Barrow - van Riel Shield 2023

Ballarat continues its winning run - 4.5 to 3.5

On Sunday, May 21, a team of 8 Ballarat players trekked off to Bendigo for the 6th annual Challenge match against Bendigo Chess Club. With Bendigo packed with unknown players on their lower boards, we were expecting another comfortable match victory for Ballarat Chess Club. However, nothing could be further from the truth! The Bendigo team played with zeal and determination, and after jumping out to a 3-1 lead, things looked grim for us. But then a miracle comeback, worthy of an epic AFL Grand Final, saw us win our last 3 games to score a 4.5-3.5 victory on the day, our 4th match win in a row. The hero of the hour was veteran Kevin Perrin, who never gave up in a seemingly lost game to score a memorable win. It was the last game to finish and elicited a hearty round of applause from the watching players, Bendigo and Ballarat alike. So, a remarkable victory for Ballarat, and we keep our unbeaten status for at least another year.