Author Archives: Sean Coffey

Leinster Schools Championships

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Sean Coffey

The Leinster Junior Championships for 2023 begin tomorrow in Stillorgan. Best of luck to all participants! The competition started in 1942, with only a single section, and limited to boys. The Leinster Schoolboys’ Championship quickly became the Leinster Senior Schoolboys’ … Continue reading →

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Irish championship players

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Sean Coffey

The lists of Irish championship players have been updated to reflect the 2022 championship, and to correct some errors and add details. Five players made their débuts in 2022, taking the total to 575 players in all, including 561 men … Continue reading →

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P. Lalić – Wall, Thames Valley League Knockout Cup 2022-23

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Sean Coffey

I was alerted by Twitter to an interesting game earlier this week involving Gavin Wall, which comes with an even more interesting annotation. The game was against Peter Lalić in a club knockout match in London, and the annotation is … Continue reading →

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Basman – Walsh, Hastings Challengers Reserves A 1963-64

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Sean Coffey

John Saunders posted a report on Hastings 1963-64 at BritBase, and I was interested to note that J. J. Walsh had finished second in the Challengers Reserves A ‘Pelton’, behind Michael Basman. The report had none of J. J.’s games. … Continue reading →

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A four queens game: Fitzsimons – Rowson, London 2022

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Sean Coffey

The Mindsports Masters GM Norm event in London in September produced the following interesting position early on: Fitzsimons – Rowson, Mindsports Masters GM 2022 46. ? If you would like to treat this as a (not too easy) puzzle, please … Continue reading →

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W. Desmond Taylor 1941-2022

Posted on November 26, 2022 by Sean Coffey

I was sorry to hear of the death of one of Ireland’s most distinguished correspondence players, Desmond Taylor, in August, aged 80. He earned the correspondence chess International Master title in 1998 and the correspondence chess Senior International Master title … Continue reading →

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Ulster Masters 2022

Posted on November 23, 2022 by Sean Coffey

The Ulster Masters took place last weekend, in Lisburn C.C.’s new premises, attracting 40 players across two sections. The top section was won by Peter Carroll, for the second year in a row. A full report has been added here. … Continue reading →

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Basman – Tr. Kanyamarala, 1st EJCOA Invitational 2021

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Sean Coffey

Michael Basman played some tournaments last year, including the 1st EJCOA Forest Hall Invitational in Northumbria, England, a 10-player all-play-all in which Tarun Kanyamarala earned his first IM norm. The 75-year-old Basman scored 2½/9. A photo of round 7 shows … Continue reading →

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Michael Basman 1946-2022

Posted on November 6, 2022 by Sean Coffey

I was sorry to hear the news that Michael Basman, ‘by a very long way, the most creative chess player of his generation’ (William Hartston), has died. He tied for first in the 1973 British championship, though lost the playoff … Continue reading →

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A trap in the Petroff

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Sean Coffey

The chess world is abuzz with news of the 10-move win of Leinier Domínguez Pérez against Elshan Moradiabadi in the US Championship in St. Louis earlier this month. After 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 … Continue reading →

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