Author Archives: Sean Coffey

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 →

Posted in Analysis, Games | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Games, Photos, Players | Leave a comment

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Here is another game from J.J. Walsh’s manuscript of unpublished Irish games, 1896-1967, that has never appeared in any database, including the ICU games archive.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 →

Posted in Games | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Games, Irish champions, Irish championships, Tournaments | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Games, Irish champions, Players | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Games | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Games, Irish championships, Tournaments | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Games, Simuls | Leave a comment

Heidenfeld – Coldrick, Irish Championship 1973

Posted on November 14, 2020 by Sean Coffey

Andy Ansel has sent another game from the Irish Championship 1973, the round 4 encounter between Wolfgang Heidenfeld and Art Coldrick, which appeared in the South African Chessplayer, May 1974. Many thanks, Andy! Heidenfeld was defending champion, and was playing … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Irish championships, Tournaments | Leave a comment

Irish Championship 1980, contd.

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Sean Coffey

I’m delighted to report that David McAlister has found several more games from this event. Here’s an excerpt from his email explaining the background: “Opening some storage boxes in preparation for further organising my new study I came across my … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Irish championships, Tournaments | Leave a comment