Author Archives: Sean Coffey

Who?

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Sean Coffey

This photo shows the Ballyfermot team that won the national Community Games championship in 1970. (Click on the picture for a larger version.) One player in this picture (call him Player A) was later a Leinster champion. He’s still playing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Photos, Puzzles | 1 Comment

Pickett’s Charge

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Sean Coffey

The latest issue of The New Winawer Report has been posted on the Winawer page. This deals with a side line in the Poisoned Pawn, which was the subject of new analysis in Emanuel Berg’s new volume on the 7 … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | 1 Comment

Armstrong Cup 1976-77

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Sean Coffey

The Armstrong Cup page has been updated with details of the 1976-77 season. In a close finish U.C.D. retained the cup, fighting off the challenge of Portmarnock, Dublin A, and Collegians. The winning team consisted of Bernard Kernan, Oisín McGuinness, … Continue reading →

Posted in Armstrong Cup, Games, Tournaments | 2 Comments

Another queen sacrifice

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Sean Coffey

A while back we had a queen sacrifice from Oliver Dunne that was A la Morphy. Oliver has submitted another game, for which many thanks, this time from a Heidenfeld match last weekend. And it’s another queen sacrifice! In the … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Puzzles | 3 Comments

Samuel Beckett and the Armstrong Cup

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Sean Coffey

“Samuel Beckett’s obsession with chess: how the game influenced his work” runs the headline of a recent article in the Guardian by Stephen Moss, which continues “Chess was one of Samuel Beckett’s great obsessions, touching everything from Murphy to Endgame.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | 3 Comments

Gonzaga Masters 2014

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Sean Coffey

The Gonzaga Classic was held two weeks ago, a little earlier than usual. In the Masters, David Fitzsimons had a 200+ point rating advantage over the field and had won the event for the four previous years. Once again in … Continue reading →

Posted in Gonzaga Classics, Tournaments | 1 Comment

Ruane-O’Boyle, Heidenfeld 2013-14

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Sean Coffey

An entertaining game from last weekend’s Heidenfeld match Drogheda-St. Benildus has been posted on the Benildus web site (The Madness of the St George–good title!). In the diagrammed position it’s Black to play his 14th. The madness was all set … Continue reading →

Posted in Games | 4 Comments

Crichton-Wall, Leinster championship 2005

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Sean Coffey

Many thanks to Martin Crichton for supplying his game against Gavin Wall in the last round of the 2005 Leinster championship (not available anywhere else). This must have been one of the strongest Leinster championships ever, with 8 of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Games | 3 Comments

Irish Women’s Championship 2013

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Sean Coffey

Among the events around last year’s Irish championship in Limerick was the Irish Women’s Championship 2013. Over the years this event has been held on a very sporadic basis, but recently there seems to be a significant effort to promote … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish women's championships, Tournaments | 1 Comment

Two Side Lines

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Sean Coffey

Emanuel Berg’s The French Defence Volume 2 arrived last month: 304 pages of ‘Grandmaster Repertoire’-style discussion on the Winawer with 7. Qg4, covering both the Poisoned Pawn and the 7. … 0-0 line. I can’t really give a full review … Continue reading →

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