2010-2011 was a great season all round for Naomh Barrog Chess Club. We achieved the following goals this year:
- For the first time since the club was set up in 2004 we had 3 teams in the main Leinster Chess Leagues (plus one more in the Novices leagues).
- The O’Hanlon B team stayed up.
- The O’Hanlon A team won the O’Hanlon cup for the clubs first time
Speaking as selector for the various teams and captain of the A team I must unreservedly congratulate everyone who played for us. The level of performance this year was underlined by the fact that one third of all the players that played for Naomh Barrog this year won a board prize. All players young and old, new players as well as our more established performed excellently. All the achievements were especially noteworthy since the substitute players in the A team and B team panels could not play for the other team since they were both in the same league.
O’ Hanlon A Team
The A Team not only won the league but did so in style averaging close to 5 out of 6 per game (49.5 points from 10 games). Looking at all the results on the web for past seasons (they go back to the 2003-2004 season) these are some of the records that the A team’s performance has achieved:
- Only team in any division in any year to have every player that played or subbed for the team score between 75% and 100% on the games they played.
- Highest points scored for any O’Hanlon Cup winning team (despite the fact that most teams in the past had an 11 game season)
Great result by all players from John Carroll who won the game he subbed to Justin and Tom with their 9 out of 10 results. The really amazing thing was that as the year went on all the players on the A team were improving.
O’Hanlon B Team
To be honest at the start of the season we all knew that it was going to be a big ask for the B team to avoid relegation. In every match played during the year the team was the underdog. The lads kept plugging away, however, all season fighting for every half point and regarding any poor result as an opportunity to learn something during a game review at the club. The win over Elm Mount towards the end of the season was a great result but to be honest there was not a single easy point or half point given away all season. Austin’s board prize winning performance was a tremendous help to the team. The increase in playing strength that Austin has displayed this year is really astounding. All in all each B Team member should be very proud with their achievement and the way that the team spirit was kept up throughout the league.
Bodley Cup Team
Well I think that the Bodley Cup team were unlucky that the league was so strong this year. They came quite close to getting a promotion. Joe and Martin both came very close to getting board prizes. One of the good features of the Bodley Cup campaign was all the new players that got blooded this year. I look forward to several of the players that have played in the Bodley Cup team playing in the other two teams in future years.
Goals for Next Year The big goal for the next league season 2011-2012 is to consolidate our second team’s position in the O’Hanlon Cup. I think that promotion for the Bodley Cup team should be achievable and I suppose that winning the Ennis would be a bonus! New players are always welcome and with any luck we may be able to strengthen our existing teams and enter a 4th team in the leagues. So if you are a non member reading this and are interested in joining a club which can both improve your chess (Justin’s rating increased by more last year than any other adult on the ICU rating list) and a place where you can have a few social pints, you would be more than welcome. Congratulations again to all the players that played for us this year and I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did. Now to win a couple of the summer cups!
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