The reintroduction of the Carroll College Chess and Boardgames Club was a great success with many students coming along to join in the fun.

The most thrilling game of the day was game 1 between Aisha McLean and Tyler Chown. The game was a festival of combative chess with piece after piece being taken. With the board nearly empty of pieces Aisha started to push pawns and saw the opportunity for a pawn run to the back rank where she promoted her pawn to a rook and checkmated soon after. It was a very close game and both players should be very proud of the way they played.

A back and forth tug-o-war game took place between Justin Murphy and Archie Cockram. Skillful moves were played by both players with Archie surprising himself when he was able to dominate the centre of the board with his knight. As the end of AM break approached, both players shook hands across the board and accepted the draw.

Annelise McLennan took on Mr Foster in one of the feature matches. Annelise played a tight game creeping up the board with pawns and key pieces to set stealthy traps for Mr Foster. Once Mr Foster disrupted the pawn structure there was room to flank the centre of the board and Mr Foster surprised himself when the rook sliding to the H file caused Annelise’s king to be trapped by the opposing queen and it was checkmate in the corner. Annelise learnt a lot about pawn movement and is getting ready for more chess in coming weeks it is hoped.

The game between Mrs King and Joshua Sawyer is set to be a marathon with the board placed carefully in battle readiness for next week. The pieces are set and with Mrs King’s increasing knowledge of how pieces move across the board under Josh’s tutelage, things are well placed for an exciting endgame.

Come along and join in the fun! Every Wednesday AM Break in the Hub.