The Irish Championship 1991 featured a spectacular game between the brothers Niall and Gerard McDonnell. Where the average interesting game might have one or two critical points of interest, this game had a dozen at the very least. It featured an unusual material balance, an exposed king taking a long tour, major ebbs and flows of fortune, and even left a note of mystery in its final result.
The tournament report has limited notes; for those in search of puzzles, an unannotated version is also available here, and also on the ICU website. Some interesting moments are at move 37 with Black to play (‘37B’), 38B, 41W, 42B, 45W, 48W, 48B, 55W, 57B, and 58W. Here are some excerpts, chosen almost at random.
At move 30, Black had an overwhelmingly won game, and could now finish White off quickly:
Fifteen moves later, after further missed opportunities, it was all much more complicated:
Twelve moves after that, and in a very difficult ending, Black’s situation was critical:
The final position is picturesque, but the verdict is obvious: White has a perpetual check starting with 70. Qg3+. But the result is 0-1. Why?
[Click to replay the full game (warning: spoilers).]