XYChess Round Reports
Some distinguished guests at the XYChess Team league:
Parliamentary Secretary Dr. Clifton Grima playing white against Dr. Beppe Fenech Adami from the opposition.
Round 4:
Chess may be the Royal game but the Fischer-men captained by Stephen Busuttil Naudi don't care! Producing arguably the biggest upset of the league so far, they defeated the Future Malta Kings to cause a stir at the top of the table. The key game was won by Bora Stefanovic on board one - and despite Adam Buckle continuing his perfect start FMK went down 2-1.
The clash of the day was without a doubt The Queens vs The Check Mates. The Check Mates in a show of force were victorious by 2.5-0.5 Milena Stagno scoring the only half point. The retake top spot and confirm they are the dominant force of the league.
Blunder Busters though are keeping up the chase. After going down 0-1 in an anticipated game, both Clarence Psaila and Joseph Baldacchino produced the good to clinch a difficult 2-1 victory.
On the other side of the table, the Punishers score their first victory, and it was a convincing 2.5-0.5 win over the Bishop's Brigade whose newly tattooed captain Steve Mizzi was the only one to manage a draw against John Richards.
Finally, the Underdogs continued their positive run winning their second straight match, this time against the Chess Four, the highlight was the victory of captain Martin Calleja Urry over Marcel Camilleri in a hard fought game.
Today we had the pleasure to welcome Parliamentary Secretary Dr. Clifton Grima , Dr. Beppe Fenech Adami from the opposition, and the Birkirkara Local council Mayor Joanne Debono Grech who paid a visit before the round.
The Queens in the process of regaining second place, but we are all sure these fiesty title contenders will not be satisfied with second and are aiming high!
Round 5:
Blunder Busters broke into first position today after easing past the Chess Four 3-0. Hopefully the Chess Four will fare better in future rounds as they recruited Alfred Sancio Azzopardi. However the news of the day came from the top clash - The Check mates and the Future Malta Kings traded blows... The Check Mates were quick off the mark when Onur Can Pala ended Adam Buckle 's perfect start. The other two games were the last of league to finish - Alberto Farah was held to a draw by Matteo Stagno.... and finally Jack Mizzi scored his first win to level the match 1.5-1.5. The Queens moved up to second place when they overcame the challenge posed by the Time Troubles. Oana survived a scary position to draw with Mario Psaila and Jamie Farrugia and Milena Stagno won their games. Ficher-men continued their resurgence with a 3-0 wipeout of the Bishop's Brigade spear-headed by their on form board 1 player Bora Stefanovic. On the other hand, the Underdogs resurgence came to a stand still as they were Punished at the hands of the Punishers, the 2-1 result took shape as David Gauci defeated Mario Mallia-Milanes, and John Richards won his game against Dericka Figaro. The Underdogs pulled one back with a fine win by Vahid Masmaliyev but it was not enough. As the league table is taking shape....let's see what will happen next week. Will there be more surprises?
The Queens have been consistently winning their games and find themselves in second place. Round 7 pits them against league leaders Blunder Busters. How will they fair? Will they snatch the lead?
Round 6:
Today the Underdogs were busted as the Blunder Busters retained top spot following a 3-0 victory. However, it was not as easy as it may seem. Although on Board 3 Ovidiu Alexa was unstoppable as usual, the top boards were a completely different story. Clarence Psaila edged past Azerbaijani Vahid Masmaliyev in a tense encounter which produced a very nice rook endgame. Meanwhile Joe Baldacchino kept up his perfect run… in a not so perfect way, winning an endgame which was certainly not worse for his opponent, as the middle game left him a pawn down.
The upcoming generation of Maltese chess players withstood the test of time today, when The Future Malta Kings annihilated Time Troubles producing a 3-0 victory which on paper looked like a very improbable result. They were spear-headed by Jack Mizzi who managed to defeat the highest rated player in the league: Josef Lauri. On the second board Matteo Stagno overcame the challenge posed by Mario Psaila, wheras on the third Matthias did not fail against Irina Bezzina Maltseva.
The Queens kept up their momentum and maintained second place with a convincing win against the Chess Four. The usual Mike Sapiecha saved half a point managing a draw against WFM Nina Thornton. Oana and Jamie wrapped up the score at 2.5-0.5 .
The Bishops Brigade sent a courageous lone soldier to combat the Check Mates. Alas Steve Mizzi lost his board one clash to Alberto Farah and the score was set at 3-0, keeping the rating favourites within close striking distance of first place.
Finally, the Punishers won their third match on the trot. This time their victims were the FIscher-men who went behind in an anticipated game between David Gauci and Stephen Busuttil Naudi. Ian Refalo pulled one back for the FIscher-men, but John Richards was able to clinch victory for his side with a win against on form Bora Stefanovic.
Next round promises to be very exciting as the table will surely change. Blunder Busters and Queens face off and the Check Mates and Future Malta Kings will surely be looking to take advantage of any points lost by any of the teams.
To view the results, standings and pairings please visit: