Braille Chess: the Irish story
Written and compiled by Philip Doyle
Introductory note
In this account of the activities of Irish blind Chess players, I will, as the title suggests, concentrate mainly on international events. In the early years this meant Correspondence Chess, while more recently the emphasis has been on over-the-board activities. I will not be covering local Chess, in which blind players are fully integrated, but I will be touching on some local matters which are of particular interest to blind players.
The early years
The Braille Chess Club, which was founded in 1902 by F. H. Merrick was the first attempt at organised Correspondence Chess for the blind in these islands. The club reached its peak in 1910 when it had about 30 members, and continued until the outbreak of war in 1914. It produced annual reports and gazettes as well as some of the first Chess books in Braille. It is unlikely that the club had any Irish members, however, we have all benefited from the Merrick pattern Braille Chess set which was invented by its founder, also, early Irish players may have been familiar with Merrick’s Chess articles in the magazine Progress.
St. Joseph’s School for the Blind in Dublin, is where most Irish players learned to play Chess. In the early years there was no organised method of teaching the game and the younger boys had to pick it up from the older lads, or from the adults. Clonturk House was not purchased until 1959 and therefore, the men’s section was still attached to the school.
The first players of note that we are aware of were Joe Barret who was partially sighted and left the school and Joe Byrne who remained on in the men’s section. We know that the latter learned his Chess from a man called Kevin Turner in 1914.
The next important player we come across is Willie Breen who was taught Chess by a prefect called John Nolan about 1930. As Willie had no other boys to play against at this time Joe Byrne was permitted to come from the men’s section to play against him twice weekly.
It was Joe Byrne also who made contact with Victor Nelson of the British Braille Chess Association, which was established in 1931. Willie and joe both joined the BCA and ever since, that organisation has played a vital part in the careers of Irish players. In these early years this meant running Correspondence tournaments and having Chess books published in Braille.
Another important development around this time was the founding of the Braille Chess Magazine by Reg Bonham, a teacher at Worcester College for the Blind, in England. This quarterly bulletin which is still published, contained instruction, games analysis, and Chess problems as well as news from the wider Chess world. It did much to keep players abreast of the latest developments in the game, at a time when Chess publications for the Blind were almost non-existent.
By the mid ‘thirties both Joe Barret and Willie Breen were members of the North City Chess Club which was based at 14 Mountjoy Square, in Dublin. With the outbreak of war however, this Club was forced to disband due to the departure of many of its members who went to work in Britain or Northern Ireland.
With the ending of hostilities the Club was reformed at a new address. It was renamed the Kevin Barry Chess Club and it frequently had blind players as members until its demise in 1992.
By the late ‘forties the BCA had several more Irish members including Sean Flanagan, Dan Barry and Michael Keane, and these were making their presence felt as shown by the following extracts from the Braille Chess Magazine.
BCM January, 1948:
“In the Handicap, first prize went to Mr. W. Breen, with a score of 141.”
BCM January, 1949:
The “best played game” competition was held in two divisions, of which the first was judged by Mr. Bonham, who awarded the prize to Mr. Breen, who was himself the judge of the second division where he awarded Mrs. Tylor’s prize to Mr. Cohn.”
BCM January, 1950:
“Mr. W. Breen of Dublin has won our ninth Championship. The first and second Handicap prizes were won by Messrs Barry of Dublin and Nordon of Sheffield respectively.”
BCM October, 1950:
“Our seventh minor tourney has lately been won, after a struggle of more than two and a half years duration, by Mr. D. Barry of Dublin. This Irish triumph follows very closely upon that of Mr. W. Breen of Dublin, who last year carried off our ninth Championship, and stamps the challenge of our Irish members as one very seriously to be reckoned with.”
BCM April, 1952:
“The Endgame Competition was held in two divisions, Mr. Bonham judging both. The successful entrants were Mr. Breen in division one and Mr. Hart in division two.”
The Northern players
Around the early ‘fifties a couple of correspondence matches took place between North and South, but the number of boards involved and the outcome of the matches are no longer remembered. With the exception of BCA activities, these were the only direct contacts between the two groups of players, and this was due to the fact that when the Dublin based players were becoming more prominent, the Northern group were, by then already in decline, also Chess was not so well organised then as it is today. The best known of the Northern players were: Bob Patterson, Charlie Stone, Richard Winter, P. Mullan, Sammy Lown, Jim Anderson and Percy Boal. The first three of these were the most prominent, with Bob Patterson having the distinction of being the first Irish player to travel to a BCA event, when he attended that Association’s Silver Jubilee Tournament in Blackpool in 1956.
Braille Festival Exhibition
In June 1952 a major exhibition was held at the Mansion House in Dublin to commemorate the centenary of the death of Louis Braille. The festival which lasted for more than a week was organised by the National League of the Blind. The programme included: competitions in Braille reading and writing, in both Irish and English; competitions in music, Irish dancing and singing, typewriting, poetry, drama and choral singing. There was also a display of articles made by the Blind.
The Festival also included a Chess tournament which had about ten entrants, and this was won by Michael Keane. In addition to the tournament there were friendly matches against clubs such as Kevin Barry and Clontarf. Throughout the exhibition John Lyons and Michael Keane remained on hand to play any visitors who cared for a game. Others who took part in the Chess were: Dan Barry, Willie Breen, Martin Coneely, Pat McNicholas, Frank Patterson, Jimmy O’Connor and Joe Byrne.
St. Joseph’s School
The hit and miss fashion in which Chess was taught in the School continued until the early ‘forties, when the Recreational League, the boys club, procured some Merrick Chess sets, which were much more suited to the needs of the blind student than those in use previously. The Recreational League gave every encouragement towards advancing interest in Chess and each year sponsored and held a competition in St. Joseph’s to find the Chess champion for the coming year. This event was greeted with much enthusiasm and was considered one of the highlights of the school year.
An amusing anecdote of the time relates how, in the spring of 1947 the first of a number of matches were organised between what were known as the “boy’s yard” and the “men’s yard”. The organiser, Joe Byrne, lacking Chess clocks endeavoured to time all five games using just one alarm clock!
In September 1955 the Rosminian Order took over the running of the School, and a year later Brother Louis Summerling commenced teaching the game. He obtained Chess sets and Braille books and during the first term there was much enthusiasm, however, after the Christmas break interest seemed to evaporate and as a result operations were not resumed.
About 1960, the “Boss” as Brother Louis was known to the lads, recommenced teaching Chess, and this time the game took off. Simultaneous displays were held and there were regular coaching sessions. The Variety Club of Ireland sponsored internal competitions and teams were entered for the Leinster Schools Championships. These teams had remarkable success , winning both Senior and Junior titles, as well as the Junior Individual. It is no accident that many of our stronger players emerged during this period.
The team which won the Senior title in 1965 were, in board order: Eamonn Casey, Des Kenny, Sam Wilson, Tim Rea, Martin McGrath and Eugene O’Connor, with some assistance also from Tom Dooley. This was largely the same team which won the Junior Championship the previous year. I myself won the Junior Individual in 1966.
Brother Summerling continued his efforts to promote Chess in St. Joseph’s until the early ‘eighties when he was given the job of running Clonturk House. Chess is still taught at the School but nowadays, there is a greater emphasis on academic achievement, as well as competition from an ever-increasing range of other sports, consequently the game has declined somewhat at this level.
Note: Several of the stronger Dublin Chess players gave simultaneous displays in the School but Paul Cassidy became a regular mentor. A notable visitor too was the New Zealand-born IM, Bob Wade who played a simultaneous against the boys. Brother Summerling died on 22 December, 1997.
The O’Hanlon Chess Club
Throughout the 1950s, various attempts were made to establish a club for blind Chess players in Dublin, but without success until September, 1960, when the required number of six players was attained, that being the minimum to be eligible to play in the Leinster Chess Union club league. The O’Hanlon Chess Club as it was named, lasted until the end of the 1967-68 season. The first team consisted of: Willie Breen, Michael Keane, Dan Barry, Sean Loftus, Ernie McElroy and Pat McNicholas, with some help from Joe Byrne. Later they were joined by Michael Keating, Des Kenny and Eamonn Casey. For a couple of seasons there was also a second team but this could not be sustained.
For further information on the O’Hanlon Club, see “Meet the Bca” April 1985 and Profile August 1992.
International Braille Chess Association
April 1958 saw the official founding of the International Braille Chess Association which had been operating informally since 1951. In the beginning, the IBCA mainly concentrated on Correspondence Chess and organised the first international Championships for the Blind. The Irish players, Willie Breen and Dan Barry, took part in these, and soon showed that they could compete with the best.
BCM April, 1960:
“The German Association of Sports Among the Disabled (East Germany) has found itself forced to cancel the IBCA Congress which it was hoped to hold there this year, because of its other commitments, but offers to run one next year. However, the West German Chess Association of the Blind has now issued invitations to an IBCA Congress in the form of a team tournament for Easter, 1961, and if the response is satisfactory, this event will probably take place.”
Blind Internationals at Meschede
“The first Chess Olympiad for the Blind was run in conjunction with the second IBCA Congress, under the aegis of the West German Chess Association for the Blind and to celebrate the latter’s tenth birthday. Eight teams of four competitors took part, unfortunately the Swedes had to cry off and so a second team from West Germany took their place. East Germany was unlucky in that their board two Mr. Wuensch, had to drop out in round five because of a heart attack, whilst it was encouraging of Switzerland and of Denmark too for that matter to compete at all in so strong a field. This occasion, the biggest event so far among Chess for the blind, concluded with a gathering once more graced by music.
The final scores in this tournament were: first, Yugoslavia 22 points; second, West Germany A 18; third-fourth, Austria and East Germany 16; fifth-sixth, England and West Germany B-team 13.5; seventh, Denmark 7; eighth, Switzerland 5.”
Note: The tournament was held from March 26th to April 2nd, 1961.
BCM July 1964:
The IBCA Olympiad Congress
“The second Olympiad for the title of Team Champion was held from March 24th-April 3rd, 1964, at the East German Baltic spa of Bad Kühlungsborn. It resulted in a triumph even more convincing than at the first Olympiad in 1961 for the Yugoslav team. They dropped only half a point out of a possible 32 points, only Beratic of Hastings fame dropping any points at all. He was at board one. Mirkovic, Chabarkapa and Jukanovic all scored 100% on boards two, three and four respectively. Hungary came second with 20.5 and the host country third with 18.5.
The young Irish team, (Breen, Loftus, Keane and McElroy) quite inexperienced in foreign competitions were by no means disgraced by their lower position. On the contrary everyone was full of praise for the spirit and enterprise displayed in their games, most of which were tense long drawn out contests. The experience gained will stand them in good stead in the future.”
Note: The Irish team’s attendance at their first Olympiad was due in no small measure to the encouragement which they were given by Harry Booth of the BCA, when he visited Dublin in 1963.
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 0.5, East Germany 3.5;
round 2, Ireland 1.5, Czechoslovakia 2.5;
round 3, Ireland 0, Hungary 4;
round 4, Ireland 0, Yugoslavia 4;
round 5, Ireland 3.5, Poland 0.5;
round 6, Ireland 1.5, Denmark 2.5;
round 7, Ireland 1.5, England 2.5;
round 8, Ireland 2, Sweden 2;
round 9, Ireland had a bye.
The individual scores were, in board order: Breen 2.5; Loftus 3.5; Keane 2 and McElroy 2.5. The Irish team finished 8th out of 9 teams, having scored a total of 10.5 points.
Note: Although the Poles were not as strong then as they became later, the Irish victory in round five, and by such a large margin, was nevertheless, a remarkable performance.
BCA Gazette, July 1966:
First European Championship for the Blind
“the Champions of 17 European countries met at Timmendorfer Strand near Lubec, from April 2nd-2th, for the first Individual Championship organised by the IBCA. The tournament was staged by the West German BCA who together with their sponsors collected about £900, to cover the expenses of 22 players with guides, as well as most of the IBCA Executive.
The event was a resounding success, reflecting much credit on the near perfect organisation and the referee expressed himself most favourably on the lack of incidents during play.
It was generally felt that 22 was too many for such a short tournament but for this first venture of its kind, it was felt that no applicant should be refused entry. As a result several countries which previously had not been in a position to send a four-man team to either of the Olympiads were able to participate. Nine rounds were played using the Swiss system. The favourite were the two Yugoslavs Jukanovic and Chabarkaba, Pokorny of Czechoslovakia who done so well at board one in the last Olympiad and the West German Champion, Zeitler, who had made tremendous strides in the last five years.”
Final scores: 1-2, Chabarkapa and Jukanovic 7.5; 3, Zeitler 6.5; 4, Eros (Hungary) 6; 5, Kristensen (Denmark) 5.5. Ireland was represented by Michael Keating who finished 16th having scored 4.5 points, a very creditable performance in view of the fact that he was competing for the first time at international level.
3rd Olympiad, 1968
“On Thursday 28th March, 1968, 150 players, guides and officials from 19 countries arrived at the Fairhaven Hotel Weymouth, to participate in the third World team Olympiad.
The Opening Ceremony which took place at the pavilion on the Friday morning, was a simple affair and play got under way in the first round on Friday afternoon.
The two favourites were USSR and Yugoslavia, (the former participating for the first time in an IBCA Olympiad) these two teams each had easy wins in the first round and so this meant that they were drawn against each other in round two. The result of this encounter was perhaps predictably a draw but not in true Grand Master fashion as there were two definite results.
With one round to go USSR were one point ahead of their main rivals Yugoslavia and in the final round as soon as it was apparent that there would be no run-away victory for Yugoslavia against Hungary, the Soviets agreed two quick draws, having already won the other two against West Germany.
After a Civic Tea, the Closing Ceremony got under way at the pavilion and the prizes were awarded by the Lady Mayor and Mr. J. C. Coligan of the RNIB.”
“Among those who must be well pleased with their effort are Spain and Ireland; the latter must be the smallest group of blind players of the countries competing (no more than a dozen) but they have prepared for this Olympiad, financially and Chess-wise, ever since returning from the 2nd and will do so again for the 4th.”
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 2.5, Sweden 1.5;
round 2, Ireland 2, USA 2;
round 3, Ireland 1, West Germany 3;
round 4, Ireland 2, Austria 2;
round 5, Ireland 2, Denmark 2;
round 6, Ireland 1.5, Spain 2.5;
round 7, Ireland 2.5, Netherlands 1.5;
round 8, Ireland 1.5, Poland 2.5;
round 9, Ireland 3, Finland 1;
round 10, Ireland 0.5, Rumania 3.5;
round 11, Ireland 4, Israel 0.
The individual scores from 11 rounds were: in board order, Loftus, 4; Breen, 6.5; McElroy, 6.5; Keane, 5.5. The Irish team finished in 10th position with a total of 22.5 points.
Note: This I feel was Ireland’s best performance in the Olympiads, with the team playing consistently throughout, the highlights being a draw with the Americans in round two and a whitewash of the Israelis in the final round. There were many fine individual performances as well, including Sean Loftus’s game with Sandrin, (USA) which won the Brilliancy Prize. Sean eventually lost this game but only after a titanic struggle.
BCA Gazette, April 1968:
The new structure for our Championship
“There were eleven BCA members assembled at Weymouth, including most of the strongest players. We took this opportunity of discussing some of the matters that have been raised in recent Gazettes, most important of these being the form of the Championship. Some concrete proposals to this effect were made by the Dublin contingent and I must thank Mr. Loftus for the care and effort he put into their formation.”
Note: The Irish proposals for the Postal Championship were duly accepted, thus bringing a very protracted debate to a satisfactory conclusion.
During this period blind players also played a significant part in the administration of Irish Chess. Both Sean Loftus and Michael Keane served on the Committee of the Leinster Chess Union, with Michael being its Treasurer from 1964 to 1974.
BCM January, 1970:
“Congratulations to Sean Loftus on winning the 19th Championship.”
In all, this was the third Championship win for Irish players, Ernie McElroy having also won the title a couple of years earlier, when Michael Keane was runner-up.
Around this time too a postal match took place between Ireland and the United States. There were ten boards but it is not recorded which team won.
The “Late Late Show” etc.
The 1972 Olympiad was the first to which we travelled by air and although the accommodation was being paid for by the Yugoslavs, the cost to the team was still prohibitive. By the end of January of that year, with no sign of the necessary funds, it was decided to write to Hans Cohn the IBCA Secretary to inform him that we would not be able to attend for lack of finance. In reply Mr. Cohn said that he would contact Jim Walsh, Chess Correspondent of the Irish Times. The first effect of the resulting publicity was a donation of £200 from Tayto the crisp manufacturers, and at that time this was a very substantial amount indeed!
The plight of the team was next brought to the attention of the top TV programme, the Late Late Show, by an American player who lived in Dublin at that time. The outcome was an appearance on the show in February for Michael Keane and Sean Loftus. This consisted of the lads playing two quick games, followed by an interview with the programme’s host, Gay Byrne.
Another spin-off from Jim Walsh’s article was an offer from a Travel Agent called Alan Perkins of tickets for the team at much reduced rates and this was, of course, gratefully received. With other smaller contributions from the Chess Clubs etc. the team, instead of having to stay at home, found itself with a slight financial surplus.
4th Olympiad, 1972
“The 4th Olympiad for the Blind was held at Pula, in Yugoslavia, from April 6th-18th. The event was organised by the Yugoslav Chess Federation, and 22 countries participated, compared with 19 at Weymouth. For the first time the Tournament was run on the FIDE pattern, i.e. teams were divided into four preliminary groups according to the results at Weymouth. The first two teams from each preliminary group going into Final Group A, the next into Group B etc.”.
The Irish team were drawn in the same Group as Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Spain, the USSR and Finland. The Soviets as expected qualified easily for Final Group A, with the second place going to Spain but only on tie-break after finishing on the same number of points as the Czechs. The crucial matches for Ireland were in round one and round five when we had good wins over Sweden and Finland respectively, and in so doing secured the remaining place in Final Group B.
In addition to Czechoslovakia Ireland were joined in this section by: Poland, Austria, West Germany, Holland, Israel and Bulgaria. Many of these teams would be more at home in the top section and so points were hard to come by, and although we did well against some of these, we could have hoped for better in our match with the Austrians.
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 3, Sweden 1;
round 2, Ireland 0.5, Czechoslovakia 3.5;
round 3, Ireland 0.5, Spain 3.5;
round 4, Ireland 0, USSR 4;
round 5, Ireland 2.5, Finland 1.5;
round 6, Ireland 1.5, Poland 2.5;
round 7, Ireland 0, Austria 4;
round 8, Ireland 1, West Germany 3;
round 9, Ireland 1, Netherlands 3;
round 10, Ireland 0.5, Czechoslovakia 3.5;
round 11, Ireland 1.5, Israel 2.5;
round 12, Ireland 1.5, Bulgaria 2.5.
The individual scores were, in board order: Loftus, 2.5 from 11 games; Keane, 2 from 12; McElroy, 5.5 from 12; Breen 3.5 from 10 and Casey the reserve 0 from 3 games. The team finished 16th having scored a total of 13.5 points.
October BCM, from the Times of 23rd August 1976:
Soviet Union wins Blind Chess
The Soviet Union on Saturday narrowly won the 5th Chess Olympiad for the Blind, held at Kuortanen, Finland. 21 countries took part. The Soviet Union, World Champions since 1968, defeated Yugoslavia in their 4th-round match of an 11-round Swiss Tournament, by the odd point of a 4-board match. In the penultimate round Russia faltered, giving away two points to the Czechs, while Yugoslavia moved to within half a point of them by defeating England four nil. Everything depended upon the last game, in which Russia defeated Austria after a 9-hour struggle. Russia and Yugoslavia finished with 34.5 each, the former winning the Gold medal on the count of match points, 10.5 to 9.5.”
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 0.5, East Germany 3.5;
round 2, Ireland 2.5, Belgium 1.5;
round 3, Ireland 3, Switzerland 1;
round 4, Ireland 1.5, Austria 2.5;
round 5, Ireland 2, England 2;
round 6, Ireland 3, Denmark 1;
round 7, Ireland 1, Hungary 3;
round 8, Ireland 1.5, Poland 2.5;
round 9, Ireland had a bye and were awarded 2 points;
round 10, Ireland 1, USA 3;
round 11, Ireland 2.5, Norway 1.5.
The individual scores in board order were: Keane, 4 points from 9 games; Breen, 1.5 from 8; McElroy, 6.5 from 9; Loftus, 4 from 8 and Casey the reserve 2.5 points from 6 games. The Irish team had a total score of 20.5 points and finished in 12th position.
BCA Gazette, October 1977:
Amstetten Jubilee Congress, by Harry Beevers
“Our party flew from Heathrow to Vienna And thence by minibus another 157 kilometres to Amstetten. That evening we had a supper, with the Opening Ceremony included, in which the Bergermaster of Ibsitt declared open the proceedings.
At one o’clock the following day we were due to play West Germany, which we did and unfortunately lost the contest 4.5- 1.5, Sean Loftus winning and Brian Barton picking up the draw.
The following day we had a bye, which was lucky as the temperature was about 25 Degrees Centigrade. Mr. Tony Hartwig the President of the Austrian BCA took us for a nice long walk which everyone enjoyed. Indoors the Austrian team were beating West Germany 4.5-1.5. On the following morning we played Austria, starting I may add at eight AM. In the event sadly we lost again, the score being the same, 4.5-1.5. Our points all came in halves, Colin Chambers, Sean Loftus and Edwin Mitchell all on the top three boards. That meant that Lionel and I came home with no points at all but a lot of experience.”
BCA Gazette, October 1980:
6th Olympiad, 1980
“The 6th Chess Olympiad for the Blind, held in nordwijkerhoud, Holland, from 12th-26th August last: The top three places went to USSR Yugoslavia and East Germany.
Since there was an odd number of teams, the Swiss System was not used on this occasion. The Tournament was broken down into two stages. In the first stage there were four groups of six, with one of them having a bye. After an all-play-all of five rounds, the top two of each group went into the top section of the finals. The middle two went into the middle group and the last two into the bottom section.
Not only was the Tournament well organised, the Dutch must be congratulated on laying on numerous activities for the guides and players, such as Bingo, Tandem riding, excursions (including a trip to a smelting works) and a shopping spree. The food was plentiful and of a very high quality.”
The Irish team were drawn in group C along with two of the favourites, East Germany and Czechoslovakia, also Israel, Holland and Norway which gave us reasonable hopes of qualifying for Final Group B. Inexplicably however, we could only manage a half point in each of our first two matches against Israel and Holland and our chance had already vanished. Our two remaining points in this group came in the next round against Norway who accompanied us into Final Group C. There were seven teams in this section and we had a bye in the first round which was followed by another disappointing result, this time against the Italians. At this stage we were already a long way behind the leaders and with morale at rock bottom, when our fortune took a sudden turn for the better with successive good wins over Sweden, France and Switzerland.
Going into the final round we were three points adrift of the leaders Norway who had a bye. After many ups and downs and near heart attacks, eventually a 3-1 win was achieved against the Belgians bringing us level on points with Norway but taking the medals on the tie-break.
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 0.5, Israel 3.5;
round 2, Ireland 0.5, Netherlands 3.5;
round 3, Ireland 2, Norway 2;
round 4, Ireland 0, East Germany 4;
round 5, Ireland 0, Czechoslovakia 4;
round 6, Ireland had a bye;
round 7, Ireland 1.5, Italy 2.5;
round 8, Ireland 2.5, Sweden 1.5;
round 9, Ireland 4, France 0;
round 10, Ireland 3, Switzerland 1;
round 11, Ireland 3, Belgium 1.
The individual scores were, in board order: Keane, 3 points from 9 games; McElroy 6 from 9; Loftus, 1.5 from 8; Doyle, 5 points from 9 games and Casey the reserve, 1.5 from 5. The team finished 17th out of 23 countries taking part, with a total of 17 points.
BCA Gazette, July 1981:
Dublin Tournament, by Sean Loftus
“To mark the International Year of the Disabled Person, a special tournament for blind and disabled players took place at the Montrose hotel, Donnybrook, Dublin, from May 22nd to May 25th 1981. The event was sponsored by the National League of the Blind of Ireland. There was also generous support from Mr. P. V. Doyle, owner of the Montrose, who made a spacious function room available for the event free of charge. There were 22 entries for the competition, all but one of whom were blind. 9 participants came from England and one from Austria.
No sooner had the draw for the first round taken place when it was learned that Dr. R. Teefenbacher, Austria, would be unable to compete. An accident on the boat had resulted in his having to go into hospital soon after his arrival in Dublin.
With no “seeding” being used the first-round draw brought two of the favourites, Horrocks and McElroy, into opposition. This game was drawn. Horrocks had better luck in round 2, being successful against another of the favourites in Ted Williams. McElroy’s challenge appeared to have gone after losing to Keane in round 3 while Horrocks dropped another half-point to Loftus in the same round. At this point Casey was the clear leader with 3 points followed by Keating and Keane each with 2.5. Casey’s fine run came to a sudden halt after losing to Keating in round 4 and Horrocks in round 5. Keane also won his round 4 game and drew with Keating in round 5. Going into the final round there was a three-way tie for first place between Keating, Horrocks and Keane. Williams would also have been in this group had he not blundered in a won end game against Loftus. This blunder cost Williams half a point. The final round saw Horrocks paired against Keating and Keane against Williams. An opening miscalculation gave Keane a pawn advantage which he turned to good use winning in fine style. With Horrocks and Keating playing a drawn game leaving Keane the clear winner. McElroy finishing strongly with three wins also had 4.5 points and a tie for second place. Final scores: Keane 5; Horrocks, Keating and McElroy 4.5; Breen 4; Casey, Doyle, Loftus and Williams 3.5. The special prize for an ungraded player went to Martin Kane on 1 point. The tournament organisation, hotel accommodation and meals were highly praised by all participants. Dr. Teefenbacher who sustained a shoulder injury after a fall was discharged from hospital on May 30th after a stay of eight days.”
BCA Gazette, January 1982:
W. D. and H. O. Wills Championship
“The W. D. and H. O. Wills International Championship for the Blind was staged at the Lauriston hotel, Weston-super-mare, from 14th to 21st November, 1981, and proved to be a big success. The invitation event was an all-play-all, and four of our better players faced very strong opposition from overseas. Final results were: 1, Zier (West Germany), 5.5; 2, Sandrin (USA), 4.5; 3, Negovanovic (Yugoslavia), 4.5; 4, Van Gelder (Holland), 3.5; 5, Carlin, 3; 6, Benson, 2.5; 7, Lilley, 2.5; 8, Horrocks, 2.
The Open event was a seven-round Swiss, and here again the British contingent faced stiff opposition from overseas, both human and computerised. Final scores in this event were: 1, Chambers, 5.5; 2, Sand (West Germany), 5; 3, McElroy (Ireland), 5; 4, Williams, 4.5; 5, Doyle (Ireland), 4; 6, Loftus (Ireland), 4… 12, Keating (Ireland), 3…”
Note: The tournament was organised by Colin Chambers and ably controlled by Fred Manning.
As there was no flight to Bristol on the appointed day of arrival, the Dublin based players were forced to travel a day early. Colin Chambers and his wife Barbara very generously put us up for the night in their own home where we were made feel very welcome. We had to wait until the 22nd for our flight home and Colin and Barbara again put us up for the night. As they had done on the night preceding the tournament, they also had Gerhard and Christine Zipko from Austria staying with them.
BCA Gazette, July 1982:
5th World Individual Championship, 1982, by Stan Lovell
“The fifth World Individual Championship for the Blind, held in Hastings from 4th to 16th April, 1982, resulted in the players finishing in the following order after eleven rounds: 1, Krylov (USSR), 9 points; 2, Rudensky (USSR), 8; 3, Waunsche (East Germany), 7.5; 4, Zier (West Germany), 7; 5, Jukanovic (Yugoslavia), 7…
These are the bare facts of two weeks of intensive Chess during which Krylov confirmed his position as the leading blind Chess player in the world. With two rounds to go it was already certain that he would retain his title. However, Rudensky was pressed hard by Waunsche for second place. Ludwig Zier, the West German, proved in his first attempt that he is a force to be reckoned with.
But this was not all! to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the BCA two tournaments were held for our own members – the “King’s” during the first week and the “Queen’s” during the second. Ted Williams, with a spectacular victory in the last round against Graham Lilley, took first prize, a point ahead of the field. Final positions in the “King’s” Tournament were: 1, Ted Williams; 2, Colin Chambers; 3, Frank Oliver; 4, Edwin Mitchell. In the “Queen’s” Tournament Sean Loftus set a cracking pace by winning his first four games. Graham Lilley was very close behind with 3.5 points and the two met in the last round with Graham finishing on top. Final placings were: 1, Lilley; 2, Loftus; 3, Chambers, Horrocks and McElroy.
Now that it is all over it is only natural to wonder how successful it really was. It is difficult to pass judgement when one has been so involved for so long. There seems little doubt that, from the point of view of the tournament, things went smoothly and this must be regarded as one of the most important considerations. Perhaps of equal importance is the spirit in which it was played. Grandmaster Olafsson paid tribute to the sportsmanship of the players and expressed the view that the example could be followed in other places. Certainly the friendship between players and guides from many countries was again a feature of an IBCA event. It was good to have a contingent of our members from Ireland who always liven things up not only in the Chess but in the social side of any event in which they participate.
Visits to a wine cellar and Finchcocks Museum of keyboard instruments were arranged for the two rest days and both of these were very much enjoyed and appreciated by those who attended. All such events depend to some extent on the venue. In this respect I must be quite honest and say that it was only the constant vigilance of certain of the organisers which cushioned the players and the rest of the gathering from the worst effects of a quite incredibly inefficient and chaotic management in the Royal Victoria Hotel.”
Note: In the World Individual Ireland was represented by Michael Keane who finished 18th In a field of 27. Michael’s final total of five points included excellent wins against Tonteri of Finland and Free of New Zealand.
In addition to those already mentioned, the large Irish contingent included Martin Kane, Michael Keating and Philip Doyle.
SSC Newsletter, Christmas, 1983:
Chess Olympiad, by Philip Doyle, Social Officer
“As a result of a special tournament held over the October bank holiday weekend, the team which will represent Ireland at the 7th Chess Olympiad for the blind has been selected. The official party consists of five players, including a substitute, and two guides. The team will leave for New Jersey , on Sunday, April 15th, 1984, and return two weeks later on the 29th, having played eleven rounds of Chess against opposition which can range up to Master standard. In the meantime, fund raising is forging ahead, and will reach its climax at the National Concert Hall on Sunday February 12th when the Chieftains will be playing, hopefully to a packed house. The team is: E. Casey, P. Doyle, M. Keane and E. McElroy, and the substitute is S. Loftus.”
Note: The final scores were: E. McELROY, P. Doyle 4.5; E. Casey, M. Keane 3.5; S. Loftus, J. McAloon 2; P. Dunne 0. The top two did not play their final round game against each other as they had already secured joint first place. The Chieftains concert which was organised by Liam Butler, a Dublin businessman, was as expected a great success and raised a very substantial sum of money, much of it through advertisements in the Concert Programme. A race night was also held in the Revenue Club, North Great George’s Street, and this brought in £721. Unfortunately, all this hard work came to naught with just six weeks to go, when the Olympiad was cancelled by the organisers due to financial difficulties. After several months had elapsed and with no sign of the Tournament being re-scheduled, it was decided to return monies to sponsors where this was possible.
BCA Gazette, April 1985:
Meet the BCA
“Sean Loftus, one of the strongest and most respected members of the BCA, was born on 20th March, 1941. This issue of the “Gazette” marks a milestone in Sean’s BCA activities since it was back in February, 1960, when he first joined the Association, some 25 years ago! we pay tribute to Sean’s first quarter century through these pages and look forward to the next 25 years of his membership.
Sean was born blind from birth as a consequence of Retinitis Pigmentosa, unlike most RP sufferers who lose their sight gradually. Sean is a member of a family of six and has a brother who also suffers from RP. Education for Sean was at two schools for the blind in Dublin.
His first was St. Mary’s, a girls’ school which took boys up to the age of ten. After six years at St. Mary’s, Sean transferred to St. Joseph’s where he spent a further ten years. For the last three years of his time at St. Joseph’s he was occupied in the school workshops training to become a basket-maker. Early in 1962 the school workshop closed down and Sean moved to the workshops for the blind in Dublin. He was employed at the workshops for four years until, in the autumn of 1965, he began training as a switchboard operator and in February 1966 started work at his present job at the Bank of Ireland. Sean is not married but lives at home with his mother. The rest of the family have now got married and left home. Sean’s highly successful Chess career got off to a rather shaky start shortly after he moved to St. Joseph’s. At this stage, he only knew how to move the pieces and found himself consistently losing to the other boys. After an initial disenchantment with the hobby, Chess enjoyed a short revival for Sean when he was 15. Sean first began to take Chess seriously when he was at the workshop at St. Joseph’s and it was at this time that he joined the BCA. Ernie McElroy, another well-known name to BCA members, was also at St. Joseph’s and, in fact, Ernie and Sean joined the BCA at the same time. Sean’s first opponent in the BCA was Ernest Eaton who was very much an elder statesman of the Association and had at one time served as Secretary for the Club. Another regular opponent in these early days was Les Brown. Sean heard about the BCA through Dan Barry who, at that time, was a very keen Correspondence Chess player. A few months after joining the BCA, Sean, Ernie, Dan and three others formed a Chess Club for the blind which they called the O’Hanlon Chess Club after a fairly prominent Irish Chess player of some years previous. After formation, the O’Hanlon Chess Club was affiliated to the organisation which runs Chess activities in the eastern part of Ireland and entered division three of the inter-club league. It is a sign of the strength of its founder members that this club came top in the third division at the first time of asking! After promotion to division two, the O’Hanlon Chess Club battled on for a further four years until in 1965 they won promotion to the first division. For the next three years the Club played on in the first division, but when the number of players per team was increased from six to eight this obviously put a strain on the blind Chess Club with its limited membership. Although the Club called upon the services of some sighted Chess players, their level of commitment was not always as high as their blind counterparts. Consequently, at the end of the 1967-68 season the Club decided not to continue as a mainly blind Chess club but to merge with another of the Dublin clubs. For the past four years Sean has been playing with the Elm Mount Chess Club in Dublin. The Club won promotion to division one of the inter- club league in 1983-84 with Sean playing an undefeated season on board two. Sean has been involved with the IBCA Olympiad since 1964 and has been a member of the Irish team in five Olympiads from 1964 to 1980 inclusive. His best performance was in 1976 at Finland when he managed a 50% score on board four. Sean’s IBCA connection goes deeper than the Olympiad, he has been the Irish IBCA delegate since 1964 and his involvement with the Organisation forced him to study German by correspondence through the Hadley school for the Blind in America, as this is the second official language of the IBCA.
Sean was recently elected chairman of the Irish Association for the Blind: an organisation which provides a Braille library service and magazines on tape and in Braille. Being fond of sports he likes: Cricket, Tennis, Gaelic Football and Rugby but, maybe rather untypically for the Irish, isn’t too keen on the horses.
Sean says he derived particular pleasure from winning the BCA 19th Championship in the late 60’s and the 8th and last Championship of the O’Hanlon Chess Club. “However, i’m mainly concerned with the enjoyment of Chess: the pleasure which it’s given me, the places i’ve visited as a result of it and the friends i’ve made through my involvement in this great game.”
BCA Gazette, July 1985:
7th Chess Olympiad
“The 7th Chess Olympiad for the Visually Handicapped was held at the Hawaii Hotel, Benidorm, Spain, from 5th to 19th May, 1985. Twenty nations participated and the slight decrease in numbers seemed mainly due to the collapse of the Olympiad arrangements in the USA in 1984. However, it was good to see Greece and Portugal involved for the first time.
The twenty teams were divided into four groups for the preliminary rounds and the composition of these groups was determined by previous performances. The top two teams from each preliminary group qualified for Final Group A and played for places 1 to 8. The next two teams qualified for Final Group B and played for places 9 to 16. The bottom team in each group was placed in Final Group C and played for places 17 to 20.”
The Irish team were drawn in Group B along with Poland, East Germany, Spain and Portugal. Although this meant having to face three very strong teams and virtually no chance of qualifying for the top section, we were almost certain of making it into Final Group B due to the presence of new-comers Portugal. Our confidence was confirmed when we met in round three and Ireland won on all four boards. Having lost to The host country by a score of 3-1 in the qualifying Group, we had to meet them again in the first round of Final Group B but we could only manage a half point this time. Our best performances were: a win against Holland and draws with Sweden, Norway and Denmark. In our final match we could only manage a solitary half point against Austria and this perhaps was due to the very early morning start imposed so that all games would be finished in time for the Closing Ceremony.
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 0.5, East Germany 3.5;
round 2, Ireland 1, Spain 3;
round 3, Ireland 4, Portugal 0;
round 4, Ireland had a bye;
round 5, Ireland 0, Poland 4;
round 6, Ireland 0.5, Spain 3.5;
round 7, Ireland 2, Sweden 2;
round 8, Ireland 1.5, Hungary 2.5;
round 9, Ireland 2.5, Netherlands 1.5;
round 10, Ireland 2, Norway 2;
round 11, Ireland 2, Denmark 2;
round 12, Ireland 0.5, Austria 3.5.
The individual scores were: in board order, McElroy, 4 points from 10 games; Doyle, 4 from 10; Keane, 4.5 from 10; Casey, 3.5 points from 9 games and reserve McAloon, 0.5 from 5. The team finished 15th having scored a total of 16.5 points.
BCA Gazette, January 1986:
London Tournament for the Visually Handicapped, by Stan Lovell
“The annual event attracted a record 24 entrants. About a quarter of these were participating in their first BCA over- the-board event.
Congratulations to Paul Benson with his 100% score of 5 out of 5. Congratulations are also due to Steve Burnell for getting among the big boys with his 4 points placing him clear in second place. Other prize winners were: Jack Horrocks, Mike Keating, Sean Loftus and Stan Lovell sharing third with 3.5.
The RNIB proved to be a comfortable venue for the tournament although some of us found it too hot. Once again our thanks are due to all those who gave hospitality to participants from beyond London. Thanks to one and all.”
Note: For many years the London Tournament was run independently by Jack Horrocks. Since it was taken over by the BCA it has been renamed the Autumn Tournament and is now no longer confined to the Capital.
The Braille Chess Association of Ireland, by Philip Doyle
The BCAI was founded on Thursday 30 May, 1985, at a meeting held in the irish Association for the Blind, 8 North Great George’s Street, Dublin, following the return of the Irish team from the 7th Olympiad. The officers elected were: President, E. Casey; Secretary, P. Doyle; Treasurer, E. McElroy. S. Loftus undertook to formulate a constitution. M. Keane was also in attendance.
The BCAI was formed in an attempt to bring new players – especially young players – into the game. So far 17 members had been recruited. In October, the first official Chess championship for the Blind was held. There were 12 entrants and it was won by Ernie McElroy. Michael Keating took second place and Sean Loftus was third. Also, a couple of friendly matches had been played against clubs in Limerick and Dublin, however, a correspondence tournament for novices was not too successful! The BCAI were also able to help new members with advice about books, Chessboards etc. As a result about half a dozen had become members of clubs.
Another factor leading to the founding of the BCAI was a proposal made at the IBCA Congress in Benidorm by the Irish team to consider hosting the next Olympiad. Liam Butler was to be the main organiser, but with no national structure in existence and little experience of running international tournaments it was soon realised that the idea was premature and it was quickly abandoned, but not before a brand new structure was put in place, thus insuring a bright future for the game.
BCA Gazette, January 1987:
In Dublin’s fair city, by Voldi Gailans
“The Dublin Open Tournament was held from Saturday, 25th to Monday, 27th October, at the headquarters of the League of the Blind. 16 people took part – 12 from the Republic and four from England, including Graham Willis, a friend from East Ham Chess club, whose help on the trip was invaluable. There was a striking spirit of comradeship about the whole weekend. The draw was ably managed by Sean Loftus in the absence of a controller and the event ran smoothly. Phil Doyle’s wife, Noreen, worked tirelessly providing soup, sandwiches and tea for players as they finished their games. Although we had little time to explore the city, we had plenty of time to chat to our hosts and enjoy the excellent Guinness. Ernie McElroy won the tournament with 5 out of 5, followed by Sean Loftus, Michael Keating and myself with 3.5. Philip Dunne won the grading prize (under 1400) with 3 points.
The BCAI hopes to hold another Dublin Open Tournament in two years’ time. If this proves to be as successful, BCA members taking part are in for a fine time!”
BCA Gazette, October 1987
Haaksbergen – the friendly tournament, by Alec Crombie
“If I were joining the BCA, wanting to find my feet as a tournament player, travel and have a good time to boot, I could not do better than the annual IBIS Tournament in Haaksbergen which, this year, the 13th, was held on May 16th and 17th.
Haaksbergen is a large but intimate village, a few kilometers from the German border, and roughly halfway between Enschede, the Northern footballing town, and Arnhem-on-rhein (scene of “A bridge too far”.
Leaving London on the evening of the Thursday before the weekend tournament, we reached Haaksbergen by way of the most comfortable first-class accommodation on the Dutch flagship “Koningin Beatrix”. Then comes a full day for settling in with our host family, usually ten minutes, drive at the most from the Chess venue, topped off by an informal reception, where we meet friends, old and new, from all the other guest countries, most of whom have reasonable English. The theme of IBIS is integration, that is of blind and sighted players and friends. This holds good at the Chess table, where two blind and two sighted players each play all, with a couple of rounds on the Saturday and the final round on the Sunday morning. The tables are arranged so as to pair similarly-graded players. However, if you do not have a grade, or think your Chess is still too weak to launch upon the international scene, don’t stop reading. There is a standard for all at the friendly Haaksbergen Tournament, and the winners of table 30 get as big a cheer as those of table 1. This year, the English contingent of seven players was augmented by a lone Swede plus a couple of old Irish friends, (Sean Loftus and Gerry MacElligott) and, as their Captain, I was not sorry to be part Scots, part Welsh myself. In the team competition, we, the international brigade, finished on 12 points, comfortably ahead of the Belgians but trailing somewhat behind the West Germans and the 17-point winners, Holland.
With many entreaties to come back next year, the team, with its loyal and resourceful guides, took the boat-train on the Sunday night and were back in London at 9 AM Monday.”
BCA Gazette, January 1988
News from the BCA of Ireland, by Philip Doyle
“The Irish team for the Olympiad in Hungary will be: Ernie McElroy, Sean Loftus, Michael Keating and Philip Doyle. A reserve may be added later. The team selected is based on the outcome of the Irish Championship which was held from 23rd to 26th October. The results of the six-round Swiss are: 1-2 P. Doyle, W. Breen 4; 3-6 S. Loftus, M. Keating, M. Keane, E. McElroy 3.5; 7-8 J. McAloon, E. Casey 3; 9 M. Meaney 2; 10 P. Dunne 0. Willie Breen and Michael Keane did not wish to be included in the team.”
8th Chess Olympiad of the Blind, 1988, by Philip Doyle
“For me Sunday usually means a lie on but on the 17th of April I was up at 06.30 to begin a long and tiring journey, which for myself and five colleagues (two of whom joined us at London) would end 14 hours later with a hearty and welcome meal in the hotel Balaton, in Zalaegerzeg, Hungary. The latter part of the journey was a three hour coach trip, much of which was spent in view of the broad Danube. The terrain eventually changing from flat farmland to hilly forested country, which lies close to the Austro-Yugoslav border. This district has Zalaegerzeg as its capital, tourism being the main industry.
The Balaton is a modern hotel with comfortable rooms, however, many of the teams would be staying at the hotel Arany Barany about 200 metres away and this proved to be a slight drawback to the social side. The tournament was also staged at the other hotel and this could have been awkward if the weather had been rainy but the sun shone most of the time and the first week was very warm. The meal on our arrival proved to be a good omen and the food continued to be good for the remainder of our stay. Interpreters were assigned to us and they were a great help especially when shopping.
To introduce our team: on board one, Ernie McElroy; board two, Sean Loftus; board three, Philip Doyle and board four, Michael Keating; guide, Laura Keating; captain and guide, Gerry MacElligott.
During the first week the 23 teams were divided into four groups and there followed an all-play-all in each group. For the second week the top two teams in each group would form a premier section, with the middle two forming an intermediate section and the bottom two forming the minor section. We were drawn with Austria, Yugoslavia, Finland, France and Belgium.
Yugoslavia, as expected qualified easily for the premier section but there was a close race for the second position between Finland, Austria and Ireland, with the Fins just getting there. Ireland had good wins during the first week over Finland, France and Belgium. Saturday was a day off and for anyone not attending the Congress, a coach trip was laid on. First a visit to a magnificent stately home, and after an excellent lunch a visit to the forty-mile-long lake Balaton, before returning to base. Other spare time was spent shopping or at night having a drink in the beer keller, adjournments permitting. We also made an enjoyable trip to the spa at Heviz, accompanied by our sprightly 72-year-old interpreter, Dommie.
During the second week Ireland and Austria were joined in the intermediate section by England, Sweden, Holland, Spain, Israel and the host country. Having played the Austrians already, our first match was against England and we scored a fine draw. Other good draws followed against Sweden, Israel and Hungary, also a win against the Netherlands. This gave us over all, four wins, four draws and three losses.
The premier section was won once again by the USSR, Yugoslavia was second and West Germany finished third. England won the second section and Belgium the third. Following the closing ceremony all that remained to be done was to say goodbye to our many friends, new and old and especially the Hungarians who did so much to make us feel at home. Then the long journey home and for me 12 hours of badly needed sleep.”
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 1.5, Austria 2.5;
round 2, Ireland 0, Yugoslavia 4;
round 3, Ireland 3, France 1;
round 4, Ireland 3, Finland 1;
round 5, Ireland 2.5, Belgium 1.5;
round 6, Ireland 2, England 2;
round 7, Ireland 2, Sweden 2;
round 8, Ireland 2.5, Netherlands 1.5;
round 9, Ireland 0.5, Spain 3.5;
round 10, Ireland 2, Israel 2;
round 11, Ireland 2, Hungary 2.
The individual scores from 11 rounds were: McElroy, 4.5 points; Loftus, 5; Doyle, 6 and Keating 5.5 points. The Irish team scored a total of 21 points and finished 13th.
A feature of fund raising for this Olympiad was the very substantial sums of money raised by Michael Keating and his relations and friends in Meath and in London where he then lived.
BCA Gazette, October 1988:
Cleveland International, by Stan Lovell
“Replies to the invitations sent out to overseas countries were slow in coming until our Olympiad team carried out some very effective canvassing during their stay in Hungary. The result was an entry of 30, with 22 from overseas and 8 from England. Cleveland Council, who had supported this event to the tune of £6.500, certainly gave us the “red-carpet” treatment. A buffet to start it all off, a Civic Reception mid-week, to keep things going, and a barbecue and band to help the prize-giving along at the end of the tournament. We were all accommodated in the Teeside Polytechnic hall of residence and the Chess was played under the same roof. Now to the result. It was soon evident that Magnusson, the Junior World Champion from Sweden, along with the two Poles, Dukaczewski and Puchala, the two Spanish players, Rubio and Burdio, and the West German, Engl, were the leading contenders for the £250 first prize. Going into the final round, Magnusson had a half-point lead over his nearest rival, and appeared to have met his main rivals, which made him clear favourite to take the title. One should never reckon without Geoff Carlin, however, and Geoff scored a convincing win over the young Swede., allowing Heinz Engl, the West German, to slip through into first place. Final scores in the 7-round Swiss were: 5.5 Engl (W. Germany); 5 Magnusson (Sweden), Puchala (Poland), Carlin (England).”
Note: Ireland was represented by Michael Keating who had a score of 4 points, which included a draw against the eventual winner.
BCA Gazette, April 1989:
Dublin Millennium Tournament, by Philip Doyle
“14 players took the field for the BCAI’s special tournament to celebrate a thousand years of Dublin’s history. The competition took place over the October bank holiday weekend at the splendid new headquarters of the National Council for the Blind in Whitworth rd. The tournament room was spacious, cosy and well lit, with nearby a comfortable lounge and coffee-bar. After games, players usually congregated in the latter to relax and enjoy the sandwiches and other refreshments which were being served there.
After four rounds, Philip Doyle held a half point lead. However, he lost his final game to Joe McAloon, leaving the way open to Ernie McElroy and Charlie Marshall, who were playing against each other. With time running out for both players, Charlie was up the Exchange and a Pawn. but he lost a Rook dramatically and resigned soon after, leaving Ernie to pocket the £100 first prize. Philip Doyle and Joe McAloon shared second place, and the remaining prizes went to two new, young and promising players, Michael Delaney and Larry Currid. We were privileged to have a Swedish player present, Roger Svensson, who, like his ancestral cousins a millennium ago, proved to be a tough opponent and finished with three points.”
The tournament was controlled by Tim Conlan of the Phibsboro Chess Club. It would have been better attended were it not for an unfortunate clash of dates with the BCA’s Autumn Tournament.
Irish Chess Journal on tape, by Philip Doyle
The BCAI minutes for 30 January, 1989, outlined a plan to record the Irish Chess Journal for members. The recording would be made at home and the NCBI would provide the wallets and cassettes for free. They also undertook to do the copying. Kevin Butler of the Phibsboro Chess Club had already made a trial recording.
By 1992 Tim Conlan had become the regular reader, with Philip Doyle coordinating the copying and dispatch. The recording was extended to include a supplement of BCAI news and games, as well as information from the wider Chess world. The diet included anything and everything thought to interest the listeners. articles with instruction, games analysis, and Chess problems were always popular. The supplement was edited by Philip with contributions from Tim and others.
The number of subscribers to the tape eventually exceeded twenty and The magazine’s popularity continued for several years, until the number of print Journals were drastically reduced due to cost factors and the onset of Chess resources on the internet. Despite this, the tape remained in production until the final issue appeared in February 2006.
BCA Gazette, October 1989:
IRISZ Kupa (IRIS Cup) 1989, by Stan Lovell
“The third tournament for the IRISZ Kupa took place in the little town of Szentendre, on the banks of the Danube and just 22 kilometres from Budapest. The English and Irish parties met up at Heathrow, and had Ernie McElroy to thank for making the booking, at a very favourable rate, with Liffey Travel of Dublin. When we reached the hotel Danubius, we were to find that it had received a face-lift and, in fact, work was still going on at a pace, bringing the bar up to the standard of the rest of the hotel. Speaking for myself, I found the food very good and interesting, and the service excellent. I realise, however, that food, and particularly the food of another country, is very much a personal matter. Prices of all food and drinks and many other articles are quite exceptionally low, and we were able to get a very favourable rate of exchange,which meant that our trip out cost us very little. Some of our party spent time wandering around the craft shops in Szentendre and picked up some very good bargains. One of the most enjoyable days was spent on a cruise up the Danube, to the town of Piszegrad, the former seat of Hungarian kings.
The return trip, an hour and a half in each direction, cost us just 65 pence each. Now to the Chess. The Rumanians had withdrawn from the tournament at short notice, so Hungary entered a B team to make up the numbers. The ten teams were divided into two groups of five for the first phase of the tournament. This meant that each team had a day off during the week. The English team of Graham Lilley, Paul Benson, Colin Chambers and Stan Lovell found themselves along with the Irish team of Ernie McElroy, Sean Loftus, Phil Doyle and Mike Keating, in the stronger group with Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary A. The other group consisted of West Germany, Austria, Poland, Yugoslavia and Hungary B. The final day, the group winners, seconds, thirds etc. played off for the final placings.
Final placings were: 1. Bulgaria, 2. West Germany, 3. Czechoslovakia, 4. Yugoslavia, 5. England, 6. Poland, 7. Hungary A, 8. Austria, 9. Hungary (b) 10. Ireland. The organisation was generally good, but one hitch occurred when both the Irish and the Czechs were told that it was their day off, leaving Bulgaria waiting for opposition which did not show.
Finally, I must mention the simultaneous given by Sofi and Judith Polgar. Only three of a very strong field of 40 managed a win.”
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 1, Czechoslovakia 3;
round 2, Ireland 0, Bulgaria 4;
round 3, Ireland 1, England 3;
round 4, Ireland 1, Hungary A 3;
round 5, Ireland had a bye;
round 6, Ireland 1.5, Hungary B 2.5.
The individual scores were, in board order: McElroy 1; Loftus 0.5; Doyle 1.5 and Keating 1.5 making a total of 4.5 points.
IBCA Junior Tournament, 1989, by Philip Doyle
This was held from 9th-15th August in the town of Skelleftea in northern Sweden. It was a 7-round all-play-all, and the result was as follows: 1. Draganow (USSR) 5.5; 2. Milivojevic (Sweden) 5.5; 3. Vertacnik (Yugoslavia) 4.5; 4. Delaney (Ireland) 3.5; 5. Pacaczek (Poland) 3.5; 6. Covas (Portugal) 3; 7. Maeckelelbergh G. (Belgium) 2; 8. Van Houtte (Belgium) 0.5.
BCA Gazette, January 1990
Dublin Open Tournament, 1989, by Stephen Eastwick-Field
“This event took place at the National Council for the Blind, over the Irish Bank Holiday weekend of 28th-30th October. There were 18 participants, including players from Sweden, Holland, UK and Ireland.
The Irish BCA, which hosted the event, had some money over from a previous occasion, and so were able to offer free bed and breakfast accommodation for three nights to the visiting players and their guides at local guest houses.
We were all met at the airport and taken to our guest houses on the Friday afternoon, and after having a meal at a local restaurant we were entertained and supplied with free drinks by the Irish players at the National Council building. We also had a very enjoyable social evening on the Sunday at the same venue, and during and between playing sessions, the ladies kept us plentifully supplied with sandwiches, tea and coffee etc.
Turning to the Chess, the tournament was a 5-round Swiss, with two rounds on Saturday, two on Sunday and one on Monday. It was no surprise that Graham Lilley won the tournament with a 100% record as he was clearly the strongest player there. The grading prizes were won by Stan Lovell and Michael Meaney.
The Swedish party had to leave early on the Monday, so Derek Spink and Ivor Wagner were subjected to an 8-30 AM start to the last round to play against them. However, both proved equal to the task and won their games!
I believe that a similar event is planned for 1990, and I for one cannot wait to sample more of the friendly Irish hospitality.
Scores: 1. G. Lilley 5; 2. J. Van Gelder (Holland) 4; 3-7 P. Doyle, M. Keating, S. Lovell, J. McAloon, M. Meaney 3.”
BCA Gazette, January 1990
Spanish Open Tournament, 1989, by Peter Gibbs
“1989 was the 25th anniversary of the founding of a Chess club for the Blind in the Alicante region of Spain. To celebrate this, an international tournament for the blind and partially sighted was held in Benidorm from 4th-11th November.
The tournament was held in the hotel Poseidon, where participants stayed. The accommodation and facilities were first class. 25 players took part in the tournament, which had an international flavour; 11 players were from Spain, 3 each from Holland and Sweden, 2 from Hungary and a representative from Belgium, Colombia, Finland, France, GB and Ireland.
Magnusson (Sweden), a FIDE Master, tied for first place with Nemes (Hungary) on 5.5 points, but came first on SB. Tonteri (Finland) and Van Gelder (Holland) came next with 5 points.”
Note: Eamonn Casey, who was accompanied by his wife Teresa, represented Ireland and finished with a solid 3.5 points.
BCA Gazette, July 1990:
7th World Individual Championship, 1990, by Steffi Cohn
“This event took place from 7th to 21st April, 1990, at Wunsiedel, a medieval town of about 10.000 inhabitants, situated about half an hour’s bus ride from Beyreuth in Bavaria.
The players and guides were housed in a modern hotel, with large rooms with en-suite facilities, but the food left something to be desired and was initially somewhat inadequate. The helpers (of whom there was about 35) stayed in an older hotel, about four minutes walk from the other one, where the food was excellent and the staff friendly.
There were a number of outings, including one to Beyreuth, involving a visit to the Opera House which Wagner had built in the last century.
30 players from 24 countries took part, the USSR, West Germany and Yugoslavia having more than one representative each. Colombia took part for the first time, and there was only one lady competitor, Maeckelbergh of Belgium. Mike Meaney, the Irish player, unfortunately failed to score a point in this very strong competition, but proved very popular as a singer and entertainer in the evenings.
The Tournament was won by Khamdamov (USSR) with 8 points, followed by his compatriot Berlinski with 7.5, with the Yugoslav player, Avram, 3rd also on 7.5.”
BCAI Open Tournament, 1990, by Tim Conlan, Tournament Controller
The BCAI held their European Chess Tournament in the NCBI headquarters in Drumcondra, Dublin, over the October bank holiday weekend. This increasingly popular Tournament attracted 24 players from Sweden, Holland, Scotland, and England as well as the host country.
The eight-strong English contingent was led by Stan Lovell, Secretary of the British BCA and included the highly rated British Champion Graham Lilley who won this event last year. In the party also was the well-known FIDE Arbiter Gerry Walsh. The Dutch group had the leading player Jan Van Gelder who has competed previously in this event. All three Swedish players were familiar with the Irish Tournament having also played here before. They included the veteran Roger Svensson and the Canadian born Georgibell Frojse, the only lady entrant, who insists that she comes “not only for Chess but to buy Christmas cakes and puddings to bring home, because they are hard to buy in Sweden and taste nicer from Ireland”. The lone Scot was Bryan Kilgour who was paying his first visit to this event.
It was a hard-fought Tournament with no quarter asked and none given. Not a Tournament for the nervous, with endgame battles fought out like gladiators in the arena. Going into the last round, the three big men (all over six feet tall) McElroy, Lilley and Van Gelder shared the lead on 3.5 points each. In the final round Lilley beat McElroy and Van Gelder won on time in a nail-biting finish against the up-and-coming young international from Ireland Michael Delaney. As the tie-break could not separate them, Graham Lilley and Jan Van Gelder shared 1st and 2nd places with McElroy, Chambers and Doyle sharing 3rd place. Grading prizes went to: Section (a) Michael Delaney; Section (b), Eamonn Casey and Sean O’Brien; Section (c), Derek Spink, all in all a fair sharing of the spoils.
Des Kenny, Chief Executive of the National Council for the Blind gave the BCAI use of part of the Whitworth rd. premises. It includes a good-size playing room, a large rest room for the players and their friends to use during the Tournament and a well-stocked canteen which provides light snacks throughout the Competition. Indeed this venue is one which many tournament organisers would be very pleased to have at their disposal. Other generous sponsors were: Allied Irish Banks, National rehabilitation Board, the Commission of the European Communities and the Bank of Ireland.”
World Cup Chess Finals, by Gerry MacElligott
“ONCE the Spanish organisation for the visually handicapped organised the finals of the Chess World Cup in Segovia, from December 1st-11th 1990. Segovia is a pleasant city of about 400,000 situated some 50 miles North-West of Madrid. The city, which is built on very hilly ground, often necessitating steps to connect adjacent streets, displays strong Roman influences, the most obvious of which is a massive viaduct which in places is over 200 feet high. The Cathedral is also of great architectural importance and is maintained by the Local Authorities.
The 12 top placed teams from the previous Olympiad qualify for the final of the World Cup but Ireland came 13th in Hungary in 1988. Another country would have resigned itself for non-participation, but we did not give up! A scout was dispatched to Berlin to remove a few bricks from a well-known wall, initiating the reunification of Germany and, more importantly, moving Ireland up to 12th place. You see international politics makes sense when you know all the details.
As was to be expected the opposition was very tough, but we were determined to show we were deserving of our place in the finals. Our only match win did not please the local crowd however. This was not surprising as the team we defeated was none other than Spain itself. The winning of other matches was well within our grasp, especially against England, Finland and Israel but excellent chances were let slip. We can be pleased nevertheless with the fact that we took points off all the teams competing, with the exception of the USSR and Poland who finished in first and second place respectively. Ireland’s 10th place was then very creditable for a 12th ceded team.
The Irish team comprised: Ernie Mcelroy, Sean Loftus, Michael Delaney, Joe McAloon and Larry Currid with Manager Gerry MacElligott.”
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 1.5, Finland 2.5;
round 2, Ireland 1, Hungary 3;
round 3, Ireland 0, USSR 4;
round 4, Ireland 1.5, England 2.5;
round 5, Ireland 1.5, Israel 2.5;
round 6, Ireland 0, Poland 4;
round 7, Ireland 1, Germany 3;
round 8, Ireland had a bye;
round 9, Ireland 2.5, Spain 1.5;
round 10, Ireland 1, Yugoslavia 3;
round 11, Ireland 1, Czechoslovakia 3.
Individual scores: McElroy, 1.5 points; Loftus, 3; Delaney, 3.5 and McAloon 3, making a total of 11 points.
BCA Gazette, July 1991:
A royal welcome in Germany and Holland, by Alec Crombie
“Saying “royal”, I have in mind Frankfurt’s Kiser Halle where, beneath portraits of the Holy Roman Emperors, we were treated to a sumptuous Civic Reception, but in all other respects our April 11th-22nd tour proved royal, thanks to the hospitality and friendship accorded our 23-man party, and to the tremendous work and organisation of our German hosts Hans Gerd Schaefer and his wife.
From our comfortable guest-house base (all paid for by our hosts) we were guided around Gelnhausen (home of the red-bearded Barbarossa), the magical city of Heidelberg, with its ancient university and lofty medieval castle, and Frankfurt City itself where, apart from that reception (presided over by the local Minister of Sport), we received warm hospitality from the Chess Club for the Blind, whose Chairman, Helmut Kahler, happens to be the President of Braille Chess for Germany as a whole.
Oh yes, and we also played a bit of Chess – three matches against select teams drawn from the Frankfurt Chess Club for the Blind and the local sighted Club side. These we lost comfortably, being heavily out-graded; but the experience was invaluable, especially for the four of us playing abroad for the first time and mastering the German notation of moves.”
Note: My wife Noreen and I joined up with the British party on the 12th, of April having flown to Frankfurt, but Due to lack of space at the guest-house we were accommodated at a very pleasant hotel in Gelnhausen. We returned to Dublin a week later at the end of the German leg of the trip while the rest of the party travelled on to Holland for the Haaksbergen weekend.
Benasque international, 1991, by Gerry MacElligott
“ONCE the Spanish organisation for the visually handicapped, which organised the World Cup last December, scaled greater heights when it organised “Ajedrez u montana” (Chess in the mountains) in July. This 9 round tournament, with 32 participants representing 14 countries, was held in Benasque, a village high up in the Pyrenees mountains. At the same time an individual open tournament with 200 participants including many GMs and IMs was also held. This meant the village was populated almost exclusively by chess players, sheep and goats.
The tournament was of mixed strength, 1400 Elo to 2300 Elo but with 11 prizes on offer our representatives Ernie McElroy and Sean Loftus had reasonable hopes of winning a prize. Both players began with a draw in the first round but by round 6 Ernie was disputing the lead on board 1 with Novak, however, Novak isn’t 2300 for nothing and Ernie lost a hard fought game. Meanwhile, Sean, having nearly drawn with the same Novak in round 2, was content to stay in the middle of the field. A last round win by Sean gave him a respectable 4 points. On board 2 Ernie was playing Dukaczewski, needing a win for a share of second place however the Pole won an excellently played rook and pawn ending, giving him a share of first place as Novak unexpectedly lost his last game, his only defeat.
First equal Novak (Czechoslovakia) and Dukaczewski (Poland) 7.5; third Gaponenko (USSR) 6.5; fourth equal Benson (UK) and Palacios (Spain) 6; sixth equal McElroy 5.5; … 18th equal Loftus 4 points.”
BCA Gazette, April 1992:
BCAI Championship, 1991, by Philip Doyle
“This was held from 26th to 28th October last at the National Council for the Blind in Dublin. The six-round Swiss had 12 entrants. At stake were a brand new perpetual shield and three Olympic places, so the competition was intense.
The final positions were: 1-2 S. Loftus, M. Delaney 4.5; 3-4 J. McAloon, P. Doyle 4; 5 E. McElroy 3.5; 6-7 M. Keating, G. Ennis 3; 8 E. Casey 2.5; 9-11 L. Currid, T. Culhane, M. McGinn 2; 12 S. Hall 1.
The top three later added Philip Doyle to the team, with Ernie McElroy in the reserve position.”
BCA Gazette, January 1992
“Congratulations to Ernie McElroy on becoming League Champion.”
Another fine Correspondence Chess victory for Ernie to add to his BCA Championship win of 1991.
9th Chess Olympiad, 1992, by Gerry MacElligott
“The 9th Chess Olympiad for the Visually Handicapped was held in Ca’n Picaford, Majorca from April 14th to 29th, 1992. The four-yearly event was organised by ONCE, the Spanish organisation for the blind which also runs the national lottery. The event, with a record 33 national teams, was excellently run and the fact that (unlike in Hungary four years ago) all the teams were accommodated in one hotel made for a very sociable event. The return to the international community of a multi-racial South African team, after a number of years in exile, together with the debut of six Latin American teams: (Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Cuba and Mexico) was warmly welcomed. Also welcomed were the new countries of Russia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Croatia and Lithuania.
The Latin American participation led to some minor culture shock. While the weather for the most part was excellent, with clear skies and temperatures in the high twenties, the first three days were rather cold. During this time one of the Colombians could be seen travelling the hotel corridors wearing a fur coat, with the hood up. We may safely assume
Colombia is a hot country. Not to be outdone, Joe McAloon could be observed tucked up in bed wearing a plastic raincoat, with only his hooded head protruding from under the covers.
On the other hand, the Europeans were to learn about the Latin American temperament. This revealed itself when at every opportunity the Latins gave a raucous rendition of their national football chants, each country trying to out-do the other. Hitherto peaceful meal times began to sound like football matches. Who said Chess is a quiet sport?
The whole event ran very smoothly, however, on one occasion a power failure doused the playing hall into darkness for about five minutes. The evident consternation of the referees during this period remained a total mystery to most of the players. They continued to play on unaware of what had happened until after the games were finished.
The best Irish results were: wins against Norway, Holland, Finland and Italy (revenge for their defeat of us in the Soccer World Cup) and draws against Sweden and Cuba. I suppose there is always the story of the one that got away. Sean Loftus had the Ukranian women’s world champion Zsiltzova, on the brink of defeat, when an own-goal saved her bacon.
The competition was won by Russia, second was Yugoslavia, third Ukraine with Ireland in 22nd place. The Irish team were: Philip Doyle, Ernie McElroy, Sean Loftus, Michael Delaney and Joe McAloon. Manager, Larry Currid and coach Gerry MacElligott.’
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 3, Norway 1;
round 2, Ireland 0, Ukraine 4;
round 3, Ireland 3.5, Italy 0.5;
round 4, Ireland 3, Finland 1;
round 5, Ireland 1, Spain 3;
round 6, Ireland 2, Sweden 2;
round 7, Ireland 1, Rumania 3;
round 8, Ireland 2.5, Netherlands 1.5;
round 9, Ireland 1.5, Slovenia 2.5;
round 10, Ireland 1.5, Austria 2.5;
round 11, Ireland 2, Cuba 2.
The individual scores were, in board order: Doyle, 3 points from 9 games; McElroy, 4.5 from 9; Loftus, 6 from 10; Delaney, 3 points from 8 games; and reserve McAloon, 4.5 from 8. Total 21 points.
Profile, August 1992, by Philip Doyle
Ernie McElroy was born in Bandon, Co. Cork in December 1938. The eldest in a family of six he led a normal life until the age of twelve, when he sustained a detached retina. This occurred when he was pushed by another boy, and struck his head against the kerb. Several operations followed but unfortunately all his sight eventually was lost.
Soon after the accident Ernie began attending St. Joseph’s School for the Blind in Dublin. At that time the standard of education in the school was not as good as it is today. There were no examinations and pupils had the same teacher for all subjects. This meant that if the teacher had a weak subject the pupil suffered as a consequence.
At the age of eighteen Ernie started work as a basket-maker at one of the City’s two workshops which was attached to the school. At that time there were almost no other career opportunities for the blind. In September 1961 he left the school campus and joined the other workshop. Ernie remained there until June 1977 when he trained as a Telephonist. Just three weeks later he sat the Civil Service exam but although he was successful it was a further two years before he was placed. Eventually he was posted to the Department of Forestry and Fisheries where he is still employed. Ernie would like to have tried his hand at computer programming but the opportunity did not arise.
Ernie and his wife Vera, who is a Dublin girl, were married in 1963. They live in Harold’s Cross on the South side of Dublin and have four daughters all of whom are grown-up now.
Ernie’s Chess career, like most of the Irish players, began at St. Joseph’s. Brother Louis Summerling had joined the staff in the mid ‘fifties but at this early stage there were no matches against other schools, nevertheless, Ernie was just one of many fine players who emerged during this period.
In February 1960, Ernie along with Sean Loftus joined the BCA. Ever since he has been an enthusiastic Correspondence player and has won the BCA Championship on two occasions. At writing he holds both League and Championship titles, however, he prefers Over-the-board Chess and nowadays attends BCA events regularly.
In September 1960 Ernie was one of six blind players who formed the O’Hanlon Chess Club, which operated from the National League of the Blind. In their first season in the Leinster League they were allowed play all their matches at home as well as having the dubious privilege of playing without clocks. The little Club immediately topped division three and eventually won their way into the first division. At the end of the 1967-68 season, due to their small membership, it was decided to merge with another Club. During this period Ernie won several inter-provincial caps as well as the Leinster Intermediate title.
More recently Ernie has been a member of the Phibsboro Club where he has won many honours, including the Club Championship. Internationally he has played in no less than eight Olympiads, the World Cup and the IRIS Cup in Hungary. His best performance was in 1976 in Finland, when he had a 72% record. Ernie recalls his first Olympiad vividly. While travelling overland to East Germany the team almost missed their connection at the Hook-of-Holland and managed to repeat the exercise on the return journey, this time in London. The danger was averted however, by some desperate sprinting combined with a liberal dose of colourful language. Also during this trip Ernie had some trouble with one of his eyes which was weeping continuously. While playing a Dane he conceded a draw from a won position. Later Ernie’s opponent’s wife thinking he was crying because of the missed chance, came to his room and presented him with a bar of chocolate and twenty cigarettes.
Nowadays Ernie plays a vital part in the Irish BCA, especially where fund raising is concerned. Also he is a very effective Secretary of the Civil Service Blind Telephonists union. He is an avid reader and enjoys all sports particularly Hurling and Cricket. Chess however, remains the dominant interest. He likes weekend tournaments best but also enjoys the cosmopolitan atmosphere surrounding the major events and the opportunities it affords to meet other nationalities.
BCA Gazette, January 1993:
Oakham Chess Festival, 1992, by Voldi Gailans
“The tournament held at Oakham School from 20th to 24th August, 1992, was a worthy climax to our Diamond Jubilee celebrations. It attracted 54 players, 25 of whom came from overseas.
The venue was different from those normally used for our tournaments in that the playing-room, dining area and bar were situated in the main building, at some distance from the four buildings used as sleeping quarters and from the swimming pool which was available for our use during our stay.
In addition to the main event, in which our top six took on six of the best players from the rest of the world, 34 took part in the Major tournament and 8 in the Minor. The BCA team comprised Burnell, Horrocks, Chambers, Carlin, Benson and Lilley. The Rest of the World was represented by Pohlers from Germany, Palacios of Spain, Van De Coterlet of Holland, Dimitrov of Bulgaria, Dukaczewski from Poland and Rev of Hungary. The final score was the Rest of the World 20, BCA 16.
Scores in the Major tournament were: Suder (Poland) 5, Beutelhoff (Germany), McElroy (Ireland), Kehl (Germany) and Linden-mair (Germany) 4.5; … Casey (Ireland) 2.5.
Needless to say, Chess was not the last word in this highly significant event in BCA history. This was a chance for our organisation to reflect and, in some small measure, express our appreciation to the many friends who have helped us over the years. Our celebration dinner on the Saturday evening brought together many members and a number of those friends and helpers, without whose efforts we would be unable to function so successfully. We were delighted to have with us our special guest, Ted Williams, who has been a member of the BCA virtually from its beginning. We owe to Ted and his pioneers a particular debt of gratitude, for without their efforts we as an Association would not exist today. May I express the hope, on behalf of all of us, that Ted can look back on those early days with a feeling of pride in what he helped to initiate and in what has been achieved to date. Here’s hoping that we can be as successful in our next 60 years.”
BCA Gazette, April 1993
Dublin Open Tournament, 1992, by Derek Spink
“On 23rd October, a party of 24 BCA members and friends flew or sailed to Ireland to visit our friends in the lovely city of Dublin for the Irish Open Chess Tournament for the visually handicapped. This was held at the National Council for the Blind in Dublin and the event was sponsored by Telecom Eireann and the National Council.
Half of the party were housed at a guest-house nearby and the other half stayed at a very nice hotel called the Maples. On the three evenings we were there, we were entertained by our hosts, especially one of the Irish players, Mike Meaney, who sang some Irish songs and was very humorous. Some of our party also contributed to the entertainment. We got a reduced rate for the evening meals and of course, the drinks went down a treat. At the Chess venue the ladies supplied us with plenty of food and drinks during the day.
There were some hard games played in the five-round Swiss, in particular, the game between Larry Currid and Graham Lilley. This ended as a draw, an outstanding result for Larry, whose grade is approximately 95. The prizes were handed out by Mr. Charles O’Brien, representing Telecom Eireann.
We would like to thank the organising committee of the Irish BCA and all our hosts for their help and friendship. They could not do enough to make our stay a happy one. I highly recommend this tournament to players and their friends.”
The results were: 1. G. Lilley 4.5; 2-3. C. Chambers, S. Lovell 4. Grading prizes-Group 1: S. Thacker. Group 2: L. Currid and D. Spink. Group 3: I. Wagner and G. Patching.
Sportslink, April 1993:
First at last, by Philip Doyle
“When it comes to Postal Chess, the Irish members of the BCA have an excellent record against their British counterparts, in fact, we have won the BCA Postal Championship on several occasions. In Over-the-board Chess however, things have been different and although we have had seconds and thirds aplenty, first place seemed always to elude us. I had a great feeling of satisfaction therefore when I started my clock for the final round of the BCA’s AGM Tournament in Llandudno, knowing that no matter what happened, one of my colleagues, Ernie McElroy or Sean Loftus, would at least share first place. They were both a half point ahead of the field and drawn against each other. Although Ernie had an excellent chance to win this game, it was eventually drawn, leaving five players to share the prize-money. As Sean had the best tie-break score, it is his name which will be engraved on the shield. A fitting finale to his 21st BCA appearance.
The other Irish players who travelled, Michael McGinn and myself, had more modest achievements, as did our two emigrants, Martin Kane and Jim Cuthbert. I hope the BCA will hold more tournaments in Llandudno, as they have been remarkably fortunate with the weather. On both occasions when I was there the weather was glorious, and in the middle of March at that.”
Note: The custom of Irish players taking part in such tournaments began in 1974 when Sean Loftus and Willie Breen attended the biennial BCA Congress Tournament in Chester. Willie and Sean repeated their visit to Chester two years later and were also at Birmingham in 1978. Sean was in Eastbourne in 1980 continuing to set the trend for an increasing number of Irish participants as the new decade wore on.
Sportslink, December 1993
BCAI Championship, 1993, by Philip Doyle
“The 5th Irish Championship for the visually impaired was staged during the October Bank Holiday weekend at the NCBI headquarters in Dublin. A special Junior Tournament which was sponsored by Irish BlindSports was held in conjunction with the main event and this proved a great success.
The Championship itself was a 6 round Swiss tournament with 9 entrants. This meant that one player had to be given a bye in each round but this disadvantage was compensated for bye the highly competitive manner in which the games were fought out, and as a result, there were very few draws.
The top seeds, Ernie McElroy and myself shot into an early lead, winning our first two games, which meant that we were drawn against each other in the third round. Here, a major blunder on my part meant a quick win for Ernie, and a full point lead going into round 4. This time Ernie drew with the defending joint Champion, Sean Loftus, so that his lead was reduced to a half point, however, I stumbled again in the fifth round against the veteran, Willie Breen, who was having a magnificent tournament, while Ernie was having another win, this time against Michael Keating. In the final round, despite getting something of a fright from Willie, Ernie came through with his second draw and therefore becomes our new Champion, with the right to represent Ireland at the World Individual in Minsk, next September.
The Junior Tournament was contested by 7 players, and here Paul Bellew from Balbriggan won his first four games but crashed down to earth in the final round with a defeat by Shane Hall, leaving the way open for thirteen-year old Tony Murray from St. Joseph’s to draw level. This meant a pooling of the £30 first prize and £20 second prize, with £25 going to each of the joint winners. Our thanks again to Irish BlindSports who donated the prize money and to the NCBI for providing refreshments as well as giving us the use of there premises.
Final scores in the Championship were: 1 E. McElroy on 5 points; 2-4 P. Doyle, S. Loftus, and W. Breen 4 points; 5 M. Keating 3.5; 6-8 E. Casey, M. Delaney and J. McAloon 2.5 and finally L. Currid 2 points.”
Sportslink, June 1994:
Cork cracker, by Sean Walsh
“On Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th of March, 1994, the Irish Braille Junior Chess Championship took place at the Imperial Hotel; hosted by the local Red Abbey Chess Club. As well as the Junior Tournament, Speed and Lightning competitions were held for senior players.
The proceedings were officially opened by Alderman Jim Corr, Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork, who particularly welcomed those who travelled from afar for the Tournament. Players from various parts of Munster and a strong contingent from Dublin contested the Junior section. By Saturday evening after 3 rounds it looked like a 3-horse race between Paul Bellew Dublin, Michael Meaney Limerick and Michael McGinn Dublin. While this was in full swing, 8 of Ireland’s top senior players did battle for an impressive array of prizes.
On Saturday night the Tournament room underwent a complete change, and a room which had been filled with tension, clocks and black and white Chess pieces, gave way to music, craic and black and white pints of stout.
Despite the rigours of a great social evening, the Tournament resumed at 11 am on Sunday. After 2 more rounds Paul Bellew became the Junior Champion on Count-back from Michael Meaney. Philip Dunne came with a late burst to finish 3rd ahead of Michael McGinn.
Sean Loftus won the Speed Tournament from Michael Delaney and Philip Doyle. The Lightning Tournament was won by Michael Delaney from Philip Doyle and Willie Breen.
At the presentation of prizes, the Red Abbey Chess Club expressed their sincere gratitude to Mr. Barry O’Brien, who had worked so hard to ensure the Tournament’s success. Also a special thanks to the management and staff of the Imperial Hotel, the members of the Munster Chess Association and Barry’s colleagues at Cash and Co.
The Red Abbey Chess Club would also like to thank the sponsors for their generous contribution to the Tournament including Le Creuset, Cash and Co., TSB, T. L. Eegan, Braille Chess Association and NCBI.”
BCA Gazette, January 1995:
IRISH OPEN TOURNAMENT, 1994, by Philip Doyle
“This event took place, as usual, during the October bank holiday weekend, at the National Council for the Blind in Dublin. The Tournament was of 5 rounds with, for the first time, a senior and a junior section and this arrangement seemed to be popular with the weaker players who participated in greater numbers than on previous occasions.
The visitors, who’s numbers were somewhat down on last time, along with a few of the locals were accommodated at the Maples Hotel which once again proved very satisfactory. On Saturday night, following an excellent meal, we were entertained with music and songs by Michael Meaney, as well as some less well known artists from among the players and guides.
In the Senior section there were fourteen players and after 3 rounds Michael Delaney stood alone on maximum points. In round 4 he was drawn against Collin Chambers from England and Collin won this nerve-racking game on time to leap-frog into a half point lead. In the final round Chambers was drawn against Philip Doyle while Delaney was matched against Sean Loftus. This proved to be a dramatic climax, with Philip defeating Collin, giving Delaney the chance to regain his lead and this he did to take the top prize of £70, leaving Chambers and Doyle to share second place. The grading prize was shared as well between Sean O’Brien and Steven Thacker both from England.
There were ten players in the Junior section and here Willie Britten seemed to be all set for victory having won his first 4 games on the trot, however, on the morning of the final round he got caught up in the Dublin City Marathon traffic diversions and arrived for play 50 minutes late. Despite this setback Willie was winning his game comfortably only to lose on time to Paul Bellew allowing Paul a share of the spoils. Third place in the Junior went to Eric Gallacher from Scotland with another tie for fourth between Michael Meaney and Darren Butler.
Once again we are grateful to the National Council for the Blind and the National Rehabilitation Board for their continued support, also all of our tournament controllers, caterers and providers of transport, including the Knights of Columbanus who’s representative Tony Lyons this year presented the prizes.”
Sportslink, April 1995:
8TH WORLD INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP, 1995, by Philip Doyle
“36 players from 31 countries came together for the 8th World Individual Chess Championship for the Blind, which was held in La Mata, Spain, from January 14th to 22nd, 1995.
The competitors came from 4 continents and from as far away as Argentina, Colombia, Cuba and Kazakstan, and their abilities varied as well, ranging from Master standard down to your average club player.
La Mata is a small town south of Alicante but with the exception of warm sunshine it had little to offer at this time of the year, being entirely geared to the tourist industry. Fortunately the organisers laid on a bus each morning to the nearby large town of Torrevieja, which has an abundance of shops and other amenities as well as the best open-air market I have seen.
The Tournament organisation left a lot to be desired and the Spaniards lived up to their reputation for not communicating with their guests but nevertheless they must be given great credit for taking on the project with only a few months notice. This came about due to the cancelation of the arrangements to hold the Tournament in Byelorussia in the summer.
In the absence of the holder the obvious favourites for the title were the 2 Russians Krylov and Berlinski, both former Champions, but few suspected that there was a dark horse in our midst. Jounoussov who hails from Kazakstan soon made his intensions plain when he defeated Suder from Poland in round 3 and Berlinski in round 4. At this point the entire Tournament was shifted from the Hotel in La Mata to the Royal Sea Club in Torrevieja, but the newcomer was unperturbed by this and went on to win 7 games in a row. He was already assured of the title when in the 8th and final round he met Krylov and in this game the Russian came out on top.
First was Jounoussov (Kazakstan) with 7 points: second Berlinski (Russia) 6.5 and third Suder (Poland) with 6 points. For my part, i had wins against players from Hungary, Latvia and Greece; draws with Denmark and the Czech Republic and losses to Slovenia, England and Israel, giving me a total of 4 points and twentieth position over all.
I was reasonably pleased with this result but feel I played well only in patches. I believe I would have done better had I had the assistance of my Coach Gerry MacElligott, who unfortunately had a road accident only a few days before leaving, which forced him to withdraw. After initial doubt and indecision on my part as to whether to continue, my Wife Noreen stepped into the breach and with the cooperation of Iberia airline the show once more was back on the road.
On my return I was pleased to find that Gerry was making a good recovery following an operation for a fractured cheek bone which detained him in hospital for a week.”
BCA Gazette, April 1996:
BCAI Championship, 1995, by Philip Doyle
The 6th Irish Championship for the visually impaired was held from October 27th to 30th, at the National Council for the Blind in Dublin. A gruelling all-play-all between the Country’s eight leading players produced the following result: 1 P. Doyle 6; 2-3 S. Loftus, E. Mcelroy 4.5; 4 J. Mcaloon 3.5; 5-7 W. Breen, M. Keating, M. Delaney 3; 8 E. Casey 0.5.
As well as the main event, a Minor Tournament was held, and this also had eight players. It was won by Willie Britten, with 4.5 points from 5 rounds, with Stephen Kennedy in second place, a half point behind.
The highlight of the weekend came on Saturday evening, when a special dinner for 27 members and friends was held, to celebrate our Association’s 10th birthday. Quinn’s pub, well known to our Open Tournament visitors, was the setting for the merrymaking, and its restaurant proved a fitting location to commemorate a decade of significant achievement.
Sportslink, June 1996:
Cork Championship, 1996, by Philip Doyle
The 2nd Irish Braille Junior Chess Championship took place on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd March at the Imperial Hotel in Cork. This weekend is mainly intended to cater for the less experienced player as well as being a very enjoyable social occasion and in both aims it once again was a complete success.
The chief organiser and mover of mountains is the amiable Barry O’Brien of the Red Abbey Chess Club who, despite serious illness in the weeks before the Tournament, gave us all a lesson when it comes to fund raising, so that costs were kept to a minimum.
The Tournament was officially opened by Alderman Joe O’Callaghan, Lord Mayor of Cork, and after photographs and a warmly received speech from the ever-youthful John Twohig, President of the Red Abbey Chess Club, proceedings were under way.
Once again Willie Britten from Dublin showed his class when he coasted to victory in the Junior section. Second place went to Dublin schoolboy Tony Murray, while the third position was filled by Michael Meaney from Limerick. In the Senior section Philip Doyle won the Speed Competition while Sean Loftus took first in the Lightning section.
The high point of the weekend was the Saturday evening dinner for the players and their guides. After the meal was over we were joined by a large number of locals, and together we were provided with an incredible variety of musical entertainment for the remainder of the evening. The Cork Tournament is a biennial occurrence, and I for one am certainly looking forward to the next.
BCA Gazette, April 1997:
Irish Open Tournament, 1996, by Stephen Kennedy
The Irish BCA held its European Chess Tournament at Barry’s Hotel, Dublin, between Friday 25th and Monday 28th October. The Tournament consisted of 6 rounds in the Swiss system, and it attracted a record entry of 31 competitors. There were 15 players from England, 13 from Ireland, and 3 from Germany. The Major section (players graded above 100) had an entry of 18, and the Minor section (players graded below 100) had an entry of 13.
The guests stayed in the Belvedere Hotel, but visited Barry’s Hotel on the same street, to play Chess and to have evening meals. Most of the visitors expressed satisfaction with their accommodation, and the late opening hours of the bar in the Belvedere were widely appreciated by the thirsty Chess players. Each evening there was plenty of chat and singsongs, and on Saturday night Michael Meaney performed a number of old favourites on his accordion.
There were many hard battles fought on the Chessboards during the Competition, and a significant number of games went all the way on the clock. The final results were as follows:
Senior section: 1st J. Pohlers (Germany) 5 points; joint 2nd M. Delaney (Ireland), C. Chambers, C. Ross 4.5 points. M. Keating and S. Loftus shared the Grading prize for Section A, while Section B was shared by 4 English players: J. Gallagher, D. Hodgkins, S. Eastwick-Field, and R. Murphy.
Junior section: 1st A. Gardener 5 points; 2nd S. Kennedy (Ireland) 4.5; joint 3rd D. Spink and M. Meaney (Ireland) 4 points. In this section the Grading prize went to K. Harris.
Chris Ross (rated BCF 134) deserves a special word of praise for his performance in the Senior section. Chris managed a win against the second seed Stephen Williamson (168) and a draw against the top seed Jorgen Pohlers (198). Chris is still only 17 years of age, and he is certainly one of the most promising young English players to have emerged in recent years.
Sportslink, May 1997:
A man for all seasons, by Michael Keane
“On a balmy Monday evening in early March, a good humoured group of Chess players and their friends assembled in the Fireman’s Club, Parnell Square, Dublin, to celebrate the eightieth birthday of one of the most senior Chess players in the Country. The function was a combined effort between the Phibsboro Chess Club and the Braille Chess Association, and was ably organized by Tony Duffy and Eamonn Casey. Following a very amusing and glowing speech, Michael Keane made the presentation, and also penned this tribute to the career of his long-time friend and guest of honour:
“Willie Breen was born in Dublin on March the 10th 1917. He was one of a family of twelve, eight girls and four boys. Willie was only three years of age when he contracted Trachoma, a very serious eye complaint. Much of the next six or seven years was spent in the Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin, in an effort to save some of his rapidly failing vision, but alas, to little or no avail.
His Mother, recognising the necessity for Willie to receive an education, successfully obtained for him a place at St. Joseph’s School for the Blind, Drumcondra, where he learned to read and write through Braille. So, from the age of twelve to eighteen years, Willie received a sound elementary education.
At this point, Willie transferred to the Workshops for the Blind where he learned the trade of mat making, at which he was gainfully employed for almost half a century. During his apprenticeship period in the Workshops, Willie learned from a workmate how to play Chess. Having grasped thoroughly the rudiments of the game, Willie worked and studied tirelessly to attain near perfection. At this time he joined the North City Chess Club, later to become the Kevin Barry Chess Club, and within a very short time was challenging for the right to play at board 1 for that Club.
In about 1936 Willie joined the Braille Chess Association, a British based body established to advance Correspondence Chess amongst the blind and visually impaired, and soon he became the opponent that everyone wanted to play. Some of the more senior players in the Braille Chess Association played Willie continuously for over thirty years. In those days Willie won practically every prize the BCA had on offer, including the 9th Championship. His analytical prowess did not go unnoticed either, for the BCA appointed him as one of their adjudicators for Best Played Game Competitions and the Brilliancy Prize Competition.
In 1952 Willie had a very serious car accident in which he was extremely lucky to survive. Having made a complete recovery, he married two years later, but bringing a lull in his over-the-board Chess until 1960 when the O’Hanlon Chess Club for the Blind was founded. Willie applied himself with renewed enthusiasm, playing Board 1 for the Club, where he acquitted himself with remarkable distinction. Willie also represented Ireland in four Chess Olympiads for the Blind, and continues to represent his Club right up to the present day.”
Note: Willie Breen died on 1 February, 2001.
Sportslink, January 1998:
BCAI Championship, 1997, by Philip Doyle
The 7th Irish Chess Championship for the visually impaired took place during the October bank holiday weekend, at the National Council for the Blind in Dublin. This year there were ten participants, a relatively small number, which forced us to abandon plans for a Junior section. As a result, the weaker players were included in the main event, a 6-round Swiss, and the vagaries of this system gave some of the main contenders a much harder ride than others.
Among these was Willie Breen who once again gave a superb display, belying his eighty years and taking some prize scalps in the process, only to falter at the final hurdle. Willie’s victims included myself in round 1 and Michael Keating in round 5, when Michael looked nicely poised to take his first title. Eamonn Casey too, will be well pleased with his performance having had solid draws with Sean Loftus and Willie Breen as well as a good win over Joe McAloon.
Going into the final round, three players, Keating, Breen and Doyle were a half point ahead of the field but amazingly, all three lost and were overtaken by their immediate pursuers, Delaney, McAloon and Casey. After the dust had settled it became clear that Michael Delaney was our new Champion but only as a result of his superior tie-break score.
Final results: 1-3 M. Delaney, J. McAloon, E. Casey 4 points; 4-7 M. Keating, W. Breen, S. Loftus, P. Doyle 3.5; 8-9 S. Kennedy, T Murray 2; 10 S. Hall 0.
Sportslink, September 1998:
9th World Individual Championship, 1998, by Eamonn Casey
Held in Brno in the Czech Republic from the 4th to the 12th July, 1998. This Tournament is normally confined to one player from each competing Country, but on this occasion, because of the 40th anniversary of the International Braille Chess Association, it was thrown open to up to four competitors from each Country. Ireland decided to send three players, our 1997 Champion, Michael Delaney, Sean Loftus and Eamonn Casey.
With Kieran English and Gerry MacElligott as our guides and mentors, we set off for the Czech Republic on Thursday July 2nd. Our journey wasn’t actually totally uneventful! On arriving in London, when our tickets were checked we were informed that we were travelling a day early. As the one who made the travel arrangements, I imagine I turned a whiter shade of pale! However, on closer inspection, it was discovered that they were the tickets for our bus journey from Prague to Brno the following day, so, everything turned out all right.
Having arrived in Prague on the night of the 2nd, we found our Hotel but not without some difficulty. The following day we proceeded to Brno, the Capital of Moravia, near the Austrian border. The accommodation proved to be adequate as was the food, although the helpings could have been better. Having said that, the local restaurants were so cheap that we ate out on several occasions. An excellent meal with drinks could be had for as little as 9 pounds.
Turning to the Chess, there were 86 players taking part from 32 countries. There was a good-sized tournament room and the playing conditions were very satisfactory. The playing session would be six hours. Each player would have two hours for 40 moves followed by one more hour to complete the game. The standard was extremely high, however, all three Irish players performed to their best level. The first 29 players were seeded according to their Elo ratings of over 2200, while the remaining players were seeded alphabetically. In the first round on Saturday, I was drawn against Smoliakov, a very strong Russian but lost, having given him a good run for his money. Sean also lost to Bischoff, the German Champion while Michael had a good draw against the Dutch player, Verboom. On The Sunday, unfortunately, all three of us went down to defeat. From there on, things started to improve as we found our level. On Monday, Both Sean and Michael won while I was still on zero. On Tuesday, I picked up my first half point and was very relieved to get it. From there on, we all took our turns at winning and losing. I managed to get my last 2.5 points from my last three games and I was glad to be able to get these results under my belt. Sean and Michael finished a half point ahead of me with 3.5 points. Michael looked like doing better but was unlucky to run into two very strong opponents in the last two rounds and suffered two losses.
The Tournament was won by Smirnov (Russia) with 7.5 points from 9 rounds; then came four players on 7 points: Wassin (Ukraine) Berlinski (Russia) Durban (Spain) and Tatarczak (Poland).
Sportslink, December 1998:
Irish Open Tournament, 1998, by Philip Doyle and Barry O’Brien
The Irish Open Chess Championships were held at the Metropole Hotel, Cork, from Friday 9th to Monday 12th October. The Host Club, The Red Abbey Chess Club for the Visually impaired, were delighted with the turnout which attracted a record entry of 34 competitors, including 5 from India, 4 from Sweden, 3 from Germany and 11 each from the UK and Ireland.
The Tournament had six Rounds in the Swiss System, but for a time it looked like it might be only five. this was due to a problem with the runway at Cork Airport on the Friday afternoon which held up several flights which, as luck would have it, were carrying nearly half our players. Fortunately however, landings were resumed just in time to allow the Tournament schedule to go ahead as planned.
The Tournament consisted of a Senior Section for players graded above 1400 Elo, and a Junior Section for players graded below 1400. The draw was made by computer which very cleverly kept players of the same nationality from meeting during the first two rounds.
The Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Joe O’Flynn, performed the official opening and also took the opportunity to present, a very surprised Ernie McElroy, with the trophy for the Braille Chess Association Postal Championship, which he won recently.
The Senior Tournament:
There were no upsets in round 1 but Michael Delaney gave Magnusson, the top seed from Sweden, a good run for his money. Eventually however, Magnusson sacrificed a Knight for two Pawns to make the breakthrough for the win.
In round 2 The only surprise was the defeat of Williamson from England by Madan from India. At this stage, it was clear that the Indians would be a force to be reckoned with.
Round 3 brought the two top seeds, Magnusson and the defending Champion Pohlers, together. Pohlers from Germany was beaten after a long struggle, and at this stage the Swede, a former professional player, was the hot favourite to become the 1998 Champion.
In round 4 Pohlers dropped a further half point behind, having lost a Pawn in the Opening to Doyle.
On the top boards in round 5, Magnusson beat Williamson, Delaney beat Sanjay, Pohlers beat Chambers, Charudatta beat Madan and McElroy beat Doyle.
In Round 6 Magnusson beat McElroy to finish with a perfect score. Delaney, who had won 4 games on the trot, agreed a draw with Pohlers when he had winning chances. Sanjay lost to Charudatta, Shirish beat Williamson, Doyle beat Loftus, Chambers beat Madan and Casey, the bottom seed beat Hodgkins to finish with an excellent 3 points.
After 6 rounds, the top 5 places were filled by: 1 Jurgen Magnusson (Sweden) 6 points; 2-3 Michael Delaney (Ireland), Charudatta Jadhav (India) 4.5; 4 Jorgen Pohlers (Germany), Shirish Patel (India) 4.
The Junior Tournament:
The most notable points about the Junior were the poor showing of the top seed, George Plechaty, who could only manage 3 points and by contrast, the excellent performance of Stephen Kennedy from Drogheda. Stephen, was unable to play in round 1 for which he was awarded a half point “travelling bye”. For the remaining 5 rounds however, Stephen entirely outclassed the field, while adding a further 5 points to his total.
A special word of praise is due to Trevor Hussey who was playing in his first ever-adult event. Trevor is only thirteen years of age and gave a great account of himself against top class chess players from all over the world.
After 6 rounds, the top 4 places were filled by: 1 Stephen Kennedy (Ireland) 5.5; 2 Brian Perham (England) 5; 3 Michael Meaney (Ireland) 4; 4 Derek Spink (England) 3.5.
At the prise giving on Monday afternoon, Mrs. Rita Murray presented her late Father’s Cup, The “Red Abbey Challenge Cup”, To Mr. Magnusson on a score of 6 out of 6. A truly worthy champion, and Mrs. Martina Corrigan presented The “Dan Seaman Cup” to Stephen Kennedy on a score of 5.5. Again another worthy champion.
It fell to our Chairman, Eamonn Casey, to perform the final official duty of the weekend, when he presented Tim Conlan with a certificate and badge to mark his recent appointment by the International Braille Chess Association to the position of International Arbiter. After so many years of devoted service to Braille Chess, it’s hard to think of a more deserving recipient.
Note: Gerry Graham of Limerick was also appointed Arbiter in 2008.
It would be entirely remiss of us to end this report without mention of the off-the-board activities, which were A central feature of this Tournament. On Saturday morning, when the Chess was in full swing, a coach left the Metropole Hotel taking relations, friends and guides on a guided day trip of Fota Island Wildlife Park and Cobh Heritage Centre. While on Sunday, the party visited Blarney Castle and Cork Heritage Gaol.
On the Saturday night, the Attridge Traditional Group treated the visitors to an Irish Dancing Display and this was followed by informal dancing until the early hours. While on Sunday night, the Martin O’Donoghue Traditional group did the honours.
Chess Ireland, December 1999:
BCAI Championship, 1999
The 8th Irish Chess Championship for the visually impaired took place during the October bank holiday weekend, at the National Council for the Blind in Dublin. The tournament, which was controlled by Tim Conlan, had its smallest attendance ever and the poor turnout was mainly due to the unavoidable absence of some of our long-time stalwarts. With just six entries, the format was an all-play-all and the defending Champion, Michael Delaney, proved himself well capable of retaining his title when he conceded just one draw to Michael Keating.
The final standings in the Championship were: 1. M. Delaney 4.5; 2. S. Loftus 4; 3. M. Keating 3.5; 4. J. McAloon 2; 5. E. Casey 1; 6. S. Hall 0.
Note: The above report was taken from the BCAI home page on the Chess Ireland web site, which was launched in August, 1999, with the assistance of the site Editor, John Hurley. Tony Murray, One of our younger players, built a dedicated site for the BCAI in 2002.
BCA Gazette, February 2001:
BCAI Open Tournament, 2000, by Sean Loftus
This year’s open tournament for blind and visually-impaired players organised by the Braille Chess Association of Ireland took place over the weekend Saturday 28th to Monday 30th October. The number of participants did not reach the record 34 who were in Cork two years ago. The big difference was to be seen in the top section, where this time just ten players took part. In the minor tournament for players graded under 1400 there were twelve participants. In all nine players travelled from England and one from Germany. Our visitors were accommodated at the Maples House Hotel, Iona Road. This is about 15 minutes’ walk from the headquarters of the National Council for the Blind, where the chess was played. By late Friday evening all our visitors had arrived and were settled in at the Maples.
Play got under way at 10 o’clock on the Saturday morning. In round 1 of the major tournament all five games had the expected results. On top board it took the strong German player, Jorgen Pohlers, almost the entire 3.5 hour session to get the better of our own Michael Keating. In round 2 Pohlers won again as did Ireland’s Philip Doyle to move into joint leadership on full points. Just half a point behind were the two leading English players, Chris Ross and Colin Chambers. Sunday morning saw the Pohlers-Doyle encounter. Philip went into the game knowing that he carried a grading disadvantage of more than 300 points and that he had just one half point to show from his five previous games with the German. This seemed only to make philip all the more determined to turn the tables at last. Holding his nerve when the game reached a critical phase Philip found a winning plan and moved into outright leadership of the tournament. But Philip was not given long to enjoy his success. In the afternoon he had to take on Chris Ross, who now trailed him by half a point. The young Englishman had nothing less than victory on his mind, but our Philip was not easily to be brushed aside. Declining a draw offer, Chris’s effort succeeded only in opening up his own king position. Philip seized his opportunity and won a pawn. The former British champion still went all out for the win, but an oversight cost him a knight and the game. With one round to go Philip found himself a full point ahead of Pohlers and Chambers with Ross a further half point behind. A draw with Colin Chambers would now be enough to give Philip outright first place. With black against the experienced Englishman, Philip played solidly to secure the half point. Ross defeated Pohlers to secure a tie for second place. Leading scores: doyle 4.5; Ross, Chambers 3.5; Pohlers, Loftus 3. The grading prize for those rated under 1700 went to Sean Loftus.
The minor tournament was won by George Plechaty, England, with a maximum score ( 5 points. In second place was Michael Meaney from Limerick on 4 points. Equal third were Derek Spink, England, ahead on tie-break of Martin Kane and Tony Murray, both Ireland. Tony won the first grading prize and his fellow Dubliner, John Carroll took the second grading prize. A special word of praise for John who was taking part for the first time in one of these tournaments.
For those not involved in the chess there was a coach trip on the Saturday to Newgrange Heritage site and Drogheda Cathedral. This proved a great day’s outing and all were full of praise for the organiser, Barry O’Brien. Indeed, Barry played an important part in the preparation of the weekend’s activities and both he and his wife, Mary, worked tirelessly to make sure that everything went according to plan.
For one of our English visitors things perhaps did not go quite according to plan. On the Monday morning Mick Murphy felt quite unwell and was taken by ambulance to the Mater Hospital. We were all naturally delighted when he and Francis Collisson, who had gone with him, later appeared at the prize-giving. Mick had been given the “all clear” to travel home later that day.
BCA Gazette, August 2001:
Six Nations Tournament, 2001, by Richard Murphy
“The Six Nations Tournament has been in existence since the 1960s to promote chess competition and friendship between visually handicapped players of different countries. It is held every two years with each nation taking turn to be the host.
This year it was Great Britain’s turn, and the BCA organised the event from the 2nd to the 6th April. The Hotel chosen was the Elmbank in York, which proved to be an excellent venue in terms of playing conditions, food and assistance from staff of the hotel.
The tournament was controlled by Gerry Walsh and Julie Leonard, with assistance from Phil Smith and from several members of the York chess club, who acted as guides and scribes throughout the event, particularly Peter Cloudsdale who gave us a great deal of support.
The tournament was organised as a five-round contest with teams of four players from each nation playing each other once. The entire tournament was played in a spirit of great friendship and sportsmanship between the teams: old friendships were renewed and new ones were made. Players and guides enjoyed a trip to York Minster and a canal cruise.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Mayor of York and her husband; and the prize giving, on the final evening of the tournament, was a great celebration with laughter and music and singing from many of the participants.
The final placings were: 1st Germany 17 points; 2nd Belgium 15; 3rd GB 9; 4th Ireland 7; 5th/6th Switzerland and Netherlands 6.”
The Irish results were:
round 1: Ireland 1.5, Netherlands 2.5;
round 2: Ireland 2, Great Britain 2;
round 3: Ireland 0.5, Germany 3.5;
round 4: Ireland 2, Switzerland 2;
round 5: Ireland 1, Belgium 3;
The individual scores were, in board order: Doyle 3; Loftus 0.5; McElroy 2 and Casey 1.5 making a total of 7 points. The guides were Noreen Cleary and John Crowley.
BCAI Championship, 2001, by John Carroll
The Irish Championship was held over the October bank holiday weekend in the National council for the blind in Dublin. It was a 6 round Swiss competition with 2 matches played each day over the weekend. 10 players took part.
It was a very competitive tournament with 5 players within a half point of each other going into the last round. But in the last round Philip Doyle and Michael Delaney had wins, which put them in Joint first place. This means that Michael has now achieved three Championship wins on the trot. Michael Meaney won the under 1400 grading prise.
The final results were: 1-2 M. Delaney, P. Doyle 4.5 points; 3-5 E. McElroy, S. Loftus, E. Casey 4 points; 6 J. mcAloon 3.5 points; 7-8 M. Keating, M. Meaney 2 points; 9 J. Carroll 1.5 points; 10 S. hall 0 points.
BCA Gazette, January 1993:
BCAI Open Tournament, 11th to 14th October, 2002, by Sean Loftus
For this, our tenth BCAI Open Tournament, we moved for the second time outside Dublin. Following our first venture outside the capital in Cork four years ago, the venue this time was the Castletroy Park Hotel, some five kilometres from the centre of Limerick City. Early in 2001 we enlisted the support of local BCAI Member Michael Meaney. Michael suggested the Castletroy and arrangements were soon put in progress.
Following an excellent meal we assembled at 7.30 in the room where the chess was to be played. The original plan was to have two sections, but there were only seven players graded below 1400. We therefore had all 24 players competing in a single open tournament. There were ten Irish players, seven from England, four from the Netherlands and three who had come all the way from India.
In the first round players from the same country were kept apart. Results went very much according to the seedings except that David Hodgkins (England) drew with Ernie McElroy (Ireland). Round 2 again produced no major surprises and now there were five players on full points.
The third round brought the leading contenders into direct opposition. Chris Ross, who out-rated his nearest rival by some 200 points, beat Rob Van Aurich (Netherlands). Philip Doyle won against India’s Gourab Gadodia. These were joined on three points by Michael Delaney who defeated John Gallagher (England). On the Sunday morning the fourth round draw produced the all-Irish pairing of Doyle-Delaney with Ross playing Hodgkins. Delaney and Ross were the winners and these two now battled it out in round five. In this encounter Chris came out on top leaving him a point ahead going into the last round. Gadodia moved into a share of second place with victory over Van Aurich.
In the final round Ross drew with Gadodia to secure first place on 5.5 points. Delaney drew with McElroy and Doyle beat Gallagher to share second place with Gadodia on 4.5. Stan Lovell (England) and Eamonn Casey (Ireland) both finished strongly to tie for fifth place on 4 points. These two also shared one of the four grading prizes. The others went to John Gallagher and George Plechaty (England) and Tony Murray (Ireland). George also retained the trophy for players graded under 1400.
A special word of thanks is due to our as ever quiet and efficient tournament controller, Tim Conlan. Tim on this occasion was assisted most capably by local man, Gerry Graham and by John Crowley. Gerry is very much involved in organising the prestigious Bunratty Tournament which takes place in February each near. He also displayed his versatility by winning Michael Meaney’s “limerick” competition.
Away from the chessboard there was no shortage of other activities. Some of our number found time to avail of the Castletroy’s excellent leisure centre. On the Saturday for those not playing chess there was a coach trip to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and to King John’s Castle. Once again our good friend from Cork, Barry O’Brien, excelled as organiser and tour guide. Barry also gave us much valuable help in the preparations for the tournament and he and his wife, Mary, were with us throughout the weekend to see that everything went according to plan.
On the Saturday evening we were visited by the Mayor of Limerick, John Cronin. He accepted an invitation to stay for dinner and after the meal he made a short speech in which he welcomed us all to the city of Limerick and hoped we would have an enjoyable stay. There followed a most interesting talk from local historian and raconteur, Frank Prendergast. Then it was time for the music to begin and here Michael Meaney really came up with a winner. To entertain us we had Limerick’s well-known singer/songwriter, Denis Allen. Immediately on hearing the sound of the guitar Michael prompted “Limerick, you’re a lady!”. This is the song for which Denis is most famous. After this he continued to sing and play for some 2-and-a-half hours without a break. There was plenty of audience participation too, and this included a number of solo performances. It was a rare and delightful pleasure to have a musician who did not need deafening amplification. As has become almost traditional at these tournaments we got together on the Sunday evening for an informal “sing-along” in the bar.
European Individual Championship, 2003, by Philip Doyle
The 3rd European Championship and the 3rd World Junior Championship FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHESS PLAYERS took place from Thursday 28 August to Saturday 6 September at the Hotel Cemar, near the village of Mondariz in Spain.
Mondariz is in the region of Galicia in the extreme north-west of the Country. Climatically Galicia is different to the rest of Spain being somewhat cooler and having many rivers and forests. It is sometimes called “Ireland with sun” due to the area’s strong Celtic connections, the music having much in common with our own traditional music.
The European Championship is for individuals and the IBCA permitted countries to send more than one representative, additional players going at their own expense. Ireland sent three players to the Tournament: Michael Delaney, Ernie McElroy and myself, Philip Doyle. Noreen Cleary was the official guide to the group but Michael helped out whenever possible.
The group caught a 7.20 flight from Dublin to Heathrow where we connected with a flight to Santiago de Compostela. There we were met by the organisers who took us by minibus to Mondariz an hour and a half away. On our arrival, we were greeted by Delfin Burdio, IBCA President, who promptly whisked us off to the dining room for lunch. We spent the remainder of the day exploring the hotel and its neighbourhood and meeting old friends as they arrived for the Tournament.
The Hotel Cemar is situated in the forest surrounded by mountains. It was quite comfortable and the food was plentiful and good, being served in a buffet style. We were able to avail of the Cemar’s outdoor swimming pool especially when the sun shone as it did most of the time except for the first two days which were very wet.
The Hotel had an equestrian centre which hosted horse trials which we were able to enjoy. They had some horses of their own as well which Noreen adopted, supplementing their diet each day with some of the Hotel’s apples collected from the rest of the crew. Sometimes Michael was commandeered for his long throw skills when the horses were too far away from the fence!
Mondariz village is about a mile away from the Hotel but it proved to be something of a disappointment and for a time we were unable to source such mundane items as postcards, and cigars. A few days later however, one of the English ladies discovered that a more substantial part of Mondariz lay a bit further down the road and our provisioning problems were solved.
The Tournament itself was particularly strong having 65 entries from 25 countries, with large contingents from most of the Chess strongholds such as Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Germany. 6 of the 8 Russians were among the top seeds! The Tournament had 9 rounds with games commencing at 4 PM. This was a bit late but it had the advantage that it allowed more time for shopping, exploring, sun-bathing etc.
Round 1 saw the top seed drawn against the lower graded players which included ourselves. All three of us had black in this round. Michael played his usual Alekhine’s Defence against the Women’s World Champion Zsiltzova from Ukraine, but resigned after losing a piece on move 18. Ernie, playing the Sicilian, had a similar fate against Migala of Poland. 10 g4 e5 allowed white’s pieces to penetrate Ernie’s defence. Meanwhile, I was playing poorly against Palacios of Spain and a Pawn down when I missed trapping his Rook and Bishop on move 33 with Ta7. It would have required the sacrifice of a Rook for Bishop and Pawn by my opponent to extricate himself and hold the half point!
Round 2 with the white pieces saw an improvement in our fortunes. Michael drew with Platon of Macedonia and I with Van Duuren of the Netherlands having been a Pawn to the good. Ernie played the ending well and produced our first win against Catherine the only French player in the Tournament and a man we were all destined to encounter in the days ahead.
We all had draws in round 3: Michael with Satybaldyyev (Kazakstan) having been a Pawn down. Myself against Knafo of Israel. Ernie had white again and drew with Rev of Hungary who played a King’s Indian.
In round 4, Michael drew with Papadopoulos of Greece. This time two Pawns behind! I went down to Romanenkov of Russia and Ernie lost to Schellmann of Germany in a long ending, after being a Pawn up.
Round 5 brought Ernie and Michael together and a draw seemed the most likely result and so it transpired. I was black to the veteran Skultety of Slovakia and succumbed rather easily.
Tuesday 2 September was a free day on which the organisers had arranged an excursion to the pilgrimage site of Santiago de Compostela. Santiago is said to be the burial place of St. James the Apostle and Patron Saint of Spain. We all found the tour of the medieval cathedral and its quaint customs very interesting. The cathedral has the biggest incense burner in the world and we were present for its burning when it is swung on large ropes spectacularly from the ceiling.
We spent the afternoon shopping or sitting in the park waiting for 6 o’clock to come around when we were due to depart for home. Four of our number did not appear and this caused a certain amount of anxiety for their wellbeing. Later they were located by the police who put them on a local bus and we all breathed a sigh of relief when they appeared at the Hotel a couple of hours late but no worse off for their adventure.
In round 6 Delaney had our second win over Catherine of France and Ernie drew with Kuhlmann of Germany. Ernie unusually played the Caro Kann and probably missed a win in the ending. My bad form continued when I lost to Milotzki, also a German.
In round 7 Ernie had another draw this time against Zanoletty Garcia of Spain, While Michael with black lost to Van Duuren (Netherlands) after his 22 .. Sb3 cost him the loss of two Pawns. I had a bye in this round and spent the afternoon with Noreen in the nearby town of Puenteareas where we were disappointed to find that most of the shops were closed!
In round 8 I resumed with white against our old friend Catherine of France. I was a Pawn up and looking good for the win but could only manage a draw in an exciting but complex ending. Ernie had a real stinker against Kauzky of Austria and Michael went down to Schlierf, yet another German.
The final round on Saturday 6 September commenced at 9.30 to allow time for the closing ceremony and banquet. It produced a draw for Ernie against Chatziapostolidis of Greece and another for Michael against Skultety of Slovakia, having been a Pawn behind. I finished on a high note with a win over another Greek Papadopoulos. 13 .. b5 was disastrous for me but fortunately my opponent failed to take full advantage and I regained my Pawn neatly with 22 .. Txa1 followed by 23 .. Sxe5. After that I played steadily and took the full point after a long ending.
The closing ceremony and presentation of prizes was followed by the banquet, of which the first three courses were all fish! Sunday morning was the first overcast day for more than a week. We bid farewell to our friends and companions as they each took their leave of us. Our own turn came at around 1 PM when the minibus arrived to take us on the first leg of our journey back to the Airport. We said goodbye to Delfin Burdio who had done so much to make our stay such an enjoyable and memorable experience. Our journey home was largely uneventful and we were back in Dublin at around 9 PM. The trip was a resounding success and we all got along together wonderfully well. A special word of thanks is due to Noreen and Michael who worked tirelessly on our behalf, particularly at mealtimes or when we were out enjoying some of the pleasant walks around the village.
1-3: Krylov (Russia) Wassin (Ukraine) Palacios (Spain) 7.0; 4: Smirnov (Russia) 6.5; 5-11: Berlinsky (Russia) Zoltek (Poland) Dukaczewski (Poland) Gunajew (Poland) Migala (Poland) Pribeanu (Romania) Zsiltzova-Lisenko (Ukraine) 6.0.
The Irish players all finished on 3.5 points putting McElroy and Delaney in 50th and 51st place with Doyle in 56 place.
BCAI Championship, 2003, by Philip Doyle
The 10th Championship for the visually impaired took place from Saturday 25th to Monday 27th October, at the National Council for the Blind in Dublin. The Senior was an all-play-all involving 6 players. The new Willie Breen perpetual trophy was won jointly by Ernie McElroy and Sean Loftus on 3.5 points; followed by Philip Doyle on 3, Michael Delaney 2.5; Eamonn Casey 2 and Michael Keating on 0.5 points.
The Junior had 4 entries and was planned as a double round all-play-all. Martin Kane and John Carroll were sharing the lead on 2.5 points after 3 rounds at close of play Saturday evening but unfortunately Martin took ill on Sunday morning while on his way to the Tournament. Instead of playing Chess, he spent the day in the Matter Hospital and had to withdraw from the tournament. As a result the Controller, Tim Conlan, felt it best to disallow Martin’s games giving the following result. John Carroll finished first with 4 points, followed by Tony Murray on 1.5 and Shane Hall on 0.5 points.
BCAI OPEN TOURNAMENT, 2004, by Sean Loftus
From 1st to 4th October the Braille Chess Association of Ireland organized its biennial Open Tournament. The venue again this time was the Castletroy Park Hotel, about three miles from Limerick city. Two years ago the Castletroy proved to be an excellent location and again this time we had every reason to be satisfied. The accommodation and food were of a very high standard and the chess room was spacious and very comfortable.
The number of entries was slightly down on last time. Our plan to run the tournament in two sections had to be changed at the last minute. The 18 participants competed in a single section, playing six rounds according to the “Swiss” System. The 12 Irish players were joined by five participants from England and one from the Netherlands. All five members of the team which will represent Ireland at the November International Chess Olympiad for the Blind in Spain were in action. Two of those who will be in the British team at the same event also took part.
The first round was played after dinner on the Friday Evening. All games went according to expectations with the higher graded players defeating their opponents from the lower half of the draw. Round 2 took place on the Saturday morning and following this, there were four players on full points. The third round was played in the afternoon and this left Philip Doyle (Ireland) the only player with three wins. In round 4 on the Sunday morning Philip got the better of fellow Irishman Ernie Mcelroy. This left him half a point ahead of Les Whittle (England) with another Englishman, Colin Chambers, a further half point away in third place. Doyle drew with Whittle in the fifth round to maintain his half point advantage. In the final round played on the Monday morning Doyle drew with Chambers to win the tournament on 5 points out of 6. Whittle drew his game with Mcelroy to finish on 4.5. Also finishing on 4.5 was Sean Loftus (Ireland). On 4 points were Chambers, McElroy and Michael Delaney (Ireland). The first of three grading prizes was shared between Eamonn Casey (Ireland) and Gerard Den-Otter (Netherlands). The second grading prize was shared between George Plechaty (England) and Michael Meaney (Ireland). The remaining grading prize went to John Carroll (Ireland), who also won the junior cup.
The tournament was controlled with his usual quiet efficiency by Tim Conlon. Also present for much of the time to lend a hand was local man, Gerry Graham. Gerry is a highly experienced tournament controller and is often in charge at our big international events.
For those not playing chess a coach trip was organized on the Saturday, featuring a visit to the Rock of Cashel. All who went were very satisfied with their day’s outing. Once again we are indebted to Barry O’Brien for his efforts in this regard. Barry was also very active in the arrangements leading up to the weekend and he and his wife, Mary, were on hand to give invaluable help. Two others whose involvement was vital to the success of the tournament were Michael Meaney and his Wife, Eileen. Through Michael’s efforts we had some excellent entertainment on the Saturday evening. Following dinner we first had some words of welcome and good wishes from Limerick’s deputy mayor, Lily Wallace, whom we were very honoured to have as our guest. Next we had a talk from a very funny man named Hilary Redden, whose stories had us all laughing heartily. Then came musician, Dennis Allen. As he had done two years ago, Dennis sang and played his guitar until well after midnight. He also sought the active participation of the audience and several did, indeed, step up to the microphone. On the Sunday evening there was the usual informal sing-along in the bar. Following the presentation of prizes on the Monday afternoon it was time to say our goodbyes and head for railway station or airport.
12th OLYMPIAD, 2004, by Kieran English
The 12th Braille chess Olympiad was held from the 3rd Nov. to the 11th in Tarragona Spain. 33 teams took part including Ireland. The format of the event was nine round team Swiss played over 4 boards with board points deciding the order.
The Irish Team consisted of: 1. Philip Doyle 2. Michael Delaney. 3. Ernie McElroy 4. Eamonn Casey 5. Joe McAloon, with a support team of John Crowley, Kieran English, Noreen Cleary and Rose McAloon. The extra player allowed us the luxury of resting someone every round, which proved very useful over such a long event. What follows is a day-by-day look at the Irish teams performance, which I hope captures some of the flavour of a very enjoyable event.
Day 1, 2nd Nov.: We arrived in Tarragona just after nightfall. The venue for the event was the Palas Pineda Hotel. While we all felt the 4 star rating was perhaps over stated it was comfortable and rooms on the ground floor was a real bonus.
The town itself was a nice seaside resort, which was very quiet in the off-season (the term ghost town perhaps coming to mind!); certainly there were few distractions from chess here! The weather was good for the event with only one rainy day and a walk along the beach was often the best preparation before a round. I think Joe was the only one that braved the sea.
Day 2, 3rd Nov. Round 1: Our days started with breakfast at 9. All the meals were buffet style, which once you got used to was fine if a little bland after 10 or so days. At 10 Ernie and myself attended the captain’s meeting this was fairly brief really just a reminder of the rules, we did however find out there were 33 teams and not 34 (it was unclear who was missing), so the dreaded spectre of a bye would hang over our heads for the entire event. Ireland was seeded 26th (actually 25-33 as we had no rated players).
The first round started at 3:30 this would be changed to 3 for the rest of the event. We knew that our first match would be tough with our low seeding and we were drawn with 10th seeds Lithuania. Philip on board one faced a 2280 and never really got going. A move order mistake was punished and while at the end Philip blundered his position was already losing. Michael on 2 was a similar story with his opponent understanding the King’s Indian style position better. Eamonn on board 4 also lost but gave an excellent account of himself, unfortunately rejecting a sequence he had seen which would have left him well placed to win the game. After that it was downhill. So it was left to Ernie to get us on the board with a hard-fought draw. Ernie and myself both felt his opponent should have won the game but the analysis afterwards proved it was not so clear. The early leaders in the event were Romania, France and Kazakhstan all starting with 4 nil wins.
Day 3, 4th Nov. Round 2: Today we had Slovakia another team with a strong board one and the rest were certainly no mugs. A totally unacceptable level of noise marred the end of this round. The playing room was a large hall that unfortunately was also where people accessed some of the hotel facilities such as the swimming pool. A steady stream of older French and Spanish ladies walked through the playing room oblivious to the fact a chess tournament was going on. The organisers seemed unable to do a lot about this, some signage hardly seemed like rocket science!
Once again Philip was up against it (this time his opponent was 2321). He played much better today however, being at least equal for most of the game, but missed his opponent’s clever plan at the end, which led to a winning attack. Michael also had a much-improved performance playing very well to draw a difficult rook and pawn ending. Ernie’s game was wild. He made a big error in the middle game but his opponent totally lost his head in the complications and was overwhelmed. Joe never really got going in his game and needed to shake off the rust of inactivity to get himself into the event. Overall it was a good result. Romania now leads the way with 7.5 from Spain on 6.5 with a large group on 6.0
Day 4, 5th Nov. Round 3: Today we played South Africa. The same score as yesterday but not an equal performance this was a match we should have won. Philip got himself on the scoreboard with a solid performance in a long game. Michael obtained a big edge early on, perhaps missing the killer blow, but his opponent later blundered, giving him his first win of the event. Eamonn and Joe both made big errors in superior positions so a possible 3½ turned into 1½
Day 5, 6th Nov. Round 4: Today was a very good day, the luck that deserted us on board 3 and 4 yesterday returned for our match against Greece. Philip got his first win; he was always in control and delivered the full point in a well-played ending. Michael’s game was a steady draw. Ernie’s on the other hand was far from steady, a blunder in the opening left him just a piece down but Ernie just kept playing and was rewarded with his opponents blunder under pressure. A revamped Joe played with great energy and concluded his game with a nice mating attack.
Day 6, 7th Nov. Round 5: While the Finns only had 2 rated players we knew from the past that they had a tough team. Mr. Wikman on one had not lost to this point and proved just too strong for Philip on the day. Ernie once again saved the whitewash with a tight draw that went the distance. Eamonn gave us all a scare by feeling unwell during the game but he decided to play on. I think his position got worse after this so the result was not a surprise. Joe was doing well but unfortunately lost on time.
Day 7, 8th Nov. Round 6: I had actually already got to know the Austrian coach a nice man with a very dry sense of humour. He kept assuring me their board 2 would blunder so I waited to see. Michael had his go on board one and played well getting a strong position before agreeing a draw, perhaps he could have played on but he was facing a strong opponent. Ernie made a mistake in the opening and dropped a pawn. However his opponent began to lose his way and Ernie went from bad to being clearly better before the promised blunder arrived! We were just over matched on 3 and 4 but 1½ point was a good result for us especially with Philip rested.
Day 8, 9th Nov. Round 7: It was decided that we needed a big result today to avoid the bye. Peru only had 3 players so we fielded our top 3 against them. Philip won well a game he always looked better in, his opponent playing on to nearly mate. Michael’s opponent seemed unaware of the clock, letting his flag fall with a lot of moves still to make. The position was about equal. Ernie’s opponent provided some humour by behaving in a very erratic way. He kept moving the clock much to Ernie’s annoyance and when Ernie took his queen he tried to take one of his own pieces with his own pawn. Thankfully when this was explained to him he resigned. This result meant we would now avoid the bye altogether.
Day 9, 10th Nov. Round 8: Today we played India. This was a hard fought match between two evenly matched teams. One and two were close draws with Michael missing a good chance for the full point. Ernie won a pawn early on and ground down his opponent. Joe had a wonderful position at one point but sadly blundered a piece late on.
Day 10, 11th Nov. Rest Day: A trip to Roman Tarragona was arranged and we all attended. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed a bit of history to break up the chess! Our lady guide’s English was not the greatest and she seemed to take a long time telling us about stone! After this Eamonn had the pleasure of attending the IBCA congress a very long drawn out affair by all accounts.
Day 11, 12th Nov. Round 9: In some ways this was a slightly disappointing way to finish, we had been above our seeding for most of the event but losing the last match dropped us back down. The top two Colombians looked good players and we can have no complaints about the results. Julie from the English team had told me Ernie was in the running for a medal, so we had fingers crossed. Ernie didn’t let us down getting his sixth victory of the event to score 7 out of 8 a wonderful performance. Eamonn fought back well in his game, but his resistance was finally over come as he got into time difficulties.
The event was won by Poland on tiebreak from Russia, with these teams leading the way for nearly the entire event. Ireland finished in a tie for 25th, which I feel didn’t reflect how well we played. The prize giving was well done and brief compared to the congress! Ernie had won the bronze medal on board 3, which is the first medal in Braille chess an Irish player has ever received. It gave us all great pleasure to see Ernie get his medal and to see the massive grin he sported through out! We departed the next morning with perhaps a few sore heads but a feeling the team had performed well.
The Irish results were:
round 1, Ireland 0.5, Lithuania 3.5;
round 2, Ireland 1.5, Slovakia 2.5;
round 3, Ireland 1.5, South Africa 2.5;
round 4, Ireland 3.5, Greece 0.5;
round 5, Ireland 0.5, Finland 3.5;
round 6, Ireland 1.5, Austria 2.5;
round 7, Ireland 4, Peru 0;
round 8, Ireland 2, India 2;
round 9, Ireland 1, Colonbia 3;
The individual scores in board order were: Doyle, 3 points from 8 games; Delaney, 4 from 8; McElroy, 7 from 8; Casey, 1 from 6 and McAloon the reserve 1 point from 6 games. The Irish team had a total score of 16 points and finished in joint 25th position.
Six Nations Tournament, 2005, by Sean Loftus
An Irish team took part in the Ad Bestman Memorial Tournament which was played at Nunspeet in the Netherlands from 14 to 18 March. This is a biennial event which is hosted in turn by the participating countries. Originally known as the Six Nations tournament, it was first played in 1971. This year’s was the 18th in the series. The countries which usually contest this event are Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Due to the withdrawal of the French team just two months before the tournament Ireland was asked if we could send a team to fill the gap. This invitation happily coincided with one of our regular meetings. As soon as the E-mail had been read, it was unanimously decided to accept. We had just a fortnight to complete our arrangements as our Dutch hosts needed a definite commitment from us by the end of January. Over the next ten days costings were worked out, travel information sought and potential team members had to make quick decisions concerning availability. When all had been resolved it emerged that our team would be Ernie McElroy, Philip Doyle, Sean Loftus and Eamonn Casey. As guides we would have Noreen Cleary and John Crowley. It turned out that this was the same six people who travelled to York in England four years ago when Ireland again took the place of France. On that occasion we very much enjoyed our first experience of the Six Nations’ Tournament and were delighted to have the opportunity to take part once again. We couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for the French at their having to pull out for the second time in three tournaments. Many of their leading blind chess players work in educational establishments where absence during term time is just not permitted.
On the morning of Monday, march 14, the six of us met up at Dublin Airport to take our flight to Amsterdam. The plane landed exactly on time and as soon as we had collected our luggage we made our way to the railway station to continue our journey to Nunspeet. We had to change trains at Amersfoort, but everything went exactly according to schedule. Somewhat to our surprise we were able to contact the hotel by mobile phone to ask them to pick us up at the station. This was just as well, since the directions we had been given proved to be somewhat unclear.
We reached the Hotel Dennenhoeve in good time for dinner. After the meal the tournament was formally declared open by the mayor of Nunspeet. The order of play was then determined by lot and we were told that the scoring system would be match points rather than the more usual board points. In the first of two matches on the Tuesday our opponents were Belgium. In this we had a most encouraging 3-1 victory. There were wins for Philip and Eamonn with Ernie and I drawing our games. This result put us level with Germany and England on 2 match points.
In the afternoon we came up against the tournament favourites, Germany. With a large number of players to choose from they have always been strong contenders in this tournament and have been outright winners a dozen times. After some tough games Ernie and Philip came away with creditable draws, but Eamonn and I could not match this and both lost. This dropped us to third place after two rounds. Just one round was played on the Wednesday and our opponents were Switzerland. Wins for Ernie and I and draws for Philip and Eamonn gave us a satisfying 3-1 victory.
In the afternoon we went by coach to the ancient town of Elburg about twenty minutes away. There were buildings dating back to the 15th century with the historical background explained in excellent English. The museum was of special interest to us as many of the exhibits could be handled.
Next day was St. Patrick’s day when we played the last two rounds. First we came up against the hosts, the Netherlands, and with wins for Ernie, Philip and myself we came out with another 3-1 result. Meanwhile the Germans had overwhelmed England 4-0. With a round to go Germany was already guaranteed first place. England and ourselves would now go head to head to decide who would be second. We knew that our English friends would be anxious to make amends for their disaster in the morning round. At first things seemed to be going our way. I heard Eamonn refuse a draw offer and then Ernie drew on top board. This meant that he had gone through the tournament unbeaten and maintained the excellent form which he showed at the Olympiad in Spain. Sadly, the rest of us were unable to follow Ernie’s example. Eamonn’s advantage suddenly disappeared and his opponent found a tactic which won him the game. For much of my game I thought I should do no worse than draw, but my opponent had other ideas and finally ground out a win. Philip, trying to bring some respectability to our score went all out for the win, but it was just not our day and he also ended up on the losing side. We thus had to be content with third place.
Final scores:
Germany 10 match points.
England 8.
Ireland 6.
The Netherlands 3.
Switzerland 2.
Belgium 1.
After dinner the prize giving took place and there followed a most pleasant social evening with lots of music and singing. All visiting teams were full of praise for the tournament organisers and for the management and staff of the Hotel Dennenhoeve who looked after us so well.
Soon after breakfast next morning we set out on the journey home. Once again everything went according to plan. On arrival in Dublin it was pleasant to find that it was much warmer than when we had left four days earlier.
BCAI Championship, 2005, by Tim Conlan
Michael Keating of the newly formed Royal Lopez chess club in Ratoath is the new champion of the Braille Chess Association of Ireland. Michael won the title on the tie-break when he finished joint first with Michael Delaney of Phibsboro and Sean Loftus of Elmmount. All three scored 3.5/5 ahead of Ernie McElroy,Eamonn Casey and Phillip Doyle on 3/5. There were 10 participants in the tournament, which was held in the National Council for the Blind of Ireland on Whitworth Road, over the weekend 7th to the 9th October.
The final positions were: 1-3. M. Keating, M. Delaney, S. Loftus 3.5 points; 4-6. E. McElroy, E. Casey, P. Doyle 3; 7. J. McAloon 2; 8. J. Carroll 1.5; 9-10. S. Hall, P. Bellew 1.
BCAI Open Tournament, 2006, by Sean Loftus
The Braille Chess Association of Ireland biennial open tournament took place this year from Friday, 15 to Monday, 18 September. After an absence of 8 years we returned to Cork, the home city of our organiser and mentor, Barry O’Brien. The venue was the Blarney Park Hotel, about 5 miles from the city centre.
On this occasion, while the number of visiting players showed a slight increase, with 7 travelling from England and 1 from Sweden, the number of Irish blind and vision impaired participants went down from 11 to 5. For the most part it was family and other commitments which brought about this significant decrease in our numbers. One who had every intention of participating was our Chairman, Eamonn Casey, but Only 2 days before the tournament he was obliged to withdraw because of illness. Barry O’Brien, who had already recruited 4 sighted players from the Cork area to bring the number of participants up to 18, was able to find yet another willing volunteer in Kevin Foley to maintain an even number.
The tournament was played over 6 rounds according to the Swiss system. Round 1 got under way at about 8 o’clock on the Friday evening. As usual in this type of event the higher rated players were paired off against those in the lower half of the draw. In all cases the players with the higher gradings came out on top, but 2 of the Irish players Michael Meaney and Shane Hall battled on until close to the time control before losing out to their higher rated opponents.
In the second round, which took place on the Saturday morning, the winners from round 1 were matched up and here we had the first surprise result of the Tournament. Barry Foran from Cork overcame a grading deficit of some 280 points to defeat Les Whittle (England). Going into round 3, which was played in the afternoon, there were 3 others tying with Barry on full points. These were Ernie McElroy and Philip Doyle (Ireland) and Richard Murphy (England). Ernie and Philip both won their games and so, at the halfway stage of the tournament they shared the lead on 3 points, with Colin Chambers (England) just half a point behind. In round 4 on the Sunday morning the McElroy-Doyle encounter resulted in a draw. Colin won his game, so this allowed him to join them in a tie for the lead on 3.5. On 3 points was Olle Engström (Sweden).
In the afternoon Colin and Philip drew and Ernie got the better of Olle. Going into Monday morning’s final round Ernie led on 4.5 followed by Philip and Colin on 4. On 3.5 was Sean Loftus (Ireland). The game between Ernie and Colin was soon drawn, so Philip knew he needed a win against Sean to join them in a tie for first place. His plan of all-out attack proved to be somewhat ambitious, and he ended up on the losing side.
Leading scores: McElroy 5; Chambers, Loftus 4.5; Doyle, Plechaty, Coughlan 4. The first grading prize was won by Richard Murphy. George Plechaty (England) shared the second grading prize with Ann Coughlan from Cork, and the third grading prize was won by Jim Cuthbert. Jim has lived for many years in England, but he was born on this side of the Irish Sea.
Once again we must express our sincere thanks to our tournament controller, Tim Conlan. Tim carried out the task in his usual calm and capable manner. A special word also for local man, John Quigley, who assisted Tim during the weekend. John is an experienced tournament controller in his own right and we are most grateful to him for giving up his time on our behalf. We must apologise to the 5 Cork players, Ann Coughlan, Barry Foran, Joe Brown, Michael Costello and Kevin Foley, whose participation greatly enhanced the tournament for us all. Due to no fault of theirs they missed the prize-giving. A change of time and location somehow was not communicated to them, and whereas it was believed they had gone home, they were in another part of the hotel waiting to return to the presentation in the tournament hall.
For those not playing chess there was a coach trip to Killarney organised by Barry O’Brien on the Saturday. Despite some heavy rain this outing was enjoyed by all. At dinner that evening we were honoured by the presence of the Lord Mayor of Cork, councillor Michael Ahern and his wife, Eileen. Some photographs were taken and there were some words of welcome to the city of Cork by the Lord Mayor. There were also expressions of thanks to both the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress for so willingly making themselves available to be with us. Once the meal was over, the music got underway. The musicians were listed in the programme as Declan O’Keeffe and friend. The friend turned out to be a lady with an excellent singing voice. After dinner on the Sunday evening there was a raffle which yielded €865 and the customary informal sing-along which again brought the final evening of the weekend to a most pleasant conclusion.
In addition to those already mentioned, special words of gratitude are due to Barry O’Brien and his Wife, Mary, and also to Noreen Cleary. Their involvement and commitment ensured that everything ran smoothly, so that this Year’s tournament was another outstanding success.
11th World Individual Championship, 8th-19th October 2006
Report by Justin Mulrooney guide to Michael in India
We arrived in the Radisson, White Sands resort, Goa in India on the 8th of October. To a friendly and welcoming arrival on the first day. With a band playing music and singing “welcome to the Radisson.” We had quite an eventful trip, as we had been upgraded to first-class between London and Mumbai. The only setback was when we arrived in Mumbai. We only had a bit less than an hour or so, to make the next flight. We just made our flight to Goa, as the doors were virtually closing.
On the second day there was the opening ceremony and presentations to the organisers and sponsors. Chief Minister of Goa Shri Pratapsinh Rane inaugurated the 11th world chess championships for the Blind. By making the first move and proudly stating that this was the first time that the world chess Championships for the Blind have been played in India. Also Indian grandmaster Sandeepan Chanda, especially flew in from Kolkata. The tournament arbiter was Mr Kameshwaran who became India’s first international arbiter. Also, there was the technical meeting for all the teams regarding the escorting of players for a break by neutral team members.
As well as this, Michael had his first game playing white, against Norlis Yera Tamayo, a player rated at 2211 from Cuba. This was quite an eventful game. Michael had chances to put his stronger opponent under pressure, unfortunately it was Norlis who took the advantage. Michael kept playing and eventually his opponent made a blunder giving him a piece. Sadly due to time trouble Michael blundered his queen and in so doing lost the game.
In Michael’s second game with the black pieces, he was playing a Spanish player called Oscar Saez rated at 2006. Michael felt in this game that he was just outplayed by the better player.
In his third game Michael was white against Patrick Berggren of Sweden rated at 1913. The position in this game at the start was quite interesting for white. Unfortunately Michael again found himself in time trouble and Patrick’s experience and knowledge of his openings in these types of position, gave him a good advantage. With the best possible play Michael probably could have made a draw out of quite a complicated position.
Game number four was a very good game for Michael. From the very start he had his opponent, Bengt Wikman of Finland rated at 1986, on the back foot. He was winning going into the endgame, but like so many of his earlier games, Michael got into time trouble, and with two pawns up, was forced into an exchange of pieces which left the game a draw.
The fifth game saw Michael up against Vasant Patil of India rated at 1900. This was a hardfought battle which ended up as a draw.
Michael’s sixth round game was against a Brazilian player Crisolon Vilas Boas rated over 2000 in Brazil. This was a particularly frustrating game for Michael as his opponent forced him to swap off, otherwise Michael would have been better. This game was a draw after 34 moves. So after six rounds Michael is on 1 ½ points.
The seventh game was full of drama. His opponent was Jose Lucena Vas of Brazil rated approximately 2000 in Brazil. The game was looking like it was heading for a draw But Michael blundered in time trouble and lost.
In the eighth round Michael’s opponent was Elisabeth Fries of Germany rated at 1831, Michael decided to play a new opening and this was a very enjoyable game to watch. In a very complicated position with a pawn up Michael agreed a draw.
Receiving a bye in round nine left Michael on 3.5/9 and in 69th position out of 73. It was a strong tournament with 45 of the players rated over 2000. Most of Michael’s games went the full 6 hours playing time.
1st Vladimir Berlinskiy of Russia on 7.5/9 rated 2301; 2nd and 3rd were Despaigne of Cuba andZsiltzova-Lisenko of Ukraine on 7/9.
BCAI Championship, 2007, by Tim Conlan
The Irish Championship for the Blind and Visually impaired was held over the weekend 5th to 7th October 2007. The tournament was held in the premises of the League of the Blind of Ireland Hill Street, Dublin who generously allowed us the use of the hall at a very late stage. It was a five round Swiss tournament and ten players participated.
The tournament was won by Phillip Doyle on four points and runners up were Ernie McElroy and Eamonn Casey on three and a half points each. John Carroll won the grading prize on two and a half points. The playing conditions were excellent and the refreshments were supplied courtesy of the National Council for the Blind.
The final positions were: 1. P. Doyle 4 points; 2-3. E. McElroy, E. Casey 3.5; 4-5. S. Loftus, M. Keating 3; 6-7. M. Delaney, J. Carroll 2.5; 8. J. McAloon 2; 9. S. Hall 1; 10. M. Kane 0.
BCAI Open Tournament, 2008, by Sean Loftus
This year’s open tournament organised by the Braille Chess Association of Ireland took place from Friday, October 10 to Monday, 13. For the first time in 8 years we were back in Dublin. The Marine Hotel in Sutton proved an excellent venue. Most of the participants opted to stay at the hotel throughout the weekend and this meant that a very pleasant atmosphere prevailed.
In all 19 players took part in the tournament. There were 13 in the open section and 6 in the section for players with a grade of less than 1400. Seven came from England, two from Sweden, and we were delighted to welcome back Stan Lightowler from Castlerock in Derry who took part in our very first open tournament in 1986. Another intended participant, David Hodgkins from England was regretably unable to travel due to illness. We all wish David a full and speedy recovery and are pleased to know that he is making good progress.
After dinner on the Friday evening, play in round 1 of the open section got under way shortly after 8 o’clock. Ernie McElroy on top board and Colin Chambers (England) on board 3 drew their games with Michael Keating and Sean loftus respectively. Philip Doyle, Michael Delaney, Les Whittle (England) and Richard Spele (Sweden) were winners. These 4 were joined on 1 point by Norman Andrews )England) who received the bye.
At 10 o’clock next morning round 1 of the second section for players graded under 1400 started. In this section all six players would have a game against each of the other five. Winners in round 1 were John Carroll, Martin Kane and Michael Meaney. John and Michael won again in the afternoon and this left them sharing the lead onn 2 points followed by Martin and Jim Cuthbert on 1.
Meanwhile, in the open section Michael Delaney won against Norman in the morning round to move into the lead. There were 4 players in a tie for second place on 1.5. In the afternoon round Michael drew with Les and was joined in a 3-way tie for the lead by Ernie and Philip who both won their games.
Those not playing chess went on a coach ttrip organised by Barry O’Brien. They visited the National Stud and the Japanese Gardens. By all accounts Barry did his usual excellent job and the good weather provided an added bonus. Barry also gave us much useful advice in planning the tournament and he and Mary, his wife, were most helpful to us throughout the weekend.
After dinner we were entertained by Vincent Cronan. Playing his guitar and singing from his huge repertoir of songs Vincent kept the party going well into the late hours.
Back at the chessboards on Sunday morning Michael Delaney and Philip Doyle drew their game and Ernie McElroy drew with Colin Chambers. Les Whittle beat Norman Andrews to join Ernie, Michael and Philip in joint leadership on 3 points. In round 5 Michael lost to Ernie, Les won and Philip drew. Going into the final round Ernie and Les were in a tie for the lead on 4 points with Philip on 3.5. In the under 1400 section Michael Meaney won both his games on Sunday to move a point ahead of Martin Kane.
After dinner on the Sunday evening there was the traditional sing-along in the bar. Michael Meaney, displaying his versatility, swapped his chessboard for a guitar and kept us and everyone else in the bar well entertained.
Resuming his chessboard next morning, Michael won against Martin to take first place in the under 1400 section with a perfect score of 5 points. In the open section Ernie and Les had an early draw, so Philip needed to win against Sean Loftus to join them on 4.5, and this he did. A win for Norman Andrews took him into forth place just half a point behind. This gave him a grading prize. The other grading prize was shared between Michael Keating, Richard Spele and Sean Loftus.
The complicated tie-breaking system to determine whether Ernie, Les or philip would win the trophy could not be resolved until the very last game had finished. Only then did it emerge that Ernie had come first by the narrowest of margins with les second and Philip third.
Once again we are most grateful to our tournament Controller, Tim Conlan, who carried out this function with his customary dedication and efficiency. Our thanks also to Mick Germain, Paul Moggerley and Tony duffey who came along over the course of the weekend to give Tim a helping hand.
Ireland wins Louis Braille Chess Tournament, by Sean Loftus
On Friday, 2 January, 2009. 4 of us flew to Edinburgh to represent Ireland in the Louis Braille Bicentenary Chess Tournament. The other members of the team were Philip Doyle, Eamonn Casey and Martin Kane.
The tournament took place during National Braille Week which was arranged by the Scottish organisation, Royal Blind, to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of Louis Braille. The Braille Chess Association of the UK. Organised the tournament.
In addition to the UK and Ireland there were teams from France, the Netherlands and Sweden. A sixth team was made up of 2 players from Belgium and 2 from England. An unusual feature of this Louis Braille Bicentenary Tournament was that it was restricted, not just to blind players, but to braille users. On this occasion tape recorders were not allowed and the medium for noting down the moves played had to be braille. The scoring system used was 2 points for winning a match and 1 point for a tie.
Ireland started with a 3-1 success against France and followed up with 2 narrow victories against Sweden and the combined Belgium-England team. This put us 1 point ahead of both the UK and the Netherlands, who had drawn their match in round 2.
Round 4 found us up against the UK team. A win for Philip on board 1 and draws for myself and Eamonn gave us the edge. Could Martin get the draw which would give us victory in the match? He battled hard but eventually ran out of time. This tied match was good enough to keep us ahead of our hosts, but we were now joined by the Netherlands on 7 match points. We now knew that a win against the Dutch in our final match would give us first place. Philip got us off to a great start with an early win. Next to finish was Martin, and his draw kept us in with a great chance of success. Unfortunately, I could not maintain the momentum and a loss meant that it was all up to Eamonn. But we were not to be denied. Eamonn had built up a superior position and his opponent soon conceded the game.
Ireland finished first on 9 match points with the UK 8 and the Netherlands 7. There were outstanding individual performances by Philip with 4 wins and a draw and by Eamonn with 3 wins and 2 draws.
The food and accommodation at the Capital Hotel were excellent. We are most grateful to Royal Blind and the UK Braille Chess Association for giving us the opportunity to take part in this most enjoyable tournament.
BCAI Championship, 2009, by Philip Doyle
The Irish Championship for the visually impaired took place over the weekend 2nd to 4th October 2009 at the headquarters of the National League of the Blind in Hill Street, Dublin. It was a five round Swiss tournament and nine players participated. This meant that one player had to be given a bye in each round.
The tournament was won by Michael Delaney on four and a half points followed by Ernie McElroy and Phillip Doyle on three and a half points. Joe McAloon took the grading prize with three points. The three leading players were unbeaten throughout, however, McElroy conceded draws to Keating and Loftus in rounds 1 and 2 while Doyle drew his first three games with McAloon, Casey and Keating. Delaney, on the other hand, had wins in the first four rounds putting him a point ahead of McElroy going into the final round when a draw against Ernie was enough to secure him the victory.
The playing conditions were excellent and the refreshments were provided courtesy of the National Council for the Blind. Tim Conlan controlled the tournament with his usual efficiency while Noreen Cleary helped out on the catering side. As always we are indebted to Tim and Noreen and the two Organisations for their courtesy and generosity over a long number of years.
The final positions were: 1. M. Delaney 4.5 points; 2-3. E. McElroy, P. Doyle 3.5; 4-5. M. Keating, J. McAloon 3; 6. S. Loftus 2.5; 7.8. M. Meaney, E. Casey 2; 9. S. Hall 1.
BCA Gazette, November 2010:
Extract from IBCA World Championship 2010, by Bill Armstrong
“the top seed International Master Yuri Meshkov of Russia established a clear lead by the end of round 4 and then maintained his position with two wins and three draws from the remaining five rounds. This included a very rapid last round draw with the second seed, fellow Russian Krylov. A hard final battle took Dukaczewski (Poland) to a tying score of 7.5 but, as everyone knew, Meshkov had the better tie-break figures. Smirnov (Russia) on 7 came third.
Our very welcoming Serbian hosts made a good job of running the event but spoiled this a little by not always communicating details to those not fluent in Serbo-Croat. Belgrade was a pleasant, safe and friendly venue but nine days of a repetitive menu and routine makes you realise the delights of variety back home.”
Note: The 12th World Individual took place from AUGUST 25th to September 4th at the Slavia hotel, Belgrade, capital of Serbia. The Tournament had 9 rounds and Ireland was represented by Michael Delaney who finished with 3.5 points, comprising one win, three losses and five draws.
BCAI Open Tournament, 2010, by Sean Loftus
The 2010 Braille Chess Association of Ireland Open Tournament took place from October 1-4. For this tournament, marking the silver jubilee of our association’s existence, we returned to the Marine Hotel in Sutton, Dublin, scene of a very successful event in 2008. When booking the Marine more than a year ago we hoped for a modest increase in the number of players, guides and visitors from 2 years ago. Then 19 players took part and we were hopeful that this might increase to 24 or 26. During the early months of the year bookings were slow, but this gave us no cause for concern. We believed these would pick up in May and June. When this eventually happened we were absolutely astonished at the level of interest. Within a few days of each other we learned that sizeable groups would be coming from France and Sweden. Suddenly, no more accommodation was available at the Marine Hotel. We even had to make arrangements with the nearby Deer Park to take some people for the Saturday night.
It was now clear that the tournament would be played in 2 sections. The Marine Hotel management made a second playing room available to us at reasonable cost. In the weeks prior to the tournament we needed to make some booking alterations and the hotel handled these with great patience and efficiency.
When we all met up on the afternoon of Friday, 1 October, we knew that there would be 33 players and some 20 other people. The tournament would be organised in 2 sections, with 20 in the open section and 13 in the minor. Following dinner, those of us involved in the chess immediately made our way to our respective tournament rooms to get the first round underway. In this type of tournament, played according to the Swiss system, the higher graded players in the top half of the draw are paired against those in the lower half. An additional feature of our tournament is that players from the same country do not meet in the first round. In the open section 8 of the 10 games produced the expected result with a win for the player with the higher grade. In the other games Joe Mcaloon drew with Colin Chambers (England) and I had an unexpected win against Markus Berggren (Sweden).
In the minor section there were also 2 games which did not go according to expectations. Wilfried Van Der Velden (Belgium) lost to Bengt Eriksson (Sweden) and John Carroll drew with Koenraad Lecluyse (Belgium).
Round 2 in both sections got started at 10 am next morning. In the open 3 players emerged on full points when this round was completed. These were Patrik Berggren (Sweden), brother of Markus, Philip Doyle and Ernie Mcelroy. Philip and Patrik drew their game in round 3, which allowed Ernie to move into outright leadership with a win against Les Whittle (England).
In the minor section there were still 3 players on full points after round 2, but following the afternoon games the young Swede, Fredrik Ljungdahl, was the only player to have won all 3 games.
For those not playing chess Barry O’Brien’s coach tour set off from the hotel just as the morning round was getting started. With some 20 people on board, the biggest number he has ever had during one of our tournaments, Barry certainly pulled out all the stops to make sure that our visitors had a full day’s activity. In the morning they visited Farmley House and Aras an Uachtaráin and after lunch they went to the Guinness Storehouse. By all accounts everyone enjoyed themselves enormously.
In the evening we all came together again for our celebration dinner. This was the occasion to mark 25 years of the Braille Chess Association of Ireland. In all there were 68 people present. We were very pleased to welcome as our special guests Des Kenny, Chief Executive of NCBI with his wife, Terry, and Michael Lavin, Secretary of the National League of the Blind, with his wife, Teresa. We were also very pleased to welcome Michael and Una Keane with their daughter and son-in-law, Carmel and Noel Kennedy.
Mick, now aged 81, played a key role in the setting up of the O’Hanlon Chess Club in 1960 which led to blind players competing against sighted players. He also represented Ireland at international tournaments for blind players between 1964 and 1985.
Following an excellent meal there was a short address from our Chairman, Eamonn Casey and some words of congratulations and good wishes from Des Kenny and Michael Lavin. Notwithstanding the promptings of Barry O’Brien, now fulfilling the role of MC, brevity was very much the byword during this part of the evening.
With the formalities out of the way, it was time to get the party going. Guitarist and singer, Martin Kenny, was Our musician. There were also some singers in the audience who stepped up to the microphone to perform their party pieces. The entertainment ended shortly before midnight.
Next morning saw games in the fourth round of the tournament being played. In the open there were wins for Patrik Berggren over Ernie McElroy and for Michael Delaney against Philip Doyle. This placed Patrik and Michael in joint leadership on 3.5 points. Markus Berggren joined Ernie on 3 points with victory over David Hodgkins (England). In the afternoon round Patrik drew with Michael and Ernie lost to Markus. Philip Doyle bounced back with a win over Colin Chambers. This moved him up into fourth place, just half a point behind.
The feature of the Sunday games in the minor tournament was 2 more wins by Fredrik Ljungdahl. This placed him in an unassailable lead on 5 points, 1.5 ahead of his nearest rival, Philippe De Coninck (Belgium), with a round to go.
Following dinner on Sunday evening many people opted for an early night. A 9.30 start next morning would be followed for many by the journey home in the afternoon. A small number found time to get together in the bar for an hour or so.
When the final round was played on Monday morning Ljungdahl completed a perfect weekend in the Minor Tournament with his sixth win. Gary Wickett (England) and Martin Kane came joint third and Shane Hall took the grading prize.
The battle for the leading places in the open was fought out on the top 3 boards. The Berggren brothers drew with each other, as did Michael Delaney and Ernie McElroy. This allowed Philip Doyle to move into the prize money with victory over Joe McAloon. The grading prizes resulted in more success for our Swedish visitors. A draw with Colin Chambers was sufficient for Håkan Thomsson, but Olle Engström needed to win, and this he did in the very last game to finish.
Our grateful thanks go to our tournament controller, Tim Conlan, and his assistants, Mick Germain and John Crowley. Tim has been our arbiter since the late 1980s and has always performed this task with great skill and efficiency. We also wish to acknowledge the great help given throughout the weekend by Barry and Mary O’Brien and also Noreen Cleary. A special word of thanks is due to the staff of the marine Hotel who spared no effort to make our stay so very pleasant.
Amid much clicking of cameras the prizes were presented by our Chairman, Eamonn Casey. Then it was time to say our goodbyes and for our visitors to make ready for their homeward journey. All expressed great satisfaction with the weekend and a firm hope to be back here in 2012.
The Committee and its endeavours
The BCAI Committee has remained relatively unchanged during the past quarter century. Eamonn Casey and Ernie McElroy have been Chairman and Treasurer respectively throughout, while Sean Loftus has been our delegate to the IBCA from as far back as the sixties. Philip Doyle was Secretary until 1992 when he moved to the new post of Public Relations Officer. Larry Currid then took on the job of Secretary until 2002 when he was replaced by Tim Conlan.
Throughout the years the Committee made strenuous efforts to encourage Chess among beginners and adults who had fallen away from the game. A variety of events were organized usually in conjunction with the Annual General Meeting. These included junior and quick-play tournaments and friendly matches involving players from clubs with which we enjoyed a close bond such as Phibsboro, Elm Mount and Rathmines. These activities were generally lighthearted and were enjoyed by Members and visitors alike. Meanwhile friendly matches continued against Phibsboro, Kilkenny and more frequently Limerick where Michael Meaney was the facilitator. Michael Delaney and Philip Doyle gave symoltaneous displays in St. Joseph’s against a selection of Tom O’Sullivan’s juniors. Coaching sessions were tried and more recently e-mail matches have been played against the USA, Sweden, France and South Africa. These efforts have had only limited success in attracting new members, something that can be put down to the many alternative attractions which are nowadays available to the visually impaired.
Six Nations Tournament, 2011, by Philip Doyle
The Six Nations Tournament took place from 5 to 9 May in the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, in the north of England. This is a biennial friendship event which is hosted in turn by the participating countries. The nations which usually contest the Tournament are Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Due to the withdrawal of Switzerland, Ireland was asked to provide a team to take their place. Having had the great pleasure of participating on two previous occasions, we had no hesitation in answering the call. The team selected was Michael Delaney, Philip Doyle, Ernie McElroy and Eamonn Casey. As guides we had Ernie’s sister, Margaret O’Shea from Cork, and John Maher from the Rathmines Chess Club in Dublin.
On the morning of Thursday, May 5, we all met up at Dublin Airport to take our flight to Manchester. From there we proceeded to the Airport railway station to continue our journey to Harrogate. We had to change trains at Leeds, but despite having to race to make the connection, everything went to plan and we reached the Old Swan Hotel by 5.15 leaving us plenty of time to settle in before dinner.
After the meal there was a meeting of team representatives to discuss the tournament. The scoring system would be match points rather than board points. The arbiters would be Julie Leonard and Peter Gibbs, assisted by three stewards, Norman Andrews, Richard Murphy and Tristram Cole. The order of play was then determined by lot.
In the first of two matches on the Friday our opponents were France who appeared to be stronger than usual and here we had a share of the spoils. Michael lost on board 1 to Olivier Deville. After that there were draws for myself and Ernie. Ernie’s was a long, grueling game with Andre Schmeisser in which he was materially better but wisely offered a draw when in time trouble. Eamonn won his game against Laurent Peignien. This result placed us in joint third behind Germany and the Netherlands. Round 1 results: Germany-United Kingdom, 3-1; Ireland-France, 2-2; Netherlands-Belgium, 2.5-1.5.
In the afternoon we came up against the Netherlands. After some hard games Michael and myself came away with creditable draws against Sergio Harnandan and Jan Boer. I had a dreadful start in this game and was very lucky to emerge only a Pawn down but I managed to hold out for the half point in a protracted Rook and Pawn against Rook ending. Meanwhile, Ernie and Eamonn had good wins over Cor Tesselaar and Jan Zeeman giving us a 3-1 victory and moving us up to second place. Round 2 results: Ireland-Netherlands, 3-1; United Kingdom-Belgium, 4-0; Germany-France, 3.5-0.5.
After dinner Friday evening we were treated to a concert by the Harrowgate Brass Band who played many old favourites to an appreciative audience.
Just one round was played on the Saturday and our opponents were the UK. Michael had chances but lost to Graham Lilley but a draw for myself with Steve Hilton and a win for Ernie over John Gallagher meant that everything hinged on board 4. This was a long and exhausting game between Eamonn and Stan Lovell with Eamonn the first to crack leaving the final score a 2.5-1.5 victory for the UK. We were now in joint third place with France behind Germany and the UK. Round 3: United Kingdom-Ireland, 2.5-1.5; Germany-Belgium, 4-0; France-Netherlands, 3-1.
In the afternoon there was an outing by coach to the Jorvic Viking centre in York where we took a trip in a time car and experience the sights, sounds and smells of the history of York. Parts of the museum were of special interest to us as the exhibits could be handled.
Next day was Sunday when we played the last two rounds. First we came up against the bottom team Belgium and had a satisfying 4-0 victory, consolidating third place with 5 match points. Meanwhile the Germans had overwhelmed the Netherlands 4-0. With a round to go Germany was already guaranteed first place but there was still a slight chance that we could cause an upset and pip the UK for second place. Round 4: Ireland-Belgium, 4-0; United Kingdom-France, 3-1; Germany-Netherlands, 4-0.
In the final round the UK made no mistake and defeated the Netherlands. Meantime, Ireland was putting it up to our more powerful German opponents. I was first to finish drawing with Gert Schulz on board 2. Michael on board 1 soon followed with another draw against Olaf Dobierzin, giving encouragement to Ernie and Eamonn on boards 3 and 4. They stuck tenaciously to their task and eventually produced two more fine draws against Hans Jagdhuber and Manfred Pinnow. Our 2-all draw with the Germans was undoubtedly the surprise of the Tournament and our party was elated with the outcome. Round 5 results: Ireland-Germany, 2-2; United Kingdom-Netherlands, 2.5-1.5; France-Belgium, 3.5-0.5.
Final scores:
Germany 9 match points.
United Kingdom 8.
Ireland 6.
France 5.
Netherlands 2.
Belgium 0.
Following dinner, the closing ceremony and prize giving took place. Everyone complemented the tournament organisers and the management and staff of the Old Swan Hotel who made our stay so enjoyable.
After breakfast next morning, we had some time to spare which we spent visiting a local park. Then we set out on the journey home. Once again everything went according to plan arriving back in Dublin at about 6pm.
BCA Gazette, February 2012:
Extract from European Championship 2011, by Bill Armstrong
“Far from my struggles, the top players were all taking points off each other. Krylov may finally be feeling his age. Meshkov, who was suffering from an abscess on his arm, slipped back in the middle rounds. Wassin was going well and then failed to maintain his success. Only the consistent Dukaczewski emerged from the pack to take the lead going into the final round. His loss to Meshkov allowed three pursuers to equal him on 7 points, but the tie-break gave Dukaczewski (Poland) first place, Smirnov (Russia) came second, Grigorchuc (Ukraine) third and Meshkov (Russia) the world champion finished fourth.”
Note: The 5th IBCA European Championship took place from September 5th to 16th at the Sun Beach Resort Hotel, on the island of Rhodes, Greece. The Tournament had 9 rounds and Ireland was represented by Michael Delaney who finished with 3.5 points, comprising two wins, four losses and three draws.
BCAI Championship, 2011, by Sean Loftus
The Irish Chess Championship for blind and vision impaired players for 2011 took place at the headquarters of the National League of the Blind of Ireland during the weekend of October 7-9. There were 2 sections with 6 players in each.
In the top section the competition was so intense that nobody emerged unbeaten at the end of the 5 rounds. Only 5 of the 15 games were drawn. Philip Doyle with his third win came through in the final round to take first place on 3.5 Points. On 3 points came defending champion, Michael Delaney, Ernie Mcelroy and Sean Loftus. There followed Joe McAloon on 1.5 and Eamonn Casey on 1 point.
In the minor section our 2 newest members Stan Lightowler from Co. Derry and Ann Casey from Mullingar participated in an Irish Championship for the first time. We were also delighted to welcome back Tony Murray after an absence of a few years. First place went to Michael Meaney on 4.5 points followed by Tony Murray on 4, John Carroll, 3.5, and Shane Hall on 2 points.
Our greatful thanks to Tim Conlan, our tournament controller, who was present throughout the weekend to keep everything running smoothly. A special word of thanks to Noreen and Rose, who kept us provided with Tea, Coffee and soup, as well as collecting our sandwiches from the shop next door on the Saturday and Sunday.
Finally, a very special word of thanks to the trustees of the National League of the Blind of Ireland for making their premises available to us for the weekend and also for the very enjoyable social evening they organised on the Saturday. For this the chessplayers were joined by a large number of others for an evening of singing, music, chat and the renewal of old friendships.
BCA Website – Obituaries
Shane Hall 9/11/59 – 14/3/12
Shane was the oldest of the 5 children of John & Mary Hall, 2 boys, 3 girls, all born in Dublin. From about the age of 11 Shane began playing chess and continued to do so throughout the rest of his life. He was a serious and studious boy with a sharp sense of humour along with a kind hearted nature. He supported Chelsea F.C but due to serious asthma he did not participate in sports activities much, he loved to read, build Airfix models and watch Dr.Who during his youth.
His family moved to Galway, on the West coast of Ireland, where Shane completed his secondary school education. He joined the FCA (Irish equivalent of the TA) for 5 years, during which time he specialised in Communications at which he excelled.
Having always been a talented artist, when he left school he pursued this gift by studying Graphic Design at Galway Regional Technical College. It was at this time that Shane’s eyesight began to noticeably deteriorate – it had always been poor, as a boy he was both colour blind and had night blindness, but at this point, following an examination by an ophthalmologist, Shane was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa. This led to the end of his college course and a change in his career plans while he tried to find an alternative profession that would be minimally affected by his deteriorating vision.
Following some periods where he was employed as a stock controller and other roles in commerce, he went to Sligo where he was trained as a switchboard operator/telephonist. Shane never felt particularly fulfilled by his work as a switchboard operator but his salary allowed him to enrol in further education, to travel, to play chess and pursue his other interests. Each year Shane travelled to chess tournaments all over Ireland as well as, once or twice a year, travelling to the U.K to tournaments in Windermere and elsewhere.
Shane lived independently in various parts of Dublin throughout his life, in the last 10 years settling in the centre of Dublin City in the Iveagh Trust flats, where, by coincidence, his grandparents had lived when we were children. He was very happy there, surrounded by wonderful caring neighbours who always kept an eye on him and considered him to be a gentleman in every respect.
Shane was a member of the walking club branch of the Irish Blind Sports Association and also participated in their 10-pin bowling tournaments, winning several medals and trophies for his skill with a bowling ball.
He loved to sing and took singing lessons for several years with a classical music voice coach in the hopes of improving his voice and extending his repertoire beyond his 3 favourite songs – Santa Lucia, Molly Malone and Patricia the Stripper. Any of you who ever attended an event that included an entertainment evening may recall Shane’s enthusiastic offers to provide a song or 3 to his fellow chess tournament attendees.
Shane had been studying Computer Technology for several years as a part-time student in DCU and had always hoped that he would gain this qualification so that he could change his career to something that he both enjoyed and was stimulated by. What is a daunting subject for anyone, was made even more challenging for Shane as he had to learn it using Braille (even for the most complex of mathematical sections) and having to use new computer technology for learning, constantly changing as the years of his course went on – at the same time as the university was struggling to provide sufficient assistance to its part-time disabled students. These challenges never put Shane off and, just before he died, Shane had submitted one of his last assignments for his course.
Shane’s great love throughout his life was chess. He loved, not just the game, but also the society of fellow chess players. Always good naturedly competitive, Shane went so far as to join rival chess clubs so that he could play more and improve his abilities. Michael Crow was his chess coach for many years and his cherished friend, who encouraged Shane to always strive to improve, to innovate, to learn, to win and to do his best.
This year, at Lake Windermere, Shane participated in an exhibition match where John Toothill, who at grade 184, played all the tournament chess players simultaneously. In recent years no-one had beaten John or gained a draw but this year, Shane emerged victorious. Although he was quite modest about this at the time, upon his return from the U.K, he was clearly ecstatic – all his hard work over the years had paid off.
I like to think that this was a great high point at which to exit this life. His college assignment deadline met and to have beaten John Toothill at Windermere, looking forward to another trip to the UK and getting closer to his goal of completing his college course.
Although he had several serious health problems in recent years, he never allowed them to interfere with the pursuit of his passions or dreams. Unless he was in hospital, Shane never missed a chess match or event, never missed a RP Society meeting or fund-raising commitment he had made. Shane passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on March 14th, nearly 2 months after his U.K trip.
He is sadly missed by his family, his friends, his colleagues and his many chess mates. He will always be a beloved inspiration to us all for demonstrating how to live life with courage, enthusiasm, generosity, friendliness and love.
No doubt he is playing chess with the Grandest Master of them all and entertaining heaven with his musical talents. May he rest in peace after a life well lived.
Karen Hall, Shane’s sister.
Michael Keane RIP, by Philip Doyle
The death took place on Sunday 30th June 2013 of Michael Keane. He was buried on Wednesday after Mass in Ballinteer Church in Dublin where there was a fine turn-out of chess players and members of the blind community in general.
Mick had been retired from active chess for many years but in his day he represented Ireland in six Olympiads and in the 1982 World Individual in Hastings. He was a very strong player and always acquitted himself with distinction when representing his country. He joined the British BCA in 1947 and was a member for many years, taking part in the postal competitions which were then popular.
Shane Hall Memorial Tournament, 2013, by Sean Loftus
From 4-7 October the Braille Chess Association of Ireland organised a special tournament to celebrate the life of Shane Hall. Shane had participated in our Tournaments for the past 20 years and had been a longtime member of the Rathmines Chess Club. His untimely passing in March, 2012, came as a great shock to all of us.
When, in the early part of this year, it was decided to organise an open tournament for Blind and vision impaired players, the idea of dedicating it to the celebration of Shane’s life was considered to be most appropriate. The matter of finding a venue was quickly resolved once we made contact with the Maples Hotel in Glasnevin. This was by no means our first experience of the Maples. Twice in the 90s and again in 2000 participants in our open tournaments had stayed there while the games were played at the nearby headquarters of the NCBI. Recent renovations at the Maples would make it possible for games to be played there this time.
With only 6 months to publicise the tournament, we could not be surprised when there were just 3 entries from England, 1 from Scotland and 1 from Austria. We were delighted to welcome once again our good friend Stan Lightowler from Co. Derry. Also joining us were 2 members of the Rathmines Club who had been especially helpful to Shane over the years. John Maher played in the Open section and Dee Mowlds in the Minor. There was a total entry of 18; 12 playing over 6 rounds for the open section and 6 competing in an all-play-all in the minor.
During the afternoon of Friday, 4 October, all those playing in the tournaments along with their travelling companions arrived on schedule at the Maples Hotel. Shortly before 5.30 we all met up in the bar and soon made our way to the dining-room for dinner. By 7.30 those of us participating in the Open Tournament were setting up our boards for the start of round 1. As usual, the pairings in the first round kept the top rated players apart and matched them against those in the lower half. This time the top 6 did not have things all their own way. 3 of them were winners, but the other 3 games were drawn. Those who won were Les Whittle (England), Ernie McElroy (Ireland) and Bill Armstrong. Bill is Scottish by birth, but has lived for many years in England. Michael Delaney (ireland) drew with top seed Stephen Hilton (Scotland). The other 2 draws involved Sean Loftus and Philip Doyle (both Ireland) and Stan Lovell (England v Eamonn Casey (Ireland). At 10 o’clock next morning round 2 got underway. McElroy drew with Hilton and Armstrong beat Whittle to give him the outright lead. There were wins for Doyle, Loftus and Maher, Casey drew with Joe Mcaloon (Ireland). In the minor section there were wins for Michael Meaney, Tony Murray and John Carroll against Ann Casey, Stan Lightowler and Dee Mowlds respectively. In the afternoon wins for Murray against Meaney and Carroll against Lightowler placed Tony and John in joint leadership. In the remaining game Ann Casey lost to Dee Mowlds. Meanwhile, in round 3 of the open a hardfought draw with Doyle was enough to keep Armstrong in the lead on 2.5 points. A win for Hilton and a draw between Loftus and McElroy put these 3 in a tie for second place. In the other games there were draws for Maher v Whittle and Delaney v Lovell and a win for Mahendra Gilani (Austria).
For those not participating in the chess tournament there was the opportunity to go on a bus tour organised by Barry O’Brien. The first stop was the nearby Glasnevin Cemetery.
Upon arrival a tour guide was available to show the group around, thanks to Barry having already arranged this. Glasnevin Cemetery, as the final resting place of many of Ireland’s historical figures, has become a very popular tourist attraction in recent times. After lunch the group moved on to Croke Park, headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association. This is where matches in the later stages of the Gaelic Football and Hurling championships take place. In recent years Croke Park became more widely known when it served as the temporary home for the Irish rugby and soccer teams. Once again there was a guided tour around the stadium. The highlights were a visit to the museum, which has built up over the 130 years of the GAA’s existence, and the experience of walking from 1 of the dressing-rooms out on to the field of play as the participating teams do before every game. Our grateful appreciation to NCBI for making the bus available. Also, a special word of thanks to Rose who, apart from driving the bus, was most helpful to everyone during the trip.
At dinner on the Saturday evening we were pleased to welcome as our guests John and Mary hall, parents of Shane, Des Kenny, chief executive of NCBI and his wife, Terry, Ann and Tony Lyster, representing Vision Sports Ireland and Jim Madden of the National League of the Blind.
After the meal there was a short address by Eamonn Casey, BCAI chairman, highlighting Shane’s great enthusiasm for the game of chess and his great love of life.
In his reply, John Hall thanked the association most warmly for dedicating the tournament to Shane’s memory.
For the remainder of the evening it was time for music and singing. Our musician was Terry Cartin with his guitar. Terry’s wide repertoire was enhanced by songs from some of those in the audience including our guest of honour, John Hall.
Next morning we were back in action at our chess boards at 10 o’clock. McElroy took over the lead with a win against Armstrong. Bill was joined in a triple tie for second place by doyle and Hilton who drew their game. There were wins for Whittle, Lovell and Delaney and a draw between Casey and Maher. In the third round of the minor there were wins for Murray, Carroll and Mowlds which kept Tony and John in joint leadership 1 point ahead of Dee.
Round 4 brought the 2 front runners into direct opposition and, after a fluctuating game, it was John who came out on top. The other games were won by Ann Casey and Michael Meaney. In round 5 of the open a win for Bill put him in a tie for first place with Ernie, who drew with Philip. A draw for Stephen kept him level with Philip on 3 points, just half a point behind the leaders. In the other games there was a win for casey and draws for Loftus v Maher and Lovell v McAloon. Following dinner, many of us met up in the bar. It was much quieter than on the previous 2 evenings, which allowed us to enjoy some pleasant conversation. Next morning the final round started at 9.30. In the minor there were wins for John Carroll and Tony Murray. This assured them of first and second places respectively. The grading prize went to Dee Mowlds. In the open Ernie McElroy needed a win against Les Whittle to be sure of outright first place. This he achieved in some style. Philip Doyle and Stephen Hilton both won their games to finish in a tie for second, half a point behind Ernie. There were also wins for Stan Lovell and Michael Delaney. The only drawn game was between Joe McAloon and Sean Loftus Who won the grading prize. Our grateful thanks to our tournament controller, Tim Conlan, ably assisted by Mick Germain. Tim has been controlling our tournaments since 1988, and thus has carried out this important function for 25 years.
As a fitting conclusion to the tournament it was very nice to have John and Mary Hall back to present the prizes. Mick Germain was on hand to photograph all the winners receiving their awards.
With the prizegiving over, some of our visitors were soon departing for airport, bus and railway stations to begin the journey home. With others having arranged to leave next day, it was good to be able to chat with them at leisure, take a short walk outside the hotel or have a drink or two at the bar. In the early evening 8 of us enjoyed a very pleasant dinner together. All too soon it was time for those of us heading home to various parts of Dublin to say our goodbyes and allow our English friends the opportunity to have some rest and make ready for the journey home next day.
Our very special thanks to the manager, Patricia Butler, and the staff at the Maples Hotel for their part in making the weekend such a great experience for all of us.
We are most grateful to Barry and Mary O’Brien and to Noreen Cleary for their help throughout the weekend.
Six Nations Tournament, 2015, by Philip Doyle
The Six Nations Tournament took place over the Easter weekend 3 – 7 April at the Complexe DOJO/Echecs in Gonfreville l’Orcher, near Le Havre in northern France. The Six Nations is a biennial friendship event hosted in turn by the participating countries. The nations usually taking part are Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Due to the withdrawal of Switzerland, Ireland was asked to provide a team to take their place. Having had the great pleasure of participating on three previous occasions, we had no hesitation in answering the call. The team selected was, in Board Order: Philip Doyle, Michael Delaney, Ernie McElroy and Eamonn Casey. As guides we had Margaret O’Shea, Noreen Cleary and Fionnuala Ní Bhrádaigh. Fionnuala and Michael’s almost 2-year old daughter Laoise completed the party.
We arranged our arrival for a day early because of the high cost of Air tickets available for Good Friday. On the afternoon of Thursday, April 2, we all met up at Dublin Airport to take our flight to Paris. From there we proceeded to Saint Lazare railway station to continue our journey to Le Havre. Despite nearly missing the connection, everything went to plan which was in no small measure due to Fionnuala’s decisive actions and fluent French. We reached our destination by 9.15 where we were met by the Organiser Cyrille Vaugeois and a colleague who drove us to the Hotel Campanile. Here we were served a very welcome 3-course meal with steak and chips which revived us no end.
On Friday evening, there was a reception in the sports complex with Champaign and canapés hosted by the Mayor of Gonfreville who welcomed the teams and presented each player with a gift of a bag containing local specialities. This was followed by a meeting of team Captains to discuss the tournament. The scoring system would be match points rather than board points. The arbiter would be International arbiter Benjamin Marret, dubbed “The Sheriff” on account of his badge.
In the first of two matches on the Saturday, our opponents were France, the defending Champions, and here we lost heavily. I was outplayed by Adrien Hervais. Michael got into time trouble and lost to Olivier Deville. Ernie lost to Bertrand Catherine, But Eamonn spared our blushes with a draw on Board 4 against Bernard Sojka. This result placed us in joint last with Belgium behind the Netherlands. Round 1 results: Ireland-France, 0.5-3.5; Netherlands-United Kingdom, 1.5-2.5; Belgium-Germany, 0.5-3.5.
In the afternoon we came up against the Netherlands. After my opponent, Sergio Harnandan, gifted me a Pawn in the opening, I greedily grabbed another which got me into all sorts of trouble and in no time I was lost. Michael and Ernie steadied the ship with creditable draws while Eamonn went down to Jan Boer. Round 2 results: France-Germany, 2-2; Ireland-Netherlands, 1-3; United Kingdom-Belgium, 1-3.
Just one round was played on the Sunday and our opponents were Belgium. I had another bad start, this time against Didier Dalschaert but soon gained the upper hand and when I doubled my Rooks on the seventh rank, it was inevitable that something would give and soon after I won a Pawn and eventually the game. Michael and Ernie had draws against Herman Yennen and Ava Vandekerchove the only woman in the Tournament. Eamonn lost but overall the result was a good one, earning us our first match point. At this stage France and Germany were neck and neck ahead on five match points. Round 3: Netherlands-France, 1-3; Ireland-Belgium, 2-2; Germany-United Kingdom, 2.5-1.5.
In the afternoon, there was a trip to a Norman distillery where we learned the secrets of distilling cider and the famous calvados apple brandy. We also sampled drinks including one flavoured with whiskey.
Next day was Monday when we played the last two rounds. First we came up against the powerful Germans and suffered a disastrous 4-0 whitewash. By contrast, France could only draw with the UK, thus slipping a match point behind Germany. Round 4: France-United Kingdom, 2-2; Ireland-Germany, 0-4; Netherlands-Belgium, 3-1.
In the final round Ireland played the UK. Eamonn got us off to a great start with a win against phil Gordon. Then Ernie lost to Mark Kirkham who was having a great Tournament. Steve Hilton had me all bottled up but after he exchanged his Bishop for my Knight the game opened up and soon after I won a Pawn and the endgame. Michael’s opponent, Les Whittle, blundered a Knight and went on to lose giving us a satisfying victory. Our defeat of the UK made up for all that had gone before and our party was elated with the result. Meanwhile, France was dropping a further match point to Belgium, while the Germans were forging ahead with another whitewash this time against the Netherlands. Congratulations to Germany on their impressive win. Round 5 results: Belgium-France, 2-2; Germany-Netherlands, 4-0; Ireland-United Kingdom, 3-1.
Final scores:
Germany 9 match points.
France 7.
Netherlands 4.
Belgium 4.
United Kingdom 3.
Ireland 3.
The closing ceremony and prize giving took place in the main hall of the sports complex where we had played. This was followed by drinks and delicious finger food. The tournament was very enjoyable and playing conditions were perfect, plenty of room, nice temperature, very quiet. Food was really good and staff were very friendly. Noreen proposed giving them a tip which they were delighted with and came around and gave us all a kiss. Erny suggested we give them another tip!!!!!
After breakfast next morning, we set out on our journey home. Once again everything went to plan thanks to one of the French team, Bernard Sojka, who guided us from Saint Lazare train station to our rail connection to the Airport. We arrived back in Dublin at about 6pm.
BCAI Open Tournament winners
Note that the Open was mostly a single tournament with a prize for the best Junior player but on occasions it was divided into a Senior and a Junior section.
Senior winners:
1986: Ernie McElroy
1988: Ernie McElroy
1989: Graham Lilley
1990: Graham Lilley & Jan Van Gelder
1992: Graham Lilley
1994: Michael Delaney
1996: Jorgen Pohlers
1998: Jurgen Magnusson
2000: Philip Doyle
2002: Chris Ross
2004: Philip Doyle
2006: Ernie McElroy
2008: Ernie McElroy
2010: Patrik Berggren
2013: Ernie McElroy
Junior winners:
1986: Voldi Gailans
1988: Larry Currid
1989: Michael Meaney
1990: Derek Spink
1992: Larry Currid & Derek Spink
1994: Willie Britten & Paul Bellew
1996: Andrew Gardener
1998: Stephen Kennedy
2000: George Plechaty
2002: George Plechaty
2004: John Carroll
2006: George Plechaty & Ann Coughlan
2008: Michael Meaney
2010: Fredrik Ljungdahl
2013: John Carroll
BCAI Championship winners:
1983: Philip Doyle & Ernie McElroy
1985: Ernie McElroy
1987: Philip Doyle & Willie Breen
1991: Sean Loftus & Michael Delaney
1993: Ernie McElroy
1995: Philip Doyle
1997: Michael Delaney
1999: Michael Delaney
2001: Michael Delaney & Philip Doyle
2003: Sean Loftus & Ernie McElroy
2005: Michael Keating
2007: Philip Doyle
2009: Michael Delaney
2011: Philip Doyle
The end
[This is an adaptation to web format of a Word document compiled by Philip Doyle. For a copy of the Word document as it stood on May 8, 2018, click here.]
Last updated July 15, 2018.