Barrow - van Riel Shield 2024

Ballarat Bendigo Challenge

The 7th annual challenge match between Ballarat Chess Club and Bendigo Chess Club was held in Ballarat on Sunday 16th of June 2024. Sadly, Bendigo could only muster 5 players for the trip, so Ballarat veterans Patrick Cook and Kevin Perrin stepped aside to allow others to get a game. Nevertheless, the match was competitive and dramatic, with Bendigo coming within a whisker of finally winning the Barrow-van Riel shield. On board 1, Ballarat Champion James Watson gained a slight edge against Nigel Barrow's Nimzo-Indian Defence, but couldn't break Nigel's solid play and a draw was agreed. On board 2 Leigh Healey ventured the Closed Sicilian against Scott Stewart, won the exchange in the middle game, and went on to make it count. On board 3 Declan Smith proved too strong for Garang Manyuon, demolishing his opponent rather quickly. On board 4 Russell Stanley quickly gained a material advantage against Paul Marko, and survived a spirited fightback by Paul to score another win for Bendigo. On board 5 Declan Mahar played his usual English Opening against Brayden Mertz, but soon found himself in deep trouble. Declan's supreme self confidence and never say die attitude kept him alive until a dramatic turnaround when Brayden left his Queen en prise. The result was still unclear, but Declan's careful and alert play eventually gave him the full point in a lengthy game. So the match ended in a tie, the 3rd in the series, and Bendigo were left rueing the one that got away.
Board 1 James Watson (Bal.) - Nigel Barrow (Ben.) draw
Board 2 Leigh Healey (Ben.) - Scott Stewart (Bal.) 1-0
Board 3 Declan Smith (Bal.) - Garang Manyuon (Ben.) 1-0
Board 4 Russell Stanley (Ben.) - Paul Marko (Bal.) 1-0
Board 5 Declan Mahar (Bal.) - Brayden Mertz (Ben.) 1-0

Report by Patrick Cook

After a late withdrawal due to illness, only five players travelled to Ballarat on Sunday to play in the annual team match against the Ballarat Chess Club. Ballarat was able to choose from seven players, with Club stalwarts Patrick Cook and Kevin Perrin choosing to stand aside and allow others to compete.
The first game to finish was on board 3, when Declan Smith, (the current leader of the Ballarat Chess Club Championship) found a skewer against Garang Manyuon’s queen early in the game. 1-0 On Board 1, James Watson chose the classical variation against Nigel Barrow’s Nimzo-Indian, and played a surprise temporary knight sacrifice which imbalanced the position, saddling black with a weak and isolated pawn on d6. However, James was unable to make much headway in the knight, rook and pawns v bishop, rook and pawns endgame and the players repeated moves soon agreeing to a draw. 0.5-0.5 On board 2, Leigh Healey and Scott Stewart reached an interesting and tense middlegame from a closed Sicilian before Leigh won the exchange and then invaded on the 7th rank with a rook to bring about his opponent’s resignation. 1-0 On board 4, Russell Stanley won a piece against Paul Marko, but faced a difficult task in trying to break through his opponent’s pawn barricade. Russell eventually invaded with a bishop and pawn, with Paul sacrificing the exchange to hold off his opponent, but after queens were exchanged, Russell found himself a rook up. Paul tried a desperate last-minute tactic based on pawn promotion, but Russell was able to get back in time with his rook to block the promotion square. 1-0
In the final game to finish, Ballarat junior Declan Mahar, lost some material early against Brayden Mertz, who seemed to be well placed with three minor pieces against a rook. However, with Declan still having both rooks and his queen, it wasn’t easy to coordinate the minor pieces and avoid all threats. Declan won back a knight, and then Brayden touched a rook when his queen was attacked and had to give up queen for rook. Brayden coordinated his pieces to take advantage of a back rank mate threat, forcing Declan to give up his rook for knight. This left an ending of queen versus bishop and rook, however once the bishop left the board and an unlikely pawn promotion was denied, Brayden was left with no other option than to resign and congratulate his young opponent on a fighting victory. 1-0
Match result Bendigo 2.5 v Ballarat 2.5 – tie. Despite coming close several times, Bendigo has not yet won the team match shield since it’s inception in 2018.

Report by Nigel Barrow