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Round 3
The main game of interest was on board one between Sam Collins and John Joyce. This turned out to be a disappointing affair as it seemed to be a case of neither player being interested enough in trying to win due to a fear of losing. The final position was full of possibilites but I think Black was better.
Gerry O Connell lost to Stephen Scannell after the position had been level for a long time and he seemed to push too hard for a win. Stephen Brady was also in a bit of trouble after he went wrong from a comfortable opening when he played 15 d6. Instead of taking on c4 which gave an advantage for Black Cormac retreated and was soon in all sorts of difficulties.
Another top player who was not having it all his own way was Mel O Cinneide who followed main theory for quite a while but only started to get an advantage when Simon Jeffares went wrong with 21 Nc7 instead of 21 Nd4 which would have kept an edge for White. It didn't take long before a rook and Queen endgame was reached in which once again the superior endgame technique of Mel prevailed.
Other decisive results included a nice win by Stephen Jessel against Bernard Palmer a good positional grind by Eamon Keogh over a by now well below par Tom Clarke. Paul Dempsey had little trouble against Seamus Duffy who seemed very much adrift in a position with so few tactics. In the end his positional shortcomings resulted in the simple loss of a piece. The other draw from the round was much more interesting than might be expected from well known draw king Tony Fox Both sides had chances and it seems that time trouble may well have played a part in the final result.
| Brady,Stephen |
1-0 |
Brady,Cormac |
| Collins,Sam |
½-½ |
Joyce,John |
| Dempsey,Paul |
1-0 |
Duffy,Seamus |
| Fox,Tony |
½-½ |
Fitzpatrick,Brian |
| Jeffares,Simon |
0-1 |
O' Cinneide,Mel |
| Jessel,Stephen |
1-0 |
Palmer,Bernard |
| Keogh,Eamon |
1-0 |
Clarke,Tom |
| O'Connell,Gerry |
0-1 |
Scannell,Stephen |
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