Category Archives: Tournaments

Irish championship, Limerick 2004

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Sean Coffey

This year’s Irish championship was the fourth ever held in Limerick, after the 1991, 2000, and 2004 championships: see David McAlister’s comprehensive compilation on his Irish Chess History web site. The 2004 championship was notable as the first championship of … Continue reading →

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125 years of the Armstrong Cup

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Sean Coffey

Today (20th October) marks the 125th anniversary of the first ever Armstrong Cup match. The cup was donated by William Armstrong B.L. as a challenge cup “for annual competition by the chess clubs of Dublin”. Its first season was 1888-89, … Continue reading →

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City of Dublin championships 2013

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Sean Coffey

The City of Dublin is an event that, while formerly a major draw, has struggled a bit in recent years. But this year’s version had an excellent turnout: 160+ over four sections, well up on last year. The turnout of … Continue reading →

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34th Capablanca Memorial, Havana 1999

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Sean Coffey

The “Other tournaments” page gives details of tournaments held outside Ireland that involved Irish players. The first on the list was an easy choice, as Hastings 1895 ranks as one of the most famous of all tournaments. But there are … Continue reading →

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Irish championship 2013

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Sean Coffey

And they’re off … this year’s much-anticipated Irish championship has started. Already there’s a major shock in round 1 with Colm Daly (with White!) being routed by Ciarán Quinn. With the demise of the LCU Blog, it’s not clear where … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish championships, Tournaments | 11 Comments

Hastings 1895

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Sean Coffey

Hastings 1895 has been described as ‘the greatest chess tournament of all time’, with ‘the strongest field of players ever assembled’, whose ‘games were exceedingly difficult and hard fought, possibly the severest test of chess mastery ever conducted’, and which … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Wexford June Congress 1974

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Sean Coffey

As mentioned previously, there appear to be very few games available from the Wexford/Drogheda June Congresses. If any reader has any they can send in, please do so! The only games I’m aware of are the five games of Bernard … Continue reading →

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Wexford/Drogheda June Congress

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Sean Coffey

The Drogheda June Congress is on this weekend. This competition has a unique structure of 6-player all-play-alls and a long history: this is the 24th of the series in Drogheda, in an unbroken sequence from 1990, and it had previously … Continue reading →

Posted in Drogheda Congresses, Photos, Wexford Congresses | 7 Comments

An Armstrong puzzle

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Sean Coffey

Black to play: how do you evaluate the consequences of 19. … f4!? This is from the game Oliver Dunne-Eoghan Casey, Elm Mount v. Gonzaga, Armstrong Cup 1999-2000. (Thanks to Oliver for supplying it.)

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