The recent Dublin International Festival also featured two age-restricted tournaments, the 40+ and 65+ championships.
The 40+ championship attracted 18 players, and with one exception the field was relatively evenly matched, with over half the players having FIDE ratings in the 1700s and 1800s. The exception was John Delaney, top seed by a margin of almost 300 points FIDE (almost 500 points ICU), and he duly finished first with 6½/7, a point ahead of John P. Aherne, who was in turn a point ahead of Fred Armstrong, who took third place.
Delaney did not have it all his own way, though, and in particular he was made to work hard in his round three game against Vjekoslav Novak. Indeed, he was lost straight out of the opening.
11. ?
In the diagrammed position, White has a choice between 11. Bh5+ Kd8 12. Qf3!?, e.g., 12… Qxd4 13. Rd1 Qc4 14. e5, or 11. Rf1! cxd4 (11… Qd4? 12. Nb5 Qxe4 13. Bxd6!+-) 12. Nb5, probably with a decisive advantage in either case.
Instead the game continued with the striking 11. Be5?! Qh6 (of course the bishop is immune; 11… dxe5?? 12. Bh5+ wins the queen), and now White should have continued 12. Bxg7 Qxg7 13. O-O, still with considerable advantage. Instead the game’s 12. Bh5+?! was a further inaccuracy, and the chances were soon equal. After some further twists and turns it was still equal until White erred on move 29.
[Click to replay the full game.]
A full report has been added to the Tournament pages here.