AFTER a winning start to the season, Inverclyde Central Chess Club suffered a pair of defeats in the second round of matches in Division Three of the Scottish National Chess League.

The first game was against Oban who held significant grading advantages on three of the five boards. Oban won the top board match comfortably and scored an upset on board four, but wins for Marc Sheridan and Andrew Curran -- who defeated a higher graded opponent -- kept Inverclyde in contention. The match was decided by a wild, see-saw game between Inverclyde's Jim McGranaghan and Oban's Alistair Campbell which finally went the Oban player's way in a time scramble.

Inverclyde's second game of the round was against Edinburgh 2 who held grading advantages on every board. Inverclyde were able to hold their own on the top two boards, drawing both, but Edinburgh swept the remaining three to secure a handsome 4-1 win. With two wins and two defeats in the first four games, Inverclyde will have to win both of the next round games to have a chance of promotion, but will also be mindful that further defeats could make relegation a possibility.

Full Results:

Inverclyde v Oban

Bd Grade                                                 
1  1637  Logue, David       0 - 1 Campbell, Duncan A F   1886  
2  1490  McGranaghan, James 0 - 1 Campbell, Alistair W I 1854
3  1471  Curran, Andrew D   1 - 0 Flockhart, Hugh S      1612
4  1467  Smith, Andy        0 - 1 Doris, Peter J         1371
5  1395  Sheridan, Marc     1 - 0 Richmond, Liam          886    

2 - 3

Edinburgh v Inverclyde

Bd Grade                       
1  1725  McIntee, Christopher ½ - ½ Logue, David       1637  
2  1709  Sanderson, Mark      ½ - ½ McGranaghan, James 1490
3  1666  He, Ben              1 - 0 Curran, Andrew D   1471
4  1695  Smith, John S R      1 - 0 Smith, Andy        1467
5  1471  Zamvar, Vipin        1 - 0 Sheridan, Marc     1395

4 – 1

Inverclyde Central Chess Club is based at the Loreto Club, Houston Street Greenock. It meets most Monday evenings from 7.45. Contact David Logue on 07956 058291, visit inverclydechess.blogspot.com or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more details