Category Archives: Games

Horace Plunkett and the Parliamentary Cable Match, 1897

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Sean Coffey

In 1897, the British House of Commons played a challenge match by cable against the U.S. House of Representatives. The top two boards on the House of Commons side were filled by players from Irish constituencies: the then Hon. Horace … Continue reading →

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Li – Williams, 4NCL Online 2020

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Sean Coffey

The 4NCL Online event launched last month, and the first round Henry Li, playing board 1 for the Gonzaga B team (“Gonzaga B Sharps”), had White against Simon Williams. The game reached a rook ending in which Black was two … Continue reading →

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Littleton – Ludgate, Irish Championship 1978

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Sean Coffey

Going into the penultimate round in the 1978 Irish championship, Alan Ludgate led the field, half a point ahead of Colm Barry and Eugene Curtin, and a full point ahead of Conor Barrington and Michael Littleton. In round 8, Ludgate … Continue reading →

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McDaid – Ludgate, Irish Championship 1978

Posted on May 7, 2020 by Sean Coffey

Another critical moment in the 1978 Irish championship came in round 3, when Alan Ludgate had Black against Adrian McDaid. In a complex struggle, chances were around equal until quite late on, when an error from McDaid caused his position … Continue reading →

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Clarke – Ludgate, Irish Championship 1978

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Sean Coffey

One of the critical games of the entire Irish championship in 1978 occurred in the opening round, when Tom Clarke had the white pieces against the top seed Alan Ludgate. Clarke built up a large advantage, turned down a draw … Continue reading →

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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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