Author Archives: Sean Coffey

City of Dublin 2011

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Sean Coffey

The City of Dublin championships took place last September, and a report (by Pat Fitzsimons) and a majority of the games in the Masters (complied by Ciarán Quinn) appeared at the time. Subsequently Peter Scott, chief arbiter, sent the crosstables, … Continue reading →

Posted in Tournaments | Leave a comment

Monthly roundup: January

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Sean Coffey

Here is a roundup of some of the changes this month that were not the subject of separate posts: Branagan Cup: Two more winners were added to the roll of honour, based on Hugh Cummins’ tribute to Cormac Brady, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Administrative | 1 Comment

An Tóstal 1955

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Sean Coffey

Last year Tony Foley gave extensive coverage of An Tóstal 1955, the first international tournament ever held in Cork, in a series of posts (parts I, II, III, IV, V and VI), based on reports in the Evening Echo and … Continue reading →

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Stop press!

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Sean Coffey

It isn’t often that Irish chess history makes the front page of the Irish Times, but we live in strange times indeed: today’s paper has a story, by Joanne Hunt, Game finally over after 50 years for silver chess trophy. … Continue reading →

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Irish championship 2000, Castleconnell, Co. Limerick

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Sean Coffey

Irish Ch 2000 flyer header

To this day the topic of where to hold Irish championships is hotly debated, with a division between those who say choosing Dublin all the time is monotonous and unfair to non-Dublin players, and those who say that non-Dublin venues result in much smaller tournaments. The 2000 championship, held in the “scenic village” of Castleconnell Continue reading →

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Ciarán O’Hare earns correspondence chess Senior International Master title

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Sean Coffey

Ciarán O’Hare used to play over-the-board chess in Ireland in the late 1970’s: for example he played in the 1979 and 1980 Irish championships. He moved to the US at some point, a long time ago I think, and is … Continue reading →

Posted in Players | 1 Comment

Monthly roundup: Branagan Cup, TWIC update, Irish Championship 2011, Simuls

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Sean Coffey

Happy New Year all! Here’s a summary of some new items over the past month, that were not the subject of posts. Branagan Cup Up to now the “Leagues” tab here has been completely empty. The plan has always been … Continue reading →

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Ray Keene simul, Trinity 1977

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Sean Coffey

From a 1977 clipping supplied by Seán Terry: “Chess grand master Ray Keene (29) gave a demonstration last night at Trinity College, Dublin, where it had been arranged that he would play simultaneously against 50 competitors. The exhibition was organised … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Players, Simuls | 1 Comment

DisinformatorTM

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Sean Coffey

With excellent timing, two magazines have produced a new issue this week, just in time for the Christmas stocking. The first is of course Tony Foley’s Irish Chess Journal. The second, which may not be familiar to Irish readers, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Branagan Cups, Games | 2 Comments

Did Diskin resign in a winning position?

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Sean Coffey

The last post gave P. A. Duignan’s brilliancy prize win against P. Diskin in the 1949 Irish championship in Galway. But there’s a flaw! David McAlister spotted that Diskin may have been winning in the final position. White’s last move … Continue reading →

Posted in Connacht champions, Games, Irish champions, Players | Leave a comment