16 June 2002
Although Barry Chess Club teams have won the East Glamorgan Chess Association's Summer Knockout Cup in both 2000 and 2001, this year's representatives in the competition are dropping quicker than pheasants on the twelfth of August.
Following the departure of the club's C team from the Consolation Cup during the previous week, members of Barry B travelled to Aberdare last Monday evening to receive their discharge papers.
Grading wise, the visitors were fairly evenly matched with their hosts and consequently it was probably fair to say that the match would go to whichever team had lady luck's blessing and was able to put in the best effort on the night. Aberdare won boards 1 and 4 but Barry struck back on board 3, needing only to convert an endgame advantage on board 2 into a win for a 2:2 result which would have given them the match on board count. A miscalculation allowed Aberdare to queen a passed pawn directly after Barry had done so and thereby conceded a draw for the hosts to record a 2½ :1½ victory and proceed to the next round.
There was no need for the members of Barry A to prove their mettle as, perhaps fortuitously due to the club's current run of lackadaisical form, the team received a bye into the next round of the competition where they are now the club's only remaining representatives.