Category Archives: Games

Sir Horace Plunkett, P.C.

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Sean Coffey

The “Privy Council” is in the headlines all of a sudden; though the link from this to Irish chess is a very slight one, it leads to a very interesting character in Irish chess, and indeed in Irish history. Sir … Continue reading →

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Glorney -v- König

Posted on August 11, 2019 by David McAlister

The Glorney Cup was held last month at Carrickdale Hotel and Spa, Co Louth, 71 years after the initial competition between schoolboy teams representing Ireland and England took place in Dublin on the 26th and 27th August 1948. We have … Continue reading →

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Canton-Steen, Dublin 1955

Posted on July 27, 2019 by David McAlister

“Congratulations to young Clontarf Club player B. Canton for the … brilliant and imaginative win against J.B. Steen (Ulster) in the recent Inter-Provincial match in Dublin. It is seldom one gets, much less expects, such a high standard of play … Continue reading →

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Kernan – Cassidy, Irish Championship 1974

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Sean Coffey

Last year, we reported here on the 1974 Irish championship, and remarked that no games were available from the event. Remarkably, a few months later one turned up, on the ICU web site, in Paul Cassidy’s article My Memorable Games … Continue reading →

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1975 Irish Championship revisited

Posted on June 23, 2019 by David McAlister

Just over a year ago we published a tournament report on the 1975 Irish Championship which was much enhanced by material provided by joint winner Alan Ludgate. At that time 11 games were available, 8 of those featuring Ludgate, and we … Continue reading →

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Spassky – Buckley, Kilkenny simul 1991

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Sean Coffey

The game in the last post was far from Boris Spassky’s last interaction with Irish chess. In March 1991 he visited Ireland and gave two simuls, in Dublin and Kilkenny. The Kilkenny event was part of the club’s celebration of … Continue reading →

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Déiseach – Spassky, World Junior Championship 1955

Posted on April 5, 2019 by Sean Coffey

Alan McGowan, ChessScotland’s historian, has sent the photo above, for which many thanks. The third World Junior Championship was held in Antwerp, from July 21 to August 9, 1955. Ireland’s representative was Dónal Déiseach of Clontarf C.C., then Armstrong Cup … Continue reading →

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Flannery – Kennefick, West of Ireland Open 1976

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Sean Coffey

Here’s another game of Maurice Kennefick’s (missing up to now from the ICU games archive) from the inaugural West of Ireland Open in 1976. (This series of events was held in Galway from 1976 to around 1980.) CHESS (Sutton Coldfield) … Continue reading →

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March 2019 update

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Sean Coffey

The games archive has been updated with Irish games from approximately the last six months of The Week in Chess, and sundry other sources. The tournaments covered include the Batumi Olympiad & Women’s Olympiad, the European Club Cup 2018, the … Continue reading →

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Maurice Kennefick: the early years

Posted on February 17, 2019 by David McAlister

Maurice Kennefick  came to the fore in the late 1960s when he was an undergraduate student at University College Cork. In the course of the 1965-66 season, his first year at university, he rapidly moved from the junior ranks to … Continue reading →

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