Author Archives: Sean Coffey

Duignan-Diskin, Irish championship, Galway 1949 (brilliancy prize)

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Sean Coffey

Returning to J. J. Walsh’s unpublished manuscript of selected Irish games, 1896-1967, the next on the list is another win by P. A. (Paddy) Duignan, this time against P. Diskin in the 1949 Irish championship in Galway, winning the tournament … Continue reading →

Posted in Connacht champions, Games, Irish champions, Irish championships, Players | 1 Comment

Irish correspondence champions

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Sean Coffey

Following up on the last two posts (blogging being a stream-of-consciousness matter), two of the unlucky almost-winners of the Irish championship had the consolation of winning the Irish correspondence championship. W. J. Allen was chess editor of the Belfast News-Letter … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish champions, Players | Leave a comment

Equal first in an Irish championship, but never Irish champion

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Sean Coffey

The answer to Thursday’s trivia question, what do William Edward Thrift P.J. McMahon W.J. Allen Oscar Aidan Quigley William Richard Dunphy Alex Montwill Matt O’Leary Tom Clarke have in common, is as in the title: all finished equal first in … Continue reading →

Posted in Players, Puzzles, Tournaments | 2 Comments

Trivial pursuit (Irish chess edition)

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Sean Coffey

Here’s a puzzle: what do the following players have in common? William Edward Thrift P.J. McMahon W.J. Allen Oscar Aidan Quigley William Richard Dunphy Alex Montwill Matt O’Leary Tom Clarke Answer in a couple of days. The players all have … Continue reading →

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J.J. Walsh unpublished manuscript: selected Irish games 1896-1967

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Sean Coffey

At IRLchess we’re interested in all aspects of Irish chess history and records, but above all in games. The ICU games archive has good coverage, of course, but there are many other published games that are not included there. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Irish champions, Leinster championships, Players | 2 Comments

Monthly roundup

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Sean Coffey

I haven’t posted in a while, due to a nasty problem with my computer: the hard disk became corrupted. It seems that all the data is fine (touch wood), but most of the software wouldn’t run, so the complete operating … Continue reading →

Posted in Administrative | 2 Comments

TWIC 888

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Sean Coffey

This week TWIC has 25 Irish games: 2 each from Sam Collins, Ryan-Rhys Griffiths, and Gavin Wall (4NCL), 1 from Joe Ryan (III Tancat IM), 5 from Sarah Hegarty (4 from European Women’s Team Ch and 1 from 4NCL), 7 … Continue reading →

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Irish championship 2009

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Sean Coffey

The 2009 Irish championship, described by Peter Cafolla as one of the most enjoyable for years, had a larger-than-usual field of 29 players, featuring all the perennial contenders and in addition IM Mark Quinn, playing for the first time since … Continue reading →

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TWIC 887

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Sean Coffey

This week’s issue of TWIC contains just three Irish games. It did not contain any games from last week’s e2e4 Gatwick International; the FIDE tournament reports don’t give the games either, and they’ve even disappeared from the organiser’s web site. … Continue reading →

Posted in Games | 2 Comments

Eugene O’Hare

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Sean Coffey

Eugene O’Hare of Derry was Ulster champion six times and played in three Olympiads, all in the 1960’s, but he was still an active player long after that, winning a City of Derry Championship in 2004 at the ripe old … Continue reading →

Posted in Players | 1 Comment