Both Irish teams found the going tough in this year’s recently-concluded European Club Championship in Skopje, with Gonzaga finishing 45th out of the 50 teams and Adare finishing last.
But it was not all grim. John McMorrow, fresh from his election as ICU Chair, recorded a spectacular win as Black against an FM in the first round. The final position, at right, tells its own story.
The deciding moment appears to have been 23. Rh1??. Surprisngly White was still very much in the game and engines even find him no worse after 23. Ne5! Rf8 24. a4.
[Click to play through the full game.]
[Update, November 6, 2015: all Irish games from the event have now been added to the collection here (91 games, including 7 by Kieran O’Driscoll (White Rose ENG) as well as all games by Adare and Gonzaga players).]