Author Archives: Sean Coffey

Lara Putar qualifies for WFM title

Posted on September 22, 2024 by Sean Coffey

Congratulations to Lara Putar, who has qualified for the WFM by scoring 7/9 at the Women’s Olympiad in Budapest. Direct WFM titles at the Women’s Olympiad require a score of at least 65% over at least 9 games, having at … Continue reading →

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Eddie O’Connor and the Armstrong Cup 1988-89

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Sean Coffey

The 1988-89 season of the Armstrong Cup turned into a battle between the defending champions, and favourites for the new season, Kevin Barry, versus the previous year’s runners-up, Rathmines. The background and atmosphere was described vividly by Michael O’Brien in … Continue reading →

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Eddie O’Connor 1956-2024

Posted on September 15, 2024 by Sean Coffey

I was very sorry to hear of the passing of Eddie O’Connor. Sincere condolences to his family. His association with Dublin C.C. lasted over thirty years, and he also served as club President, most recently ending at the end of … Continue reading →

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Maurice Coveney 1939-2024

Posted on September 7, 2024 by Sean Coffey

I was very sorry to hear of the passing this week of Maurice Coveney. Sincere condolences to his family. His playing career spanned six decades, and he also contributed heavily in several administrative roles. He played in four Irish championships—1967, … Continue reading →

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Irish Women’s Championship 2024

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Sean Coffey

The Irish Women’s Championship was held at the Talbot Hotel Stillorgan over the weekend. Twelve players competed, including defending champion Antonina Góra, former champion Diana Mirza, and last year’s first place finisher (though then ineligible for the title) and top … Continue reading →

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

Irish Championship 2024

Posted on August 10, 2024 by Sean Coffey

The Irish Championship has been running since last Saturday, August 3, at the Talbot Hotel Stillorgan in Dublin, and concludes tomorrow. A full report, with all games from the first eight rounds and pairings for the ninth, has been uploaded … Continue reading →

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Patrick Alphonsus Duignan 1916-1997

Posted on June 3, 2024 by Sean Coffey

The ICU website has two brief items dealing with the 1947 Irish champion. The longer one, by Enda Rohan, includes the photo at right, taken at the Irish Championship in Belfast in 1950, describes him as a principal officer at … Continue reading →

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Irish Championship 1947

Posted on June 1, 2024 by Sean Coffey

The Irish Championship 1947 was held in Cork, for the first time ever, at the C.C.Y.M.S. Hall in Castle Street. The event was structured as a 14-player all-play-all, with the provincial unions each nominating three players, and with another place … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Irish championships, Tournaments | 1 Comment

Armstrong Cup 1980-81

Posted on May 29, 2024 by Sean Coffey

Many congratulations to Dublin Chess Club, who won this season’s Armstrong Cup decisively (final table). This broke a run of seven consecutive wins by Gonzaga, itself an all-time record. But even more notably, perhaps, it broke a 43-year famine for … Continue reading →

Posted in Armstrong Cup, Tournaments | 2 Comments

Malahide Millennium Senior & Leinster Championship 2024

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Sean Coffey

The Malahide Millennium Tournament, incorporating the Leinster Championships, took place at Dublin Airport over the weekend. The top section attracted 14 players. The top seed by a considerable margin was IM Gediminas Sarakauskas of Lithuania, but he suffered an early … Continue reading →

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