Author Archives: Sean Coffey

Glorney Cup: Early Years 1948-1963

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Sean Coffey

I mentioned last month that the brothers Michael, John, and Frank McMahon had each represented Ireland on Glorney Cup teams: Michael played in 1955 and ’56, John 1956, ’57, and ’58, and Frank 1960, ’62, and ’63. John and Frank, … Continue reading →

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Glorney Cup 1965

Posted on February 27, 2021 by Sean Coffey

The Glorney Cup 1965 was held in Glasgow, at the new University of Strathclyde, on August 3 and 4. Four teams competed: the previous year’s event in London had included France and the Netherlands, but for cost reasons it was … Continue reading →

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Littleton – Donner, The Hague 1966

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Sean Coffey

I remarked in the last post that Michael Littleton was lost out of the opening in his game against Donner in the Zonal tournament at the Hague in 1966. A closer look shows that while this is true, it is … Continue reading →

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Michael Littleton

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Sean Coffey

Attribution: Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons A recent thread at the English Chess Forum pointed out that a large collection of high-quality chess photographs from the Dutch National Archive has recently been made available via Wikimedia Commons. … Continue reading →

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M. McMahon – Coldrick, Irish Schoolboys Championship 1956

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Sean Coffey

Here is another game from J.J. Walsh’s manuscript of unpublished Irish games, 1896-1967, that has never appeared in any database, including the ICU games archive. It also appears to be the only known game of the winner. The winner, Michael … Continue reading →

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Irish Championship 1949

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Sean Coffey

Following up on the last two posts, a full report on the Irish Championship 1949 has been added to the tournament sections here, including all 7 of Paddy Kennedy’s games. These games and the two in the previous posts make … Continue reading →

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Kennedy – Heelan, Sexton Cup 1948

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Sean Coffey

As David remarked in the last post, very few of Paddy Kennedy’s games survive. I wasn’t aware of any other than his games from the 1949 Irish championship before seeing David’s discovery, but the post prompted me to check other … Continue reading →

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Cummins – Clarke, Irish Championship 1995

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Sean Coffey

From the first round of the 1995 Irish championship, Black to play and win: Cummins – Clarke, Irish Championship 1995 (1) 23… ? This is not a particularly hard problem, I think, but it’s a spectacular finish. [Click to replay … Continue reading →

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Irish Championship 1995

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Sean Coffey

A report on the Irish Championship 1995 has been added to the tournament pages here. Brian Kelly became the youngest ever Irish champion, at about 16 years, 8 months, beating the previous record set by John Moles, who was 16 … Continue reading →

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Chandler – MacRéamoinn, Dundrum simul 1984

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Sean Coffey

Murray Chandler’s visit to Ireland in January 1984 saw him play four large simuls in as many days, in Dundrum, Trinity, Skerries, and Cork. In the opening event, at Dundrum C.C. on January 18, 1984, Chandler won 24 or 25 … Continue reading →

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