Author Archives: Sean Coffey

Ulster Championship 2019

Posted on November 22, 2019 by Sean Coffey

The Ulster Championship 2019 was held in the Europa Hotel over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The event was dominated by Daniil Zelenchuk, who started with five straight wins and had wrapped up clear first with a round to spare, … Continue reading →

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Irish Women’s Championship 2019

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Sean Coffey

The Irish Women’s Championship took place in Buswells Hotel over the weekend. Ioana Miller won for the third consecutive year, winning all her games, also for the third consecutive year. And for the second consecutive year there were no draws … Continue reading →

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Irish Championship 1977

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Sean Coffey

The Irish Championship for 1977, held in Cork, attracted a field of 34 players. It was a very young field, in which 15 players were playing in their first championship, including future winners Philip Short, John Delaney, Eugene Curtin, and … Continue reading →

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St. Andrew’s Masters 2019

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Sean Coffey

The third annual St. Andrew’s Charity Classic was held the weekend before last in Booterstown, Co. Dublin. The event attracted 130 players across 3 sections. The Masters ended in a tie for first between Tarun Kanyamarala and Conor O’Donnell. A … Continue reading →

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FIDE ratings

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Sean Coffey

A new page has been added here, listing Irish players in descending order of peak FIDE ratings, as published in official FIDE lists (and not accounting for intermediate or live ratings). The page accounts for all FIDE lists up to … Continue reading →

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Title norms

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Sean Coffey

A new page has been added here on FIDE title norms achieved by Irish players (and by non-Irish players in events played in Ireland). The page also lists progress of Irish players towards titles. Many thanks to John McMorrow, who … Continue reading →

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City of Dublin Championships 2019

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Sean Coffey

The City of Dublin Championships were held in Coláiste Éanna over the weekend, attracting 123 players over four sections. In the Masters, Conor O’Donnell became champion for the first time, with 4½/5. Of the 32 games played, 29 were available … Continue reading →

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Sir Horace Plunkett on Capablanca

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Sean Coffey

Sir Horace Plunkett kept detailed diaries over decades; they have been transcribed and are available online at the National Library of Ireland website. His diary for 1919 provides some background on Capablanca’s visit, and his stay at Plunkett’s house. The … Continue reading →

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Capablanca on Irish chess

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Sean Coffey

Capablanca scored +27 =12 -1 and +37 =2 -1 in his two Dublin simuls, on December 4 and December 5, 1919, respectively. Shortly afterwards, he recorded his impressions of Irish chess, in a letter to the Irish Statesman: ‘Señor Capablanca … Continue reading →

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Sir Horace Plunkett, P.C.

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Sean Coffey

The “Privy Council” is in the headlines all of a sudden; though the link from this to Irish chess is a very slight one, it leads to a very interesting character in Irish chess, and indeed in Irish history. Sir … Continue reading →

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