Chronicle of the ninth day of the 2024 regional chess championship of the Fraga Chess Club
This Saturday, March 23rd, the ninth round of the 2024 Aragon Chess Team Championship was held. Team "A" suffered a defeat, confirming their relegation to the Preferente division, Team "C" secured a good victory in the Primera division, and Team "D" lost in the Segunda division. Here are the results:
Honor Division
It was all or nothing. That was the approach to a match that absolutely had to be won. Things started well on the third board, as Miguel Ángel Aribau drew with Fernando Barranco after more than three hours of play. Immediately afterward, on the first board, José Luis Ramón returned to winning ways by defeating Mario Acatatto. We took the lead, but Oscar Vallverdú's defeat on the second board (due to time trouble) against Steven Arrieta, and Adrián Agustín's subsequent loss to Andrés Hidalgo on the fourth board, brought the score to the final 1,5-2,5. Relegation is now mathematically certain, making the final match against Stadium Casablanca "B" a mere formality.
Home
In the first match, "C" defeated Monzón "C" 3-1. Alex López, Mario Aribau, and Toni Navarro secured victories on boards 2, 3, and 4, respectively, while Víctor Martínez suffered the only defeat on board 1 after a beautiful game. "C" finished fourth with 9 points, capping off what can only be described as a very successful season.
And the "B" team had a bye and finished sixth with 7 points. More was expected from this team, but the results didn't reflect that. The champion of the category was Jaime Casas "B", tied with Binéfar "B".
Away
Fraga “D” played at home against Jaque “D” and was defeated 1-3. Diego Córcoles, Santiago Ramo, and José Tejedor lost, while José Carmona secured the victory in a very well-played game. The team remains in fourth place with 4 points, and will finish in that position regardless of the results of the final matchday. On April 6th, in the División de Honor, Fraga “A” travels to the headquarters of the Agrupación Artística Aragonesa to play in the “Super Saturday” against Stadium Casablanca “B” in a match with no bearing on the standings for either team. In the Segunda División, “D” will close out the season visiting Monzón “D” in another match with no impact on the standings. All matches will be played on April 6th at 16:15 PM, as the competition is paused for the Easter holidays.
