More Galway glory at Community Games National Finals

The national finals of the Community Games moved to it's new home in Athlone Institute of Technology and chess was one of the  activities to be held there on the first finals weekend. Galway representatives Ballinasloe were going for three in a row national titles at both Under 12 and Under 16 age groups. In their Under 12 semi final Ballinasloe faced Caragh from Kildare and it was a very tough fight. The match was poised at 2-2 with Billy McKenna playing on board one a pawn up in a Rook and pawn endgame. Billy managed to convert his passed pawn into a winning ending to secure victory 3-2. In the final Ballinasloe faced their old friends Shannon from Clare.This time Ballinasloe were 2.5-1.5 up with Billy again left playing on board one. This time Billy went into the endgame a Knight up for a pawn and slowly turned his advantage into a win to make it three in a row National Community Games victories at Under 12 level.

The Ballinasloe under 16 team faced a tough semi final against Drumlish from Longford who are past winners. In each of the last two years the result between these two teams has been very narrow victories for Ballinasloe. However, this year Conor Barrett,Ruairi Mckenna Carroll and Jack McKenna wraped up quick wins on boards 3 to 5 to secure the result. Final score Ballinasloe 3.5 - 1.5 Drumlish. The final was, once again against Shannon and again the same three Ballinasloe players won on boards 3 to 5 to ensure a third national win for the Galway team, final score Ballinasloe 4-1 Shannon.

Once again this shows the high standard of junior chess in Galway.

July 08 Galway players on Irish Junior team.

Five Galway players were included on the Irish junior teams that travelled to Liverpool for the

Glorney/Faber/4 nations competition against England, Scotland and Wales.

John Cormican, Sarah Cormican, Billy McKenna, Ruth Cormican and Oissine Murphy.

May 08 Ballinasloe retain Community Games national titles.

Two Ballinasloe chess teams travelled to Mosney as reigning champions in both under 12 and under 16 categories. Unlike previous trips to Mosney, this time they would be regarded as favourites. In the under 12 competion Ballinasloe were drawn against St Patricks from Cavan in a straight semi final. Ballinasloe proved too strong for the Cavan team and ran out convincing winners with a 5-0 scoreline. In the other semi final, last years silver medal winners Spa/Muckross from Kerry just edged out new boys Gorey from Wexford by a score of 3-2. The final saw Ballinasloe wrap up two quick wins and when Dylan Connolly made it 3-0 another national trophy was in the bag. Final scoreline 4-1 to Ballinasloe.

The Under 16 competition was an all play all format and again Ballinasloe were drawn against St Patricks from Cavan and again the scoreline was 5-0 to Ballinasloe. The next match was a tense affair against Drumlish from Longford, former winners and last years silver medal winners, and just like last year the match was poised at two games each with one game remaining. This year it was Eoin Moran's turn to be in the hot seat and, in a tense game, Eoin managed to overcome his opponent to seal the victory 3-2. The Gold medal position depended on one more victory against Annascaul/Kerry and it duly arrived with a convincing 4-1 win. Both Ballinasloe teams retain there national trophys and set up the prospect of a possible three in a row in Athlone next year.

May 08 Creagh National School win ChessZ national title.

Two Creagh teams took part in the Chess z National Finals in Limerick. The team consisting of Conor Barrett, Billy McKenna, Jack McKenna and Ruari McKenna Carroll came first.

Another team consisting Conor Bleahene, Shane Bleahene, Dylan Connolly and Tomas McKenna Carroll came third.

April 08 Ballinasloe take Four trophys at Irish Junior championships.

Congratulations to all the Ballinasloe players who preformed well at the Irish Junior Championships:

• Kenneth Dillon - 2nd in U-19
• Luke Moran - 3rd in U-10
• Jack McKenna - 3rd in U-12
• Billy McKenna - 1st in U-10

Here are some of the victors (L to R Jack McKenna 3rd U12, Billy McKenna 1st U10, Luke Moran 3rd U10.)

March 08 Connacht win 2008 Under 16 Inter-Provincials for first time.

Connacht were crowned All Ireland Under 16 chess champions in sensational style at the Irish Inter-Provincials over the weekend of February 16th/17th in Limerick. It was a stunning performance for a young team that was seeded fourth out of four and were missing a couple of strong players. Being underdogs didn't affect their confidence as they started against pre-competition favourites Munster on saturday afternoon. It was a tough baptism of fire and the tension mounted as number one player and captain David McCann held his opponent to a draw. Number two John Cormican and number three Oissine Murphy both also achieved draws to leave the match on a knife edge. Conor Barrett was unlucky to lose and at this stage Connacht were trailing by a point. However a strong finish by Eoin Moran and Dylan Connolly secures two great wins to leave the match Connacht 3.5 - 2.5 Munster. Next up was Ulster and confidence was high in the Connacht camp that the good start could be continued. It proved to be a western onslaught as win after win was notched up, Connacht winning with a convincing 5-1 score. The Connacht boys hardly dared think that they could pull off what would be a major shock going into the final match against Leinster but incredibly their consistent good play resulted in a perfect six out of six to leave Connacht out of sight of chasing Munster, the final score being Connact 14.5 points out of 18, Three and a half points ahead of Munster and All ireland champions. The delighted players and parents from Claregalway, Clarinbridge, Knocknacarra and Ballinasloe celebrated their victory in Gullanes Hotel Ballinasloe where the Interprovincial trophy was united with Galways National Community Games Under 12 and under 16 trophys, a sign of the strenght of Galway and Connacht chess.

Also in action in Limerick was the under 19 team of Dara Murphy, David, Sarah and Ruth Cormican, Kenneth Dillon and Dominic Hallinan. This was Connachts first time to enter an under 19 team in many years and while the team came in fourth there were some great individual performances especially David Cormicans impressive 2.5 out of 3.

Community Games 2007

Ballinasloe sent two teams to Mosney for the Community Games national Finals recently. Expectations were high for the Under 12 team, not only were they last years silver medallists but Ballinasloe boasted no less than four players who have represented Ireland . Ballinasloe were drawn to play Muckross from Kerry in the first round. Muckross have claimed 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the last three years so they would be a big threat.

The hard work and training paid quick dividends as Ballinasloe claimed two quick victories. The challenge from Muckross never really got going and in truth Ballinasloe were never in trouble and soon ran out 4-1 winners. Next up were Leinster champions Jobstown from Dublin . Jobstown are a very strong senior chess club and Ballinasloe had to treat them with respect but yet again Jobstown didn't really get into the game and this time Ballinasloe made no mistake with a crushing 5-0 victory. The Ballinasloe players and supporters scented a first national title as they took their places on sunday morning to face Erne Valley from Cavan . The same pattern emerged as every Ballinasloe player put their opponent under pressure from the start and the Cavan team could not put up any serious resistance and again Ballinasloe came in with a 5-0 victory and finally sealed seven gold medals. It was a powerful display and with only one player overage for next year the future looks good for Ballinasloe at this age group.

No team had ever won both chess age groups and the possibility of a historic first double was on the cards. Manager Kenneth Dillon kept the players feet firmly on the ground as they faced Munster champions Bruff from Limerick . It was a gruelling encounter and in truth the result could have gone either way, with Ballinasloe eventually getting the better of things with a 3-2 victory.

Round two saw Ballinasloe facing a hugely experienced Drumlish team from Longford , Drumlish have been present at Mosney for most recent years in both under 12 and Under 16 competioions and are past winners. With Ballinasloe expected to win their third match againt a weak Bundoran team, victory against Drumlish would almost certainly seal victory. Team newcomer Jacob Walshe got off to a flying start with a quick win and Ballinasloe seemed to be in control.

Then two defeats swung things badly against the town and victory seemed to be slipping away. By now the under 12 team had all won their games and they drifted into the playing area with their parents to give some support. They were joined by more Ballinasloe competiors and other Galway team members as the tension mounted. As the time limits approached there was great excitement as Captain Tony Deane delivered checkmate against the Drumlish captain to level the match. Robert McKenna was left playing knowing that a draw and a share of the spoils would not be enough as Drumlish would almost certainly end with a superior tie break score. It was all or nothing. Worse though was that despite Robert being slighly ahead on the board, he  was in serious time trouble and down to two minutes against his opponents eighteen minutes. It looked certain that Robert would run out of time, a cruel way to lose a national title.

There was complete silence from the large number of supporters watching as the clock ticked down. Robert had to risk all and blasted out move after move as the seconds ticked away until suddenly he managed a checkmate with just thirteen seconds time left. Relief swept over the watching players, parents and supporters and Robert received a great welcome as he emerged from the playing area.

After all the excitement of the Drumlish encounter, the final match against Bundoran was played with the expectation of victory and so it was that a determined Ballinasloe team ensured there would be no slips with a comprehensive 5-0 victory against the Donegal side.

Ballinasloe now go into the record books as the first team to complete the chess double. It was a great was to finish for Under 16 captain Tony Deane and team-mates Jonathan Brooks and David Finnegen , all of whom have played for Ballinasloe in community games chess for six years and were instrumental in the resurrection chess in Ballinasloe. It was fitting too that club founder Darren Kelly was on hand to see the results of all his hard work over the past six years.

So ends an incredible season for Ballinasloe chess with the clubs first two national team titles to add to first ever individual major congress victories for Kenneth Dillon and Robert McKenna, and on top of all that a first year for Ballinasloe Juniors to represent Ireland. Most club players will take a short break before competing in the Galway Chess Congress on the weekend of September 21st to 23rd in the Salthill Hotel.

Ballinasloe retained their Under 12 Galway Community Games title with a 3.5 to 1.5 win over Claregalway in the semi finals and a 4-1 win over Knocknacarra in the final. Team was Ruari Mckenna Carroll (Captain) Billy McKenna Dylan Connolly Jack Mckenna Shane Bleahene Tomas Mckenna Carroll and Conor Bleahene .

Ballinasloe also recorded their first win at Under 16 level with a 4-1 semi final win over National Silver Medal Winners knocknacarra . In the final they defeated Claregalway 4-1. Team Tony Deane (Captain) Robert Mckenna Eoin Moran Jonathan Brooks Conor Barrett David Finnegan and Jacob Walshe.