As 2017 begins, we can start to analyse the first half of the Leinster leagues and try to predict how teams will perform in the second half of the season. Articles from the Armstrong, BEA and Bodley were written by Carl Jackson, The Heidenfeld and O'Hanlon were written by Kevin Burke and the Ennis and O'Sullivans were written by Andy Keenan.

Starting with the Armstrong Cup, the table is starting to look similar to last season's final standings. Gonzaga have established a 5.5 point lead at the top of the table and will be difficult to catch. While the closest challenger in previous seasons has been Trinity, this year Dublin chess club have started strongly and if any team can stop Gonzaga from making it 3 league titles in a row, it might be them. Team consistency has often been the problem for Dublin in the past as their strongest team is formidable, and it looks like they have addressed that problem this season. The usual suspects make up the chasing pack, with Trinity in third, Elm Mount in fourth and Benildus in fifth, although only 3.5 points separate 2nd and 5th. The relegation battle in previous seasons has been very interesting in the Armstrong, and this season might be the most exciting yet with 7 teams in danger of relegation. The newly promoted teams, Rathmines and Blanchardstown, will certainly be in the mix towards the end of the season. Blanchardstown have yet to win a game but barring their loss to Gonzaga they have only had very narrow defeats. Rathmines can consider themselves unlucky as they have won 2 matches but found themselves at the bottom of the table. Given they have played Gonzaga, Dublin and Benildus however, they may see themselves having an easier run of games in the second half of the season. Kilkenny, Phibsboro and Dun Laoghaire will also be likely to be involved again this season, but probably most surprising is that Balbriggan and Bray have also found themselves in this large relegation battle. However Bray have played 3 of the top 5 and have unfortunately defaulted 2 points which has an impact on their league standing. The bottom 7 teams are only separated by 2.5 points so a couple good results could give any team a little breathing space. It should make for a thrilling relegation fight at the end of the season.

In the Heidenfeld, it’s looking like a quick return for the two sides relegated from the Armstrong last season, St Benildus and Curragh. The two have the biggest gap at the top of any league table; Benildus are 9½ points clear of third after 5 games, while Curragh are 5 points clear. Benildus in particular have been ruthlessly efficient, losing just three games so far and only once scoring less than 6 points; their match away to Curragh on 4th Feb looks like it will decide the destination of the league title, and with Curragh starting to show some of their games live online, it may well be one to watch too. Elm Mount are the nearest challengers – they’ve beaten Curragh, but have dropped vital points in losing narrowly to Bray and Rathmines; the latter are the only team to have played both the top two and may launch a bid for third in the second half of the season. Behind them, the rest of the league is quite congested – there’s the same gap (5 points) between second and third as between fourth and twelfth. Celbridge and Malahide currently occupy the relegation spaces – Celbridge should move clear if Paul Dempsey returns for the second half of the season – but any match between teams in the bottom half are going to be big matches, with every half point potentially vital. Not surprisingly, the top two dominate the points table – three of the five players on 4½/5 and three of the six players on 4/5 are either Benildus or Curragh. Lucan’ and Phibsboro will hope Anthony Bourached and Miguel Delaney and keep up their form into the second half – both are also on 4½/5 – while Bray’s Tom Janowski and Kevin Burke of Benildus boast the best 100% records in the division, with 4/4.

The race for the Ennis Shield is beginning to heat up, with several teams in the hunt for promotion to the Heidenfeld Trophy, while the relegation spots seem to be wide open at the turn of the year. Gonzaga C.C.'s second team have extended their long-running unbeaten streak to 36 matches as five wins from five sees them take 24.5 points and a comfortable 5 point lead into the New Year. Jostling for position behind them are Rathmines A, Dun Laoighre C.C., and Round Tower C.C., all on 19.5 points. Last year's O'Hanlon runners up Skerries C.C. and Longford C.C. are also still in with a chance for promotion, sitting in fifth and sixth place respectively on 15 points. Meanwhile, Naomh Barróg C.C. are beginning to be cut adrift from the pack at the bottom of the table; they sit in twelfth position on only six points. With a tough run-in including three of the top five teams, Barróg will be facing a titanic uphill struggle to stay afloat in 2017. However, only three game points separate the teams between seventh and twelfth position. On paper, Cavan C.C. seem to have the weakest squad of these teams, but are punching above their weight to bring in some good results; if I were a betting man I wouldn't hesitate to back them staying up. Curragh C.C. and Rathmines B have had trouble fielding a team consistently, while Dublin C.C., seemingly the strongest of these teams, have been somewhat underperforming. In the individual tables, there have been a number of outstanding performances, most notably that of exciting Rathmines B junior Sanjay Menon, who has excelled in scoring 5/5. His clubmate, Rathmines A's Panagiotis Papadopoulos, is one of three players, along with Joseph Dunne (Skerries) and Round Tower top board Leon Fagan to have scored 4.5. While Gonzaga appear to be in pole position, a couple of poor performances in a row that easily could have been losses will give the chasing pack great hope. While Naomh Barrog will require a great escape of Steve McQueen proportions to elude the drop, there are a number of teams who could join them in the relegation zone come April. All in all, there's still plenty to play for in what promises to be an enjoyable and intriguing second half to the season. Before signing off, I would like to acknowledge some sad news for everyone involved with chess in Ireland. I regret to report that the division’s top player, Brian Gallagher of Naomh Barróg, passed away in St. Francis’ Hospice, Blanchardstown, on the 29th of December. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and teammates in this difficult time.

In the O’Hanlon, Benildus are clear at the top, though behind them, things are much tighter. Gorey and Enniscorthy started the season as two of the promotion favourites and are well up there, while Malahide, Drogheda and Elm Mount A are also in contention. The Wexford derby was played in round 1, with Enniscorthy coming out on top by the narrowest of margins to draw first blood in the title race, but Gorey have recovered with two big wins in the last two rounds to sit in second at the break. St Benildus A are the only unbeaten team, though, which includes an excellent 3½-2½ win over Enniscorthy just before Christmas in a match where the Wexford side were higher-rated on 5 of the 6 boards; captain Ciarán Ruane set the team on the way with a win in under an hour against Agustin Plaza Reino to end a run of 5 straight draws – including subs – at the start of the season. Unusually, the match was a double-header for Enniscorthy, who had played St Benildus B the same morning – the relegation favourites stunned the title favourites with a 3-3 draw despite giving more than 400 points across each board on average. It could have been better for the Bs, but Desmond Beatty found the only way to lose in a won endgame against Dovydas, while Enniscorthy took a draw on 6 despite being three pawns down. Luke Hayden (1124) beat Mercedes Plaza Reino (1651), William Kenny (1329) beat Dean Copeland (1509) while there were draws for Aodhán Keane (1218) and Liam Kelly (1254) against Robbie Kildea (1650) and Gabrielius Pocevicius (1438) to seal one of the results of the season in any division. Benildus B – promoted from the BEA alongside Enniscorthy last year – are still in relegation trouble, but at least are out of the bottom two at the break. Ballinasloe and Bray currently occupy the relegation spaces, but there’s only 4½ points between the bottom six. Benildus and the Wexford two dominate the points table as well; Brendan Cooney (Benildus) and the Gorey pair of Manuel Gardenes and John Halpenny are on 4/5 alongside Elm Mount’s Peter Scott.

In the BEA cup Blanchardstown and Trinity have established a lead in the race for promotion to the O'Hanlon. Blanchardstown top the table with 22 points and find Trinity a point behind. Inchicore are 3 points further adrift in third. Given all three have yet to play each other, anything can happen at the top of the table. Dublin would have considered themselves as one of the league favourites, but not getting their strongest teams has cost them points and sees them sitting in 7th place, 10.5 points off the promotion places. The relegation battle looks like it will be between 4 teams; Finglas, Curragh, Celbridge and Naomh Barrog make up the foot of the table in that order. Only 2.5 points separate the four teams and many of those teams are yet to play each other. The last round game between Naomh Barrog and Celbridge could be great viewing for the neutral as it will probably have a big impact on the outcome of the relegation scrap. The points table is dominated by Blanchardstown and Trinity as one would expect, with 100% records for Stefan Baczkowski, Sean McLoughlin of Blanchardstown, Robert Murtagh, John Stanley of Trinity and Peter Conneely of Aer Lingus.

The Bodley is a little trickier to predict, as Rathmines and Benildus have played a game more than anyone else and 2 games more than some teams. Malahide are joint top with Rathmines, so given their game in hand should take a lead, while Balbriggan in third are only 2.5 points adrift off Rathmines. A win in their outstanding game will see them go second. Kilkenny sit in fourth but have a game in hand over the other teams at the top while they have 2 games in hand over Rathmines. With only 3 points separating the top four teams and so many teams on different matches played it really is anyone's league and probably the most competitive league regarding the promotion competition. The relegation battle is a little less complicated as it looks like it will be between Elm Mount, Inchicore and Enniscorthy. Elm Mount are the best off with 7 points, Inchicore a half point behind and Enniscorthy are bottom with 4 points but have a game in hand so will make up some ground. The final round between Inchicore and Enniscorthy could be a great match to watch in determining the relegation places.

The 2016/17 edition of the O'Sullivan Cup was given a great boost at the start of the season with the return to Leinster League play of UCD Chess Club, who entered two teams into the bottom division. As was the case last year, the O'Sullivan has had so many entries it has been divided into two separate leagues, with teams from the same club kept apart where possible. Only the two winners of the respective leagues will earn promotion to the Bodley Cup for next season, while both will also advance to a play-off for the coveted trophy itself. Newcomers UCD A began the season as early favourites in the A section, but have been pushed to the limit so far by Gonzaga A. Indeed, with their round six fixture ending in a slender victory for Gonzaga, it is the Ranelagh outfit who lead the way heading into the New Year. While it appears to be a two-horse race at the moment, both Malahide A and Rathmines A will look to maintain the pressure on the leaders in the hopes that they will slip up in the tricky spring period. The B section tells a similar tale, with Gonzaga B leading UCD B at the top. Here too, the Belfield based side's only defeat has been at the hands of their promotion rivals. Skerries C.C., having played only three matches, are still right in contention: maximum points from their two matches in hand will see them tie the lead. With no relegation, the bottom division of the Leinster Leagues is more of an opportunity for the clubs not contesting the top spots to blood young players than earn bragging rights, and as usual this year's edition has provided a great chance for several youngsters to make a name for themselves. Martin Fitzgerald (Kilkenny A), only 13, leads the points table in the A section with a 100% score on 5/5. A seven-man contingent on 4 points in this section includes 5 juniors: Finn Ellingboe (Malahide A), Niall Fitzgerald (Kilkenny A), Gavin Moran (Naomh Barróg C.C.), Cian Bergin and Eoin Farrelly (both Rathmines C.C.). The other two players to hold this score are UCD A's Brian Gallagher and Gonzaga A skipper Sam O'Neill. A particular treat in the B section, meanwhile, has been the sterling return to league play of Gonzaga B's Patrick Young, who leads the points table on 5/5. One point adrift on 4 is his teammate John Keenan, while Laureline Aquistapace (UCD B), Dee Mowlds (Rathmines B), Robert Burns (Gorey) and Conor Nolan (Gonzaga B) all sit on 3 points. As things stand then, it's advantage Gonzaga in both sections, but as last year will prove, a division is never won on paper and there's always plenty to play for in the New Year. The O'Sullivan will be one for neutrals to keep a keen eye on in 2017 as UCD try to salvage their first bid to return a team to higher divisions.