The 2017-18 League season has now ended. The last rounds were played in ALSAA on Sunday 29th April. No trophies were won and no teams were promoted but the Armstrong team finished as runners-up and  three board prizes were won

Armstrong Cup – Division 1
The Armstrong Cup team finished in 2nd place, 2 points behind Gonzaga. The team was leading going into the last round but were overtaken by Gonzaga who won 7-1 against Balbriggan while Elm Mount fell to a 3½-4½ defeat to Bray. Below is a picture of the team receiving their runners-up trophies.

The top scorer was Alvaro Valdes Escobar who scored 9½ points and won a board prize. Ciaran Quinn (8½) also won a board prize.

Heidenfeld Trophy – Division 2
Elm Mount’s Heidenfeld team finished in 3rd place, missing out on promotion by 1½ points. The team were in 3rd place going into the last round but the teams in first and second place drew against each other and Elm Mount’s 5-3 in against Bray was not enough to overtake them. The top scorer was Sean Murphy who scored 8 points.

O’Hanlon Cup – Division 4
The O’Hanlon Cup team also finished in 3rd place. A 3-3 draw with Gorey in the last round left the team 2 points behind Trinity College, who won 4-2 in the last round. Andrew Peters was the top scorer with 9/11 points, winning a board prize. The team went through the entire season without needing a single substitute.

British Airways Cup – Division 5
Elm Mount had 2 teams in the North Section of the British Airways Cup. The A team finished 4th with 28 points, 3 points ahead of the B team in 8th place. The A team finished just half a point behind 2nd placed Malahide. The top scorer on the A team was Eugene McMorrow with 7 points. Ronan Murphy and Terry O’Connor were joint top scorers on the B team with both scoring 6 points out of 10.

Bodley Cup – Division 6
Elm Mount’s team finished in 4th place in the North Section of the Bodley Cup, behind Malahide A, Skerries and Malahide B. The top scorer on the team was Nicu Boldijar who scored 6½ out of 9 in the 10-team league.

The last rounds of the Leinster Chess league are fast approaching.  Divisions 1 to 4 will play their last round matches in the ALSAA on Sunday, April 29th. Divisions 2 and 4 in the morning, and Divisions 1 and 3 in the afternoon. Division 5 and 6 have North and South sections so the top two teams in each section playoff against each other.

Three of Elm Mount’s six teams are in contention for honours.

Division 1 – Armstrong Cup
The Armstrong team is 2 points clear going into the last round but will need a strong performance against Bray/Greystones to win the title. Gonzaga in 2nd place play Balbriggan.

Division 2 – Heidenfeld Trophy
The Heidenfeld team has a chance of promotion to the Armstrong – the team needs a good result in the last round Bray/Greystones and has the advantage that the two other contenders for promotion, Gonzaga and Blanchardstown, are playing each other in the last round.

Division 4 – O’Hanlon Cup
The O’Hanlon team is in 3rd place going into the last round but have a slightly easier match against 6th placed Gorey than 2nd-placed Dublin, who play 4th-placed Malahide. Dublin are just 1½ points ahead.

Division 5 – BEA Cup
Elm Mount has 2 teams in the BEA Cup North section. The A team is safely in mid-table. The B team is fourth from bottom but are 2½ points of Naomh Barróg who are in 2nd-last place and who the B team play in the last round.

Division 6 – Bodley Cup
Elm Mount’s Bodley Cup North team has finished it’s league campaign, finishing 4th in the 10-team section.