Author Archives: Sean Coffey

Target Recruitment Masters, Belfast 2001

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Sean Coffey

Over five years ago, a report on the Target Recruitment Masters 2001 was added to the tournament pages here. The overall event, held at Queen’s University Belfast, attracted 86 players across three sections. The top section was won jointly by … Continue reading →

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Irish Championship 1962

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Sean Coffey

A report on the Irish Championship 1962 has been added to the tournaments pages here. This is based on joint work with David McAlister, to whom many thanks; we have been trading versions back and forth and adding details sporadically … Continue reading →

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Title norms

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Sean Coffey

The page here on FIDE title norms by Irish players, and progress of Irish players towards titles, has been updated. There has been so much activity on this front that it has been hard to keep up, and the update … Continue reading →

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Women’s Olympiad, Lublin 1969

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Sean Coffey

Ireland’s record at Women’s Olympiads had an outstanding start at the first such event, Emmen 1957, when the team of Hilda Chater and Beth Cassidy finished equal 14th-15th out of 21, ahead of France, Austria, Finland, Norway, Belgium, and Luxembourg. … Continue reading →

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Irish Championship 2022

Posted on July 6, 2022 by Sean Coffey

The Irish Championship is in progress in Dublin, and reaches the halfway stage today. A report has been added to the tournament pages here; updates will be added round by round until the conclusion. Numbers are down from the past … Continue reading →

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The internment of John O’Hanlon

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Sean Coffey

On June 10, 1922, one hundred years ago today, John O’Hanlon, Irish champion since 1913, was arrested in Portadown. A report appeared in the Belfast News-Letter the following Monday (page 5): ARRESTS IN PORTADOWN In the early hours of Saturday … Continue reading →

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An echo of Capablanca

Posted on May 15, 2022 by Sean Coffey

The last round of the recent Sligo Spring Tournament Masters featured an interesting ending on board 1 between Lara Putar and the tournament winner, Ukrainian WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova. Duras – Capablanca, Rice C.C. Masters, New York 1913 Lara Putar – … Continue reading →

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The Sligo Spring Tournament 2022—II

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Sean Coffey

A report on the Sligo Spring Tournament Challengers 2022 has been added to the tournament pages here. The event attracted an impressive entry of 87 players, and after five rounds, two players were on full points: Dariy Kelbas (Ukraine) and … Continue reading →

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The Sligo Spring Tournament 2022

Posted on April 30, 2022 by Sean Coffey

I have not traced the full history of chess in Sligo—I’d be interested if anyone can shed light on this—but it goes back at least as far as 1912, when the Leinster Express announced a 10-board correspondence match between Queen’s … Continue reading →

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O’Hanlon – Seitz, British Championship Major Open B 1938

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Sean Coffey

The last post commented that new games from long-ago events appear all the time. Here is another example, which has also surfaced this month, and which also involves John O’Hanlon. This one is from a subsidiary event of the British … Continue reading →

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