Category Archives: Games

A puzzle solved

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Sean Coffey

Three years ago, when a report on the Bunratty Masters 2006 was posted here, I asked how on earth White could have recovered from the diagrammed position, where Black has just played 31… Qh3 (How?, February 28, 2017). Van Voorthuijsen … Continue reading →

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S. Moran – O’Donnell, Irish Championship 2019

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Sean Coffey

S. Moran – O’Donnell, Irish Championship 2019 30. ? Another game from the sixth round of the 2019 Irish championship, and another missed opportunity. Stephen Moran now played 30. Rxg6+? and the game soon ended in a draw. He could … Continue reading →

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O’Connell – G. Melaugh, Irish Championship 2019

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Sean Coffey

O’Connell – G. Melaugh, Irish Championship 2019 35. ? In this round 6 game, Gerard O’Connell had fought back from a losing game to reach the diagrammed position. He now saw nothing better than 35. Nxf8, and the game soon … Continue reading →

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Windmill

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Sean Coffey

Some considerable time ago, we had an example of a double seesaw/windmill here, in a game between Oliver Dunne and Pat Fitzsimons. The theme arises again, and once again in a game of Oliver Dunne’s. This time he’s on the … Continue reading →

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Two knights versus a pawn

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Sean Coffey

The celebrated ending of two knights versus a pawn is the hardest of the ‘basic’ endings, and was exhaustively analyzed long before the tablebase era. Interesting though it is, its importance is mostly theoretical, as the ending is very rare … Continue reading →

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Glasgow Invitation 1968

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Sean Coffey

The Chess Scotland History pages have excellent coverage of many old Scottish tournament series. One such is the Glasgow Congress series that started in the early 1960’s. It included at various times a principal ‘Invitation’ tournament and a Glasgow Junior … Continue reading →

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A stalemate puzzle

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Sean Coffey

The recent Dublin Blitz Championship 2020 (Gonzaga College, February 2) featured a game in which one player had the misfortune to resign in a position where he could force an almost immediate draw by stalemate. Well, these things happen: it’s … Continue reading →

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Gonzaga Charity Classic 2020

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Sean Coffey

The annual Gonzaga Charity Classic was held last weekend, and it seems to have surpassed all previous versions. There were 201 players across three sections, with 532 games. The very strong Masters section was won by Tarun Kanyamarala via a … Continue reading →

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Endgame theory

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Sean Coffey

David’s post on Maeve Binchy and chess at Kiely’s in Donnybrook brought back vivid personal memories: I remember playing a league match upstairs there very early in my playing career, probably 1976 or so, when I was 12. I even … Continue reading →

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Spackman – Annesley, Ulster Masters 2019

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Sean Coffey

The Ulster Masters 2019 took place on November 23-24 in Bangor, with 34 players competing across two sections. The top section finished in a three-way tie between Gareth Annesley, Calum Leitch, and Danny Roberts. A full report has been added … Continue reading →

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