They won their match against Elm Mount A 4.5 to 3.5, on Monday last, a tremendous result at just the right time. They also play Phibsboro in the last match, which could be critical to both the A team’s chances of winning the title and their own chances of staying up. No pressure then.