Author Archives: Sean Coffey

Sligo Open 2026

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Sean Coffey

The recently concluded Sligo Chess and Culture Festival featured four subsidiary events in the Weekender on the opening weekend, plus a 9-round international Open, a rapid, and a blitz, in addition several other non-tournament events in an ambitious programme. Full … Continue reading →

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Tablebase revelations

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Sean Coffey

Last weekend, Lichess announced a new partial 8-piece tablebase “Op1”, containing all positions in which at least one pair of opposing pawns face each other on the same file. The tablebase can be searched on line using the Lichess analysis … Continue reading →

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Sligo Masters 2026

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Sean Coffey

The annual Sligo Spring Tournament has expanded even further this year to a Sligo Chess and Culture Festival, comprising a five-section Weekender, a 9-round Open in which norms might be possible, a rapid and a blitz, as well as various … Continue reading →

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Williamson Shield 2026

Posted on January 28, 2026 by Sean Coffey

The latest instantiation of the long-running Williamson Shield was held in Belfast last weekend. In a departure from recent practice, one combined event was run, instead of an upper and lower section. In all, 35 players played, including four former … Continue reading →

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Irish New Year Open 2026

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Sean Coffey

The Irish New Year Festival 2026 was held at the Talbot Hotel Stillorgan from December 31 to January 4. It comprised an Open, the Irish 50+ and 65+ championships, a Norm tournament, a blitz, and the Leinster Junior Championships in … Continue reading →

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Barney O’Sullivan

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Sean Coffey

Bill Egan’s email, cited in the last post, said that the sketch shown there is the only known extant image of Barney O’Sullivan. Thankfully, this is not the case, and there are several other pictures available. One picture has very … Continue reading →

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Bill Egan, Barney O’Sullivan

Posted on January 17, 2026 by Sean Coffey

Barney O’Sullivan (1899-1978) was Irish champion in 1939 and 1946. A version of the drawing above appeared on Mark Orr’s TICA (The Irish Chess Archive) website, and is in one of the ICU pages on him. As noted in the … Continue reading →

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Drogheda Super Rapid 2K25 KlimaX 2025

Posted on January 8, 2026 by Sean Coffey

The second Drogheda Super Rapid KlimaX event was held on December 27 and 28. As the organisers note, this is Ireland’s only multi-day rapid event. It attracted a field of 70 players, slightly down on last year’s total, who contested … Continue reading →

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Irish Women’s Championship 2022

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Sean Coffey

Last month, Trisha Kanyamarala qualified for the WGM title, making her third norm at the XTX Markets London Chess Classic Open, November 27-December 3, having met all other requirements. Congratulations! This terrific achievement came shortly after her twentieth birthday. She … Continue reading →

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Paul Carey 1964-2025

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Sean Coffey

I was very sorry to hear the news of Paul Carey’s passing, last Tuesday. Sincere condolences to his family. He was one of the organisers of the spectacularly successful and long-running Bunratty tournament from its founding throughout its existence. His … Continue reading →

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