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Editor: Dr Tim Harding |
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Editor: Dr Tim Harding |
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© Dr Tim Harding
Last modified:
15 July 2026
The 2026 Irish Championships will be held from 1-9 August, at the Talbot Hotel in Dublin. An online entry form is still available at the ICU website and there were 44 names down to play the last time we checked.
One of these is a junior who has a Turkish FIDE registration; surely he is not eligible to play? The ICU should clarify that quickly with the player concerned and his family. Alternatively if they are allowing such entries, they should make it clear on their website, where the regulations for the championships do not appear to be easily available.
It would also be helpful if they could soon publish the times of the rounds and whether half-point byes are allowed.
Probably because the FIDE Olympiad is in September, there are few entries yet from our highest rated players and IMs although teenage FM Kavin Venkatesan will try to defend the title he won last year in Ennis.
The first subsidiary tournaments will start on Friday evening, 31st July. There will be a weekday open as usual (five rounds with morning play) and a programme of events on the final weekend which may include one or more seniors tournaments depending on entries. So far only two players entered the 50+ and none entered the 65+.
Entry forms are now open online at the ICU website.
The Churchtown Chess Club in south Dublin staged its fun event for teams over five rounds on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th July. The team called, curiously, Pocket Salmon won all its matches. Their players were Jacob Flynn, Peter Carroll, Will Sidney along with Patrick Lessmeister (on Saurday) and Alice O'Gorman (on Sunday).
Unfortunately there were only 11 teams, necessitating a bye. For 2027 they hope to move the event back to late June, as last year, when fewer players and clubs may be on holiday.
St. Benildus were runners-up, with four matches won. The senior team Silver Foxes and the "Leicester 15/16" team (soccer supporters evidently) each won three matches. The results are available online.
The final round of the Leinster Leagues was played in May. Gonzaga are Armstrong Cup champions again. Dun Laoghaire and Bray/Greystones were relegated. Ballinasloe and Master Chess Club will be promoted from the Heidenfeld (the second division) although Ballinasloe is not in Leinster. Go figure...
It is worth noting that the Armstrong Cup is one of the very oldest inter-club competitions in the world, having been first played for in the 1888-89 season, which was even earlier than the start of the London League. Only the Woodhouse Cup in Yorkshire began earlier.
Unfortunately since the closure of the Rathmines Chess Club (which started in the second season), none of the early competing clubs exists any more - unless you count the Dublin University club. They played from the first year but the club collapsed and had to be reconstituted at least twice in subsequent years.
The ICU has announced the teams and captains who will represent Ireland at the FIDE Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in September. You can only read the full reports if you are logged in as an ICU member.
The Open team consists of GM Alex Baburin, IMs Tarun Kanyamarala, David Fitzsimons and Tom O'Gorman, and FM Kavin Venkatesan. The reserves are Adam Collins and Conor O'Donnell.
The women's team is WGM Trisha Kanyamarala, WFM Diana Mirza, Alice O'Gorman, WFM Lara Putar and WCM Antonina Góra. (We thought Alice earned a WFM title in the past but it doesn't seem to have been claimed?)
Conor O'Donnell will captain the Open team and Jacob Flynn captains the women's team. Board order for the teams will be decided just before the start, probably by consensus but with the captains having the final say.
Meanwhile please see our Irish seniors page for details of recent and upcoming events for players over the age of 50.
The Irish National Club Championship was played over five rounds from April 24-26 at Colaiste Eanna, Rathfarnham, Dublin. It ended in a 3-way tie on 8 match points with Gonzaga taking the title again, on tiebreak from Knights of Eanna (to whom they had lost in round 3) and Master Chess Club (whom they defeated in the last round).
A 17th entry had been accepted at the last minute, creating a bye. It is questionable whether late entries should be allowed unless they even up numbers as this decision led to five of the teams only playing four matches.
There was also a good entry of 18 teams for the Queen Maeve Cup, a 4-board event, which was won by the Ireland Chess Technology team led by the Kanyamaralas. They won all their five matches. Their team, not being a regular club, was ineligible to play in the NCC.
If you are involved in organisation, please also read our page for chess arbiters. We are aware the page is somewhat out of date and intend to update it eventually.
For further information on Irish chess, including ratings, how to join, a tournament calendar and a list of officials, please see the Irish Chess Union website.
IRLchess: Sean Coffey's Irish chess history and news site
Chess discussions on boards.ie (not very active)