Round seven of the #GibChess Battle of Sexes, held at Gibraltar’s Garrison Library on Monday 31 January, resulted in a 6-4 victory for Team Sabino with the black pieces, increasing their overall score to 37-33 – a lead of four points. But, once again, it could have been very different if Team Pia had taken all the chances offered in what was a particularly tense and hard-fought round. | Photo: Sir David Steel, Governor of Gibraltar, by John Saunders.
Round six of the #GibChess Battle of Sexes, held at Gibraltar’s Garrison Library on Sunday 30 January, saw the men’s team win by 6½-3½ on the day and, for the first time, move into the lead in the overall match by 31 points to 29. It was round of missed chances and swings of fortune as players became tired and the tension increased. For the first time since our arrival the sun shone outdoors, but not indoors on the women’s games as they didn’t get their fair share of whatever luck was going. Four rounds remain, and now it is the women’s team who need to fight back if they are to share the top prize of £75,000. Report and photos: John Saunders
The #GibChess Battle of the Sexes reached its halfway point at Gibraltar’s Garrison Library on Friday 28 January with a tense 5-5 draw in round five, with the women having White on all boards. The women thus still lead the men by a single point, with 25½ points to the men’s 24½. The match is beautifully poised for a tense second half when play resumes on Sunday | Report and photos by John Saunders
The fourth round of the #GibChess Battle of the Sexes at Gibraltar’s Garrison Library, ended in a narrow victory for the men’s team by 5½-4½, wielding the white pieces for the second time. This was Team Sabino’s second successive victory, following the women’s double success in the first two rounds but of course only game points are relevant and Team Pia remain in the lead by a single point. The score is thus 20½ to the women, 19½ to the men. John Saunders reports. | Photos: John Saunders | Photo: Steven Linares, Gibraltar Minister for Housing, Employment, Youth and Sport, makes the opening move for Eric Rosen against Olga Girya
After two tough rounds in which they were heavily defeated, the men’s team fought back with a vengeance in round three of the #GibChess Battle of the Sexes Tournament and won by the impressive margin of 7-3 in this men versus women classical chess event, played at Gibraltar’s Garrison Library on Wednesday 26 January. The match score is thus now 16-14 in favour of the women but with the men close behind with a long way to go. | Report and photos by John Saunders