Category Archives: Players

Armstrong Cup, 1977 and today

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Sean Coffey

This Sunday sees the final round of the Armstrong Cup. Dublin University has been ahead all season, but stumbled slightly recently with a loss to Gonzaga. With a 2-point lead, and with the only other possible winners Elm Mount and … Continue reading →

Posted in Armstrong Cup, Club chess, Players | 2 Comments

Francis Burden

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Sean Coffey

From a player profile on David McAlister’s Ulster Chess History website, citing the Weekly Northern Whig, 11 June 1914: An Eminent Belfast Chess Player Among the foremost British chess players of the sixties was Francis Burden, who was born in … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Players, Puzzles | Leave a comment

Who?

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Sean Coffey

No Irish player has ever beaten a reigning world champion. (In a regular game, that is, leaving aside simuls.) Even victories over future or past world champions have been very rare: half a dozen or so in all. One such … Continue reading →

Posted in Players, Puzzles | 1 Comment

Monthly update, September 2013

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Sean Coffey

A total of 52 games have been added to the archive this month: the full monthly list is available, as usual, by entering “-month2013-09” in the search box. This month sees the return to the game of another veteran, Brian … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Players | 1 Comment

Norms and titles

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Sean Coffey

FIDE has recently issued a requirement that all old title norms and rating qualifications have to be re-registered by this July 31st or be lost forever: apparently the rules have changed so often that it imposes a strain on the … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Players | 5 Comments

Heidenfeld and the 1958 Irish Championship

Posted on June 14, 2013 by David McAlister

There’s one simple way for an Irish chess website to increase its traffic: start a debate on the eligibility to play in the Irish Championship, more specifically should it be an open or closed tournament (and if it’s a closed … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish champions, Irish championships, Players | Leave a comment

Gerry McCurdy

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Sean Coffey

In putting together a post on a different topic, I found an article indicating that Gerry McCurdy, who was a strong player in Ireland in the ’60’s, before emigrating to France, has returned to the game. There’s an article on … Continue reading →

Posted in Players | 6 Comments

Alex Montwill

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Sean Coffey

J.J. Walsh has sent the news that Alex Montwill, who has been mentioned here several times, died two weeks ago, on April 18th. He was 78. As previously discussed here, he finished equal first in an Irish championship but was … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Players | 1 Comment

Jonathan O’Connor awarded CC-IM title

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Sean Coffey

Colm Daly’s galling near-miss of an IM norm last month happened just as I was leaving for a trip to Shanghai–as I left the house I thought he had it in the bag. Disappointing! But that is the way with … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Players | Leave a comment

Cox centenary: Challenge match with O’Hanlon

Posted on December 28, 2012 by David McAlister

In our earlier Thomas Cox centenary article Play-off for the Dublin CC Championship 1936, I chronicled how J.J. O’Hanlon had suffered a surprise defeat to Cox. O’Hanlon was the reigning Irish champion and he perhaps felt the need to restore … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish champions, Players | Leave a comment