| Irish Championship 2025 |
[ Information | Pairings & results | Crosstable | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | Openings | Sources ]
| Sources | |
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| FIDE records | Tournament 433469 |
| Flyer | The 104th Irish Championship (2-page pdf document) |
| ICU web site |
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| Lichess |
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| Livechesscloud |
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| Chess-Results.com |
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| Twitch | Diana Mirza and Jonathan O'Connor provided live commentary on all rounds on Diana's Twitch channel. |
| Newspapers |
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| X | |
| Web |
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| Notes | |
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| Key | In "Pairings & results",
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| Playoffs | The tie-break rules stated, in relevant part, that (2.A) “If three or more players tie, then the title shall be awarded to the player, if any, who achieved a greater score in games amongst the tied players than could be achieved by any other tied player under any set of results of unplayed games.” Here four players had tied for first place, but as Gubanov was ineligible, three had tied for the title of Irish champion. The games amongst the (eligible) tied players were inconclusive: O'Donnell and Venkatesan had drawn, and Brozynski had not played either of the others. The tie-break rules further stated that (2.B) “If step 2A does not determine a champion, there shall be a playoff 2-game rapid match between the two players (even if one of these players won the individual game between the two) who achieved the highest scores in games amongst the tied players, counting all unplayed games as draws.” Thus there had to be a rapid playoff match, but all three players had achieved the same scores in games amongst the tied players, counting all unplayed games as draws. The tie-break rules specified that (2.B.2) “Any resulting tie for a place in the playoff match shall be resolved by drawing of lots, or, at the discretion of the arbiter, by blitz games.” The arbiter decided, after consultation with the players, to have a double round all-play-all blitz tournament, from which the top two would qualify for the rapid playoff. The results were: Brozynski ½-½ Venkatesan O'Donnell ½-½ Brozynski Venkatesan ½-½ O'Donnell Venkatesan 0-1 Brozynski Brozynski ½-½ O'Donnell O'Donnell 0-1 Venkatesan The totals were thus Brozynski 2½, Venkatesan 2, O'Donnell 1½, and Brozynski and Venkatesan qualified for the rapid playoff. The results in the rapid playoff were: Brozynski 1-0 Venkatesan Venkatesan 1-0 Brozynski Thus the rapid playoff ended 1-1. At this point, the tie-break rules stated (2.B.3) “If the players are still tied following their rapid match, the arbiter may choose to continue the rapid-match for another 2 games (with one white each) or move to blitz games or have a one-game draw-odds rapid game.” The arbiter chose to move to blitz games. The results were: Brozynski 0-1 Venkatesan Venkatesan 1-0 Brozynski Thus Venkatesan won the title. The pgn file for the event excludes the playoff games. A pgn file for the playoff games can be downloaded here. |
| Grading prizes |
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| Olympiad place | The champion was guaranteed an automatic Olympiad place for the 2026 (Open) Olympiad. |
| Débuts |
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| Ages | The median age (actually "(age)"; see Key above) was 19. |
| Eligibility | Under rules approved at the 2018 AGM, some players could have the rating requirement ignored provided they were nominated by: a. The ICU Executive (maximum 2 players); or b. The tournament organisers (maximum 1 player). In addition, the Irish Women’s Champion, Irish 50+ and 65+ Champions, and all previous IRL winners of this event were automatically eligible to play in the Irish Championship irrespective of rating. For this event, all players except Advaith Nichenametla V (peak rating 1888, ICU January 2025 list) met the rating requirement. Under new rules approved at the 2024 AGM, there was an additional requirement for the title of Irish champion. In this event, all players except Oleg Gubanov (transfer to IRL registration effective November 29, 2024) were eligible for the title. |
| Tie-break | The tie-break method (see Terms and Conditions) was adopted for the 2018 championship, based on ICU Executive Committee decision, and subsequently ratified at the 2018 AGM for all Irish championships. |
| Bye allowance | The event details and report page stated that players were allowed “up to two half-point byes, except in the last round, provided a request is made before pairings are done.” This was not consistent with a motion (motion 7) approved at the ICU AGM 2023: “Before the start of the Irish championship, a player may request a half point bye for one round in the first 5 rounds. No half-point byes shall be permitted after the fifth round. Any bye requests received for rounds 6-9, or for any round after the tournament has started, will be a zero point bye.” |
| Ratings |
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| Records | Kavin Venkatesan became the third player to win an Irish championship, before his 17th birthday. The others were Brian Kelly (1995, 16 years, 228 days) and John Moles (1966, 16 years, 297 days). |
| Versions |
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| Author | Seán Coffey |
| IRLchess: Irish chess history & records. |
| Version 1.1, published 17 August 2025. Comments/corrections? . |
| Download pgn file. |