Category Archives: Games

Goetzee – J. McMahon, Heidenfeld Trophy 2016-17

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Sean Coffey

John McMahon’s biography on the Players page here mentions his long association with the Leinster leagues: in the Armstrong Cup with Kevin Barry from 1956-76, and in the Heidenfeld Trophy with Lucan from 2005 onwards. Here is one of his … Continue reading →

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O’Gorman – Grieve, Oxford v Cambridge match 2021

Posted on October 27, 2021 by Sean Coffey

Congratulations to Tom O’Gorman, who played board 1 for Oxford University in the annual Varsity match against Cambridge this past Saturday, and recorded a fine win against fellow FM Harry Grieve, to lead Oxford to a 5½ – 2½ win. … Continue reading →

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Lyons – MacElligott, Kilkenny Open 1982

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Sean Coffey

I was delighted to receive a comment and a separate email from Guy Lyons, whom I well remember from my playing days, not least because he beat me once, in a game that will appear here in due course. He … Continue reading →

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Porter – Griffin, Irish Championship 1978

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Sean Coffey

When I posted an initial report on the 1978 Irish championship here last year, I noted that there was one game that was known to survive, but was nevertheless missing: an annotation by John Griffin of one of his games, … Continue reading →

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Burning the Midnight Oil

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Sean Coffey

David’s post on the Irish Pawn Centre brought to mind the game Kavalek – Fischer, Sousse Interzonal 1967, which at one time defined the main line of the Sicilian Najdorf Poisoned Pawn. Kavalek – Fischer, Sousse Interzonal 1967 Position after … Continue reading →

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The Irish Pawn Centre

Posted on September 11, 2021 by David McAlister

English Grandmaster Tony Miles identified “a revolutionary new concept” – the Irish pawn centre (or IPC) – in his report on the 1978 FIDE West European Zonal in Amsterdam. That report appeared in the Number One issue of the short-lived … Continue reading →

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A controversial draw

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Sean Coffey

Richtig und Falsch: Praktische Endspielkunde, by Kurt Richter and Hans-Hilmar Staudte was originally published by Walter de Gruyter Verlag in 1962 and has been reprinted several times since then, most recently last year. On page 39 (via a Google Books … Continue reading →

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J. J. Walsh, Hastings Premier Reserves 1959-60

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Sean Coffey

J. J. Walsh’s column in the Irish Times recently reached No. 15,000, and the milestone has been noted by an article, “15,000 and counting – our record-breaking chess correspondent passes another major milestone” by Frank McNally in the paper on … Continue reading →

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Irish Championship 1988

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Sean Coffey

A report on the Irish Championship 1988 has been added to the tournaments collection here. The event was held in Dublin, at Árdscoil Rís in Griffith Avenue. The field comprised 21 players, with Mark Orr, David Dunne, Philip Short, Pat … Continue reading →

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Rynd – Baker, Armstrong Cup 1907-08

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Sean Coffey

The sixth Irish champion was Philip Baker, 1879-1932, who won in 1924, 1927, 1928 and 1929. A recent blog post Philip Baker, the Jewish refugee from Latvia who became Irish chess champion, by Patrick Comerford (October 22, 2020) gives very … Continue reading →

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