Even at the beginning of the season the general consensus was that it would be hard to stop Gonzaga in this year’s Armstrong Cup, and so it has proved. With some of the 8th-round matches played, Gonzaga leads by 4½ points over St. Benildus ‘A’ with a match in hand, and realistically it will require an unlikely lopsided win for the latter in their round 9 match to alter the result.
This week Benildus had a narrow 4½-3½ point win at home versus fourth-place Elm Mount, and courtesy of Oliver Dunne we have the game from board 8.
Oliver, playing Black, sacrificed a piece for two pawns, but in the diagrammed position White, to play, has essentially consolidated. What do you think of the continuation 23. Bg4 Re8 24. Rxc7, as played?
As Oliver himself points out, after 23. Bg4? Re8 24. Rxc7?, he could have recovered the piece with 24. … Qf4! (or … Qd4 or … Qg5).
Instead simply 23. Qc1 leaves Black helpless.