Inverclyde Chess Club produced one of their best ever results with a shock victory over Glasgow League title challengers Cathcart A.
Inverclyde's season had gotten off to an excellent start with a surprise victory over Bearsden, but they had since suffered defeats to Glasgow Polytechnic and local rivals Paisley. They entered this game as big underdogs: having never previously defeated Cathcart's A team and being substantially out-graded on seven out of the eight boards.
Inverclyde's players rose to the challenge though: a fine win for Stephen Doherty; a checkmate for Carsten Bolln in a well-played endgame; and a slightly fortuitous checkmate for David Logue, who took advantage of his opponent's mistake under time pressure. Stephen Hilton also played a solid draw against a strong opponent, contributing an important half-point to the home team. The pick of the results though, was Jim Montgomery's excellent win on board one, versus an International Master.
These four wins and a draw were enough to secure Inverclyde a surprising and very welcome win against excellent opposition. With two wins from four, and having played three of the top for teams last year, Inverclyde have given themselves an excellent chance of avoiding a relegation battle this season.
Full Results:
| Bd | Grade | Inverclyde | (7) | vs | (2) | Cathcart A | Grade | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2144 | Montgomery, Jim | 1 | - | 0 | McKay, Roddy M (IM) | 2422 | Home Win |
| 2 | 2026 | McDonald, Kevin | 0 | - | 1 | Grant, Alan G | 2019 | Away Win |
| 3 | 1832 | Hilton, Steve H | ½ | - | ½ | Campbell, David | 1962 | Draw |
| 4 | 1741 | McPheator, Gary | 0 | - | 1 | Harkins, Michael G | 1907 | Away Win |
| 5 | 1707 | Bolln, Carsten | 1 | - | 0 | Maxwell, Alistair | 1895 | Home Win |
| 6 | 1629 | Logue, David | 1 | - | 0 | Marks, Ian A | 1881 | Home Win |
| 7 | 1642 | Doherty, Stephen | 1 | - | 0 | Tyre, Malcolm | 1828 | Home Win |
| 8 | 1467 | Sheridan, Marc | 0 | - | 1 | Taylor, Allen | 1757 | Away Win |
| 4½ | - | 3½ | ||||||
