Monthly Archives: December 2011

Ray Keene simul, Trinity 1977

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Sean Coffey

From a 1977 clipping supplied by Seán Terry: “Chess grand master Ray Keene (29) gave a demonstration last night at Trinity College, Dublin, where it had been arranged that he would play simultaneously against 50 competitors. The exhibition was organised … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Players, Simuls | 1 Comment

DisinformatorTM

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Sean Coffey

With excellent timing, two magazines have produced a new issue this week, just in time for the Christmas stocking. The first is of course Tony Foley’s Irish Chess Journal. The second, which may not be familiar to Irish readers, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Branagan Cups, Games | 2 Comments

Did Diskin resign in a winning position?

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Sean Coffey

The last post gave P. A. Duignan’s brilliancy prize win against P. Diskin in the 1949 Irish championship in Galway. But there’s a flaw! David McAlister spotted that Diskin may have been winning in the final position. White’s last move … Continue reading →

Posted in Connacht champions, Games, Irish champions, Players | Leave a comment

Duignan-Diskin, Irish championship, Galway 1949 (brilliancy prize)

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Sean Coffey

Returning to , the next on the list is another win by P. A. (Paddy) Duignan, this time against P. Diskin in the 1949 Irish championship in Galway, winning the tournament brilliancy prize. P. Diskin of Galway was Connacht champion … Continue reading →

Posted in Connacht champions, Games, Irish champions, Irish championships, Players | 1 Comment

Irish correspondence champions

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Sean Coffey

Following up on the last two posts (blogging being a stream-of-consciousness matter), two of the unlucky almost-winners of the Irish championship had the consolation of winning the Irish correspondence championship. W. J. Allen was chess editor of the Belfast News-Letter … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish champions, Players | Leave a comment

Equal first in an Irish championship, but never Irish champion

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Sean Coffey

The answer to Thursday’s trivia question, what do William Edward Thrift P.J. McMahon W.J. Allen Oscar Aidan Quigley William Richard Dunphy Alex Montwill Matt O’Leary Tom Clarke have in common, is as in the title: all finished equal first in … Continue reading →

Posted in Players, Puzzles, Tournaments | 2 Comments

Trivial pursuit (Irish chess edition)

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Sean Coffey

Here’s a puzzle: what do the following players have in common? William Edward Thrift P.J. McMahon W.J. Allen Oscar Aidan Quigley William Richard Dunphy Alex Montwill Matt O’Leary Tom Clarke Answer in a couple of days. The players all have … Continue reading →

Posted in Players, Puzzles | Leave a comment

J.J. Walsh unpublished manuscript: selected Irish games 1896-1967

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Sean Coffey

At IRLchess we’re interested in all aspects of Irish chess history and records, but above all in games. The ICU games archive has good coverage, of course, but there are many other published games that are not included there. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Irish champions, Leinster championships, Players | 2 Comments

Monthly roundup

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Sean Coffey

I haven’t posted in a while, due to a nasty problem with my computer: the hard disk became corrupted. It seems that all the data is fine (touch wood), but most of the software wouldn’t run, so the complete operating … Continue reading →

Posted in Administrative | 2 Comments