A report for the Irish Championship 2006 appeared here in 2011 (cf. cover post), and has been updated in only minor ways since. Only 14 of the 52 games were available, which meant it had the sparsest coverage of any championship since 1989.
I am delighted to report, however, that Gerry O’Connell, who was tournament director, has very kindly provided scans for all scoresheets from the event, for which many thanks. I have now (after a considerable delay) finally transcribed them all and compiled them into a revised and expanded report, including all games and also adding annotations.
Only 12 players participated. The shortfall was on the youth side: only three of the players were aged under 35: Stephen Jessel, Killian Delaney, who was making his Irish championship début, and David Fitzsimons, who turned 15 that year and was playing in his second championship.
As reported previously, Stephen Brady and Stephen Jessel were neck and neck for most of the tournament. A disastrous time trouble blunder by Jessel in his round 7 game against Philip Short saw Brady move into the sole lead for the first time, and a draw and a win in the last two rounds were enough to clinch the title.
Defending champion Colm Daly lost an interesting game in round 3 to Jessel, and then disastrously stumbled into a mating net against Brady in round 5. In round 8, he lost again, this time against Matt O’Leary, who finished equal first in the 1972 championship, narrowly losing the playoff match to Wolfgang Heidenfeld.
40… ?
O’Leary had an edge out of the opening, before giving up two minor pieces for rook and two pawns. In the diagrammed position, Black is fine after 40… Be7!, with a view to liquidating the queenside, e.g., 41. Rb6 Nd3 42. Re3 Nxb4 43. Rxb4 Bc5=. Instead the game continued 40… Bf6?, and after 41. Rc7? (better 41. Rb6) 41… Bxe5? (41… Nd3! 42. Re3 Bxe5=) 42. Rxc6 Bd4+ 43. Kf1 Rf8 44. Re4! White stood much better, and eventually won a long rook and pawn v. bishop and pawn ending.
[Click to replay the full game.]
41… ?
In the same round, the game between Eamon Keogh and Philip Short had a puzzling finish. In the diagrammed position, Black, to play, is easily winning after 41… Rg2+ 42. Ke1 Rxd2 43. Kxd2 Rb3 44. c5 Ke5, or here 42… Rg1+ 43. Ke2 Rb3. But instead Short took the immediate draw by checking on g2 and g1. He must have been quite low on time to have given up here.