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Ulster Chess League update - 04/12/25 

On Thursday 04/12/25 the Downpatrick Chess Club Team was in action vs Citi Knights at Denvir’s of Downpatrick.

Dpk                                        Citi Knights

Jonathan Boyd (Black) v Michael Devine (White)

Finn Davey (White) v Oisín Cinnsealach (Black)

Owen Dummigan (Black) v Jonah Corr (White)

Dermot Maguire (White) v David Garvin (Black)

Martin Lannon (Black) v Freddie Corr (White)

Kudos to the Citi Knights for fielding 2 junior players for this clash, Jonah & Freddie.

I know from having played against Jonah before he is a formidable young player and its great to see the younger players playing in the Ulster Chess League.

On Board 1 a tense game unfolded with an endgame position reminiscent of a World Championship match between Kramnik vs Leko. On that occasion Kramnik showed the superiority of 2 rooks vs the Queen.

This game was interesting also and after some manoeuvring, a time trouble slip allowed Johnny to deliver a nice checkmate with the 2 rooks.  1- 0

On Board 2 Finn found himself in the complications of a Petrov, losing his way. Although he was out-theoried on this occasion, Finn will bounce back. Nicely played Oisin!

On Board 3 Owen played the impressive junior Jonah. Owen employed a French defence losing a pawn initially but leading to an equal-ish looking middle game. Owen assures us he had it all worked out however, winning the pawn back and converting the rook & pawn ending nicely.

On Board 4 – Dermot played David in a Pirc. This led to a complicated middle game that favoured black. After the pieces came off it led to a drawish looking endgame with 2 rooks and a few pawns. A draw was agreed with Dermot’s clock reading less than 5 minutes.

On Board 5 – Martin played the other impressive Citi knights Junior, Freddie. This was a Reti and Martin enjoyed a nice pawn centre before trapping a wayward knight. Then a knight fork on 2 rooks led to Freddie losing this one but hopefully gaining some great classical chess experience.

So Downpatrick finished with 3 wins and a draw and an impressive overall score of 5.5 / 7. This leaves Downpatrick in 2nd place in the Ulster Chess League Division 2 standings. We break now for Christmas with the next games in January 2026.

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